"It's still possible they're stranded, or lost in the forest. The tablets lose signal some ways out so if they've gone too far we wouldn't have a way to contact them." Which isn't inspiring much confidence now that he's said that out loud. If they somehow got lost in the forest and are wandering away from town they'll probably never be seen from again.

And no one will ever know.

"True, but I didn't start every day assuming we might find dozens of bodies in the woods. Things seem a little bleaker than normal."