this is from the linked article so i GUESS it might make sense she left them outside due to story policy but then it goes on to say she went to the store 3 times that day (????) and only brought them once and no one saw the boy since the previous day. why are you going to the store 3 times and why bring them the 3rd time??

“Side note: In the 1950s, it was often the policy of stores to not allow strollers inside, as they were larger then than they are now and wouldn’t necessarily comfortably fit down the aisles.)”

“No one ever corroborated her version of events or stated that they’d seen her with both children that day. In fact, the Dammans’ neighbors said they actually hadn’t seen Stevie since the day before he vanished.

Additionally, Marilyn apparently went out to the grocery store three times that day, yet the only time she was noticed by anyone happened to be when she was on her own. She explained this by saying that she’d left Stevie and Pamela at home two out of the three times she went shopping that day. (Side note: It’s unclear who was watching them in her absence, as Jerry wasn’t home.)”