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Delphi investigators in Colorado to question 'person of interest' David Nations & collect evidence

Posted at 3:46 PM, Sep 29, 2017
and last updated 2017-09-29 20:22:06-04

CARROLL COUNTY, Ind. -- Investigators working the murders of Abigail Williams and Liberty German have traveled to Colorado to interview the latest person of interest in the case, Daniel Nations. 

Nations was arrested on Monday in Colorado Springs after police matched his vehicle and description to a man who had been threatening hikers with a hatchet on the same trail where a man was shot and killed just two weeks earlier. 

Police found a hatchet and a rifle in Nation's car, which had expired Indiana plates. 

Late Thursday night the El Paso County Sheriff's Department charged Nations with felony menacing and reckless endangerment for the hatchet incident. They say more charges are likely in the coming days. 

READ | Who is Daniel Nations? The latest 'person of interest' in the murders of Abby & Libby in Delphi

Indiana State Police Sergeant Kim Riley said they were made aware of Nations’ arrest on Wednesday by a sheriff’s department in Colorado and they immediately started exchanging notes.

Riley said Indiana State Police sent troopers who are "well versed" in the Delphi investigation to Colorado on Friday to interview Nations and collect evidence. He said the troopers they sent are familiar with the case and know things that the average person could not know. 

After questioning Nations and collecting any evidence that they find, Riley said they will fast-track any type of DNA they see fit to collect. 

Riley could not give a timeline on when they expect to have answers but said they are working as quickly and thoroughly as possible, while still protecting the integrity of the case. 

Nations is a convicted sex offender with numerous charges out of multiple Indiana counties. He was arrested in Morgan County, Indiana just ten days after Libby and Abby were murdered. 

State police are calling Nations a “person of interest” in the case, but it’s a title they say has been used many times over the past several months and has yet to lead to an arrest.

TIMELINE | The disappearance and murders of Abby & Libby

Nations appeared in court on Thursday for a child custody hearing. When asked if he had anything to do with the murders in Indiana, Nations just shook his head and looked down. 

 

Libby and Abby went missing while hiking near the Monon High Bridge on February 13. Their bodies were found the next morning in a wooded area, less than a mile from where they were last seen alive. 

State and local police along with the FBI have been searching for their killer ever since. 

Investigators released two photos and an audio clip taken from Libby's cell phone on the day that she died of the person they are calling the main suspect in the girls' deaths. 

 

The reward for information leading to the arrest and conviction of the person responsible for Libby and Abby's death is now over $230,000. 

Police have received over 24,000 tips in the case and interviewed over 500 people, but so far no arrests have been made. 

DELPHI DAUGHTERS | The Untold Stories of Who Abby & Libby Were | Delphi investigation: The latest on finding the killer | Delphi Daughters: Families tell their story for the first time | Delphi girls murdered: What is the evidence?