This was the story of the two friends that went missing in Nebraska. After two years where the police seemed to be leaning heavily towards foul play, the case was solved. However...

I know that the bodies and Jeep were found and police have since ruled out foul play (which I’m not disputing), but I’m curious about the hat detail. The two went missing, searches found nothing. Then it rained. Then another few days later, Bill’s hat was found by the side of the road. Testing done on the hat (presumably DNA testing) confirmed it was Bill’s hat. With it showing no signs of being out in the weather, and being in an area that had been thoroughly searched, police felt the hat had been planted.

Fast forward two years and the bodies were found with the deaths being ruled an accident. All signs seem to support this. But how did the hat get where it was? I don’t dispute the accidental ruling on this, but this seems like a weird loose end. Maybe it’s a trivial thing, but I hate loose ends like this.

Any thoughts on this?

To me, I think it could've been planted by a relative/friend as a way of keeping the case alive/active (so the authorities wouldn't lose momentum)