INDIANA -- TEEN GIRLS KILLED WHILE HIKING; Liberty German and Abigail Williams

[FAHQTOO]

Thank you, FAHQTOO.

I haven't seen any new details in the media today, but FOX did compile the below timeline of what's been confirmed in the case thus far.

Monday, Feb. 13, 2017
--1 p.m. A family member drops off the girls at a trail near Monon High Bridge, an abandoned railroad bridge over Deer Creek.
--5:30 p.m. The girls fail to show up at a predetermined location to be picked up by a family member. They’re reported missing.
--Monday night: A large search effort involving volunteers and multiple law enforcement agencies gets underway. They scour the area in an attempt to find Liberty and Abigail. The search is called off due to darkness.
--Midnight: Carroll County Sheriff Tobe Leazenby says in a news release that there is no reason to suspect foul play or to believe the girls are in immediate danger. The biggest concern is exposure to the elements.

Tuesday, Feb. 14, 2017
--Morning: The search resumes with teams of volunteers and police officers. The effort also includes K-9 units and dive teams.
--Noon: Searchers find two bodies about a half-mile away from the bridge.
--2 p.m. During a news conference, authorities announce the discovery of the bodies but give no indication of their identities. They say for the first time that “foul play” is suspected in connection with the case.
--4 p.m. Delphi Community Schools Superintendent Gregory Briles releases a statement saying that the bodies found in the afternoon are those of two “missing Delphi Community Middle School students” despite no confirmation from police.
--7 p.m. The Delphi United Methodist Church opens for a vigil.

Wednesday, Feb. 15, 2017
--8 a.m. Autopsies are conducted in Terre Haute on the bodies discovered during Tuesday’s search. Local authorities convene a meeting after the autopsies are complete.
--10 a.m. Sgt. Kim Riley with Indiana State Police provides a brief update on the investigation. He says the autopsies are complete but declines to confirm the identities or discuss a suspect or person of interest in the case. He says police have received “hundreds of tips” from the community.
--Riley advises parents to keep a close eye on their children and monitor their whereabouts.
--3 p.m. Indiana State Police and the Carroll County Sheriff’s Department hold a news conference confirming that the bodies found Tuesday are those of Liberty and Abigail. They say the case is being investigated as a double homicide. They say they don’t believe there’s any immediate danger to the community.
--7 p.m. Indiana State Police release a photo of a man reportedly walking on the trail around the time of the girls’ disappearance. Police say they want to talk to the individual but stop short of calling him a suspect.

http://fox59.com/2017/02/16/timeline-dis...in-delphi/

Nothing new from here either. This is probably 3 hrs away from me but obviously it's all over the local news. I wasn't particularly following it other than hoping they were found safe and finding out they weren't. I checked into it more after reading that weird statement and wondering why people in here were thinking it was suicide.
I can see where there could have been some confusion.

I don't follow a lot of these kids stories more than skimming over them since sandy hook happened. I went home after work that day and had a breakdown over that horror story.
I'll probably keep following this story now.

[aussiefriend]

At first when I heard that LE were being ambiguous about details I thought it may be because of some internet self harm case. However, I have read more about this community and I don't think that the parents were irresponsible letting the girls go for a hike locally. It is a small town of 3000. It just seems that these days you can't take a walk without some predator taking an opportunistic attack on innocents as in this case.

These girls should have been able to freely go for a day adventure in their own backyard without being preyed upon like this. I just feel so bad for the family.

[HairOfTheDog]

I'm with you, FAHQTOO. Aside from 9 / 11, I think Sandy Hook hurt my heart more than any other mass murder. It's still depressing to think about it.

This case is painful too; I hope it gets resolved soon. It's still unclear why LE searched that home in Delphi tonight, but LE announced that no arrests were made and it's unlikely any arrests connected to the search will be made in the future. Source: http://www.jconline.com/story/news/crime.../98015212/

[BigMark]

This was pretty bad as well.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Anders_Behring_Breivik

[FAHQTOO]

It was because it was a class full of kindergartners.
I suppose it shouldn't bother me anymore than other mass shootings, but it does. My granddaughter was 4 at the time.

[aussiefriend]

My daughter is 13. This story hits me in the face. They are just at that age where they are not quite adults but are wanting more freedom and independence and you want to give it to them and them to still play safely.

[BigMark]

We spoil our kids because we don't give them the freedom we had, it's kinda fucked up.

[HairOfTheDog]

Officers with the Indiana State Police, Carroll County Sheriff’s deputies and FBI agents took part in Thursday night's search at a home in Delphi, which, according to Sgt Riley, may be the first of many.

As more tips trickle in, police plan to search other properties in the hope of finding clues in the case, reported the station WLFI.

