I don't think an accident happened either. But we know JJ didn't go to see his grandma per LE statement about it. I just had a terrible thought, however. What if Lori told JJ he was "going to see grandma" so that he would cooperate with going wherever they took him but what if she really meant is that they were sending him to see the deceased grandma that visits Chad sometimes on Sept 23rd? I know that's a bit convoluted, but it's similar to how some mentally ill parents who kill their children claim they are "sending them to a better place".

Also, what I can't figure out is this-- if there was a plan to send JJ away and hide him under the guise of telling him he was going to see grandma-- why do it on a Monday/Tuesday? Why even send him to school on Monday Sept 23rd if the plan was always to send him into hiding on Tuesday? It's not as if Lori had a job and needed JJ to go to school so she could go to work. I still think that something significant happened Sept 23rd that we don't know about.
MOO.
I've always wondered why school on the Monday, and thought it was ominous--that something unexpected and bad happened to the kids. Then, even with the neighbor was saying JJ said they were going to visit his grandmother, most people choose to travel on the weekend. But then, none of these people were working, so I guess every day is a weekend? Maybe Lori just liked having JJ away and in school, so she maximized the time he was there, even if they were planning to travel "to Grandma's" the next day.
But, the first place I think they really *would* go to hide the kids IS "to grandma's" Not to KW, of course, but to the elusive, silent Cox grandparents. It would be interesting to know what Lori's mom's "grandma name" is (Gammy, Granny, Mimi, etc.). The whole family has nicknames and maybe hers is unique. I wonder what JJ called his grandma, to the neighbor. Someone said before that if he had been told he was going to see Kay, he probably actually would have talked about going to see his Pawpaw.
The most plausible explanation I see is that someone came sniffing around right about September 20-22, and spooked Lori into hiding the kids--either law enforcement investigating CV's death, child service workers in the first stages of checking into a child welfare report (what if JJ said something about Charles at school?!?), or a private investigator hired by the Woodcocks. LE has interviewed a lot of people, and knows a lot of details they haven't shared.
Tylee might have thought she was getting to move back to Arizona like she wanted? She may have driven her Jeep, and another vehicle may have gone, too? Have the kids been in Lori's parents' basement this whole time? Do they HAVE basements in Arizona?
Only people who are truly devoted to you will watch your kids for you long-term and lie for you. Your parents, *maybe* your siblings, and of course your cult adherents, if you happen to have any.
Other, more sad ideas...what if Tylee tried to harm herself and was put in a mental health facility or one of those "troubled teenager" reform houses in the Utah desert? Or what if Lori got her committed involuntarily? What if JJ was placed in a lockdown group home for autistic children? If Lori (as the only living parent) did either or both of those things, which are within her rights, then could or would a facility owner come forward to law enforcement, or would that be a violation of Lori's and the kids' privacy, and not allowed?