Some people were asking what local's opinions/thoughts are. I am not directly in Evansdale, but about 30 mins south - yet this literally feels like it is in my backyard.
Every day I drive through town I see the dozens of posters nailed to telephone poles. When I stop at the gas stations, their pictures are posted...same with the grocery store, dollar general etc.
Like I said earlier, I do have a close friend who is related to the family and had lunch with her today so yes, my views are now influenced by what she had said. Take this all with a grain of salt because I can't "link to proof"...these are simply my thoughts.
Taken by more than 1 person: 1 male, 1 female
The male IS involved in drugs, but this is NOT related to the family.
I do not believe they are alive. I do not think they knew these people, but were honest to goodness in the wrong place at the wrong time.
I believe the perp is or at least WAS in the area and watching every single piece of this unfold in the media and didn't think it would ever blow up this big. (Hence the reason maybe for police to keep any leads very quiet).
I also believe this person was a local - or at least knew the area well enough to navigate around what could appear "suspicious" once the girls were abducted.
And finally...I think these poor girls are still in the general vicinity of Evansdale/Waterloo area.
Hopefully this isn't against the rules to state what my personal opinions are at this point. If so, mods, feel free to remove.
On a separate note, I actually talked about this with my 10 year old daughter last night. Gave her the same exact scenario these girls found themselves in and sure enough...she said she'd go with her friend if they threatened to harm her. Needless to say...lots of tears were shed after that conversation, on both of our parts.
This is absolutely heartbreaking to me, this simply hits too damn close to home.