One of my theories is the killer is a relative. He called the car in abandoned because he wanted the body found. When it wasn't found, he called again. His motive for wanting the body found is 1) he wanted to end other relatives' suffering not knowing what happened; and/or 2) life insurance money. (I referred to the caller as a "he" for convenience.) This would mean the victim is fairly local.
One of my other theories is the deceased was involved in illegal activity that resulted in him getting killed. He may have moved out west years prior and his relatives in his home state reporting him missing long before he was murdered. The caller wouldn't have been the killer, but someone associated with his illegal activity who wanted justice for him.
I had a waking thought this morning about these two theories I posted. My waking thoughts are literally the very first thought I have before I open my eyes, and they usually on target because my mind apparently works on problems all night while I was sleeping. Sometimes they're helpful, like a great business or book idea.
What doesn't add up about my first theory above is a killer cutting off the feet and hands to hinder identification, especially if some of the missing teeth were removed for the same reason. It doesn't make sense he would go to the trouble of making the body identifiable when he wanted it found.
That leaves a few possibilities about why the caller would want an unidentifiable body found:
1) The caller was uninvolved. I hear the nearby Walker River Reservation is notorious for crime. Since I traveled through that area a couple years ago, I'm aware it's very sparsely populated. In my experience, a sparsely populated area with high crime results in people who keep to themselves, who don't trust outsiders, and who don't poke their nose in other people's business. It would make perfect sense for an uninvolved local to not want to be identified.
2) The caller was associated with the victim but wasn't the killer and wanted justice for what happened. (My second theory above.)
3) The caller is a serial killer. Are there any other unidentified bodies in the country missing hands and feet?
4) Organized crime (not American mafia) who wanted to send a message to others to not make the same mistake the deceased made. Cutting off hands and feet is what is done to thieves in certain parts of the world. He called it in because he wanted the media to send his message he made an example of the deceased as a warning to others.
5) No idea about this one. Just tossing it out there. Native American posters can clarify. I don't know if a Native American killer might have a problem with a deceased person's remains not being given proper burial. I'm thinking maybe it haunted the killer that the deceased wasn't found and bad karma would result until he was buried. But this doesn't make sense because you'd think a killer would bury the victim himself if he felt proper burials were important. Then again, it might be hard to bury someone out there if there are lots of rocks in the ground. My husband and I tried to dig a grave for our Labrador on our camp property. The two of us spent a few hours digging, each having a shovel, and we weren't able to make a hole big enough for even a shallow grave because we were constantly having to dig out huge rocks. We ended up burying the Labrador on my SIL's farm instead.
There may be other possibilities for hiding the identity of the victim but wanting the victim found. Since I still have the flu, I'm not at the top of my game right now.
