We've finally reached that uncomfortable crossroad that happens in a whole lot of these cases. LE is conducting searches on their own, with their own manpower, and excluding the public. While I do believe they are searching in the right area based on the phone pings, it is a huge area with many different places a vehicle could travel and park for a few hours. A five mile radius around the closest cell tower would encompass an area the size of a small city. A ten mile radius would encompass an area the size of a huge city.
While I do realize the importance of protecting the crime scene, I also realize that bodies will decompose and degrade rapidly in wet, humid, and hot conditions. The faster they can find her remains, the better for both the coroner and the investigation. You really don't need any special training to follow the directive of, "If you see something suspicious, stop where you are, don't touch anything, and call it in immediately ". A lot of the guys you see in the videos on horses, atv's, and on foot are following that exact directive.
It's a matter of simple math. 5000 people searching in an area can fan out further and faster than 300. 5000 people can cover much more area in a day than 300. When you hear them talking about 300 LE officers being involved in the search, you can be assured that 100 out of that 300 are not searching at all, but are coordinating, doing setup work, handling communications, traveling back and forth to town, barricading roads, etc.
The last half dozen cases I've followed where volunteers where allowed to aid in the search, in every single case, the person was found by a volunteer........not by an official LE employee. Once again, it boils down to the math. You have a better chance of winning the lottery if you buy $30 worth of tickets, than you do if you just buy 1 ticket.
If LE were to ask the public to come out and help search via social media and the MSM, I have little doubt that they could meet or exceed 5000 people in a matter of hours. Even 2000 would be a huge boost. If they want to limit the volunteers to people between the ages of 21-50, I understand the argument. If they want to limit the use of atv's and off road vehicles, I understand the argument there too. I think the key is boots on the ground..........and a whole lot of them.
I highly doubt my suggestion will come to pass anytime soon. This entire investigation has been cloaked in secrecy and hidden from public view for the most part. There haven't even been any official press conferences to inform the public and update the media where the investigation stands. For the most part, the public has been pretty much cut out of the loop all together. It's odd how LE jurisdictions will handle identical situations in a completely different manner. In some places, the local sheriff will call in the cavalry and beg for help from anybody than can assist, including volunteers. In other places, the public is shunned and told to stay home.....LE will handle it.