Unfortunately I don’t think they are discounting that theory completely as the lake here is one of the most heavily populated gator lakes in FL.
Unlikely at this point but something to keep in mind for sure.
Could be!!! My heart goes out to this family. My daughter is autistic too. She use to love to run away from you and get you to chase her, but, she would keep running. She use to freak me out. I had to get a babysitter one evening, a person who had sat with my daughter before and specialized in special needs kids. She broke a window in her bedroom and threw some toys out the window. When the sitter opened the front door to go round and get the toys, my daughter took off. Of course the sitter chased her, my daughter was just to fast. When I got home they hadn’t been able to find her for over half hour. I had to call police. My daughter was 5 or 6 at the time and couldn’t even cross a street safely, she didn’t know how. And there was a very busy street about 2 blocks away. I thought for sure I would never see her again. Thankfully an older couple found her and called police. She was missing about 2 hours all together. Some of the worst 2 hours of my life.
That was my first reaction as well. Body heat sensors not picking up anything doesn't bode well. Though it's a gator lake, could any other predators, lions or such, be known in the area?
Also, the fact that pedophiles in the area have been questioned doesn't mean they can be eliminated. Also, it doesn't account for the traveling pedophile...
Where in the cul-de-sac was the bike discovered? Proximity to the forest/swamp could give more or less strength to animal predators.