I tend to believe this killer was familiar with the area based on either living there or being a frequent visitor sometime prior to the murders. Maybe 5-10 years prior.
That said, I've wondered if there isn't something about this killer's background that would lend itself to quickly assessing an area. A hunter or maybe an avid hiker certainly comes to mind. Most of the hikers I know though seldom venture off the trails. Also a military background, specifically Marines or Army. I was Navy but in joint field exercises with Army units I was always amazed at the level of comfort and expertise of even the lower ranking soldiers when it came to being in the field. Another type of person - those that participate in the paintball games. Many of them do a lot of recon so they not only know the best way into an area, but the best way - or ways - out of the area. Your best soldiers, marines and paintball players are constantly analyzing the area as they move through it so they can spot possible ambush locations and exfil routes. Such persons might not have or even need prior experience with regard to these trails. One time through the area prior to the day of the murders might be all such a person mentioned above really needs.
I agree with the notion that this person is perfectly comfortable in the woods, which brings up all manner of possibilities in his background.
When I first heard about this case and started sleuthing it, my biggest goal early on was a strong desire to get a "feel" for where it happened, using Google satellite, Street View, Earth, and other resources. I looked at railroad and bridge enthusiast sites. There were two or three YouTube videos where people had visited in 2016. Etc.
I had to get a firm grasp of the
orientation of the bridge (N, S, E, W), how the creek and bridge relate, the "lay of the land", etc. I learned how to read maps by age 7 or 8, old hard bound atlases and paper maps. It was just something that kind of interested me at a young age, although it's a pretty dry subject, mostly. Later in life this came in handy in the scouts, while hunting, while hiking, and in the military.
I picture BG being able to map things out in his mind, same as myself and other people talented at it. For some people it comes in handy in life, may even be applicable in an occupation, it definitely comes in handy in the military (I have stories about that), etc. Other things that come in handy in certain situations, outdoors:
1. Knowing distances, and being able to judge distances.
2. Keeping track of time, and even taking notes on how much time it takes to travel from point-to-point.
3. Judging terrain, how to traverse it, how much time it might take to travel across terrain.
4, Putting all of that together. In BG's case I picture "dry runs" before the murders, for just his own use and to put his own mind at ease, so to speak.
What am I looking for when I'm in an unfamiliar place in the middle of the woods? How to get out of there. If you're BG you want that peace of mind of knowing escape routes from the CS on RL's property, this is critical. Again, there's a possibility here he did dry runs in the past. Otherwise, I do not know how on Earth he would have known to go west through the woods, it's badly overgrown even in February. Which then brings up when he'd been there previously, times of the year. He very well could have done one dry run, so to speak, but I have my reservations about that.
I will expound on this some in a post further down, shortly.
He could have parked in the back of the cemetery, and I was convinced that was the case until last year's PC. But that doesn't jive with someone bent on concealment and ease of moving in and out of an area, and nobody remembering enough about him or a vehicle for identification to lead to an identification of BG. Reason why I say this is had he parked in the cemetery, and someone else parked there or even really close to his vehicle, there would have been a higher likelihood of identification of the vehicle and maybe even another description of BG from a witness, maybe other possibilities here, too.
That said, what made him so confident he could pull this off at the SE end of the bridge w/o someone (like LIbby or a different person) calling 911 or a relative or ? To me this shows total confidence, the SE end of the bridge was the trap, make it look all nonchalant, he's just crossing the bridge. Then go full-monster, while at the same time trying to keep his composure. Total surprise.
Some of what I write about this case comes from my own "map mind", I'm obsessed with how this guy got away with it, and the amount of effort it took to pull it off. He had to have had this all mapped out in his head, times memorized, etc.
The map in this case is important.
JMO
