Ron Wilkins

rwilkins1@gannett.com

DELPHI, Ind. — Softball season is in high gear now, and in previous years, Libby German and Abby Williams' families hustled to ferry the girls to practice and games like any other parent. But sadly, not this year.

A killer stole German and Williams' young lives on Feb. 13 in a desolate, wooded spot along Deer Creek east of the Monon High Bridge. Two months to the day, the killer remains on the loose, but investigators remain confident that his days of freedom are numbered.

“We’ve got the best of the best on board with this investigation, including our local guys," Carroll County Sheriff Tobe Leazenby said Thursday morning when asked about catching the killer.

Police collected a significant amount of evidence from the scene, but police aren't specifically saying what that evidence is. It's being analyzed, Leazenby said, and Carroll County sheriff's Detective Kevin Hammond said most of the evidence went to the Indiana State Police lab, but some went to the FBI lab.

“We’ve gotten some (analysis) back, but we can’t really discuss what we’ve gotten back,” Hammond said. “There’s a large amount of stuff to be tested.”

For the community, two months of living with a killer on the run takes a toll on the sense of security here.

2 months later:5 unanswered questions about the Delphi killings

What's happened since:Fences going up at bridge near Delphi girls' slaying

Applications for a license to carry a handgun have increased in Carroll County.

“Since Feb. 13, we’ve had 163 new applications,” Leazenby said of the run on gun permits. “Normally, … it’s anywhere to one or two a day or every other day.”

Asked if the increase in gun license application was an undercurrent of fear in the community, Leazenby said, “I’m sure that’s part of it.

"Some of the people I’ve talked to who’ve come in to apply, they’ve been thinking about it for some time, even before this happened. This was kind of the push for them to say, ‘Yeah, I’m going to do this now.’”

While people look out for their personal safety, detectives continue to work their way through 18,000 tips that have been received in the last two months.

“We’re getting more tips daily, but we’re at 1,200 (tips they still have to go through),” Carroll County sheriff's Detective Tony Liggett said.

What's known is that the girls hiked Delphi's historic trails east of town on a mild February day — the last day of their winter break. When the eighth-graders didn't return to their pickup point, family members became concerned. The next day — Valentine's Day — volunteer searchers found the girls' bodies on the north shore of the creek.

Since the killings, tips have filtered in from across the country, Hammond said, and they've tracked down all of them, even tips from unconventional sources who claim to have a "gift."

"Every tip may have something in it," Hammond said.

The amount of tips received in this case is unprecedented, Leazenby said, noting that senior FBI agents who have assisted in the investigation commented that they've never seen such a response from the community and from across the country.

Many, including police, figured that the killer would have been caught by now.

"The biggest thing I hear is why we’re not releasing more information to help people help us," Liggett said when asked about the community's concern about a killer on the loose. "We absolutely can’t because ... the person or persons we’re looking for — some of this stuff, they will be the only ones to know.”

The tight lid on information released to the public is about preserving the integrity of the case for the courtroom, Leazenby explained.

Police released a photo of a man, whom investigators believe is the killer. German took the photo on her cellphone sometime before or during the girls' abduction from the trail, police said.

A week after releasing the photo, police published an audio recording from a man ordering someone "down the hill." Police said the audio also came from German's cellphone and is the voice of the killer.

Liggett keeps in contact with the families of German and Williams, and he said that Libby's grandfather, Mike Patty, is trying to stay positive and working to name a local softball diamond in memory of the girls.

For the past two months, this tight-knit community shared the fear and grief alongside the German and Williams' families.

“Personally, I think so," Leazenby said when asked if the Delphi community is healing, "but it’s baby steps.”

“It’s a slow process,” Liggett said.

J&C breaking news reporter Ron Wilkins can be reached at 765-420-5231; follow on Twitter @RonWilkins2

What you can do

Anonymous tips in the double homicide case of Liberty German and Abby Williams, who were eighth-graders at Delphi Community Middle School, may be sent to abbyandlibbytip@cacoshrf.com. The Delphi Murder Tip Line is at 844-459-5786.