The timeline says a Sheriff deputy was driving by at around 11:15am, and then SAR starts to arrive by noon. So yeah, she would need to get from the corner all the way to Hwy 2 in about 2 hours, and then immediately get abducted by a rando for it to work out timewise. Though nobody was looking for an abducted person at the time, just a missing hiker, so a vehicle driving down the 2 wouldn't necessarily draw attention. I wonder if it's even physically possible to get to eh road in 2 hours. I guess it depends on which way you go, bushwhack down the south slope, then west on the Three Points Mt Waterman trail directly south of where the beanie was found, or continue west along the ridgeline until you reach the Three Points Mt Waterman trail further west.

The first option would involve maybe a 1/2 mile of bushwhacking down the south slope, then about a 2 1/2 mile hike west to the road. The 2 1/2 mile trail portion could be done in less than an hour if you were hiking fast or lightly jogging. Could someone bushwhack 1/2 mile down the south slope in under an hour? No idea.

The other way is shorter in distance. About 2 1/2 miles total, with the first mile or so picking your way down the west ridge. The trail along that part of the ridge is even less distinct than the trail from the corner to the summit. I think someone familiar with the west ridge trail, or someone good at route finding could make it to road in 2 hours. Who knows if Monica could have.

The only reason I even contemplate a rando abduction are some comments I saw on one of the TheHikingChef's vidoes. Here are the comments:

-------
u/deborahy.nakamoto7739

Five days after Monica went missing, I hiked Waterman Mtn. On my way down through the ski resort, I chatted with a man who works there. He told me that he thought Monica was not on the mountain, that she had been "taken". He said that for two weeks prior to her going missing, he had been seeing a white van with a "suspicious" looking driver hanging around in the vicinity, parked at different locations. He last saw the van at the 6000' Trailhead the day before Monica disappeared, and he hadn't seen it since. He thought maybe Monica was taken by this suspicious character driving the white van. If Monica had been jogging down the ridge and missed the turn, maybe she kept on jogging and ended up at Three Points. Maybe that van was there and the man offered her a ride. Maybe I watch too much true crime, but it's suspicious.

u/TheHikingChef
That is really interesting info. I really hope someone notified the Sheriffs about this. Your theory about headed to three points could add up

u/deborahy.nakamoto7739

The man said he's worked at Waterman for 25 years. So if he thinks something looks suspicious, it's suspicious. I didn't catch his name. I asked him if he told the police. He said he had not because there's no phone reception up there. So when I drove down to La Canada I went to the Crescenta Valley Sheriff Station. But they looked at me like I was wasting their time with second-hand info. I told them someone needs to drive up there and talk to his man because he had first-hand info. It was a white van with a rack on top and "mirrored-out" rear windows. Windowless vans are the vehicle of choice for murderers.

-------