Moscow, Idaho, police issued a warning this weekend as the investigation into the deaths of four college students continues
University of Idaho students Kaylee Goncalves, 21, of Rathdrum, Idaho, Madison Mogen, 21, of Coeur d’Alene, Idaho; Xana Kernodle, 20, of Post Falls, Idaho; and Ethan Chapin, 20, of Mount Vernon, Washington, were killed on Nov. 13. No suspects have been named.
“With commencement this weekend, there will be an influx of people coming in from out of town. Moscow Police Department and Idaho State Police will provide coverage on campus and in the Moscow area,” police posted on the Moscow police website.
“As always, we want to remind the public to stay vigilant, travel in groups, and communicate with family and friends as you travel,” the post warned.
The chilling warning was a stark reminder that the killer could still potentially be on the loose, and very well could be a part of that aforementioned “influx of people.” The concerns that the killer could strike again are certainly not unfounded.
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In the post, which noted that about 90 local, state and federal investigators are working on the case, police said they have received multiple tips in response to their request for information about a white Hyundai Elantra, with a model year of between 2011 and 2013. Police said those are being investigated and continued to ask for the public to provide information about the car or its possible occupants.
During the Saturday commencement, University President Scott Green called the dead students “bright lights on our campus and cherished members” of the college community, according to WFIN-TV.
The college had a moment of silence for the four students as part of the ceremony.
The college had allowed those who did not want to return to the campus in the 24,000-person community for classes the option of remote learning
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WFIN estimated 25 percent to 40 percent of the 11,500 students at the campus did not return.
Police said they continue to sift through information that has poured in.
“We’re working steady on the investigation still. We’re still pushing forward,” Moscow Police Chief James Fry said, according to the Daily Mail.
Fry on Friday had warned that despite volumes of information published about the case, not all of it is true.
“We want people to pay attention to what we’re putting out there because that is accurate information, and anything that comes from other sources is either rumor or speculation,” he said.
“The leads and tips are still very high-quality. They’re helping us. The community has been exceptionally responsive to our request for information,” Aaron Snell, Idaho State Patrol communications director and public information officer, said, according to the Spokesman-Review.
“I don’t know that having a case that’s four weeks old is a long time. It is obviously for the family and the community, no doubt about that. There’s fear and desire for this case to be solved in the community. But as far as, like, a homicide, a case of this magnitude, I don’t know that four weeks is a ‘long time’ for a case that’s this complex,” he said.
Former FBI profiler Mary Ellen O’Toole has said she thinks the killer did not make his or her first trip to the house on the day of the murders, according to Newsweek.
“When you murder four people, you’re gonna get in and out pretty quickly, and so in order to do that, and lowering your own risk level, you have to have some knowledge of that place,” she said.
