He gets rescued and they tossed his car? Why?
I’m guessing they were looking for clues as to where he might be or maybe signs that he had been abducted.
The hiker and his friend went “hiking” and got lost, likely on drugs. They were lost for four days.
I think you would want to check out the car for a possible crime and/or evidence of where they were headed.
I’m a local; speculation was rampant around here that they were on a drug fueled binge. A family member is supposed to have told authorities the female had an ecstasy habit. The Sheriff’s Dept. had the car towed before they were found, probably looking for some type of clues. People I know who have hiked that area told me you really had to be negligent to get so far lost. If you add to that, the fact that a related criminal conviction would make the ‘victims’ liable for the cost of the search, this makes a lot of sense. Thank you.