Near the end of the show, Jack finds a pair of gum-boots on the edge of a creek near the mill. So Jack decided that the kidnapper must have hidden the kid on the other side of the creek. But they went into the water up to their thighs in the creek. The gum-boots wouldn't have done any good at keeping the water out.
Carol said the kidnapper tore her nightdress off but she was wearing pajamas.