Just my opinion, but I also agree with you. He had to have known the area, so he either is local, was local, or is an employee at either IPC or Tyson in Logansport and heard coworkers talk of the area. (I add this because both plants bus employees in as far away as Allen & Grant Counties).
I think he came past them on the bridge not long after the Snapchat photo was taken. His demeanor led Libby to flip on her video on the phone rather than run. Maybe that was the trigger. I don't know - but then I agree, he turned around. At that point, maybe it wasn't him forcing them - that was when fear kicked in and if he was standing between them and the south exit, their only option was to run to the north, 13yo me at that point would've been thinking, "I can outrun the old guy on a steep slope. I'm nimble." and that could explain how they ended up on the east side.
Common Indiana sense also says "it may be warm out, but that water is going to be less than 50 degrees, because even in the summer it doesn't get very warm." So I can't see either the girls or the perp choosing crossing the water as a first choice.
My heart just breaks. Many times my best friend and I went hiking on our own at that age. Which also just triggered a thought... she was my pastor's daughter. The creek we would follow had a path all the way down to the creek from the cemetery. Back in the day they used it for baptisms. You just may be on to something with the vehicle there as well. Enough that I got cold chills thinking about it. Off to check the topography of it for comparison.
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