DELPHI, IN—The bodies of two teenage girls were found near Deer Creek in northern Indiana on Tuesday, February 14 authorities indicated.
Two autopsies were performed in Terre Haute on Wednesday, February 15. Officials from the Carroll County Sheriff’s Office and Indiana State Police were able to identify the two girls as Delphi natives Abigail Williams and Liberty German, both 13. They are believed to have been victims of a double homicide, in which the suspect(s) have not yet been identified, according to Carroll County Sheriff Toby Leazenby.
Williams and German, who were eighth-grade honor roll students at Delphi Community Middle School, went missing on Monday after they were dropped off at a deserted railroad for a hike. After they failed to appear at a pre-arranged location, a missing persons report was filed. German had reportedly posted a photo on Snapchat of Williams walking alone on the bridge (known as the “Monon High Bridge” by local residents) adjacent to the railroad.
Investigators found their bodies just after 12:00 p.m. on Tuesday, three-quarters of a mile off the trail where they were initially dropped off (by one of the girls’ relatives) on a private property approximately 60 feet away from the water’s edge. It is unknown whether or not there were signs of obvious injuries.
During a recent news conference in Delphi, Sergeant Kim Riley of the Indiana State Police Department asserted that authorities will not release any information about the causes of the girls’ deaths, as the homicide investigation is “in its baby steps,” according to the Associated Press.
More than 25 FBI officials were involved in the investigation. Leazenby told reporters, “We’re going to get to the bottom of this. We feel confident. And we’re going to do everything within our resources to reach justice in this situation.” Riley and Leazenby have also encouraged the public to contact police with any information that will help the investigators.
FOX 59 posted a photo on Twitter of a man who was seen on the trail around the same time Williams and German had disappeared. Officials have requested help from the public in identifying him in order to ask him questions about events he may have witnessed. Riley noted that the girls had not planned to meet any other people on their hike.
Delphi Community School Corporation superintendent Greg Briles tweeted about the incident on Wednesday afternoon, referring to the girls’ death as a “senseless tragedy.”
