Mathews tells Williams the lab reported that, based upon the footprint evidence, the suspect was 170 pounds, 6 feet tall, and in his early 30's. While it is possible to deduce weight based upon a single impression in the ground, it is impossible to deduce the height or age of the person that left it. A similar error took place in Frightened Witness (1958) when Mathews said the lab reports of footprints revealed the gender, height (to within a half-inch), and weight of the subjects.
The hitchhiker took the wallet of the man he killed. That being, the police would not know what amount of money was in it and yet one of them stated that the victims wallet was stolen with seven dollars in it.
Single gunshot wounds to the torso are not instantly fatal/incapacitating as shown. Once engaged in combat, adrenaline often prevents people from realizing they have been shot and they continue to fight until shot in a vital area or the loss of blood becomes too great.
Despite the claim by the robber that it was a long way to California, the murder victim's car had a California manufacturer license plate, 14S MFG 015. These license plates were used for photo shoots, road tests, and film work among other purposes. The 015 indicates it was a General Motors product, in this case a Chevrolet.
The hitchhiker told his wife that he had to kill the man that fought back because he would be able to identify him. It makes no sense because he let his other victims go after the previous robberies who would also be able to identify him.
Mathews as head of the highway patrol insulting a crime victim by calling him a "sucker" was unprofessional and in violation of agency policy.
When Sgt. Williams calls Mathews on the radio after the businessman is abducted, he improperly uses his radio identifier of 3016. Since he was using the headquarters radio, he should have used "Headquarters" as he had done earlier in the program.