The Bridge
1.
Is someone hiding in the trees around the bridge? No. The bridge is 60+ ft. off the ground. Due to forced perspective, some photos make it appear as if the bridge and ground are level or nearly so. Anything within close enough proximity to stand on is part of the bridge itself.
2.
Is there a person or people standing at one end of the bridge? No. Sgt. Kim Riley of the Indiana State Police (ISP) and photos/videos of the area clearly depict a metal barrier of three vertical poles topped by one horizontal pole (like TTT).
3.
Are there vehicles and/or people located below the bridge? Undetermined; previously hotly debated. Some members felt they saw shapes indicative of a vehicle; others felt they saw rock and trees in the same location. At least one side of the bridge has a vehicle-accessible drive. The terrain is generally soft, muddy and has many trees. All-terrain vehicles or more rugged vehicles could likely access this area without problems. People can access on foot or horseback.
Consensus: It is not impossible to get a motorized vehicle near or under the bridge. The majority of members posting seem to feel neither vehicles nor people are pictured. Please remember there can be great variation in people’s perception of color and shape, and the abilities of photo editing or imaging software.
Item of Note: Law enforcement has made no reference to other potential witnesses who may have been within sight or earshot, but this does not exclude the possibility.
Item of Note: Google “paredolia.” Seeing patterns or images which are not actually present. Overall, a helpful term to know when trying to objectively analyze images.
The Girls’ Cell Phones
1.
Did the girls’ phones “ping” cell phone towers around town? Yes, reportedly.
2.
Did someone take the girls and/or their phones around town? Probably not. Cell phones will ping the nearest tower(s) while on and receiving service.
For example: Tower A is on the West side of town. Tower B is on the East side of town, exactly five miles away. Your phone will ping both towers, but you have not left your home on the East side all day. A ping on Tower A does not mean you traveled 5 miles to the West side of town. It means you were in proximity to both Tower A and Tower B, not that you moved between them.
3.
Do police have the girls’ cell phones? Undetermined, see below.
Abby’s phone: Unknown whether Abby has her own phone or if she had a phone with her that day. News sources seem to imply "phones," but no definite source material to confirm.
Libby’s phone: Language used in some news stories could be construed to mean that law enforcement has physical possession of her device, but technically unknown. Took Snapchat photo of Abby on the bridge. Took video (ETA: corrected from photo) of unknown male suspect on bridge; the still shots of the unknown male suspect on the bridge were taken from this video. Recorded audio of unknown male suspect. At this time, law enforcement is unable to positively conclude that the recorded audio is the voice of the male pictured on the bridge. Two suspects cannot and have not been ruled out at this time.
Libby’s use of the cloud for media storage cannot be confirmed at this time; meaning, chiefly:
If the phone was not initially in law enforcement’s possession, some of the earliest media released may have been obtained from the cloud
There is no evidence (publicly available at this time) to suggest any recorded audiovisual media from the attack was automatically posted to social media; therefore, we do not believe any of her friends or followers on social media saw or heard anything in real time or after the fact.
Libby’s grandfather stated that he sent her text messages. In his words, he could tell they were delivered but not read.