I had a thought about this that changes my view of who the kidnappers might be.
What if the assailants are white college kids? The police didn't see Booth leave the bar, but what if he was surrounded by a group of other guys and they put a hat on him or something and kind of kept him hidden from the camera?
This could work, and would suggest that it isn't "outsiders", but rather that the whole thing is some kind of sick initiation ritual or something. It wouldn't be the same killers in every case - instead it would be a "secret society" or something.
http://www.timesleader.com/news/Body_discovered_in_creek_03-29-2009.html
purse found at scene, no signs of foul play, age of man not noted
False alarm. When I read the first article about a mans body being found in a creek with such a small amount of water it caught my attention. Then I saw the photo of a purse being located near by... got me wondering. Today the articles I found mentioned details that makes me think it's unrelated.
http://www.timesleader.com/news/crime/Police_Blotter_03-31-2009.html
Why did this thread die in 2008, well technically 2012 when there has been more College aged males reported missing from the Pittsburgh area, later to be found in rivers and could have possible links to SFK as late as 2017? Since I have moved from Las Vegas to the Pittsburgh area and heard about this I immediately thought they were linked in some way to SFK but people in the area had no idea what I was talking about. Of course I knew because I have been intrigued by serial killers and cold case murders since I was about 11 years old You can imagine my excitement when I heard about this forum from Michelle McNamara's story.