He tried to get a boat in San Diego and failed. This makes me think this plan B at best. Plan Bs don’t work well in snow.
They have verified the VIN number on the burnt truck as his.
/johnny
I just don’t see him heading up in the mountains for one last stand. I think the burning car is a diversion. He wants to kill more cops that he knows, or their families. He needs to stay near the city (LA) to accomplish this. I think he might have doubled around and is back lining up his next kill. Unless he has decided to go out in a blaze of glory on a mountaintop. Will be interesting to see what his next move is. Hopefully it doesn’t involve more dead bodies, unless it’s his own.
Only if Plan A is objectively better. A lone plotter cannot ensure that. Besides, there are millions of scenarios where the operator went out to work on Plan A and then some unforeseen circumstance happened (say, a mouse chewed through the power cable and the site is now full of utility workers and police and fire.)
What part of plan B would require *burning* a truck? In wilderness you can park a truck away from the road and it won't be found for a long time. Burning of the truck says he wants to attract attention. Perhaps because he is out of his mind, or perhaps because he wants the police to focus on a throwaway item that is no longer useful to him. Knowing the police procedure, he is sure that hundreds of officers will be milling around for hours, with no apparent purpose. If he has a hideout prepared ahead of time, that hideout may be never found. In World War II some underground hideouts were so good that you couldn't find them even when you know where they are - and that is on a grassy soil. A rocky terrain makes accidental discovery of a hideout practically impossible.
This guy didn't just snap - he had time to write his Manifesto, which is a very lengthy document. I think he was writing it for at least a month. If he had that much time to use on a document, he certainly had even more time to spend on preparations. He wasn't a watched man, after all, he could go anywhere he wants and do whatever he desires.
Allegedly.