Police say bodies found near creek are those of missing teens; homicide suspected

Brian Maas talks about hiking the trails with his dog Jessie near the Freedom Bridge Tuesday, Feb. 14, 2017, in Delphi, Ind. Maas, who is from Lafayette, said the area seemed safe and a good place to hike with his dog. Police announced that searchers around 12:15 p.m. Tuesday had found two bodies next to nearby Deer Creek. Police said foul play is suspected, however, they would not say whether the bodies were those of missing Delphi teens Liberty German and Abigail Williams, both 13. (John Terhune/Journal & Courier via AP)

Brian Maas talks about hiking the trails with his dog Jessie near the Freedom Bridge Tuesday, Feb. 14, 2017, in Delphi, Ind. Maas, who is from Lafayette, said the area seemed safe and a good place to hike with his dog. Police announced that searchers around 12:15 p.m. Tuesday had found two bodies next to nearby Deer Creek. Police said foul play is suspected, however, they would not say whether the bodies were those of missing Delphi teens Liberty German and Abigail Williams, both 13. (John Terhune/Journal & Courier via AP)

Law enforcement authorities in Indiana say two bodies found along a creek there are those of a pair of teenagers who went out for a hike Monday then went missing.

Police say the bodies of Liberty German, 14, and Abigail Williams, 13, both of Delphi, Ind., were found Tuesday next to a creek near where they were dropped off to go for a hike.

According to Indiana State Police, the deaths of the girls are being investigated  as homicides. State Police Sgt. Kim Riley told the Associated Press that the girls' bodies were about three-quarters of a mile from an abandoned railroad bridge. No cause of death has been released.

"The investigation is still in its baby steps, so to speak, and we don't want to put that information out yet," he said during a news conference in Delphi.

Carroll County Sheriff Tobe Leazenby said authorities do not yet have a suspect in the girls' slayings. "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.

"There's somebody out there, somewhere. We don't know if it's a person who came in and left, or if it's somebody in the neighborhood," Riley said.