Last night my husband and I retraced the last steps of Cole and co-workers. We started at the Handy Mart in Mt. Olive and drove to Elm and Morgan in Benson. We left Handy Mart at 6:34 PM and arrived in Benson at 7:14 PM. There was very little traffic and no obstacles.
The GPS took us down Rt. 55 which is a two-lane country road with no businesses (only farms and the random house here and there). We then got onto Interstate 40 and drove towards Benson.
There are a few things that stood out to me on this trip:
1) There is a camera at the counter. That photo has not been released if it exists.
2) The counter is not in front of the store and the cashier's view would be blocked to see outside. How do they know that Cole drove away from the Handy Mart? Witness? Is that all the witness said/knew? What was his demeanor, relation to the others with him, were there other people with him, etc.
3) The drive to Benson took approximately 45 minutes. They left at 11:30ish and Cole isn't reported missing until around 3:30 AM. What about this unaccounted for time.
4) There were businesses right off the exit. Why head towards town where it had to be darker and waaaaay less populated.
5) To get to Elm and Morgan - you have to turn off the main street. Why would anyone randomly turn down a residential area? There is nothing on that street other than houses and a police station.
6) Elm and Morgan do not have a lot of houses and there was zero activity while we were there. Why jump and run out of the car? Where was he going? Which direction did he run (all directions could be options)?
7) One co-worker says he chased after Cole and talked to him for an hour - about what? Where were they when they had this conversation? Why did he leave Cole and go back to the truck?
A few things to note - Thanksgiving in this area is not cold. I checked the weather for that time period and it was between 50-60. There are no colds winds that blow in or lake water to cause cold. It would have been cool perhaps, but not cold at all.
I am a visual person and always wish I could see more pics of the area where things happen so I took some pics for you to see. You can take a virtual trip with me. The pics are numbered and described. The pics are here:
https://drive.google.com/open?id=0B8fo-6tGzrhGdWVKNTVjQ2hlTGc
If you have questions about the area or want to see other pics, let me know. I am happy to go take more pics.