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Telephones rang steadily for hours at the Spotsylvania County Sheriff's Office after yesterday's announcement that the same person is responsible for the deaths of three area girls who were abducted and killed.
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As part of the announcement, authorities again released a list of the general characteristics and behaviors that might be associated with the killer.
"Some people were calling in with names, some were calling in with vehicles," said Maj. Howard Smith, who is leading the investigation into the deaths of 16-year-old Sofia Silva, 15-year-old Kristin Lisk and 12-year-old Kati Lisk.
Many area residents had already suspected that one person was responsible for the girls' deaths.
Their suspicions were heightened last month, when authorities said a crucial error by the state crime lab destroyed their case against Karl Michael Roush, who was charged with abducting Sofia.
Smith would not give any details about what kind of evidence links Sofia's slaying with those of the Lisk sisters, who were abducted exactly three months ago from their rural Spotsylvania home.
"When there's an arrest made, it will be made public," he said.
Authorities had previously said they were awaiting results of DNA tests, which could include testing of hair, blood, saliva or semen.
Smith said the task force investigating the slayings is putting together a plan in case the killer strikes again.
"Hopefully, it will be completed next week," he said. "It's something that all the [area] departments will have say-so in."
He would not give any specifics on the plan, other than to say it will deal with "who's going to take care of what. Just so we're all on the same sheet of music."
In both the Lisk and Silva slayings, the girls' bodies were found outside Spotsylvania, meaning officers from other places were the first ones to the crime scene.
Sofia's body was found in a King George County creek five weeks after her Sept. 9 disappearance. The bodies of Kristin and Kati were found in a Hanover County river five days after they disappeared on May 1.
Authorities said yesterday that the killer has a secure place to take his victims and spend time with them while the crimes are occurring. For that reason, authorities say they have searched most abandoned buildings in the county.
Investigators from Fredericksburg and the counties of Caroline, Hanover, Prince William and Stafford have joined the FBI, state police and Spotsylvania authorities in working on the case. Originally, 50 investigators were assigned to the case full time. Smith wouldn't say how many are working the case now.
"It fluctuates," he said. "Every department mentioned has people committed here full time."
Authorities say they have received 8,000 leads on the case so far. In the beginning, many people were calling in about white, Ford Fö150 pickup trucks. Authorities had said a truck matching that description was seen in the area of the Lisk home about the time the girls disappeared.
"Certainly we'd like to talk to the person or persons who were in that white truck that day, but we have one sighting of that truck," Smith said. "That's not all we wanted people to concentrate on."
After the case was featured several times on "America's Most Wanted," calls about white pickups came in all the way from California, Smith said.
"Every white truck that's been called in with a tag number we've checked," he said.
