As I said earlier, this is the only reason I can see for the Feds not releasing their photos. Of course, if I'm waaayyy off base with this, then the Feds may have really screwed the pooch on this one and are in total CYA mode.
I really hope that's not the case though.
Time will tell.
Your reason for the Feds not releasing the photos is the only one that makes any sense. Hopefully, we're all off base on this one and these students will be found soon. Time will tell....and I hope the clock stops soon.