A few people also asked why they didn't do this kind of search earlier on. It is my understanding from a news interview with Monica Caison from CUE that the equipment used to detect land form abnormalities was provided by CUE. I don't think the equipment belongs to HCSO or TN Highway Patrol. I think the equipment was put on a TNHP helicopter though for the search.
At the end of April the trees were turning green and the foliage was growing pretty quickly. From where they speculate the Jeep left the road there really wouldn't have been any foliage disturbed per se. There are either trees growing on top of the mountain as you can see in the pictures or they are growing off the side of the mountain. There is a really good picture on the front page of today's paper that puts the area into perspective. I haven't found that pic online but I'm trying to.