Her phone can be pinged and triangulated even if off, even with gps off, and if they find that phone or put that phone pinging where he physically was, when mom received that text message 5 days after her last live conversation with her daughter, he’s a dead man walking, mute or not
also to look at is whether the van was scrubbed and where her camping and personal care items and other possessions are - local dump would make it an easier story. Even if girlfriend ran off with a trucker, a rational person would take her things to her home.
The police need to investigate
these New Yorkers Past . They went onto cover up mode real quick like they have Done this Before and maybe fled to Northport FL for others reasons .
My Aunt in Cocoa Beach FL had Russian two Russian spies two doors down and they called the coast guard on them for no running lights on their boat in the canal one night . They were carted away the same week .
You never know.