That's my thread on reddit. Include anything you want here. This was sort of my murder scene trip because I also visited the Sumter County Does sites and two hours after Delphi I was in Indianapolis looking at the Burger Chef from 1978. Earlier tonight I posted the Sumter County Does videos in the related thread here.
From Monon High, these were my principal impressions:
* State Road 25 is an incredible escape route. I travel extensively every year. I wish every area had a road like that. Normally when you have a high speed local road you run into occasional small cities and therefore stop lights with long flashing warning lights ahead of time. There is nothing like than on 25, at least not in the Delphi area. It is mile after mile of 60 mph speed limit cruising, without concern of any delay or stoppage.
* There's nobody on these trails, in Delphi or anywhere else. Give me the under, in terms of number of people who were supposedly there on February 13, 2017. I could post that again and again and it wouldn't be enough. I lived in Las Vegas for 24 years as a sports bettor. I know probability and value. Give me the under. It is pure propaganda to suggest we had a cavalry around ever corner, each with their own story and sighting.
Give me the under
* The drop off point at County Road 300 was amazingly close to the trailhead intersection. I paced off 79 steps. Then a 90 degree turn left and perhaps 5 minutes to the foot of the bridge. Abby and Libby must have relaxed on the trails and taken quite a bit of time if they weren't on the bridge until past 2 PM
* The bridge should be walled off so nobody can cross. Many planks are soft, especially in the early to middle going. I had two major wobbles including nearly falling on my back one time. There is going to be an accident if they don't do something about it. There are new planks all over the place on the Historic Bridge at Canal Park in Delphi. Yet they leave Monon High to rot away. Later the planks are more secure with fewer gaps and also you simply get a feel for things. I was probably twice as fast over the second half as the first. I'm sure that's relatively normal, and the reason Abby and Libby weren't overly concerned about a stranger accelerating in the late going. They anticipated an awkward greeting and nothing else
* I didn't expect to cross but my chief curiosity was the other side of the bridge, since videos I've seen never really explored that area for other options, either for Abby and Libby to escape, or other routes down the hill. I have long doubted that it was straight down to the left at the end of the bridge. Once I took a look at it, I didn't even consider it. Not for one second. I seriously doubt a perpetrator with a plan would settle for something like that, especially since there's such a gentle switch back beyond the red barrier maybe 25-30 yards later, and still within tree cover
* The second stage of down the hill offers more options. Now you are on a gravel access road. That drop is long and steep also. Once you backtrack just right of the bridge then the drop off lessens in length and severity. I skidded down that hill no problem, maybe 15-20 feet. The abundance of leaves really helps cushion things, like you're sliding without concern. But if you go back that far then you are risking someone now above you on the bridge.
* Once fully down the hill it's into tree cover and feels totally concealed walking toward Deer Creek. I felt like any screaming would either not be heard or not draw any type of response. You certainly wouldn't have immediate recognition of what it was and where it was coming from. However, a poster in that thread on reddit tonight said that the home beyond the red rail at left belonged to the Sanders family. The reddit poster said he (she?) has visited the home many times, with the Sanders' permission, and the creek area where the bodies were found is apparently visible from that home. The reddit poster said Bridge Guy took enormous risk in that area. However, the Sanders apparently were not home.
* That reddit poster also said that it was less than a mile from that Sanders home to Abby's house on -- I believe -- County Road 625. That was news to me but this poster was obviously local and knew what they were talking about.
* I could keep going and going. As mentioned in the reddit thread, I was never going to cross the bridge on the way back. Consequently I got lost in the woods and required an hour to return to the Freedom Bridge parking area. However, that hour convinced me that Bridge Guy had countless options to get there and get out of there. There was no reason he had to park near the abandoned building or return there. Walking through the woods to the west, as I did, was not threatening at all. I was surprising deer but otherwise running into nothing and nobody.
