Members of the public immediately murmured among themselves when Indiana State Police of the Delphi murder suspect at the city’s Canal Center Monday morning. The announcement marked a different direction for the 26-monthlong investigation into who killed 13-year-old Abby Williams and 14-year-old Libby German. The friends went missing February 13, 2017, and their bodies were found the next day under the Monon High Bridge near Delphi. “I knew [the investigation] would come to a head, but I thought it would have come to a head a lot sooner. I thought we would have him in jail by now,” remarked John MaCurdy, a Burlington resident. Indiana State Police believe the suspect is a man between the ages of 18 and 40, but he could be younger. They also think he lives, works or otherwise has connections to Delphi. ISP Superintendent Doug Carter said at the Monday news conference that the killer could be in the crowd. “You could feel the whole atmosphere of the room change,” Tiffany Burns recalled. “You start to look out of the corner of your eyes and looking around to see, ‘Is he [in here]?’ You know? You could tell everybody felt it.” As a little girl, Audra Kesler, of Brookston, said she used to play near where Williams and German were found dead, making their killings seem more real to her. Since February 2017, Kesler thinks their murderer is lurking at the public announcements when police reveal developments in the Delphi murder investigation. “Every time I come to one of these [announcements], I’m always thinking that he’s right here, right around,” Kesler explained. Anyone with information on the suspect should call police at 844-459-5786 or email investigators at abbyandlibbytip@cacoshrf.com.<doc-sep>The unknown suspect in the mysterious murder of two Delphi eighth-graders may live in the small Indiana town, police said Monday, as new information about the killer was released. The male suspect is believed to currently or previously live in Delphi, work in town or visit on a regular basis, Indiana State Police Superintendent Douglas Carter said at a news conference. He's believed to be between 18 and 40 years old, Carter said, but may appear younger than his age. Carter said the person seen in this image could be the girls' killer. 'We believe you are hiding in plain sight," Carter said at the news conference, and even "may be in this room." "We likely have interviewed you or someone close to you," he said. Abby Williams, 13, and Libby German, 14, who were fast friends once they joined the same volleyball team, were enjoying a day off from school on Feb. 13, 2017, when they vanished on a hiking trail. Their bodies were found the next day near the trail. Delphi is a tight-knit community of nearly 3,000 people, dubbed by the local sheriff as "small-town USA." Main Street runs through the center, with the jail, city courthouse and a library all located within walking distance of each other. Two years after the double murder shocked the community, Indiana State Police on Monday released that new sketch of the suspect, as well as new audio and video evidence. The never-before-seen video recovered from Libby's phone shows the suspect walking on the bridge near where the girls were last seen. "When you see the video, watch the person's mannerisms as they walk," Carter said Monday. "Do you recognize the mannerisms as being someone you might know?" Authorities in 2017 released a grainy image of someone seen on the trail the day the girls went missing along with a chilling recording found on Libby's phone with just three words heard: "Down the hill." On Monday, police released additional portions of the audio recording from Libby's phone. While it is hard to decipher what was said in the clip, "the person talking ... is the person on the bridge with the girls... please listen to it very, very carefully," Carter noted. To former Delphi resident Clint Rayne, it's terrifying to think the suspect lives or works in the community. "It makes you wonder if your kids have came in contact with this person," he told ABC News after the news conference. "Does he work at the school? Does he work at McDonald's?" Carter, addressing the killer, said at the news conference, "What will those closest to you think of when they find out that you brutally murdered two little girls, two children? Only a coward would do such a thing." Carter vowed to not stop searching until an arrest is made. Anyone with information is asked to contact abbyandlibbytip@cacoshrf.com.<doc-sep>More than two years after two teenage girls were murdered after going for a walk, Indiana State Police revealed a new photo of the suspect in the slayings Monday while making an impassioned plea to the killer, who's still on the loose. ISP Superintendent Doug Carter said the investigation into the 2017 killings of Libby German, 14, and Abby Williams, 13, has now shifted to focus on someone who lives in Delphi, Indiana or used to live in the city located about 60 miles northwest of Indianapolis. "We believe you are hiding in plain sight," an emotional Carter said at a news conference in a plea to the killer. "For more than two years you never thought we would shift to a different investigative strategy, but we have." 2017 DELPHI MURDERS OF 2 TEENAGE GIRLS MOVING IN 'NEW DIRECTION,' INDIANA STATE POLICE SAY