On Feb. 13, 2017 the world changed for all of us whether we knew it at the time or not. At 1:30 in the afternoon, Liberty’s older sister, Kelsi, dropped her and Abby off at the Monon High Bridge near the Hoosier Harvestore. When they didn’t show up for their ride home at 4:00, both families began to look for the girls. After an hour of looking, the families called the police and reported them as missing. The police came out and helped the family look. Word around the area began to break that the girls were missing. The rest of that evening was spent with many friends, family, and townspeople all searching for everyone searching for Libby and Abby. 

The next day, Feb. 14, Valentine’s Day, two bodies were found and later identified as Abigail Williams and Liberty German. That afternoon, the news broke at school. Many students remember the shock and the horror of that news. They remember watching fellow classmates start crying and going to the guidance counselor. 

Who did this? Why? Things like this don’t happen in Delphi. These were the thoughts and questions of many. Everyone was full of hope that the person responsible for the double homicide would be behind bars in a matter of hours. The hours turned into days and then weeks and then months. During that time, pieces of information were released such as a picture taken from Libby’s phone of a man walking across the High Bridge. Sketches of that man were released along with the now well-known audio clip in the hope of someone recognizing it. The case quickly gained national attention. Over the first few months, it was covered by Dr. Phil and many other news sources. 

Nearly four years later and no arrests have been made, yet. 

While the national and local media coverage has subsided, the interest in the case hasn’t gone away. There are podcasts and YouTube videos on tons of different platforms spreading information and getting the news out there. There are books in the process of being written, and books that have already been published. Even in our own community, we have volunteers working on making a softball park to honor the girls. This tragedy even inspired Libby’s older sister Kelsi to become an advocate for the girls and others. She is currently majoring in psychology with minors in forensic science and law and society. “. . .  I started exploring career paths that would allow me to advocate on behalf of families who have also suffered tragic losses,” said Kelsi. Part of this includes going to conventions and forming connections with others who have been and are in similar situations. 

This year Abby and Libby would have been seniors at Delphi Community High School. They would have been planning for college, deciding on what to major in. Our community is still recovering from the deaths of these beloved girls, but all around people are hopeful and ready to help in any way they can.