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Police: Not yet clear whether Colo. hatchet suspect linked to slain Ind. girls

DELPHI, Ind. -- Indiana State Police say investigators haven't determined whether a man accused of threatening people along a Colorado hiking trail could be linked to the unsolved killings of two teenage hikers in northern Indiana.

State police said Tuesday investigators so far have no information "to specifically include or exclude Daniel Nations as a suspect" in the fatal attack near Delphi, Indiana.

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Daniel Nations CBS Denver

Two state police detectives traveled Friday to El Paso County, Colorado, to investigate whether the 31-year-old man could be linked to the February deaths of 14-year-old Liberty German and 13-year-old Abigail Williams.

State police say those detectives returned Monday to Indiana and are reviewing information they gathered in Colorado.

Nations is jailed in Colorado on reckless endangerment and other charges for allegedly threatening people with a hatchet along a trail.

CBS Denver reports Nations is being investigated for possible links to the shooting death of bicyclist Tim Watkins two weeks ago along the same trail in Colorado. 

Investigators reportedly found a gun of the same caliber used to kill Watkins and a hatchet in Nations' car, which had expired Indiana plates.

Jacqueline Kirby with The El Paso County, Colorado Sheriff's Office told the station there are "similarities" in the cases and didn't rule out a possible connection, but said officials in Indiana have asked them not to release further information.

CBS Denver reports Nations is a registered sex offender and has numerous arrests ranging from assault and battery to domestic violence. His last known address is less than 100 miles from Delphi, Indiana. 

The Indiana State Police say they've followed up on thousands of tips related to the girls' murders. They say they don't typically release investigative information on specific tips, but made an exception in the Colorado case because of numerous media inquiries.

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