The football coach wanted on charges involving child sexual abuse material who went missing Nov. 20 was last seen walking into the woods with a gun, his family says.
You’re right, it looks like they were lying to her:
The Myth of the Waiting Period
A persistent myth, reinforced by television and movies, is that you must wait 24 or 48 hours before law enforcement will accept a missing person report. This is false. No law or policy in the United States requires a waiting period. Federal laws like the National Child Search Assistance Act mandate that authorities must accept reports of missing individuals under 21 without delay.
This misconception is dangerous because the initial hours after a person disappears are the most important for an investigation. Law enforcement agencies are required to take these reports seriously from the moment they are received. Delaying a report wastes valuable time that could be used to locate the individual, so if you are worried for someone’s safety, you should report them missing immediately.
You’re right, it looks like they were lying to her:
https://legalclarity.org/how-long-before-you-can-report-someone-missing/