Found Deceased IN - Abigail (Abby) Williams, 13, & Liberty (Libby) German, 14, The Delphi Murders 13 Feb 2017 #101

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Just curious if anyone knows or remembers--is it common for most people who go there to walk across the bridge? I look at it and probably would not be one who would walk it. I dislike the look of the height, no rails, etc. (which I gather have now been added). Would you warn your children not to walk on it or is it fairly safe if they are old enough and responsible? I know it is a backdrop for pictures, etc., I just mean generally speaking.

ETA--I would be one to not walk it I meant.

It's not uncommon, but some people do go there just to enjoy the walk in the "woods". The park in general is a place where lots of people have pictures made-prom, graduation, wedding announcements, etc. There are many people who walk all the way up to the bridge to look at it but don't actually cross it. I don't have any statistics on it or anything, but it's not uncommon for people to go there and not cross it just as it's not uncommon for people to cross it. My mom won't step foot on it now because she says it's rotting too badly.
 
Every time I read that, I hear the Kenny Rogers’ song. :)

Lol, I know right? Helps make it memorable though... I don't know about others but if I follow more than a few cases the initials start scrambling in my thoughts sometimes... It also came about because I feel serial killers or some killer like notorious names/scary names, Coward was better, we doubt he would like that name... And it is a coward who kills two young girls and thinks it makes him a "big" man. jmo.
 
It's not uncommon, but some people do go there just to enjoy the walk in the "woods". The park in general is a place where lots of people have pictures made-prom, graduation, wedding announcements, etc. There are many people who walk all the way up to the bridge to look at it but don't actually cross it. I don't have any statistics on it or anything, but it's not uncommon for people to go there and not cross it just as it's not uncommon for people to cross it. My mom won't step foot on it now because she says it's rotting too badly.

Thank you for the answers. That is what I thought, that probably if one has been across it once, they do not feel the need to and some don't and even that some never would. I would probably walk up to it and take in the view, I would not cross it. The pics make it look as though some boards are not great, or gone, etc.

ETA: My reason for wondering relating to this case is wondering whether BG could have counted on randomly any person being on the bridge necessarily, much less two girls...
 
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Just in case anyone is wondering, my amateur sleuthings have taken me this far: I've identified three possible suspects, one with the chin, one with the hair, and one with the nose and ears. Now if I could only combine them, I would be rich!
(just my attempt to lighten things up a bit, and I have actually seen some of these resemblances) MOO

MOO that it's challenging to walk
across but not actually hard or dangerous is the attraction. Its also beautiful and a high vista.
Looking at the bridge, although there are spaces and missing ties, MOO actually falling off or through looks very unlikely.
The ties are really thick, standard width top, but they look two feet deep to me.
Falling to your knees to the boards or turning an ankle look very possible
 
MOO that it's challenging to walk
across but not actually hard or dangerous is the attraction. Its also beautiful and a high vista.
Looking at the bridge, although there are spaces and missing ties, MOO actually falling off or through looks very unlikely.
The ties are really thick, standard width top, but they look two feet deep to me.
Falling to your knees to the boards or turning an ankle look very possible

I actually grew up near an old railroad bed that then became a trail. We did not have a bridge like that but there was a railroad bridge over a small river. They also left old railroad ties full of cresote along the trail for some time after taking them out. I can tell it would be safe to cross with adequate thickness, etc. but the height alone and lack of rails I thought perhaps it was not that common, I myself would not like the openness and height if it is as it looks. I guess I also wondered if there was a need to cross it to get somewhere else in the park but it sounds like that is not the case.

I guess my thoughts are leaning towards wondering if BG could have known it was likely someone, especially female and young, would be found on the bridge itself or just more likely at the park in general.
 
Other than below, I hadn’t noticed LE referring to anything specific regarding “re-enactments” but the fact that videos have apparently appeared on YouTube using actors I can almost imagine an imaginative but detailed confrontational scenario was also played out.

