THE sister of a girl slain in the Delphi "Snapchat murders" said she fears her sibling's killer is "always watching" but warned that they cannot hide forever – as the case remains unsolved five years on.

The bodies of 14-year-old Libby German, and her best-friend Abby Williams, 13, were discovered by police on Valentine's Day 2017 in a wooded area in Delphi, Indiana.

The two girls were reported missing a day earlier after vanishing while hiking in a local park.

Police have never publicly revealed how Libby and Abby were killed. The person responsible for their deaths has also never been caught.

In an exclusive interview with The Sun on the fifth anniversary of the murders, Libby's older sister Kelsi, 21, voiced optimism that the culprit would soon be brought to justice.

She said: "I'm sure he pays attention and that he watches and reads these [news stories] all the time.

"I just hope he is scared. I hope he is listening to all of these and he's trying to figure out a way to keep hidden, but he should know he can't stay hidden anymore.

"Law enforcement is going to continue looking for him," she added. "And he should be scared."

'GOOSEBUMPS'

Kelsi's remarks follow on the heels of a similar warning issued by the head of the Indiana State Police, Doug Carter, in an interview with ABC last week.

Speaking directly to the killer, Carter warned: "We know a lot about you.

"Today could be the day … sleep well."

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In the half-a-decade that has passed since the two girls were found dead, police have never publicly identified a person of interest or a suspect in the case.

Still, Kelsi said Carter's comments made the hairs on the back of her neck stand up, and gave her and her family a renewed sense of hope that they may soon be provided with the answers they've waited so long for.

"It gave me goosebumps when I heard him tell the killer to sleep well and that his days are limited," she said.

"I think he's just hopeful," Kelsi added. "And he continues to remain hopeful. And he shows that in all of his interviews."

STAYING HOPEFUL

Kelsi, who was among the last people to have seen Libby and Abby alive, said that anytime police make a public statement about the investigation, she believes it's a sign an arrest is closer to being made.

"We know all the work they're doing," Kelsi said. "As a family, we know we'll be able to contact them anytime and they'll tell us that they're getting closer, and doing everything they can.

"And it's that communication that gives us faith that they're doing their job, and one day everything they're doing is going to pay off.

"I 100% believe it will because they all seem to take this case personally, and they won't stop until it's solved."

While the Germans remain optimistic, Kelsi said it is "frustrating" that the case still hasn't been solved.

"We thought this case would've been solved five years ago," she said. "But we're confident we'll get answers someday, and we'll know what happened and who did it."

The German family spent the weekend before the anniversary with Abby Williams' family, holding their annual food drive in honor of the two girls.

Kelsi said neither she, nor her relatives, have any special plans to commemorate Libby's death, but they will all be spending Valentine's Day together.

"We're just staying around one another and getting through this week," she said. "It's always hard to relive Libby's death so we just lean on each other to make it through.

"We are definitely going to need one another over the next couple of days."

FINAL MOMENTS

Kelsi was one of the last people to see her 14-year-old sister alive.

Then 17, Kelsi had been at home on the morning of February 13, 2017, when Libby, who had the day off from school, asked her if she could drive both her and her friend Abigail Williams to the Delphi Historic Trails.

Kelsi had plans to meet up with her boyfriend later that afternoon and initially told Libby no.

But believing she had been a "bad sister" of late, not hanging out with her younger sibling as often as she should, a guilt-riddled Kelsi eventually agreed to take the girls just after 1.30pm, provided they found their own ride home.

Kelsi then made the short drive to the trails with Abby and Libby, dropping them off just after 1.35pm.

Before driving away, Kelsi recalled for The Sun in a previous interview how she told Libby she loved her – a sentiment that was echoed back by the young teen.

Libby then turned her back and walked away with Abby.

That was the last time Kelsi would see her sister alive.

VITAL CLIP

Libby and Abby failed to show at a pre-arranged pick-up point later that afternoon.

After an extensive search of their area, their bodies were found the following day on a steep embankment around half a mile upstream from the Monon High Bridge Trail.

Libby had uploaded her final Snapchat from the trail the day before.

A subsequent search of her phone would later uncover a crucial item of evidence that both the German family and investigators credit with helping to keep the case alive today: a short recording secretly captured by Libby moments before she was killed.

The video shows a white male, dressed in jeans, a hoodie and a blue jacket, with his hands in his pockets, walking towards the eighth graders on a bridge.

Libby then slipped the phone into her pocket and continued recording. Chillingly, she captured her killer gruffly saying, "Hey guys, down the hill."

While the man in the video is yet to be identified, Kelsi said she has listened to the recording countless times, playing it over and over again in the hope she suddenly recognizes the suspect's voice.

Police have previously suggested that Libby and Abby's killer may live locally.

During a press conference in 2019, Indiana State Police Superintendent Doug Carter even went as far as to say the killer could be sat in the room with them.

"Directly to the killer, who may be in this room: We believe you’re hiding in plain sight," Carter said at the time. "We've likely interviewed you or someone close to you.

"We also believe this person is from Delphi — currently or has previously lived here, visits Delphi on a regular basis, or works here," he added.

CATFISH LINK?

Police have never formally named a suspect in the murders of Libby and Abby, though several people have been questioned in regards to the killing.

In a rare update issued in December, Indiana State Police said they were seeking information about a bogus social media profile, called anthony_shots, that may be linked to the case.

The department has urged anyone who interacted with the account on Snapchat or Instagram to come forward for information.

Investigators haven't specified why they believe the account may be linked to the girls' deaths, nor disclosed whether either Libby or Abby had interacted with the account.

However, they did say the culprit behind it used stolen images of a known male model and projected a contrived flashy lifestyle to groom underage girls and "solicit nude images, obtain their addresses, and attempt to meet them."

The man who set up that account has since been identified as Kegan Anthony Kline, a 27-year-old from Peru, Indiana, who in 2020 was arrested for 30 felonies, including possession of child porn, exploitation of children, and soliciting minors for sex.

Those charges stem from a search of his home in Peru, Indiana on February 25th, 2017 – just 11 days after the bodies of Libby and Abby were found in Delphi.

According to an affidavit, Kline admitted to investigators that he used a series of fake social media profiles on Instagram and Snapchat to contact underage girls and solicit nude images from them.

One of those accounts was anthony_shots, which he set up in 2016 around six months before his house was raided.

It's unclear whether Kline is currently being investigated as a suspect in the relation to the Delphi murders, or why it took more than three years to arrest him on the child porn charges.

Speaking on the matter to News 8 last week, Carter said: "I will just simply say that we have gleaned a tremendous amount of information over five years, and if there was any meaningful reason to talk about it or act on it, we would have."

The police chief was also asked about his 2019 conference when he suggested the "killer could be in the room".

When asked whether he believes police have already interviewed the killer, he said: "I’m not gonna go there. I don’t think that would be proper for me to do that.

"But, I do think that the killer will be watching this interview."

REMEMBERING LIBBY

While Kelsi and the rest of her family wait patiently for answers, she told The Sun she'll be spending Valentine's Day this year remembering the person Libby was in life, rather than the tragic circumstances in which she died.

"What I remember most – and it's what I try to live by now – is that she was just the happiest person, and it was contagious," Kelsi said.

"She wanted to make every person in the room happy and smile and laugh, and she wanted to make sure that everybody was okay.

"If you were hurting that you knew that there was somebody there to help you through it, or hold your hand while you cry, or laugh with you while you laugh.

"That somebody was Libby, and that's the kind of person I want to be.

"I want to be all the greatest things that she was."