Is that how it works? Surely for something as serious as this they don't need to play these games - if they have such strong suspicions can't they simply ask the CPS for more time, or get a magistrate/judge to grant more time? If they have a strong working theory that is more than just guess work, surely then the other agencies involved would be part of that process?
I really don't know in detail, but this seems a bit of run around after they initial declared abduction?
It's not like the Police have declared 'signs of struggle' somewhere, or they think she was abducted by car, or they think she is in the river, they literally have given us ZERO theory as to what they think has happened, apart from they suspect PR involved in her 'abduction' and that poor Libby has probably come to harm.
The best way I can describe my mental process of putting the pieces of information together during this case...
It is like doing a jigsaw... (without a picture guide)... and at some point you start to realise that there are two different jigsaws mixed up in the one box...