Yes, i guess it would make sense to dispose of the body away from their own residence, but why on Center Rd. where there are homes nearby and obviously children living nearby too as evidenced by the school bus in the video by ORR. It seems to me that whoever did this would have dumped her far out into the state woods where she wouldnt have been found for a long time, if ever. It doesnt make sense to me either that her van was found right out in the open, in town. It would seem that whoever did this would have abandoned it way out in the boonies on a dirt road or stuck it in an old abandoned barn or at least hidden in thick woods.
Well...there may have been a time element involved...perhaps not enough time to drive further away, if, say, the perp was supposed to be at work, or was attempting to build an alibi. And...it had been raining the previous day or two...perhaps the secondary roads that are more remote were too muddy to get down.
Perhaps the perp was familiar with Center Road -- knew where the school bus turned around (just before where her body was found), so no kids further up the way there?
I also tend to agree that the original intent was for the body to be found. The perp found a remote enough location to quickly roll her body out of the van and down the embankment without being seen disposing of her, but near enough to civilization that she'd probably eventually be found. I suspect that in the beginning, the perp may have wanted her found fairly quickly, but later, realized that it was to his advantage for the elements and natural decay to remove any lingering evidence.
As far as where the van was found:
1) Sometimes the best place to hide something is in plain view. Or perhaps the perp didn't want to "hide" the van...just discard it...maybe he chose that location on purpose, knowing that it would probably be noticed quickly by LE (since they parked across the street) -- this would tie in with wanting the body to be found quickly.
2) There's also the problem of logistics. Sure, one could take that van out to some remote location, but then, how would one get from that remote location back to one's own vehicle or home??
3) Those apartments may have also been chosen because they are low-income, and have a bit of a reputation. Perhaps the perp wanted to cast suspicion on one of the "shady characters" living there?