Fanning public speculation still further, it was reported that a bicyclist had been fatally shot on the same trail at around the time that Nations was purportedly terrifying passersby. The expired Indiana plates on the car Nations was driving was noticed by police, who subsequently discovered an outstanding warrant under his name. Nations, a registered sex offender from Indiana, was arrested in Woodland Park, Colorado in September 2017 and charged with threatening strangers on a Monument trail with a hatchet. Five days later, Etter was surrounded by police, and after a five hour stand-off, he died by suicide. On July 23, 2019, Paul Etter was wanted for the kidnapping and rape of a 26-year-old woman on June 22 in Tippecanoe County.
DELPHI MURDERS AUTOPSY DRIVER
An additional plea was made for help in identifying the driver of a vehicle left abandoned off the Hoosier Heartland Highway in Delphi, at the former Child Services office, between noon and 5 p.m. Investigators revealed they have reason to believe that the suspect might well be hiding in plain sight, and that the person is almost certainly familiar with the area of Delphi, whether it be from living or working there or for another reason. Police say this person may range from age 18 to 40, but caution that his "youthful appearance" could make him look younger than his true age. Carter states that because of the deteriorated condition of the bridge, the suspect is not walking naturally due to the spacing between the ties.Īn updated sketch of the suspect was also unveiled, as well as an extended version of the audio recording, in which a slight rise in the suspect's voice can be detected as he utters the word "Guys.", before the phrase "Down the hill." It was further explained that the previously released sketch, showing an older man with goatee and cap, is now considered secondary by contrast, the clean-shaven individual of the newly revised composite is the primary sketch of the prime suspect.
The new materials included a short video recording in which the blue-jeaned and jacketed suspect is seen walking along the rail bridge for a little over a second. On behalf of State Police and the Multi-Agency Taskforce, Superintendent Doug Carter released more materials a few days later in a press conference held on April 22. On April 19, 2019, Indiana State Police announced a "new direction" in the case. It had apparently been drawn by police from eyewitnesses to a certain hiker of the Delphi Historic Trails on the day that the girls vanished.
On July 17, officers distributed a composite sketch of someone who, at that time in the investigation, was sought as a person of prime interest in the murders. By this time, the reward offered in the case was set at $41,000. Police indicated that additional evidence from the phone had been secured, but that they did not release it so as not to "compromise any future trial".
On February 22, law enforcement released an audio recording where the voice of the suspect, though in some degree muffled, is heard to say, "Down the hill." It was at this news conference that officials credited the source of the audio and imagery to German's smartphone, and, further, regarded her as a hero for having had the uncanny foresight and fortitude to record the exchange in secret. A few days later, the person in the photograph was named the prime suspect in the double-homicide. As early as February 15, 2017, Indiana State Police began circulating a still image of an individual reportedly seen on the Monon High Bridge Trail near where the two friends were slain the grainy photograph appears to capture a Caucasian male, hands in pockets, walking on the rail bridge, head down, toward the girls. Police have not released details of how the girls were murdered. The bodies were found on the north bank of Deer Creek. However, this changed when the bodies of the girls were found around noon the next day, about 0.5 miles (0.80 km) east of the abandoned Monon High Bridge. Authorities who quickly searched the area did not initially suspect foul play in the disappearance. The families initially searched for the girls themselves before calling the police. after they failed to meet Liberty’s father at 3:15 p.m. At 2:07 p.m., Libby posted a photo of Abby walking the bridge after this they were not heard from again. The girls were hiking on the Monon High Bridge over Deer Creek, among woodland in remote Deer Creek Township. on Monday, February 13, 2017, 13-year-old Abigail Joyce "Abby" Williams and 14-year-old Liberty Rose Lynn "Libby" German were dropped off by German's older sister, Kelsi German, on County Road 300 North, east of the Hoosier Heartland Highway.