Now up to this point i could never make an educated guess on who is Red John without sufficient evidence and since November 24th 2013 will in fact reveal the identity of the man we spent 5 years waiting to meet, i think now is a good a time as any. Now we all watched the explosion and how Stiles, Haffner and McAllister are all 3 supposedly "Dead" , although there was no real physical evidence aside from that one foot found in the wreckage which could simply mean 1 or 2 of the three survived and the other was disembodied probably by a bomb placed on them by My main suspect. In this case , Bret Stiles was the walking bomb as McAllister and Haffner were sitting directly next to him on both sides during Jane's interrogation. He smelled of pine, nails and earth as described in Season 1 finale, this could easily be the smell of a Cop whom patrols near alot of woods and acres of lands as seen in his first appearence in season 1. He also fits the age profile of a man whom murdered 30 years ago, seems to get angry around Jane when Jane makes his quirky statements which is one of the few things that got Jane's wife and child killed. Also , he could move about the streets and buildings without being recognized because he isn't a well known person outside of his jurisdiction. And who would ever suspect a mass murdering serial killer is a sheriff of a backwater town? Now i think 30 years ago something must of happened with Bertrum that resulted in a death, Red John must of found out or was the first reporting officer (could be possible) and realized a potential follower and thus Red John takes credit for a murder bertrum committed. We can see that the heads of CBI were taking off little by little to make way for Gale Bertrum to assume command the second Jane started getting too close. Now if Bertrum was R.J why would he purposely make Jane's job alot easier by hiding in plain sight knowing even one small move could make Jane suspicious? I think Bertrum was put in his position to be a decoy and was told to split the second Jane figured it out (hence the get out of town stock he had in storage unit). So in summary, My guess is Sheriff Thomas McAllister is THE RED JOHN, all the clues fit, he's in law enforcement, he
s about 6ft, he has means, motive, access and above all We DON'T know where he currently is (same for either haffner or stiles). Let me know what you think

Hit plausible if you think jane knows who red john is . Also if you believe the list was a ruse to force rjs hand . And when jane says hes "letting go" you take this to mean he is watching the dominoes fall and is waiting for rj to make his move
Or
Hit un plausible if you think jane has no clue. Was really set on his list and now doesnt know what to do and is "letting go" literally .

And for chuckles whats up with van pelt !!'

SPOILERS

First and foremost, we need to understand that next week's episode is only 40 mins, so not everything will be resolved. I doubt that most of our burning questions will be resolved. Also, according to one of the reviewers who has watched the Red John episode, Red John is definitely one of the seven suspects.

Link: http://www.spoilertv.com/2013/11/the-mentalist-episode-608-red-john_171.html#comment-1129589591



Although, my pick for Red John was originally Haffner, there is a good chance that Sheriff McAllister is our man. I chose the latter not because of my iningenuity or logical thinking; I arrived at this conclusion after watching the extended promo for next week's episode and putting together lots of teasers posted by folks who have watched the episode.

Notice that CBS has set the extended promo video, on YouTube, to private. I will be royally and biblically pissed if McAllister turns out to be Red John. Don't get me wrong; I have nothing against McAllister as Red John; but to reveal Red John, albeit accidentally, in a promo is nothing short of amateurism. The folks at the helm of the Mentalist universe should have known that we---Mentalistas---are obsessive and have a keen eye for detail. Nothing eludes us! In fact, there are geniuses on this site who can cook up a believable theory that proclaims Jane's wife to be Red John. Trust me!

Notice that Jane doesn't believe Rosalind's description of Red John, for if he had, McAllister, Smith, Betram, and Stiles wouldn't be on the list of suspects. I believe that she purposefully misled the authorities. I see no reason why she would have been honest.

Finally, I would like to officially give up on this Red John theories. Applying too much logic or reading too much into everything is slowly driving me insane.