Detectives pieced together a timeline. Cole had fled shortly after Emily escaped. His car—a silver Honda Civic—was gone, and his phone was powered off. They issued a BOLO immediately.

At nearly midnight, police discovered security footage from a gas station thirty minutes away. Cole had purchased fuel, snacks, and a prepaid phone. Alone. The footage intensified the urgency—this was not a panicked man; he looked calm, deliberate.

Back at Emily’s home, Linda sat with two officers, clutching a blanket around her shoulders. “Is my daughter safe? Could he come back?”

“We have patrol units watching your house,” an officer assured her. “Your daughter’s brave. She got away, and that gives us a lot to work with.”