no physical evidence...
I wonder if the sheriff has taken a walk through the woods around the murder site with a metal detector at all...
Right....no physical evidence.
Needle in a haystack in the woods, though.
Finding the bullets doesn't seem like an impossible task. I've hunted in Clark county and some of the best areas are densely treed with lots of brush. You need to be in a tree stand to see over it. If the area where Southworth was killed was like that, a bullet wouldn't go far. Stand in the spot where the body was found and use a laser to 'paint' the trees in the direct the bullets were fired. That would tell you how big of an area you would need to search. Besides checking the ground with metal detectors, you would also need to check the trees up about 6-8 feet. It seems very doable. I'm assuming the killer was smart enough to pick up his brass.