Teen girls found dead on hike in Indiana investigated as double homicide
The girls were found not far from where they were dropped off to go hiking.
— -- The bodies of two teenage girls who went missing while hiking in Indiana were found Tuesday, and their deaths, which shook their community, are now being investigated as a homicides, according to police.
State Police Sgt. Kim Riley said autopsies conducted in Terre Haute, Indiana helped to identify the girls as Liberty Rose Lynn German, 14, and Abigail Jay Williams, 13 of Carroll County.
German and Williams were found roughly three-quarters of a mile from an abandoned railroad bridge, near Delphi, where they were dropped off Monday to go hiking. It was unclear who dropped the girls off.
Police said they are still collecting evidence at the scene of where the bodies were found.
Carroll County Sheriff Tobe Leazenby said authorities do not yet have a suspect or suspects in the girls' deaths.
Police are not releasing a cause of death, and are not detailing any wounds or injuries the girls may have sustained.
"The investigation is still in its baby steps, so to speak, and we don't want to put that information out yet," Leazenby said.
Police urged the community to contact police with any tips they might have to help authorities in the investigation.
"We're going to get to the bottom of this. We feel confident. And we're going to do everything within our resources to reach justice in this situation," Leazenby said.
Riley said that the deaths have sparked fear in the quiet, rural community.
"I feel safe for this community," he said, and added that people should remain "alert and watchful."
ABC News' Lindsey Griswold and Jason Volack contributed to this report.