On Wednesday, police released two grainy photos of a man, dressed in jeans, a blue jacket and hat, walking along the city of Delphi's trail system around the time the teenage victims were dropped off to go hiking.

Carroll County Sheriff Tobe Leazenby said Thursday police just want to talk to the man about what he might have seen. Police said they have received about 200 tips about the person seen in the photos, including from as far as California, but so far, he has not been identified.

'We're not saying he's a suspect, we just want to talk to him to find out what he might have seen,' Sgt. Kim Riley, of Indiana State Police, told DailyMail.com on Thursday.

It is not clear if the mystery man is linked to the search warrant executed last night.

Story and photos of the area where the girls were last seen: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-...rders.html

[HairOfTheDog]

LE has not indicated whether they've located the girls' cell phones or if they've searched their internet and social media communications. The FBI is on the case, so I'm sure the LE team is investigating all of that to determine if the girls had planned to meet up with someone they met online.

[aussiefriend]

We spoil our kids because we don't give them the freedom we had, it's kinda fucked up.

I know. When stuff like this happens, I take it personally and it affects me. Like when little Zahra was killed by her evil stepmother. Zahra was Australian living in the US.

[HairOfTheDog]

Police still haven't tracked down the man in the photo and there's no word on any progress being made in the case yet.

In a show of support and to help raise money for the girls' families, yesterday thousands of bikers from near and far descended on Delphi.


Also last night, a large crowd attended the lantern memorial for Liberty and Abigail.


Nice to see people in and outside of the tight community coming together.

Hopefully, news of an arrest is not far off.

Refs:
http://wishtv.com/2017/02/18/thousands-j...red-teens/
http://wlfi.com/2017/02/19/memorial-serv...phi-teens/

[HairOfTheDog]

Today LE announced that the man in the photo, reportedly captured by trail cam, is now considered the main suspect in the double homicide of Liberty and Abigail.



They still haven't been able to identify him and continue asking the public for tips and searching homes in the area.

Story: http://www.chicagotribune.com/news/natio...story.html

[HairOfTheDog]

Today LE revealed that the unidentified suspect above was photographed by Liberty German, not trail cam.

And, Liberty had turned on her cell video recorder and captured the man ordering the girls "down the hill". :(

I wish we knew if LE was able to retrieve any perpetrator DNA from the girls' bodies or at the crime scene. No details as to cause of death or evidence gathered has been released; just the photo and now the audio. Seems like someone must recognize the man, unless he's not a local. But, the photo is very blurry.

Story and audio: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-...derer.html

[HairOfTheDog]

In 2012 in Iowa, two young girls were abducted from a trail near Meyers Lake. The bodies of Lyric Cook, 10, and Elizabeth Collins, 8, were found three months later at Seven Bridges Wildlife Area. Their killer(s) have not been caught.

The case shares some definite similarities to this one and has some crime followers wondering if they're connected. It's possible; I hope the FBI is looking into it.

Here's the case thread for Lyric and Elizabeth: http://mockforums.net/showthread.php?tid=8499

[Duchess]

And, Liberty had turned on her cell video recorder and captured the man ordering the girls "down the hill". :(

Just speculating here, but that makes me think he had a weapon, he had something that intimidated them, otherwise I think they would have run. Maybe I'm projecting because that's what I think I would have done.

[HairOfTheDog]

Yeah, he may well have had a gun or knife in that jacket.

Or, he might have grabbed one and threatened to kill her if the other didn't comply.

Terrible to think about such young girls making that trek in such fear; straight out of a horror movie.

[Midwest Spy]

Could this guy be someone that hops trains and moves from town to town?

I've never shared this before, but my Uncle did just that nearly 40 years ago and committed a very severe random act of violence.

Just a possibility.

[Duchess]

Terrible to think about such young girls making that trek in such fear; straight out of a horror movie.

Horrible, just so freakin' awful. I thought about their fear the moment I first read the story :(

[FAHQTOO]

Yeah, he may well have had a gun or knife in that jacket.

Or, he might have grabbed one and threatened to kill her if the other didn't comply.

Terrible to think about such young girls making that trek in such fear; straight out of a horror movie.

That's exactly why I can't follow these stories too close. I drive myself nuts and lose sleep over thinking about what these kids and all the others were going through.
I'm not sure if you posted the sketch of him that they came out with on Monday. It was very detailed with new technology they got from the blurry pic.

[HairOfTheDog]

I read that some Facebook users had developed sketches, but they weren't endorsed by LE.

I didn't find the sketches on Facebook when I just searched though.

If you remember where you saw them, let me know and I'll post them up FAHQTOO.