Searches have to be done in the immediate area surrounding where she was last seen, just to try to clear those areas and make sure she did not end up somewhere she could have gone on foot, as best they can. Same with Christina Mooris in TX, where it is pretty obvious she was taken away in a car-yet TES went in and searched locally for a few days.
Unless Hannah stumbled and never got up, or a perp on foot assaulted her, she is not likely to be anywhere close to the mall, Imo. That is what makes these cases sometimes almost impossible-which way did perp go with victim? How to decide where to use man hours? And in most cases of this type, the victim is seldom found by these organized searches. Still...they have to do them. It is insanely frustrating knowing that someone knows where she is, but really, expecting or counting on the suspect to help you out is not realistic, Imo. If a killer/predator is involved, he is not interested in the pain of Hannah's family.
JM's phone pings may be of use, if he is the perp and the crime was unplanned...he may not have disabled his phone. He does seem to be lacking in some basic life knowledge, Imo, displayed by the way he approached LE with an attorney list.
Jmo