I am not sure she was even in her car when it got dropped off there.
I agree. I am not sure she was in her car either when it arrived at the Events Center.
I find the choice of that location odd. Especially if she were planning to go off into the wilderness. There are houses nearby and thus private property to cross. In getting to the Events Center she drove past well marked access roads to the wilderness trails at the Galena Creek Recreation Area and the Galena Creek Regional Park/Hiking Area. Both of which have multiple parking lots with easy access to the wilderness. Not to mention that she is from the north side of Reno, not far from the Airport, a handful of miles to the California border and closer to much more desolate areas in Nevada and California.
In addition the choice of where the car was parked is odd to me. The turn in to the Events Center is a right-hand turn from Sunridge Dr. There is a parking area to the left on Sunridge Dr. The parking area on the left is easy to pull into and not near any buildings. But where her vehicle was found it was in one of two parking spots that would be most difficult to see when driving along the Mt Rose Highway (431) due to the large tree to the right of her parking spot and the building to the left of her parking spot (on a different property). Her vehicle wouldn't be seen unless you actually enter the Events Center parking lot itself.
On the other hand, she was reported missing rather quickly. Could this have been prompted by the "letters" mentioned? (Were those actually letters that were mailed?)
If those "letters" were the impetus to contact law enforcement/file a missing persons report and those letters contained indications of self harm law enforcement would have been trying to find her phone. If her phone could be pinged (in the true meaning) they would have done so and found her car sooner. It is possible, however, that law enforcement did not make that effort though the only way I could see that is if they didn't know of the existence of any letters. At no time did Reno police or Washoe County Sheriff's list her as "endangered" missing. So, I have questions about these "letters" and when they enter into the equation.
We don't know if her phone was found in her car. I would like a better explanation of how the family came to find the car. People tend to use the word "ping" but if that were true her phone would be found in the car. Also, law enforcement would have been able to actually ping (in the true meaning) her phone before that. Her phone records would show where her phone was and help them with a time line. If her phone was not found in the car it could mean that she took her phone with her. It could also mean that someone else had her phone and only Madelyn's phone and car made it the Events Center but not Madelyn. If her phone was found I wonder if law enforcement can access it.
It is always possible that she is somewhere in the wilderness in the area of the Events Center but I have my doubts. There were multiple dog teams up there. I can understand a dog or even two not being able to pick up a scent but not all the dogs they brought up there. The search teams are very familiar with the area up there. There were two lost/injured recoveries up in the same area in the week after the search for Madelyn was suspended. It is not an uncommon occurrence. They were using their helicopter that from what they share about it has great cameras on it in addition to being manned by experienced people. So, I have my doubts she is up there.
Just because the search was suspended by the Sheriff's office does not preclude friends and family from organizing their own searches up there. Do we know if the family organized any searches? Have they still been searching up there on their own? I hope they are because as we both know that most missing people are not by law enforcement/official searches as they lack the resources to commit to such searches and most missing are found by walkers, joggers, hikers, hunters, or family organized volunteer searches.
What I don't like about this case is that we have no information about who the last person to see or speak with Madelyn was. We don't know when that was. Was it her roommate? Was it the day she went missing?
We don't know more about how it came about that the family found her car. I mean, was it really her family that took that initiative or was it a friend that did so and got the family involved. I would like to know who it was that pursued that/brought that to the family. Was it really a ping that led them there? Like "Find my phone"?
I would like to know why it was that she was not working in the weeks prior to her disappearance. Did she get fired? Quit?
Too many things bother me about this case. I lean towards someone being responsible for Madelyn's disappearance.