It did. All the misinformation pointed to an abduction at the Mall. The house was never really considered, to the best of my knowledge.
It did?
Those alleged sightings about girls possibly being abducted came in much later.
If all that crowd from A's family + TT & his ex kept casually telling contradicting tales right from the get go, unable to agree on anything about anybody's whereabouts on that day, investigators would have to be clinically unable to think and make any conclusion to not go and at least try to clear it up.
They just had to give LE something that made more sense than claim that none of the 4 left the house.
*- except for TT (who half-teleported himself to work and bowling, half got a lift from CA and DA)
**- except for DA who stayed home all day, doing nobody knows what till evening, and later focused on fiercely guarding the phone in case Rachel will call (leaving just maybe few times, to drive TT to bowling alley, and pick him up, and head to the Mall with him few hours later)
***- except for CA who was so sick that FA had to take care of him while giving him some ointment or maybe chemo (leaving just to drove TT to and back from work, but he actually didn't, oh and he also later went to the Mall and shapeshifted into Mr. Wilson and guarded the car till morning)
****- except for FA who had to stay home all day, but visited neighbour, was working in Arlington, while in the same time she kept calling Arlington from her phone at home, and later took her son with her to SS and went through every store in SS and asked for girls, doing that while also being at home and calling same stores and asking for girls)
And while they were doing that, about half of a dozen people were watching this 2yo Schrodinger's baby, who was and wasn't in multiple different places in the same time.
It had to get messed up and misreported later, right?
Cause if that's how they fooled investigators, then I have no words.