A couple things:
Regarding the miles he put on the car - I don't think that's necessarily all that big a deal. When I get in a new car, or rent a car that's more sporty than my truck, I tend to put a lot of miles on it at first. And driving, to me, is very therapeutic. When I have a lot on my mind, driving is like a mental enema (sorry, but that's sort of what it feels like). We go to Denver several times a year, and my wife would much rather fly than drive. I like to spend the eight hours in the car, just winding down. I don't think that necessarily rules out him going to the place he put her; but I could see him just driving up and down the Wasatch Front - from Payson (South) to Ogden (North), it's about 100 miles. That's probably what I would do if I needed time to think.
Second, the Great Salt Lake seems as if it would be about the worst place to dump a body. For one thing, it's got more salt than any body of water on earth, other than the Dead Sea. The salt content makes things much more buoyant - I would think a body would have to be really weighted down to stay under. Plus, it's a very shallow lake - it's sort of a big pond. I think it's deepest point is something like 40 feet.
The thing that makes the most sense to me, considering the area, is a deserted mine shaft. They are all over - there are literally thousands of them here. If he had done some exploring on his camping expeditions, and he had been planning something for awhile, I would think he would have been able to find a place that would be an almost perfect hiding place.
Regarding the miles he put on the car - I don't think that's necessarily all that big a deal. When I get in a new car, or rent a car that's more sporty than my truck, I tend to put a lot of miles on it at first. And driving, to me, is very therapeutic. When I have a lot on my mind, driving is like a mental enema (sorry, but that's sort of what it feels like). We go to Denver several times a year, and my wife would much rather fly than drive. I like to spend the eight hours in the car, just winding down. I don't think that necessarily rules out him going to the place he put her; but I could see him just driving up and down the Wasatch Front - from Payson (South) to Ogden (North), it's about 100 miles. That's probably what I would do if I needed time to think.
Second, the Great Salt Lake seems as if it would be about the worst place to dump a body. For one thing, it's got more salt than any body of water on earth, other than the Dead Sea. The salt content makes things much more buoyant - I would think a body would have to be really weighted down to stay under. Plus, it's a very shallow lake - it's sort of a big pond. I think it's deepest point is something like 40 feet.
The thing that makes the most sense to me, considering the area, is a deserted mine shaft. They are all over - there are literally thousands of them here. If he had done some exploring on his camping expeditions, and he had been planning something for awhile, I would think he would have been able to find a place that would be an almost perfect hiding place.