Yes, and it looks mountainous, as mentioned, the perp could have driven by a cliff, deposited body ( very sorry

)
Very rough terrain, so once NG was hidden, she would be very hard to find.
Even out in the flat desert, hidden behind/ under tall brush. Lots of large growth, Nobody looks behind. Use a dolly to place 30-50 ft from dirt road.
I know they had some dogs searching NG’s neighborhood, early on. I felt a little sorry for the dogs, working around cactus, of course, they would mainly alert to smell.
Many people go missing in CA, just hiking without enough water, injury, forgot phone or no service, icy fall off cliffs, get lost. Julian Sand’s body ( actor who died hiking), was found on Mt Baldy 5 months after he disappeared. Even with cell phone pings, big search parties couldn’t find, at first. Rough terrain, cliffs.
I think NG will be found in an area like this, most likely your cliff idea. JMO