@Wintergel
They did, however, they left out a few important details which very much serve to contradict the theory. One example being the fact that the Wild Man came from a wealthy family and ran away (as detailed in his journal), while the gunsmith's son is specifically stated to have drowned.
While they're usually a pretty decent investigator in tying up connections together but on this particular instance, evidence was fairly anecdotal at best when they’d discussed it.