When I reached that 2:07 point on the bridge I looked both ways and estimated it was 35% across. I mentioned that online on several sites, including here. Then someone did a more precise calculation based on footage. It is closer to 38-39% across.
There's no reason for Bridge Guy to be in the background at that point. He certainly doesn't want to already be on the bridge. That is far too soon. IMO, the two biggest misconceptions in this case are that the bridge area is highly travelled, and that Bridge Guy crossed rapidly.
Locals like Abby and Libby don't care about Freedom Bridge. They had roughly 90 minutes and were going to use the vast majority of it toward exploring Monon High Bridge, especially since it was Abby's first crossing. By every indication, their one-way crossing took an extraordinary amount of time. I was up there for 15-20 minutes one way because I knew I'd likely never be there again. I was stopping on every platform while filming short videos, etc. Abby and Libby apparently took even longer than that. They were no doubt stopping and talking and taking pictures galore.
Since we have only a couple of images, of Libby snapping a photo of a distant and walking Abby, and Libby videotaping a distant and walking Bridge Guy, it lends to a false impression of persistent spacing and non-stop foot travel. Meanwhile if we had video of the entirety it would immediately be shocking at how different the reality was. I'm not even confident that Bridge Guy walked the entirety without stopping occasionally, and looking like a tourist.
Why does he need to rush? Abby and Libby are crossing at 20 minute pace, if not slower. Bridge Guy has noted that pace before embarking. He's got to wait and make sure they don't turn around. The vast majority who venture onto that bridge do turn around. If Bridge Guy enters the equation when the 2:07 photo is snapped, then at normal 7 minute pace he's going to gobble them up while they are still midway on the bridge. No chance he can afford that. That scenario is going to set off alarm bells. That is not a passing bridge. Abby and Libby are exponentially more likely to be scared and take off quickly toward the end of the bridge if they see him on track to reach them early. Instead, Bridge Guy smartly waited until the girls were probably midway on the bridge, if not slightly beyond that. Then he can undertake a normal-looking 7 minute pace and maybe even slow down if he notices the girls taking even longer than he expected. Ideal timing for him is to reach the end just after they finished.
By all indications, that is exactly what happened. Abby and Libby expected a brief awkward encounter. That would have been the outcome virtually every time. When I visited my primary interest was exploring beyond the bridge, due to insistence the girls were trapped. Reality was what I expected: They were anything but trapped. But there also wasn't enough legitimate dread to cause them to dash away all. That is overplaying the result.
Surprise murders are going to happen. I hate to phrase it that way but it's part of normal distribution. Aspiring perpetrators and a competent plan.
Gray Hughes and others have used shadows and gauged the Bridge Guy video at slightly beyond 2:20. Maybe 2:22. I have seen assertions the video was taken as late as 2:33, which apparently sources from CNN. The 2:22 makes more sense to be since it would align with 20-25 minutes to cross.
But I've always wondered why there wasn't greater verification toward the 2:33. If that number is accurate, then it really makes me wonder what was going on with Bridge Guy. He would have had to wait an extraordinarily long time before entering the bridge. I'm almost thinking he expected someone to show up near the foot of the bridge, causing him to tame the demons and casually walk away. But once he waits 20 minutes or more and there's nobody in sight, he goes for it.
