Yes, you did read that.
Early on, some media reported they were out of town, I finally found a source that still has that report online.
As I was searching for this, I noticed many outlets reported they were “out on the town”.
Perhaps just a phrase that was used that was easily misheard and consequently misreported.
The City of Moscow Police site says they were out in the Moscow community.
University of Idaho killings stump police: What we know
New York Times Nov 22, 2022 at 12:09 pm
“Police said the two surviving roommates had each been out of town, separately, on Saturday and returned to the home by about 1 a.m., before the four victims had arrived back from a night out.”
City of Moscow Police
King Road Homicides
“Detectives believe that on November 12th, the two surviving roommates had also been out in the Moscow community, separately, but returned home by 1 a.m. on November 13th. The two did not wake up until later that morning.”