There is nobody less qualified to gather and convey information than a modern “journalist.” Why was she not with her husband? Why does family story conflict with police info? Where was she actually dropped off? All these seem like questions that went unasked. I bet the reporter did remember to ask her pronouns.
I’m not sure it needs to be a ‘modern’ journalist, though it’s surely worse now. Most of us who have been involved in a story that made the news know that news reports almost always get things wrong.