I guess Bessie was mistaken on this point. However, it is true JM didn't originally say she saw it but attributed it to the clerk at the store. Now...did the clerk at the store really say it? The Sheriff didn't mention anything about it and said the clerk saw a child with that description either. What he did say about the store was the clerk was probably too busy, IIRC. This indicates to me the story didn't come from the clerk in the first place.
This could also account for the classification of the story being a "farce" as Klein put it: There was no black truck...Rubicon or otherwise. (Except for DeOrr Sr's black truck)
So, then Bessie wasn't mistaken. I will concede that -- at least according to Vilt -- DK mentioned black Rubicon. But you've got the stories mixed up.
First story, July
The store clerk allegedly reported that she saw a man in the store with a dirty, crying little boy around 6 pm. She said the man drove a black truck. In the first interview, DK pointed out that he has a black truck, but she could not be referring to him because at the time of the alleged sighting, he was back at the campsite searching for Deorr.
At about 7:00 in the video here:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mwM1oG3z358
Second story, September
According to Vilt, a different woman (not the store clerk) claimed to see a suspicious looking man that afternoon. She described him as being in his 50's with curly, gray/white hair. When Vilt released that story, he indicated that JM saw a man fitting the same description in the store. According to Vilt, JM said the man was "fixated" on Deorr.
September 18, 2015, KID Radio
[...]
Another tip came in on a national hotline set up by Vilt. A woman in the Idaho Falls area called in to say that she, her husband and four sons were hiking in the Palisades area. She said there was a man in his mid 50s with gray hair staring at her boys. She told Vilt the man followed them to a convenience store. He was driving a black Jeep Rubicon.
Vilt says DeOrr’s parents reported a similar-looking man inside a store in Leadore the day before their son went missing. He says the parents saw vehicle matching that description.
http://590kid.com/2015/09/18/tips-about-missing-toddler-forwarded-to-idaho-fusion-center/
In my opinion, the statements below illustrate what Klein referred to as a "farce". In other words, the story was overblown by Vilt. Those who are interpreting Klein's use of the word "farce" as an indication JM fabricated the story are either honestly mistaken, or deliberately grasping at every straw in an effort to vilify JM. JMO
October 31, 2015, Idaho State Journal
[...]
The black Jeep Rubicon
On the morning of the disappearance, Kunz’s parents recall seeing a suspicious man at a convenience store in Leodore. This man, who reportedly drove a newer model black Jeep Rubicon, was described as being in his 50s with long white hair that was curly at the bottom.
“He was fixated on the boy,” Vilt said. “This man made the family nervous.”
A week later, a woman told Vilt she saw a man matching this description at an ice cream store in Swan Valley, approximately 150 miles east of Leodore.
The woman said she was creeped out by this man because he kept eyeing her four children, who range in age between 2 and 9.
Since setting up the national hotline, Vilt has received numerous tips from across the region regarding this mysterious man in the black Rubicon. Some of the leads have turned out to be false, but others appear to be promising. However, Vilt is still waiting for a lead to come in with the Rubicon’s license plate number.
Though Vilt said he isn’t working with Kunz’s family anymore, he still follows up on the leads he receives through the hotline regarding the case.
http://www.idahostatejournal.com/me...cle_10d44717-75dc-5601-aa30-5726228128f8.html
