Part V - continuing observation analysis of the P's timeline and who was where at various times on 2/13/17. The below poses the scenario of RA=BG and I highlight
MOO various hypothetical questions or what may have been in various parties' minds:
-- @ 1:22 PM - RA was in the car driving toward the trails/CPS parking lot, A&L still at home (BP & MP's home).
[
Had LG posted something somewhere online indicating their plans coming up shortly which set RA into motion]
-- @ 1:38 PM - RA has parked at CPS and began his walk toward MHB. This IMO would be near the time he encounters the 4 Freedom Bridge girls according to the girls. He reports seeing 3 girls near the Freedom Bridge but doesn't provide a time. A&L are about to get into KG's car, yet still at home, to be driven over to the trails, arriving at 1:49
[
does RA who's now already there know somehow that A&L will be arriving at the trails, particularly does he know yet they plan to cross the MHB?]
-- @ 1:52 PM - RA is nearly to the MHB from his longer walk from FB. BB is likely about 1 minute behind him on the same trail having begun her shorter walk from Mears around 1:48. A&L have been dropped off at Mears but haven't really started walking yet or are just moving extremely slowly with numerous stops.
[
are A&L looking for someone they're meeting?]
-- @ 1:55 PM - BB arrives near the start of MHB to
find RA already on the first platform. A&L have apparently only moved approx 1/16th of a mile now lagging well behind BB who started at roughly the same time as they did.
[why is RA on the bridge?, wouldn't his presence deter the girls from entering or are they expecting to meet someone?, is he anticipating they'll walk past him soon?]
-- @ 1:58 - BB is halfway back on her return trip when she intersects with A&L who were dropped off about 9 minutes earlier but have only traversed in 3 minutes the territory BB traversed in 9 minutes. We don't know if RA remains on the first platform. [he could've come back past the start point and hid [but why? what did he expect he was to hide from?] or he went all the way across to the abduction end [again why? did he know yet the girls planned to cross the whole thing?]
-- @ 2:04/2:05 - A&L approach near the MHB starting point and LG snaps photo(s?) toward the abduction end of MHB. RA doesn't seem to be in sight from the start point of MHB anywhere. It's not been reported where exactly BB goes during this time, only that she's back on the road leaving by 2:14 which is only 28 minutes from when she arrived at Mears.
-- @ 2:08/2:09 - A&L are partially across the bridge (halfway?). LG takes another photo back towards the MHB start with RA still not present [if hiding what would he have been waiting for if the girls are beyond the point of escape?]
-- @ 2:13 - AW, LG, & RA are all together at the abduction end of bridge. LG has video'd some footage of RA approaching but it's unsure how/where he entered the scene. [did he catch up with them going faster in the same direction as them, or did he come up from the private property abduction end, pass them, and circle back toward A&L?] [voice of apparent BG/RA does not seem out-of-breath]
I lean toward the latter idea that BG came up from the private property end and I base that on my own walking metrics - the MHB length is 1300 feet per
MONON Railroad Historical-Technical Society which is 433 yards approximating one lap around a standard running track. As a similar-aged individual who walks a track regularly my "exercise/brisk-walk pace is like 4:10 per lap, my average pace is 4:25 per lap and my conversational pace gets up to around 5:00 per lap. In any event my "fast-walk pace" is just about 20% faster than my "slower-walk pace". Now if A&L took no more than 7.5 to 8 minutes to cross bridge, that is somewhat slow for 1/4 mile but not exceptionally slow considering the perilous bridge condition. I see no scenario where RA could've been going 2x the girls' pace without RA being in a running mode. MO that running on that rickety bridge was impossible for his age/weight and he'd have been short of breath by the time he caught them. Plus, without really anywhere for the girls to go, there was no need for RA to wait to enter the bridge till they were halfway across then hurriedly chase them down.
IMO I'm perplexed as to why RA would've felt he needed to beat the girls to a certain spot. For him to potentially cross the bridge alone, he almost had to have been tipped off somehow that they similarly planned to cross the entire bridge. It makes more sense IMO that he would've preferred to trail the girls if this were all planned... as opposed to him getting there first and perching himself on the first platform exposing any other random hikers (like BB) to viewing him.
