My theory:
Sue talked to Dale that day on the phone while working, so he knew where she worked and where she was that night. He was waiting for her in the parking lot at Kmart when she got off work. Planned or not, not sure. Either way, Sue wanted him to meet her mom. It didn’t raise the alarm bells when he was there and said hey I’m free tonight and I’d love to meet your mom and sister, I won’t stay long because I know you are planning to watch a movie with them. Having someone follow her home in the bad weather was also a comfort. Her car overheats, she pulls into the gas station, since he was planning to go to her house anyways, off they go together in his car. Even at 19 I understood that a car overheating needed to cool down, and cooling down takes time. She simply thought, we’ll go to my house and visit for a bit and then he can take me back to get my car and then I’ll take it home. The car would have time to cool down and she was only a mile ish from home.
Or-
I wonder if that gas station sold coolant? Dale could have said they’d stop elsewhere to get coolant and bring it right back to put in the car. Seems easy enough. Car fixed and Sue can head home. No need to grab all of her stuff if she thought she’d be right back.
Is it a coincidence that Dale also got gas? I mean who plans to abduct someone on an empty tank of gas?
Sue’s family said she needed her glasses and why did she leave them in the car, but if she needed them so badly, why weren’t the glasses on her face?
I do believe Dale was from the chat lines. It doesn’t make sense to me that he would be from the under 21 dance club Bumpers. I also don’t think it was some rando stalking her from work. She hadn’t been working at either of her jobs very long. I don’t think it was someone from college or else why didn’t they do something while she was there before she moved home.
He told Sue his name was Dale and he was a stripper. If he was working as a stripper, that seems it would narrow things down, a lot! Where would a man be working as a stripper in that area in the 80’s? Any thoughts?