Well, I'm going to go with the media, which talked directly to LE, and with the photos, which show LE standing over the site that Mackenzie was found, which is on the river. Every photo or video that I've seen always focuses on the same spot on the river, by the two trees on the bank. The investigator pathway of double-tape even goes out into the river a foot or two to keep responders from walking through the place that her body was found. Simple Occam's Razor.
If you consider the media a "third-party source," then you have to discount everything that the media has reported. In my profession, newspaper articles, television news footage, and radio transcripts are considered primary sources.
Puf, you need to add SPECULATION or MOO to this statement from above,
"the photos, which show LE standing over the site that Mackenzie was found..."
This has not been reported as fact by the media, so please keep SPECULATION and OPINIONS labeled properly, as per reminders posted at the beginning of each thread.
By the way, most media reports are not based on communication directly from LE. They are either rewrites from a reporter who may or may not have collected information directly from LE, (another rewrite) OR they are stories in syndication or collaboration between news agencies, (meaning even one small error is repeated a thousand times over). Either way, errors snowball and all news stories should be treated as little more 2nd hand rumor.
Add to this LE's past history in this valley about not having "suspects" in murder investigations, (lying) -- but also LE around the country of being deceptive in these types of cases, (Hoppyfrog, I believe, verified this too), and you probably really shouldn't be putting too much into anything even if it comes directly from LE says. Sure we can all consider it "factual" but honestly, who are we gonna sue when it turns out to be a lie?
How does this all apply to MC? Well, given the
Newsweek article on forensic sciences I posted about last night, we should probably stick around here even after the story of the conviction is published in the paper -- not sure MC is gonna rest in peace if the wrong person is sent away for her murder.
Everything above should be read while picturing in your mind a big healthy cow MOOing loudly.