Other mistake: In the bank scene, the monitor on the bank manager's desk goes from being connected and has a power cord, however when Kurt rises to go to the bathroom, the back of the monitor shows no cords whatsoever. (00:48:00)
Other mistake: At the end of the movie when the truck falls off the bridge and hits the water, the hood breaks off and you can see that there is no engine or transmission in the truck. (01:28:40)
Other mistake: When Barr arrives at his house it's still dark and his wife points out it's 6:00 in the morning... but considering it's summertime (proven by short shadows throughout the film and the heat in the desert), at 6:00 the sun would already be up or coming up. No dark sky exists at 6 AM in the summertime.
Other mistake: At the end of the movie, just before the credits, Kurt Russell and Kathleen Quinlan are leaning against the guardrail in each others arms as the camera shot widens. The destroyed truck they were in is against the rail and the roadway is shown. But there are no skid marks on the road surface. Their truck had been pushed sideways at least 50+ feet by the villain's semi tractor and there should have been skid marks from both vehicles.
Answer: There was always a ransom, or at least that was always the intent. Anyone that didn't have money the kidnappers would just eliminate them. The kidnappers MO was to take a couple and force one of them to empty their bank accounts. Earl makes it clear that the difference in Jeff's case is that they were unable to kidnap the pair at the same time. For whatever reason, Jeff refused to get in the truck with Red, which caused the kidnappers to alter their plans slightly. Earl also gives some insight into how the group chooses their victims. He tells Jeff that he was targeted because he was driving a brand new SUV, which indicated he must have a fair amount of money in the bank. The kidnappers care very little about being caught, they have obviously committed many murders without being found out. They seem to leave very little evidence of their crimes for the police to find. Red is always several steps ahead of the police and is brazen enough to kidnap a man's wife and say directly to him in front of a police officer that the man must have him mistaken for someone else.
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