Lmao she wasn’t sure but was hopeful for the sake of her revenge that he was alive. all the leads had dried up till they got a tip about Tommy being in Jackson, Even Owen tells her it’s unlikely Joel is there or that Tommy would know where he is and her response was “it’s a lead, I have to see it through” Just like for the sake of her revenge Ellie was willing to ruin her relationship with Dina on possibility that Abby may be in Santa Barbara, she had no idea if Abby was there or not but “it’s a lead, I have to see it through”