Would the flooding be strong enough to move or damage truck?
Could have been. Sometimes the earth just washes out from under a vehicle. Interesting theory on the reason the truck is "banged up." It doesn't sound to me as if it was on its side or upside down, but that doesn't mean it didn't move from where JRF parked it.
August 1 appears to be the date when LE finds the door of the mobile home open (and the smell of decomp). It's very hard to envision all these facts fitting into one picture, but it's always this way in real life cases - many dots that don't always connect.
Since Fang's backpack was found south of Highway 78, it's possible it too was moved by water. Thing is, it's hard to posit a situation where the two of them went *back* to that area around July 31-August 1, leaving the trailer door open, etc. If JRF transported a body (hinted at by the smell of decomp) then the interior of his truck should still have evidence that cadaver dogs would hit on, IMO. I won't be surprised at all if when the MoD/CoD are revealed, that we also learn about other investigative measures (such as thorough telemetry on the truck).
It's really weird that JRF's phone pings up that way on July 24. If DH reported JRF missing on July 30 (I think that was the date), did he stop by the trailer and look around? Is he the one who left the door open? If it was already open, did he too go inside and take a look/smell decomp?)
Was it his report near the end of July (with details and perhaps with those pictures of Jin Fang cleaning) that triggered LE to go to the mobile home (again) on August 1? Didn't take long to get the SW, in any case. SW already indicates that homicide is a possibility.
IMO.
As to why DH took those pictures of Jin Fang, I can think of only one. He may have taken more, but he took a video of her cleaning and gave it to LE, probably gave them that as part of his concern about two missing persons. IIRC, Fang's family reported her missing on July 24.
Of course we don’t have all factors to answer but
Attempting to be sensitive but trying to better understand potential effect of flooding in that area, from impact of Hurricane was flooding strong enough to have caused damage to the truck or washed evidence away from truck including JRF remains?
How would we know? There are cameras and a weather station just north of Highway 78, but nothing on the south side. Everyone was warned to stay away from such areas as the hurricane approached and other cars in other places got swept away. The investigators could surely tell by the condition of the truck whether it was moved by water. If the truck was moved by water, even just a little, the water could surely move a human body.
The scant evidence we see in JRF's bones (both groups entangled in water polished granite rocks, in sandy soil) could indicate that his body was moved by water as well. Would also account for the missing teeth (an assumption on my part).
However, I do believe both were missing since end of July, when did that truck get up there? I figure that searches are still ongoing - of the other couple of washes, on the view that JRF for sure went up toward Harper Canyon, possibly past the point where his body was found (that may even be likely, since only some larger bones were found - the smaller ones would have been carried further as the flood went on). In that area, the water comes rushing down ravines, gullies and canyons (you can see all of the marks of that on the satellite photos) but when things flatten out, there's a large puddle which pretty quickly sinks into the sandy soil.
Indeed, after such events some people do go out to look for bones or fossils (and not too far up from where JRF was found, there is a winter village site where ancient Native Americans sheltered during the wetter months (the village is well away from the top of any ravine, of course). People look for stone tools, etc, as they are buried in the sediments up there and some reappear frequently after a hard rain. According to weather underground, the general region received a dumping of rain (about 2-3 inches) on August 20-21. Could be 4 inches in the park, easy. I know that doesn't sound like much, but if it hits the higher elevations (with harder rock on the flats), it can easily turn into a gully washer. Brief, but powerful.
IMO.
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