Rocky, I agree with you that the fact that LE found some kind of evidence (which may or may not be Vanessa's phone) south of the CS does *suggests* (not a definite) that the perp did a U on BSR and escaped south. (This is IF there was a dark SUV involved, the perp was the driver and the vehicle was parked on BSR.)
DeDee provided the distance south of the CS in feet (thanks, DeDee). It's 0.07 mile, to provide additional context -- that's roughly about 2/3rds of a rather typical suburban block.
Kickoff did bring up an interesting possibility -- the perp could have purposely left the evidence in the opposite direction as the direction he fled. For some reason, I don't believe this was the case. I have nothing concrete to offer. The general consensus has been that he is arrogant. If that's accurate, I don't think he'd feel the need to make additional efforts to throw LE off. But I do think it's something we should keep in mind as a possibility.
Kickoff's mention of how deep the evidence was found in the woods potentially being very relevant was a good one. I, too, would think that it would be crazy to park his car while he went fairly deep into the woods to get rid of whatever evidence it was. Though even something solid (like a phone) wouldn't go very far if he threw it while inside the vehicle. IF this general escape scenario is accurate, my guess is that he quickly stopped the vehicle, got out next to it and threw whatever evidence it was deeper into the woods. (Assuming it was something that had a little weight; something very light wouldn't go far.) This could be done very quickly, without leaving his car unattended. Given the crime he just committed and the fact that's he likely bruised/scratched, I just can not see even the most arrogant person leaving his car unattended.
That's my two cents. Interested to hear from others.