DELPHI — Nearly five months ago, Delphi became the face of national grief and tragedy when two teenage girls were murdered while walking along one of the city's secluded hiking trails.
But with the help of donations and a $50,000 grant, Jacob Adams hopes that within a year, people will remember Delphi for a different reason.
"I want to set the precedent on what a trail security system and what safety looks like on the trail," said Adams, director of Delphi's community development department. "And this funding is going to allow us to make it a state-of-the-art system, so other communities can use this as a template to make their trails safe and secure."
Delphi on Wednesday morning launched a crowdfunding campaign to raise money for an array of safety improvements to the city's 13 miles of hiking and biking trails.
The improvements were developed by Delphi's trail safety task force — a collaboration between law enforcement, government and the community — which was put into place less than a month after 13-year-old Abigail Williams and 14-year-old Liberty German were killed near Monon High Bridge in a secluded area east of Delphi.
As part of the plan, improved lighting and cameras will be added to five trail access points, information kiosks will be installed at three locations, trail markers will be placed along each trail every one-tenth of a mile, and WiFi will be accessible in select locations.