I am not sure if this has been addressed, but Knowles has no traffic lights and is not a main thoroughfare. My map service is telling me they'd never have to take Knowles, but Old Decatur. Coming from Bridle Tr or Silverbrook down Old Decatur it would not make sense to go down Roundrock. I don't think anything in this case necessarily makes sense, but I just wanted to clear up the short cut situation.
Yep.
Knowles is a very small two lane street with no lights, and only a couple of stop signs. For about half its length, it's bordered on the West by Willow Creek Park, and on the East by residential neighborhoods, and the speed limit is 30. A little North of McLeroy, it broadens a bit and is bordered on both sides by neighborhoods, including Alanna's. The speed limit changes to 20 about half a mile before it reaches Bailey Boswell, where it dead ends. I live in a neighborhood on the other side of Longhorn, and it's a great (and pretty) way to cut right through town to get to Walmart if you don't mind the slow speed limits.
Saginaw Main (US 287) and Old Decatur both have much higher speed limits and much heavier traffic. A kidnapper who knew the area would have to be out of his mind to take one of those streets with his victim, when Knowles is available as a much more isolated alternative.
The first time I took Knowles home from the store after Alanna was killed, I thought about how easy it is to hop on Knowles from her street, and end up at the dump site. Just a few turns and a mile or so of very sparse traffic. I'm almost certain that's the route the killer took with her, because it's the best option for getting her out of the neighborhood quickly without being seen. I still scan for anything that looks like discarded clothing every time I go that way.
Here's a map, for anyone who's interested:
If you follow that route in street view, there's a clump of trees at [approximately] 300 Woodcrest. Those trees are very thick, overgrown, and dark right now, and driving by them I couldn't help but wonder if that might be the kill spot. There's
nothing around, and I doubt anyone would think twice about a car parked near them.