Guys:
OK, in regards the RV desert incident:
http://i.imgur.com/aaW1Kul.jpg
http://i.imgur.com/HdyOwyd.jpg
I have an image processing update which is not completely conclusive but I think provides good graphical illustration and reinforces the timeline.
So we know RY left the RV at 7:31AM. TomTom data puts him up on Hwy 95 a little at 8:19AM. The next TomTom activity is cutoff from view, but its 21.97mi in 3:42, and we can deduce it must have been run almost entirely in the West-East axis, since the tracing cannot be seen in what is almost the entire upper half of the thumbnail circle.
If you work out 21.97 miles out from Laughin, as I believe Mr. team1.kml did here - you will see something interesting. It takes you to the intersection of a desert road and Hwy 95, just short of the state line:
http://www.gmap-pedometer.com/?r=6887645
If you look at RY's live tracking planned route, you will see that they intended to cut through the desert as a shortcut to this point (probably why they got stuck):
http://i.imgur.com/Q0IjgPR.png
I did some image processing and I think it really fits well that the 21.97 mile run is from this shortcut point to Laughlin. The 2 vertical segments would juuuust every so slightly stick up over the taskbar, which, due to monitor and compression artifact is hard to see, but its a possibility:
http://imgur.com/a/WMiIo
Since this run puts him in Laughlin (due to this evidence and the fact no other run is recorded after that until the evening), it could not have started later than 9:10AM. But he is 12-13 miles south at 8:19AM...
Conclusion: I have completely convinced myself (and hopefully you guys): RY ran up Hwy 95 a little, got tired of the wind, the heat, the self-supported effort, was frustrated with the RV getting stuck, and either sought out, or was offered a ride, which he accepted and got out at the point he felt he "deserved" to be at. (Was there anyone who could have been an accomplice? Curiously, he said on Facebook: "We continued to run about 36 miles...")
Fits the timeline perfectly. We all know he got there earlier than 12:52 anyway, so cut 30 min off that 9:10 run, now its 8:40. So 20 minutes to hitch 13 miles, from 8:19AM to ~8:40AM. Perfect.
I am trying to make a sexy blog post to present all of this data from the incident since I think it's very compelling. Will share when done.