Well thought out, Dave. I've always thought on the part about the cop who escorted the Wetterlings, that he was still waiting for the Wetterlings to arrive home when Kevin came up to his car. Because they had to drive a ways. (25 minutes - half hour at least to get back to St. Joe I think? Depending on traffic and how fast they were going.) But it could be that the new cop was abrupt with Kevin because his job was to watch for Wetterlings and escort them back to their home when they arrived. And he didn't want to miss them while this kid was trying to talk to him.
I would think the new cop knew about the bikes because the 911 operator told LE about the bikes and scooter and the location. IMO, that's why they wanted to escort Patty and Jerry home - so if on their way home, they saw the bikes in the ditch they wouldn't stop to look at all and possibly contaminate the scene.
So I don't think the new cop had already escorted them home and was just sitting there, I think he was still waiting for Wetterlings to arrive.
I've wondered if the medical cop in Tom Thumb couldn't have been Feeney, because he was in the area and with some folks out on Kiwi, but maybe once all the cop cars pulled in there he split and stopped at the store? He may have told Kevin he was a "medical cop" as a joke or something? I can't imagine Kevin would have made that up on his own.
Right! I think there are a couple of good explanations for that part; the 'new cop' by T Thumb's! Frankly, I hadn't given due consideration to what you mentioned about how he could have actually been there at that time, still waiting for the Wetterlings; in that, as you stated, it's an estimated 25 min drive, and even though they left immediately, give or take a minute or so.
I've been basically assuming from the reports I've read, that all the town's cop cars, including the new cop, headed off in the same direction; so, I assumed they all went straight to the Wetterling's; and actually if that had been the case, and then the 'new cop' was sent up to the area around the store; you'd expect that he moved quickly and had his lights on; which then makes you wonder, why Kevin didn't see him. It's hard to say.
Overall, because of the various things I mentioned, I just find it really hard to put into a realistic time frame, with the time allotted and all the variable factors that have to be considered. Frankly, like you said, the kids leaving their bikes, could well have been established over the phone or by radio, or whatever; for whatever reason, the way it's stated that he responded 'yeah, we know all about the bikes' whatever the exact quote; just sounds like it came from someone who had been to the crime scene; but, obviously not necessarily. He could have also been sent back to the area around the store, just to keep an eye out for any possible suspicious vehicles. In which case, it would make sense that he had no lights and the motor not running; also, in that case, or in either case; Kevin probably was bothering him; as Kevin stated, 'he acted like I was wasting his time,' or something like that.
Like I said, it's hard to spell out, but, reading, re-reading... the story and other material surrounding that aspect, I just keep getting a sense that it's somehow really hard to see how all the events happened concerning time and logistics.
I just wish we had some kind of a semi-comprehensive, accurate layout of the timeline from the police from that night, the first couple of hours. Seems, like there really may be something there that just never was uncovered or considered as significant. I mean, we only have so much to go by, and, even LE, only has so much to go by. The first 20 Minutes, first 30 minutes, first Hour, first Two Hours, first Three Hours.... I'd really like to be able to look at like a diagram, flowchart type of layout of the timeline, locations, activity....
I expect that it's just as likely as not that the 'medical cop' was Feeney. Apparently, he was a wannabe Cop, and had actually been a medic. Whether it was him or not, the quote 'medical cop' could have various meanings, certainly including the one you mention, just thinking he was funny. J123 has an interesting post #748 has some interesting speculation about the 'medical cop' quote; I quoted and commented on it, on post #749. Speculates that it could have been a slightly different statement that Kevin heard as "medical cop" - my guess was "I'm a Medic not a Cop" - with 'nota' being slightly slurred; I'm a Medic(nota) Cop. Thanks for the note....
