LR1, I understood what you meant. It seems like one of the articles is written in a little bit of a confusing manner, but then again.. I don't know what time she was reported missing. I wonder what time it actually was?
One of the more precise articles says she was on the phone with her boyfriend from 11:10 p.m. to 12:10 a.m. Since the store closes at midnight, I can see why someone probably noticed her around then.
I have been to Gainesville, Georgia. One thing I noticed is that stores tend to stay open late. I'm not even sure why this would be... I thought this store was on a highway; not really isolated. I will have to ask someone I know who knows Gainesville better than I do what the store is like and the area is like.
Good point about the black truck on the video. If it is a person who regularly drives that road, I believe someone would recognize the truck. Or at least have been able to say when they generally saw it driving around.
Thank you also for the explanation of why the police officer might have checked her car as a matter of routine. I guess he would know when the store closed and especially take note of a car parked outside of it.
I do know that around the time Elaine went missing at least one neighborhood in Gainesville went from a fairly safe family area to being pretty dangerous. I will try to find out specifically what neighborhood it was.