You're not seeing the forest for the trees. It doesn't have to be a theoretical neighbor, it could just as easily have been reaching out to hikers that might've

You're not seeing the forest for the trees. It doesn't have to be a theoretical neighbor, it could just as easily have been reaching out to hikers that might've been in the area. The point is that someone saw they were there, police figured out who that someone was, and they asked them for that information.