When the guys didn't return by the end of the summer, people started coming up with their own theories. Some were plausible like a car crash or hunting accident. Others were bizarre, like a killer polar bear or Mike Newton's alien abduction theory. No matter how outlandish, all were investigated by the full force of Cullens, a team of private investigators, and police from Alaska and Washington.
Some placed the blame on Edward. Maybe he got cold feet and decided to take off before the wedding. Jessica Stanley, someone Bella once considered a friend, said it wouldn't surprise her if Edward had second thoughts. Bella was awkward, accident-prone, and nothing special in the looks department. What could she possibly have to offer rich, handsome Edward? During her TV interview, Jessica made it known she'd be glad to take Bella's place should Edward decide to return home. It took both Carlisle and Charlie to stop Bella from ripping out Jessica's new hair extensions.
Unfortunately, Jessica wasn't the only one to place the blame on Bella. When they got engaged, Edward purchased a large life insurance policy. Should his death precede Bella's, she stood to inherit nearly a million dollars. If managed properly, It would have been enough money for her to never work another day in her life. Jason Jenks, the Cullen family's lawyer, quickly came to her defense. The policy would not take effect until Bella and Edward's wedding day. While the police cleared Bella as a suspect, that didn't stop the black window widow rumors around town.
One of the most popular theories came from the lead detective. He was interested in the scuffle over Jasper's first aid kit. Did it point to a larger pattern of abuse? Maybe Jasper got tired of being pushed around by his older brothers and decided to take matters into his own hands. The explanation fit with the surveillance footage of his visit to a local convenience store. Anyone who knew the Cullen brothers refused to give that theory much thought. For every instance of teasing, there were ten more of Emmett and Edward going out of their way to do something kind for their brother. Alice spent her eighteenth birthday presenting a list of fifty alternative explanations, none of which involved murder, for why Jasper was caught on camera purchasing garbage bags and Lysol.
Another theory involved Rosalie. A few days before her husband disappeared, Rosalie was caught on camera withdrawing several thousand dollars from an ATM across town from their condo. A "friend" of Rosalie's told investigators the couple often fought and seemed on the verge of divorce. Could the money have been used to make Emmett disappear?
When questioned, Rosalie admitted they had been fighting over Emmett's job as a firefighter. Rosalie felt it was too dangerous while Emmett couldn't imagine ever doing anything else. While many of Rosalie's friends suggested she leave him for someone whose job didn't involve running into burning buildings, Rosalie refused to give up on her marriage and found a therapist. When asked about the money, she led the investigators to the garage where a half-assembled 1969 Ford Mustang, Emmett's dream car, was parked. Rosalie tearfully explained how she purchased the car in secret hoping to surprise Emmett when he got home. The investigators apologized and moved onto other leads.
Others believed the guy's disappearance was part of a kidnapping plot. Given how well known the Cullen family fortune was, it seemed possible someone had taken the guys hoping for a major payday. The police picked up several gang members and local felons, but no one seemed to know anything about three missing brothers. The theory was discarded when the Cullens never received a ransom request. Esme wished they had. She would have given up every cent in her bank account to have her sons back home.
Another theory, one Bella never entertained for a single second, centered around Esme and Carlisle. When Jasper was 10, a school concealer noticed suspicious bruising. While the cause of the bruises was later determined to be leukemia, the diagnosis didn't come in time to prevent CPS from investigating and removing all three boys from their home. The boys were placed in separate foster homes and the Cullens racked up thousands of dollars in legal fees trying to get them back. When Jasper's cancer was discovered three months later, the charges were dropped and the boys were allowed to return to their parents. Jasper had nightmares for years, not about the cancer treatments, but about being taken away from his family.
Investigators wondered if they'd been wrong back then. Maybe the Cullens were abusing their children. Could Emmett and Edward, now adults, have decided to come forward with the truth? The last investigation cost Carlisle his job forcing him to move the family from an upscale Chicago neighborhood to a sleepy town in Washington. How far would Carlisle be willing to go to protect his reputation? Could he have orchestrated his son's deaths to keep the truth from coming out? Much to Carlisle's surprise, the entire town came to his defense. Neighbors, co-workers, and the boy's teachers and friends lined up around the block to tell the police why investigating a kind, generous man like Carlisle Cullen was a mistake. The overwhelming public outcry persuaded the police to pursue other leads.
The final and most time-consuming theory involved Emmett. Emmett had recently witnessed a fatal car accident. As if finding two dead teenagers wasn't bad enough, the accident took place just yards away from his front door. While he told his captain he was okay, Rosalie said he'd been having nightmares and drinking a lot more than his usual Friday night beer. As a child, Emmett convinced his brothers to run away from their first three foster homes. Could he have done the same to avoid admitting he needed help?
While it hurt to think her sons had abandoned her, it was by far Esme's favorite theory. it was much more palatable to think of her boys changing their names and living off-grid somewhere in the Alaskan wilderness than laying dead in a ditch. Six weeks after their disappearance, an anonymous tip claimed the brothers were working at a resort in Mexico. Esme, Carlisle, and the girls flew down to investigate only to find that while there were three brothers, they'd never even heard of a tiny town called Forks. There were other leads, but none of them lead to anything but disappointment.
Nine months after the guys disappeared, Charlie Swan came home from work with a headache and runny nose. Thinking nothing of the deadly new virus dominating headlines in Asia, he took an aspirin and went to bed. Three weeks later, he was dead. Carlisle was the one who made the heartbreaking phone call to Bella. Her screams were one of the most horrible things he'd ever heard. By the end of the pandemic, he'd lost more patients than he had in 20 years of practicing emergency medicine combined. He resigned as soon as the first batch of vaccines arrived in Forks.
After a year of death, political upheaval, and racial tensions, it came as no surprise that news of a wrecked car didn't hold most people's attention for longer than it took to slip on a mask. Crime scene investigators found one of Jasper's teeth lodged in the steering wheel. Emmett's wedding ring and a clump of bloody hair were discovered in the passenger seat. Worst of all was the back. There was blood, enough to indicate Edward had been catastrophically injured in the crash, covering the carpet. While they never found any bodies, investigators declared the case closed assuming local wildlife had beat them to the scene. Edward, Emmett, and Jasper were gone and they were never coming back.