Carter released a new sketch of a suspect that appears to be much younger than the previous sketch released by police. The suspect now is believed to be a man who is between the ages of 18 and 40, but might also appear younger. The man is also believed to have lived, worked, or regularly visited Delphi. Authorities were able to create the sketch that "more accurately" depicts the face of the suspect from the video recorded on German's cell phone while she and Abigail were on the High Bridge. "We have a witness. You made mistakes," Carter said. "We are coming for you and there's no place for a heartless coward like you to hide that gets his thrill from killing little girls." Besides the sketch, Carter also revealed that investigators were looking for the owner of a vehicle abandoned on the east side of County Road 300 North next to the Hoosier Heartland Highway between 12 p.m. and 5 p.m on Feb. 14, 2017. The vehicle was parked at the old CPS/DCS/Welfare building, according to Carter. The teens were reported missing on Feb. 13, 2017, after they were dropped off at the Delphi Historic Trails in the early afternoon. Their bodies were discovered the next day by a volunteer, about a half-mile off the trail. Despite autopsies being conducted, no cause of death has ever been revealed for either of the girls. Police have tens of thousands of tips in the investigation into Williams' and German’s deaths but have not yet made any arrests. ACCUSED CHILD MOLESTER INVESTIGATED IN 2017 MURDERS OF INDIANA TEENS: REPORT "We likely have interviewed you or someone close to you," Carter said in a message to the killer. "We know that this is about power for you, and you want to know what we know. One day, you will." In the course of the investigation, authorities released a pixelated image of a man walking on the bridge around the time of the girl's disappearance. A new brief video of the man walking was released on Monday in the hopes that someone could identify the man based on the mannerisms as he walks. Authorities also released an audio clip from one of the girl's phones. Police said it might be the suspect’s voice. An unidentified man can be heard saying: “Down the hill.” CLICK HERE FOR THE FOX NEWS APP Carter said the girls' families learned about the latest developments Monday morning and asked the media to give the family two weeks before commenting on the new information, according to FOX59. In the years since the teenager girls were killed, authorities had probed a possible connection between the murders and a man accused of child molestation, after the public drew similarities between his mugshot and an FBI sketch of the alleged killer. Delphi investigators had also worked closely with detectives in Fort Wayne, Indiana. after John. D Miller was arrested last year in the 1988 murder of an 8-year-old girl. Authorities, however, would not comment at the time if he was a possible suspect in the two teenagers’ deaths. Authorities are encouraging anyone with information to contact the tip line at 844-459-5786 or email them to Abbyandlibbytip@cacoshrf.com. Fox News' Katherine Lam and Paulina Dedaj contributed to this report.<doc-sep>
The killer of two teenage girls, who were slain in 2017 while they were hiking in their small Indiana city, has close connections to the community, police said Monday. "Directly to the killer — who may be in this room — we believe you are hiding in plain sight," Indiana State Police Superintendent Doug Carter said during a news conference. "We likely have interviewed you or someone close to you." "For more than two years, you never thought we would shift gears, but we have," he said. "We know this is about power to you, and you want to know what we know. And one day you will." Liberty German, 14, and Abigail Williams, 13, vanished while hiking in their hometown of Delphi, about 60 miles northwest of Indianapolis, in February 2017. Their bodies were found in the woods the day after they disappeared. Carter said Monday that their murderer likely lived in, worked in or often visited Delphi, a city of about 3,000 people. He said investigators were looking for tips on a vehicle parked next to an abandoned building near Hoosier Heartland Highway the day the girls went missing. Police also released a new sketch of the suspect, which bears little resemblance to the one they released in July 2017. "We have a witness. You made mistakes. We are coming for you and there's no place for a heartless coward like you to hide that gets his thrill from killing little girls," Carter said in a statement accompanying the new information. Investigators, at first, released two grainy photos of a person walking on an old railroad bridge the girls had visited on their hiking trip, along with audio of a male saying, "Down the hill." The evidence had come from Liberty's cellphone. Police on Monday released more evidence obtained from Liberty's cellphone — a longer audio clip, in which the same male seems to be saying "guys" and video of the person walking on the bridge. Carter encouraged Delphi residents to "watch the person's mannerisms as they walk" so they could determine whether it might be someone they know. He vowed that he would not give up on the investigation. "We are just beginning. We are just now beginning," he said. "We will not stop."