In general, I have an Occam's Razor point of view, in that the simplest answer is usually the correct answer. Up to this point, I've focused only on the possibility that the Jamisons became lost in the woods and perished from the elements. The authorities report that no foul play seems apparent, so this leads me to believe there are no bullet holes or stab marks evident in the remains, no broken hyoids, no bindings, blindfolds, or gags, and no weapon found at the scene.
Of course, there are other possibilities; murder-suicide being one, and a double-suicide pact with the murder of Madyson being another. But, even considering that the two adults may have been in a deranged state of mind, I can't think of any probable scenario in which the Jamisons became wound up that far from their truck without some outside party being involved. The three of them would've had to hike for miles, up a mountain and down the other side, before the deed was done. If they were trying to escape from immediate danger, yes, I could see that. But just to find a hidden place to do away themselves? Not really. There would have been dozens of good hiding places much closer, places where they probably
never would have been found. It just doesn't compute. If you believe otherwise, then lay out a likely scenario for me and maybe I'll change my mind.
Now, if we consider the possibility of murder by an outside party, then I can think of a few scenarios in which this might happen. Perhaps the family stumbled across a pot farm or a meth operation. Either seems feasible within the remote geography of Panola Mountain. The cult theory put forth by Sherilyn's mother is way too far-fetched, so I'm tossing that one. What other reasons would cause someone to eliminate an entire family? Did they have the rotten luck of crossing paths with a homicidal maniac like Israel Keyes? Maybe it was someone the Jamisons knew, someone with a grudge against them. Too many possibilities to choose from without further info.
Anyway, if the Jamisons were killed by an outside party, I see two possibilities:
1. They were confronted and killed where they were found and their truck was driven to the other side of the mountain to divert LE away from the actual location of the bodies.
2. They were taken from where their truck was parked and driven to the spot where they were found.
I can think of a number of variations within these two possibilities but, at the moment, I'm focused on the roads that might have been traveled between the truck and the location of the remains, assuming the Jamisons were murdered by someone they encountered on the mountain.
I just spent a couple of hours tracing several possible routes from one point to the other on Google Earth (I'm a map freak, what can I say?). This required zooming in very closely and what I saw was that most of these roads barely qualify as roads. Some only occasionally discernible, others deeply rutted, all of them poorly maintained, if at all. Any of these roads would be a wild ride under the best of circumstances and, if it's been raining, forget about it. Also, these routes cross several creeks and there are no bridges on any of them. None. You simply drive through the water to the other side, apparently. No way would I ever attempt to negotiate any of them in my little Honda. No way.
What this tells me is 1) you'd need a heavy-duty truck to travel these roads, preferably with four-wheel drive, and 2) whoever drives these roads must know the area intimately or have a very good map or GPS system, because there are numerous crossroads, switchbacks, turnoffs that lead nowhere, and places where the road seems to peter out entirely, only to become visibly a road again a quarter-mile further on. To me, this makes a wandering serial killer seem more unlikely. Maybe one native to the area, but an outsider would've had a tough time finding his way around this mountain without lots and lots of cussing and backtracking.
Okay, here's your visual aids. The first is the dirt road leading away from the location of the remains where it cross Mountain Fork:
See? No bridge. The second one shows three possible routes around the mountain. The one in red seems to be the best bet:
