[Phantom Lord]

I have paid no attention to any of the sniper press conferences as they seem to be a total waste of time. But i have been confused by this latest bit of 'evidence.'

Seems they found a phone number near the last shooting. Yet they are telling the person who left it to call them. Why don't they just call the number they found?

What am I missing here?

[woofie]

Is this is a grade B movie or will it have a suprise ending?

[ThinkDifferent]

Presumably the person (the sniper?) left a number and told the police he would call them there. Either a pay phone or he knows they can reroute the number anywhere they want. This way when he calls that number they know it's him, since it hasn't been made public. Still very strange.

[capydick]

I thought the same thing but, I'm guessing that the sniper left a phone number that he was going to call and wanted Moose to be there. If Moose called the number, its doubtful that the sniper would be hanging out ther waiting for the phone to ring.

Just a guess......

[Kilborn]

Most likely the number given to the police was a voice mail-type number, where people would drop voicemails back and forth to each other. The person probably left a phone number and the password number to access it. Also why the original message - "you left a number, call us there" - probably sounded so goofy but Moose wasn't misquoted...

[TX Bluebonnet]

I'm sure they tracked down the phone number and it is either a phone booth or some other public number, maybe even the Sniper Tip Line.

[ItisaReligionofPeace]

Perhaps the sniper gave the police a phone booth number and told the cops to be there for the call?

[ARCADIA]

Seems they found a phone number near the last shooting. Yet they are telling the person who left it to call them. Why don't they just call the number they found?

The number appears to be one of their tip lines.

[Lael]

What am I missing here?

What you are missing is that the "message" at the Ponderosa wasn't 'BANG + Telephone Number', but a much longer communication from the Sniper TEAM detailing threats, etc., and the reason the MOOSE said it was garbled, is because the Phone message was IMHO, deliberately 'speech processed' to defeat VOICE PRINTING.

Kind of like using a designer Type Font designed to defeat a TEMPEST^® electronic attack.

These guys [and Gals] are pretty da*med sophisticated.