RickshawFan
Verified Outdoor Recreation Specialist
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I'm not sure why there would be a sign of anyone at the facility except maybe lingering aroma and correct paperwork. It's really hard to leave your signature on a funky old mattress, you'd better not leave crumbs, or ANYTHING. The only other possibility is that there had been a fire in the fireplace and there was a faint aroma of wood smoke.According to the dossier - "Dan stayed there himself for 2 nights while searching the area and reported that there is no sign of anybody having been there -it's a bland/bare room with eight rough bunks/mattresses, a table and no sign-in book."
LE would likely know if other people had been in the area of the Refuge, since max there might have been 1-2, it being banned and all...
In all this, if DC spent two nights in the Refuge shortly after ED went missing, traces (e.g. aroma) of ED would be erased. Maybe that's why the gendarmerie mentioned they were not pleased that he was searching by himself and not leaving the search to them? Hard to say.
The one important place I hope they searched is the composting toilet(s). There tends to be evidence of different varieties in those (though they are quite marvellously not very aromatic, perhaps because many are basically thrones on platforms in the wilderness, with full butt exposure and great views. (If you're lucky, you get a little bit of privacy plywood).
It does sound as though the Refuge, in terms of the trip, would have been a safe place to spend the night. Thick mattresses would have added a huge amount of warmth to ED's sleep setup, and if there were bunks, there would be a low ceiling on the bottom bunk, or warmer air on the top bunk, so either a top bunk or a bottom bunk would have added even more warmth than just a mattress.
I've never been of the mind that an evil-minded person came across ED and did something untoward. That would involve way too many unlikelihoods.