I guess I'm going to be the lone voice of dissent here and reserve judgment on LE. I wasn't there during the investigation. I don't know who said what or didn't, I don't know what information was had or hadn't, and I don't know what was going on behind the scenes or wasn't. I don't feel as if I have enough information to pass judgment one way or another, although I do understand how easy it is to Monday Morning Quarterback in a case like this - especially at this time in the case, where we're all trying to come to grips with just how this all could have happened - it's human nature to want to assign blame, even when the situation at hand isn't really explainable. Just my opinion, and I respect the fact that it's not the majority.
I suppose that at this moment, I am looking at it from a different direction. LE was at their home several times for domestic violence episodes between EG and JH. LE performed a "well check" called in by Lucas' mom JO back on Valentine's Day of 2015 was it? LE was not stranger to EG and JH. They both have records, both for violence.
Lucas goes missing, and now some questions arise. One of them is what did they miss in the bathroom during their initial investigation that they had to go back much later to try and gather evidence? Why was there no pleaing to the public to call in if they saw Emily's SUV out anywhere that Friday night or Saturday morning, on the side of the road? Why didn't they show her picture in the beginning, when they considered her a POI?
All folks got was "if you saw someone running barefoot, blah blah blah" and Lucas didn't leave the house on his own. That could be interpreted in many ways- from Emily being barefoot, to the baby, to Lucas. Define "someone" for the public. Help them out here- even if you just said "an adult female running barefoot" or "a child running barefoot"- that's much more than the word "anyone". Heck, they could have been referring to a man, for all we know.
I could go on and on about things that have miffed me in terms of how this was handled, but I think everyone gets the gist of what I am saying.
Truthfully? I don't think LE ever would have found Lucas. It would have either been one of the wonderful searchers, or someone out exploring- most likely teens, that might have found his remains eventually, if Marshburn hadn't got Emily to show where he was.
I am a HUGE LE supporter. In this case, though, I have more questions about how they handled this than answers. Not all LE are good guys, unfortunately. Same with doctors, nurses, politicians, clergy, etc. There's good, great, excellent, bad and corrupt to every field of employment out there. LE is no exception.