Location - Monon High Bridge Trail, Delphi, Indiana
Date of Crime - February 13 - 14, 2017
I realize that most of the world had their mind on this case earlier in the year. It was fresh then. A horrifying crime of double homicide was discovered on Valentine's Day, shaking up the small community of Delphi, Indiana while reverberating shock, sadness, anger and fear across the nation.
Abigail (Abby) Williams was 13 years old. She was a happy, outgoing young girl who always asked, "Is there anything I can do to help?". Abby's best friend was Liberty (Libby) German, 14 years old, who loved baking cookies and showing generosity to her friends.
** For the purpose of future reference, I am sharing the timeline of events that were more pertinent to the case itself, the core so to speak.
On Monday, February 13, 2017 at around 1:45 in the afternoon, Libby's sister dropped the two girls (Abby and Libby) off at Monon High Bridge Trail, in Delphi, Indiana.
It was a normal activity for the girls to venture out on the trail, taking photos of trees, flowers and each other. The plan was for the girls to spend a few hours on the trail and a family member would pick them up later in the afternoon.
The girls walked the trail from their drop off point toward the opposite (Northeast) end of the bridge (railroad trestle). From the entry point of the trail to the opposite end of the trestle, it is an approximate 3/4 mile walk. It was 2:07 that afternoon when Libby posted a snapchat photo of Abby walking on the trestle.
At 3:00 pm a family member arrived to pick up the girls. The family member could not locate them so they were joined shortly by other members of the family to assist with no success.
At 5:30 pm a call was made to the authorities to report the girls lost or missing on Monon High Bridge Trail. Authorities arrived and began searching. They were joined by volunteers from across the community in a search of the trail that lasted 9 hours, to no avail.
Tuesday, February 14, 2017
At 2:30 am, the search was called off and scheduled to begin again later that morning.
Rumor - Family members remained there searching until after 4:00 am. (see my explanation of rumor below).
At 9:00 am search parties gathered again at the trail, parking on the cemetery property which is located on the opposite side of Deer Creek from the trestle.
Around noon the search came to an end when the bodies of two young females were discovered in the woods near the creek.
At 2:00 pm authorities announced the discovery of the bodies, noting they suspect foul play.
Wednesday, February 15, 2017
At 10:00 am the announcement that autopsies were complete came with authorities stating they would not be sharing any information from the autopsies nor about any suspect(s).
At 3:00 pm through a conference held by authorities, confirmation came that the bodies discovered at Monon High Bridge were those of Liberty German 14 and Abigail Williams 13.
At 7:00 pm authorities release a photo of a person of interest, not yet named a suspect, who was reportedly walking on the trail at the time of the girls' disappearance.
Thursday, February 16, 2017
At 7:45 pm Police serve a search warrant on Bicycle Bridge Road in Delphi and make no arrests.
** For future reference, at 5.8 miles from Monon High Bridge to Bicycle Bridge Road, the travelling time is:
Walking: 1 hour 55 minutes
Car: 12 minutes
Bicycle: 32 minutes
During the morning hours of February 16, 2017, David James Lucas who was a member of the search party, received a call from police. They interviewed him, looked at his phone and he was released.
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| https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vkqhqmSsdyQ |
Sunday, February 19, 2017
At 12:30 pm authorities announce the man in the photo shared earlier, is a suspect.
Wednesday, February 22, 2017
At 10:00 am investigators on the case reveal the presence of audio and video recorded on Libby's cell phone. At this time a short voice clip was released of a man saying, "Down the hill". Authorities are asking that everyone listen to this clip, in hopes that someone can identify the voice of the suspected murderer of Abigail Williams and Liberty German.
(If you haven't heard it yet, you can listen to it here on YouTube.
Thursday, February 23, 2017
By 12:45 pm police had received over 3,900 tips and the reward amount had reached $50,000.00.
At 4:00 pm The FBI takes over the hotline for tips.
Wednesday, March 1, 2017
At 7:18 am Retired Indianapolis Colts punter Pat McAfee and Jim Irsay announce $97,000.00 donation which carried the reward amount to $200,000.00
Thursday, March 9, 2017
At 10:00 am Liberty German's grandfather, Mike Patty spoke to the media for the first time.
Friday, March 17, 2017
The home and property of Ron Logan, owner of the property where the bodies were discovered, was searched by Indiana State Police, the FBI and Carroll County Sheriff's Deputies. Logan was arrested on unrelated charges and later released.
Monday, July 17, 2017
Indiana State Police released a sketch of the murder suspect.
Wednesday September 27, 2017
Police arrest Daniel Nations in Colorado for driving with expired Indiana license plates announcing he could be linked to the murders of Libby and Abby. He would later be named a person of interest in the case. Many were sure the police, "had their suspect".
Photo, ABC News
September 29, 2017
Fox59 reported, Deputy Jason Dunning was charged with making an unlawful proposition for allegedly trying to solicit a couple for sex.
October 2, 2017
Fox59 also reported, Deputy Jason Dunning submitted his resignation which took effect immediately.
October 17, 2017
Dr. Oz features the story of Libby and Abby to raise awareness and hopefully encourage tips leading to the suspect.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WlHtpzkcarw
Wednesday, November 2, 2017
Bond amounts were reduced for Daniel Nations, enabling his release, which renewed many questions surrounding the case and encouraged case followers to start digging deeper to assist in identifying the suspect.
Monday, November 13, 2017
In the morning hours, Indiana State Police released a media statement, stating, "there has been no information developed to specifically include or exclude Daniel Nations as a suspect in the Delphi homicides."
(Source- TheIndyChannel)
Carroll County Prosecutor, Robert Ives announces he will step down before the end of the year and before charges are filed on two very high profile cases. When speaking of the four Flora sisters who died in a house fire which was determined by the Fire Inspectors to be a case of arson and of Libby and Abby, he says, "No one has given up. No one has given up hope and there are always good developments but I can say this, there are no charges eminent. Nothing's going to happen in the real near future, unless something breaks."
(Source - WLFI)
Tuesday November 14, 2017 - Flora Fire Department Chief Adam Randle retired one week prior to the one year anniversary death of four young Flora girls in what investigators believe was an intentionally set fire. (Also notable in relation to the Flora Fire is the original investigator who was assigned to the Flora Fire, Dennis Randle, resigned in June of 2017.)
December 13, 2017
Family members of Libby and Abby appear on the Dr. Phil show to raise awareness of the case and suspect.
December 14, 2017
The Journal & Courier reported that tips increase after the airing of the Dr. Phil Show.
February 13, 2018 marked the one year anniversary of the deaths of Liberty German and Abigail Williams. A brief conference was held by LE in which questions from reports were barely audible at most points. Answers were brief with no new information provided to the public.
Now, we have a foundation to start building on, because we have a reliable, accurate timeline of events. . . or do we?
As case followers we have two sources of information:
1. What the authorities choose to tell us. We know they are withholding a wealth of information for various reasons and they're good reasons too. Yes, it is frustrating not having more information but, even without it we can still piece together our own turn of events and a profile, if we scratch our brains hard enough.
To sum it up, researching, hunting and digging for that one clue, that singular piece that finishes out a puzzle this horrific, whether through validated sources or by detecting a lost fact among the scattered rumors, is worth every minute in bringing resolve.
Upcoming posts include a variety of theoretical profiles based on the turn of events, based on hints from authorities, some based on rumor and some based on the limited amount of facts we have at the moment.
