Welcome to WebSleuths, SunSoaker!!
Thank you, shefner. :sunshine:
Phew, finally caught up on the posts from last evening, and this morning.
I have the same frustations that most of you have with the lack of information, wrong information, no pressers, the family's seclusion, and the un- answered questions by LE to even the most basic questions.
However, it took me until the 29th to put together what I thought/think could be a plausible theory for why all this has been happening (or not happening). Keep in mind this is IMO, which is based on nothing but reading comments made by other posters and forums all over the internet. So, here goes.
The POI(s) (if there is more than one) may not be a wealthy person but may be a person in a position of power/influence/highly respected in the community, etc. They
could be wealthy, but in a town as small as Darden, your
position in the community may be more important than your wealth.
This person would have a job that would allow him to be unaccounted for, for long periods of time. Someone like
a contracter, a farmer, a cop, a pastor, a landscaper, etc. Any kind of profession that would allow someone to be un-accounted for, for just a few hours would have had an opportunity. This person may have also slipped themselves into the investigation and the search without seeming out of place
because of who they are. This, would put them in the perfect position to throw off suspicion, and stay informed about the investigation itself.
If the POI is a young person, all of the above still applies, but instead of applying to the POI directly it applies to his parents, who are aware and protecting him. For the reasons I just noted I've finally been able to at least justify why we have heard basically nothing substantial about this case from LE.
In justifying the family's silence (which IMO, is atypical of these kinds of cases), I assume that is due in part, if not in whole at the encouragement of LE (see part 1).
Which brings me to the part 2 of my theory...
Clint's initial statement was that he saw a person who he believed to be Holly's boyfriend leading her into the woods.
What
IF after some hard thinking, further recollection, and maybe even him just putting a few things together for himself, they (he and the family, and now LE) have realized
they know exactly who it is, but because of
WHO it is they are recluctant to release this information until they can either A.) Prove it, or B.) he messes up and makes a mistake.
If this person is someone (or part of a family) who is influential or highly respected in the community I can completely understand why the Bobo's and LE are being so tight lipped. If they come out and name a POI and they turned out to be wrong, that tiny town would have strife among family, friends and neighbors for years to come. They definitely don't want to set up a Hatfield and McCoy situation, that's for sure.
If I were Clint, and I had come to realize who the person was that morning I would definitely think that it is in my, and my family's best interest to keep a lid on it (with the exception being LE). You for sure don't want to ring that bell, knowing you can't un-ring it.
Again, this is ALL JMO. And, it's the only thing that has kept me sane for the past couple of days. Now, if or when something happens to blow my theory out of the water, I'll be back to obsessively looking for news every 10 minutes. :banghead: