I think this link also implies that they TYPICALLY come back within an hour or so (from the same transcript):
COOK-MORRISSEY: I don`t think they have a normal bike route, but they are not allowed to just ride freely for hours or until dark. They do have a little bit of freedom, so they`re allowed to go, you know, maybe two or three blocks away and stay within those blocks.
An hour, check back in is kind of the standard that we hold with them, and mostly, they stick with it.
Misty states they "mostly" stick with it. I think kids will be kids and lose track of time.
So, given that...I wonder if the girls left at 11:30...were last seen by Wylma at 12:15ish, SHE thought they'd be back by 12:30 (because that would have been AN HOUR from the time they left - at which they would typically check in).
Maybe they knew Grandma saw them ride by at 12:15 (maybe gave her a wave and checked for her to motion them back in and she didn't) and they decided they would take another ride (again...them thinking they had another HOUR before checking in again since they'd just seen her at 12:15).
I am probably not going to get my answer as to whether or not the girls themselves had been told they needed to be back by 12:30.
I am just trying to think along the lines of what the girls may have been thinking...
Also, to corroborate my thinking along the same lines...in that same transcript Misty states:
COOK-MORRISSEY: I left for work at 8:30 AM. She gave me a hug and a kiss and told me she would text me and
let me know when I got off of work where she would be, either at Heather`s in Evansdale or back at our mother`s home in Waterloo.
Does this mean she was to text her at 2:00 and let her know where she was? (Informing Misty where she needed to be picked up). Maybe Lyric thought she didn't need to be back until 2 in time to text her mom to let her know where she was?
Again...this is only trying to brainstorm the girls line of thinking. I don't think (from what I can find in the transcripts) the girls actually KNEW they were leaving before 2, possibly.??? :banghead:
I dont' believe the girls blatantly took off, ignoring their Grandma. I think there was a misunderstanding between when Grandma naturally expected them to physically come inside the house to check in and maybe the girls thought the 12:15 sighting WAS their checking in and since she didn't wave them inside thought they had another hour. :waitasec:
For the love...I hope I'm making sense here. My brain is fried.