“Other individuals have come forward with information, as well,” Stansill said.

There are individuals that have not been interviewed who have information about the slayings and the girls’ disappearance, he said.

“We are still asking the public if individuals have information about the case and have not recently talked to investigators to call the OSBI tip line,” Stansill said.

The recently discovered notes breathed new life into an investigation that has crisscrossed the country and into Canada and Mexico for nearly two decades.

Winfrey, who took office in January 2017, was moving into the Sheriff’s Office when the crate was discovered in a closet.

“It was just sitting on a shelf,” he said. “We weren’t digging for it — we just found it.”

After going through the documents, Winfrey quickly realized what he had, secured the documents into evidence and contacted Stansill.

“You don’t think finding something like that in a crate would push the case forward this much,” Winfrey said. “You just don’t think in a million years it would turn out leads like it did.”