Of course, the plan was for the van not to be seen in the parking lot but, in the event it was, precautions had to be taken involving the license plates. Most likely, stolen Iowa plates were put on the van for the abduction and the originals put back on afterwards.

The witness reported that the van had it

The white van is interesting to me also. Perfect vehicle for an abduction. This is just a guess on my part,but I think there were at least 4 people involved in various forms.

I believe the van was the abduction vehicle. I believe they took her out of State and for some reason I think Illinois. I think that's where Jodi ended up-somewhere in Illinois.

The other vehicles were probably distraction vehicles or lookout vehicles.

These are all guesses on my part.

Wasn't Jodi's purse also gone?
There's also the possibility that they picked up her briefcase and purse because they were two-bit jerks and wanted to get any money she may have had with her.

For some reason, I don't believe this was a complicated abduction.

Jodi was not an investigative journalist. Jodi was a tiny person and she was vulnerable at that time of the morning. It wouldn't take an army to abduct her. One person, or at the most two. Besides, she knew the guy.

I also don't think the police have a clue as to who did it. If they did, it would be a feather in their cap to solve it.

Incompetence does exist in many fields, as well as in law enforcement Laziness also exists.

Remember all the theories about the intern, Chandra Levy, and it turned out to be two guys on cocaine who just thought she looked good when she was jogging through the park.

Then theres this

From time to time Cam would help John load sacks into the back of his white Astro Van.

Are we sure it was a Ford econoline van that this witness seen?

[b]Bounty Hunter wrote:[/b]

Random thoughts:

Bounty Hunter - Why do you think they took her to Illinois?

One thing that has come to my mind - if there was a group effort to commit this crime, how did they keep in contact that morning? In 1995 cell phones weren't common. Did these criminals talk over walkie talkies? Many people in small towns have hand held radios and scanners and could have heard their chatter that morning.

The truck with the tinted windows - Iowa law (at least right now, not sure about 1995) mandates that the front side windows must let in 70% of the light. It doesn't sound like this truck was in compliance. I wonder if this vehicle was ever pulled over for this?

The white van - I travel on the interstate to and from work every day and have been looking out for large white vans. I've seen one pretty frequently that is a shuttle between the airport in the town I work in and the small town I live in. I wonder if there are any shuttles like this that frequent Mason City?