“And armchair detectives are even taking their interest in the case a step further by creating YouTube reenactments of the crime.

“[The videos] help us know that people don’t know [the true details], because the facts haven’t been released,” Holeman says. “People watch the news and think they are picking up on things, but it’s false. Nothing out there is accurate, which only leads to more false tips.”..”
Why Police Have Not Released Details on the Murders of Libby German and Abby Williams from Delphi, Indiana
Just curious, but if this is true, what LE says about the re-enactment videos being inaccurate (and I have no reason to doubt what they say), why are some of these videos (GH in particular) allowed on this thread? Seems counterproductive to me. JMT's
 
MOO that it's challenging to walk
across but not actually hard or dangerous is the attraction. Its also beautiful and a high vista.
Looking at the bridge, although there are spaces and missing ties, MOO actually falling off or through looks very unlikely.
The ties are really thick, standard width top, but they look two feet deep to me.
Falling to your knees to the boards or turning an ankle look very possible

There are a few, too, that have lost pieces of the boards over the years. You kind of have to look down and watch your step. The only time I've ever been nervous on it, though, was when I looked up at a cloud and got a little dizzy. They say not to look down when you're that high up, but it's looking up that throws me off kilter.
 
Just curious, but if this is true, what LE says about the re-enactment videos being inaccurate (and I have no reason to doubt what they say), why are some of these videos (GH in particular) allowed on this thread? Seems counterproductive to me. JMT's

I'm no fan of GH, but I do think that some of his videos do a pretty good job of showing distances and layout of the park and bridge. While the reenactments may be off, I think parts of his videos are accurate, at least in the way he shows the various places on the bridge where Abby was standing in her picture, where Libby may have been when she took the video, etc.
 
Just curious, but if this is true, what LE says about the re-enactment videos being inaccurate (and I have no reason to doubt what they say), why are some of these videos (GH in particular) allowed on this thread? Seems counterproductive to me. JMT's

I do not know the Utube rules either, some are allowed and some are not so I do not post any as I have no idea which are and which are not :) That is not meant at the rules, just that I do not know so I err on the side of caution.

If most or all re-enactments are not accurate, it sure changes the thinking some. The only reason I can think of for them saying that is to show the perp they do not think it went like the re-enactments went and they know better and know how it went.

Jmo.
 
BG video Frame # 48

This is the last frame, frame # 48, from the new extended ISP video. We have altogether 48 individual frames:

(click to enlarge)

indiana BG extended vid frame 48.png

This is the frame IMO, that ISP based their very first publication of BG - together with the second picture) on their website. It is also possible, that they eliminated that particular frame from the video. Just IMO.

ISP large1.jpg

As you can see, this very first pic of BG is of better quality.

I took this initial pic of BG and eliminated the background for clarity:

ISP large1 copy 2.png

Hope it helps.

ALL IMO

-Nin
 
Thank you for the answers. That is what I thought, that probably if one has been across it once, they do not feel the need to and some don't and even that some never would. I would probably walk up to it and take in the view, I would not cross it. The pics make it look as though some boards are not great, or gone, etc.

ETA: My reason for wondering relating to this case is wondering whether BG could have counted on randomly any person being on the bridge necessarily, much less two girls...
True. I sure wouldn't be crossing that bridge. Fear of heights and also rotting wood :) That's why I keep coming back to, what if he by chance came across info of the girls heading out that way? Had they discussed "crossing the bridge" with their friends or posted something to that effect on SM, what some might consider risky or a bit of a teenage thrill? I just think back to some of the more risky things I and my teen friends did way back when that I would never do now.
ed:sp
 
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If I remember correctly LE says there were only minutes from the encounter and " Guys..... down the hill until the murder. I wonder how long is there between the video of BG until the encounter and what was happening then.

Everything I see assumes that he got them right there at the end of the bridge where Libby was recording from. I can't believe that if Libby had a feeling and video taped him, assuming it wasn't that he was just caught in the background of her taping Abby, then why would they just stand there waiting around. In my opinion they would have walked into the wood further to try and avoid the man.

