DELPHI, Ind. — Abby Williams and Libby German have never been forgotten in Delphi. In fact, these two young friends, taken far too soon, have inspired people to do good in their names over the past five-and-a-half years.
Their neighbors have also never given up on finding out what happened to the girls in February 2017.
In the early days of the investigation, Brad Heath sounded the horn for answers, quite literally, on the Monon High Bridge.
He blew a ram's horn in Delphi, asking and praying for closure.
In fact, in 2019, Heath was at it again, sharing flyers about the murders with pictures of the suspect in every order through his e-commerce business.
"They go all over the country," Heath told 13News. "It only takes one flyer in the right hands that might get a tip to crack the case."
Sharing memories of the girls, with special events in their memory, happened often over the years, like Christmas boxes at the holidays, sending gifts to children in impoverished countries as part of "Abby's Angels" — and middle school kids made it happen.
"Just a wonderful way to keep the memory of Abby and Libby alive. I think also it's been kind of part of our healing process as a school and as community," Delphi Middle School principal Sarah Gustin said.
Abby's Angels is part of a mission started by Abby's mom, Anna Williams.
"This was a project that Abby and I did together, and she really enjoyed it, so it was kind of something important to me to keep doing in her honor," Williams said.
There were also annual food drives in Delphi, held as recently as this winter, to help people and pets in need.
And during that first summer after their deaths, 50 teams came out to play Abby and Libby's favorite sport with a softball tournament in their honor.
There's now a memorial park with softball fields and picnic shelters in the girls' names off Hoosier Heartland Highway.
Concerts and other fundraisers helped to pay for the park and make sure these friends were never forgotten.
"It will be a place for our community to start the healing," Anna said during one of the park's fundraisers. "I hope that we can have that, that we'll find peace when we walk through our park and our ballfield, and we'll know the girls are there. They'll be there."
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Delphi donations, with hundreds of thousands of dollars, also improved safety in this community.
Organizers sold more than 30,000 bracelets, received tens of thousands in donations to pay for cameras and lights at trailheads with GPS coordinates.
"This was a way for some of our community members to display what we're made of and what we have," said Jake Adams, Delphi's director of community development.
What Delphi has had, for half a decade now, is determination to keep Libby's and Abby's memory alive, making sure they're remembered with acts of good that triumph over evil.
They never doubted one day there'd be justice.