My Dad grew up in Missouri, my sister lives in Indiana and I have lots of family in the mid-West. However, I'm a Jersey Girl so I don't know anything about this area. Something keeps drawing me to the meat packing plant - could be the proximity to the trails, the reported tire tracks (from a previous thread), the boots, etc.
Listening to the voice on the audio, I hear a very controlled voice - no hint of stress, fear, excitement, anger, etc. Very cold and calculating. Someone previously mentioned they possibly would be a Corrections Officer or some other authoritative job. I am thinking someone that works in a slaughterhouse - used to ordering animals around with no emotion or feeling - "(git) down the hill". I am not saying that everyone that works in this industry is cold, unfeeling, etc, however every industry has both good and bad people.
I don't know how long it takes to get DNA back (assuming, hopefully, that they have some) and how long it may take to run it through the system, but maybe he has been convicted of something previously but the results aren't back yet. Also, and someone here may be able to speak more about this, what criminal convictions REQUIRE the offender submit DNA? If this guy has a conviction for something more minor (possibly pled down from a more serious charge) OR if his conviction pre-dated mandatory DNA collection he could still have a record. If he is "older" 40's-50's could this be possible?
Boots - I posted earlier that I thought they looked like waders or muck boots (for barn work). The picture of the boots being taken into evidence resemble these types of boots.
I do think he is (or was) local or at least has spent significant amounts of time in the area since he seemed to quickly know where to lead them that he was less likely to be disturbed. Could he be a truck driver that frequently delivers to/from the packing plant? Being on the road could be an easy way to not having to account for his whereabouts - UNLESS he drives a truck that has a GPS locating system. We had a large trucking company in our town that equipped all of their rigs with GPS locating systems so they could track them in case of theft, etc. Anyone know if police have looked at this possibility to see if any of the incoming/outgoing trucks have these systems?
Lastly, the statement about a "set of footprints" - a "set" can mean a variety of things to different people. It doesn't necessarily mean that there were only two prints. Remember back to helping kids with their math homework? Anything included in the circle or square was considered a "set". In this case, the "set" could have been the footprints of the killer(s), Abigail and Liberty.
Sorry of the long post but I am brainstorming after a lot of thought. This case particularly bothers me because I have a 13 y/o son and 15 y/o daughter who spend a lot of time in the woods and fields on tractors, gators, quads and horses in what we have always felt is a "safe" area. My maiden name is Williams (from Missouri) so I also feel very connected to this in such a tragic way.
Prayers to all of the girls' family and friends, but also to the community, the moderators here, law enforcement, and everyone else who has been touched by this. Like others that have posted, I can't imagine the fear they felt, and I am so amazed at their presence of mind to record this. God bless them and may some comfort be found by knowing they may have saved so many other lives. Anyone that could kill like this will surely do it again - and likely has before.