I think Abby got off the bridge and they were at least 40 to 50 feet ahead of him before he got off the bridge. They may have tried to act calm and get away towards the houses. They may have made it back up the hill on the other side of the creek. Let's face it that at that point if a man has followed you that far then it is obvious that it is intentional. The guys down the hill could be from the other side.

I hope this make sense as I do tend to run on.
 
I'm no fan of GH, but I do think that some of his videos do a pretty good job of showing distances and layout of the park and bridge. While the reenactments may be off, I think parts of his videos are accurate, at least in the way he shows the various places on the bridge where Abby was standing in her picture, where Libby may have been when she took the video, etc.

MOO only a few details have to be wrong to say it's "inaccurate." But who knows which one is or what parts are etc.
 
BG video Frame # 48

This is the last frame, frame # 48, from the new extended ISP video. We have altogether 48 individual frames:

(click to enlarge)

View attachment 184084

This is the frame IMO, that ISP based their very first publication of BG - together with the second picture) on their website. It is also possible, that they eliminated that particular frame from the video. Just IMO.

View attachment 184085

As you can see, this very first pic of BG is of better quality.

I took this initial pic of BG and eliminated the background for clarity:

View attachment 184087

Hope it helps.

ALL IMO

-Nin
Does that object from his waist down on his right side, on the inside of his pants leg, look like a hammer or hatchet handle to anyone else ?....moo
 
It's not uncommon, but some people do go there just to enjoy the walk in the "woods". The park in general is a place where lots of people have pictures made-prom, graduation, wedding announcements, etc. There are many people who walk all the way up to the bridge to look at it but don't actually cross it. I don't have any statistics on it or anything, but it's not uncommon for people to go there and not cross it just as it's not uncommon for people to cross it. My mom won't step foot on it now because she says it's rotting too badly.
The Monon High Bridge appears on lists of historic bridges. Enthusiasts will travel to visit historic bridges to walk, take photos, collect memorabilia, etc.

Coincidentally, my dad purchased some collectible drinking glasses from Goodwill, a set of 4 glasses with the Monon High Bridge etched on them.
 
Anything historical fascinates me. Here is some information I found:

Founders of Delphi
Carroll County Portal - County History

There were many German settlers that arrived after the founding fathers of Delphi.
History of Carroll County, Indiana

There would still have been some Native Americans/American Indians as some returned to Indiana but not that many.

"Among the major tribes that lived in what is now Indiana were the Delaware, Kickapoo, Miami, Mound Builders, Piankashaw, Potawatomi, Shawnee, and Wea. After 1794, treaties were made that opened up large areas of land for settlement. At the Battle of Tippecanoe in 1811, the Indians were defeated, and white settlements then proceeded at an increased rate. By the 1840s, most of the Indians had moved westward to other lands, either voluntarily or by force."

Indians of Indiana Genealogy - FamilySearch Wiki

When I was searching for the history of Delphi, I was absolutely astounded by the hundreds of news articles concerning Abby and Libby and the search for the killer.

I thought of us here, on Websleuths, discussing this case, now on thread 101.

The way we think of Libby and Abby in such a deeply compassionate way. How our hearts are with their dear families who suffered such unfathomable loss and tremendous grief.

It makes me feel honored and proud to be part of Websleuths, these very threads where all of your posts are so profoundly caring and respectful towards these beautiful young girls and their loving families.

May there soon be justice for Abby and Libby and their loved ones.
 
When statements were made back at the beginning about seeing a car under the bridge, did "under the bridge" mean across the creek on the dirt lane that goes under the other end of the bridge? Does anyone remember the description of the car?

Also, about the car at the abandoned building, someone must have seen it parked there for it to be a clue. Any idea of a color or make of that car? How can anyone remember the car now two years later? Did they use any helicopters the day the girls went missing?
 
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