Exactly. The amount of cameras and social media tracking on a college campus in that age cohort is overwhelming. Moscow, Idaho has a population of 25,000. By this time, using the resources of the FBI, law enforcement could likely have done an initial screen of every single person living in the town.
If the suspect were someone from the area, law enforcement almost certainly has that person identified. I think one of two things is likely.
One, the culprit is someone not from the immediate area who is migratory like that hobo killer who rode the rails and struck all over the country (including Lexington) back in the mid 2000s. Probably someone who comes into an area under the radar like a vagrant, stalks for intended victims for a long period of time, and then leaves without leaving any trace if he doesn't find exactly what he is looking for. If the story that the doors to the bedrooms were locked after the murders were committed is true, I think that makes this scenario much likelier because it would indicate an almost preternatural amount of cunning and self-control that would be remarkable from someone committing his first serious crime.
I think this is most likely.
Two, the police have a suspect in the area under 24/7 surveillance and are being extraordinarily tight-lipped about it in order to make sure the prosecution is as rock solid as it could be. This would make even more sense if the suspect is someone with the financial resources (either individually or through family connections) to lawyer up (and maybe try to flee internationally) as soon as there is a hint of any scrutiny.
This would make sense if the police almost immediately knew who the main suspect is and made the announcement that there was no threat to others in haste and then got their shit together and realized how difficult the prosecution will be.
