find the relative if there is one.
it is my understanding that many SK's follow and learn from other notorious SK's which means he may never pick a place he is connected to to do a killing, or like
.
So, the bridge is supposed to be not so easy to find if you didn’t really know where and what to look for...I’ve read that many places. I’ve looked at sattelite maps of the area...it is kind of wild. He went off trail and committed a double homocide. He absolutely HAD to know that forested area, and he had to have been practicing the off trail terrain for weeks leading up. I have forested property in IL that is very similar to the wooded areas of the park. The terrain changes dramatically from season to season. A heavy rain send can trees toppling, deepen ravine crevices, and throw debris of all sorts in the path. The last wind event we had in my area coupled with rains completely changed my own property. I think knowledge of the land would guarantee “local”, but do we have a trail killer that stalks other parks as well outside of that area?
I've both driven around the area, and walked the two trails. There is a lot of false or misleading information about some particulars of the case which has been shared by the media, LE, and folks here and in other forums and social media.
The terrain is tough to navigate in spots in the gorge, where it's steep and there is heavy vegetation. One big reason why the vegetation is so thick during the warmer months is the creek is a drain of sorts for the surrounding countryside, and then downstream ends up in the Wabash River. During the colder months the terrain is much easier to navigate, in news reports shortly after the murders the land owner is seen with reporters right by the crime scene, where the terrain is generally flat. Despite the walk to get out of the steep gorge, the land owner, who was in his late-70's at the time, does it with relative ease. Other parts of the gorge are much steeper and much more difficult to access on foot, even with there being trails on private lands.
The distances involved are relatively short, especially from "down the hill" to the crime scene. From the SE end of the bridge to the CS is only about 500 or so feet, albeit across Deer Creek but it's shallow right there when the water level is low, as it was on Feb. 13th, 2017. That relative distance has been confirmed by others who have been to the gorge and reported such here. From the NW end of the bridge to the CS is just under 3/8 of a mile. I've seen references to "half mile", "mile", and "miles" regarding where the victims were found, relative to the bridge, and that's simply not true.
I believe the killer had recon'd the area around the bridge on previous visits, noted the vegetation, picked out the crime scene, noted how long it took to walk the main trail to the bridge, how long it took to cross the bridge, and how long it took to walk to the CS. He needed to strike during a time of year when much of the vegetation was down/gone, and during a period of time that the one homeowner across the creek from the CS would not be home.
He needed the seclusion the gorge would offer to someone bent on killing, but also needed relatively short distances so he could conserve energy while being exposed to the chilly temps that day, the cold water of the creek, and the distance from the CS to a vehicle would be relatively short so he could get out of there in a matter of minutes. Seeing it for myself last month, and walking the main trail, indicated to me BG chose the MHB area for the reasons I've cited. I believe these facts indicate he's a young-ish killer, healthy, and in good physical shape.
I agree that he most likely scouted out other trails for his fantasy.
He had to know MHB was back in those woods, where to park, and he had to have had previous experiences there where he could observe trail walkers. I think, too, he'd trespassed before on many occasions on those private properties along the creek.
Other facts I've taken note of are the main trail was cleared of vegetation only in recent years, between the intersection of the trails and where the Freedom Bridge is now, which is about a 5 minute walk. The Hoosier Heartland Highway was opened through there in 2014, and there are no signs to indicate the MHB is located near where there's a turn off for C.R. 300/Samuel Milroy Rd./Old 25/etc. The only sign near a road indicating the bridge is back there is just off of C.R. 300, by where the girls were dropped off.
Just My Opinions (JMO)
