Update: A suspect has been arrested and charged in connection with the murders of two Indiana teens who were slain on a hiking trail near Delphi, Indiana, more than five years ago, Indiana State Police announced Monday. Read our updated story here. Our original story continues below.
In 2017, one day before Valentine's Day, a tragic story shook a small Indiana community to its core.
Liberty German, 14, and Abigail Williams, 13, vanished while hiking Feb. 13, 2017 along a trail near their hometown of Delphi, about 60 miles northwest of Indianapolis. Their bodies were found the next day in a wooded area.
Soon after, police released images from Libby's phone showing a suspect in the case heading across a bridge and toward the teens. About a week later, a report from WTHR reports says authorities released an audio clip from Libby's phone in which a man can be heard saying, "Down the hill."
But the case began to turn cold.
And while in the months and years following, sketches of a potential suspect were released and rewards seeking information in the case have continued to grow, new developments were scarce.
To this day, police have released minimal details about the young girls' killings.
Now, after more than five years of uncertainty, lingering questions and numerous leads, Indiana State Police on Monday are expected to provide an update in the Delphi investigation, according to a press release.
While the ISP hasn't released more details, NBC affiliate WTHR out of Indianapolis repots that, according to police sources, a man has been taken into custody in connection with the killings.
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Ahead of Monday's news conference, here's a look back at the case — from the initial hours of the girls' disappearance, developments in the police investigation and pleas from family members who remain relentless in their quest for justice.
Feb. 13, 2017
On the afternoon of Feb. 13, one of Libby's family members dropped the girls off near the Monon High Bridge, where the two went hiking on a nearby trail, according to a website seeking information about the teens' murders. Hours later, a relative arrived to pick the girls up, but they never showed up.
Family members reported the girls missing at 5:30 p.m. that evening.
Feb. 14, 2017
The girls bodies were found by search crews, about three-quarters of a mile from the abandoned railroad bridge where they were dropped off to go hiking.
Feb. 15, 2017
Two days following Libby and Abby's disappearance, Indiana State Police released photos of a man who was seen on hiking trails around the time the girls were there and asked the public to help identify him. The pictures, taken on Libby's phone, showed the unidentified man heading across a bridge and toward the teens.
While police announced they were seeking to identify the person in question Feb. 15, it wasn't until four days later when they officially named him a suspect.
Feb. 22, 2017
State police investigators released an audio recording of a male voice saying "down the hill," asking for anyone who can identify the voice to come forward. As was the case with the photos of the man, the audio came from Libby's cell phone.
Police hailed the girl as a hero for recording potentially crucial evidence.
March 2017
At a March news conference, Mike Patty, Libby's grandfather, pleaded with the public to review the photographs and audio of the suspect, hoping someone could provide a tip that leads to an arrest.
"If you think it could be, but then say, 'No he's not like that,' go with your initial instinct. Let law enforcement run that information and make that determination," he said during a news conference.
"However small it may seem, it's extremely vital that we get every tip we can get. Please, we need your help."
Patty said he still believes the killer or killers will be found. He said the slayings have "torn a hole in our families that will never heal."
July 2017
Authorities on July 17 released a sketch of a man considered the main suspect in the girls' killings based on descriptions of someone who was believed to have seen him.
The composite sketch depicts a white man with a prominent nose and a goatee who’s wearing a cap and what appears to be a hooded sweater. Police said the suspect has reddish-brown hair, stands between 5-foot-6 and 5-foot-10 and weighs between 180 and 220 pounds.
Police asked the public to examine the image, particularly the man’s facial features and contact them with any information that might help them identify him.
“We want to know who he is,” State Police Sgt. Kim Riley said at a news conference at the time. “If we can get somebody to come forward with more information — if we can get a name or at least a location of this subject — that would be great.”
April 2019
More than two years after Libby and Abby were murdered, police released a new sketch, saying it "more accurately represents" the man believed to be their killer than the initial sketch.
Police said suspect descriptions were developed early in their investigation and that authorities “initially believed the sketch” released in July 2017 of a white man with a prominent nose and a goatee, possibly in his 40s or 50s, “was a person of interest in this murder investigation.”
A statement from Indiana State Police sought to clarify information about the two sketches on behalf of the multi-agency task force that’s investigating the killings.
The latest sketch was “representative of the face of the person captured” in video taken from German’s cellphone of a man walking on an abandoned railroad bridge, the police statement said.
Police also released a longer audio clip they said captures the suspect saying “guys, down the hill.”
Dec. 2021
In Dec. 2021, authorities investigated whether Kegan Kline was connected with the murders, saying a social media account he created was one of the last to speak with Libby before the disappearance, according to officials.
According to a probable cause affidavit obtained by WTHR, Kline created the anthony_shots account, posed as a male model to communicate with girls and solicited nude photographs. Kline was never officially named a suspect in the murders.
Kline was arrested on 30 charges related to child exploitation, child pornography and child solicitation stemming from a search of his Peru, Indiana, home in 2017. Kline has remained in jail for more than two years, and his case is currently making its way through the court system.
Feb. 2022
In Feb. 2022, the five-year mark since the girls' murders passed, with the loved ones of Libby and Abby holding out hope one day the killer will be apprehended.
Kelsi German, Libby's sister, told WTHR she planned to spend the anniversary of the deaths with her family, remembering the girls over the weekend with a food drive.
“I think it can get very tiring to do nothing. If we were just sitting at home and not keeping busy, we would have lots of time to be in our own thoughts,” said Kelsi. “So actually going out and doing something for others just brings us a little bit of, you know, this is what we’re doing for them, and we don’t have to think about the bad stuff. We can think about all the good things that are coming out of the bad things that happened."
Kelsi said she remains patient, believing at some point the man who killed the girls will be found and charged.
“When I’m feeling frustrated, when I feel like no answers are coming and I’m feeling dejected, I say that. I say, ‘Today is the day. It’s coming and it’ll get here. We’re going to have answers’ and just reaffirm myself and say, ‘It’s hard, it’s frustrating, it’s been five years, but we’re going to have answers eventually. It’s coming.'”
Oct. 28, 2022
Citing police sources, WTHR reported a man was taken into custody for the murders of both girls. The Indiana State Police hasn't confirmed the report, instead saying the Delphi Homicide Task Force will "announce an update in the Delphi investigation" at a news conference Monday morning.
According to WTHR, an arrest will be announced at the news conference, which is set to take place at 9 a.m. CST.
As news of a possible arrest circulated on social media Friday, German's sister tweeted "today is the day."
"Just know how grateful I am for all of you. No comments for now, any questions please refer to the Carroll county prosecutors office. There is tentatively a press conference Monday at 10am. We will say more then," she wrote.
