It’s been nearly two weeks since Vero Beach Police updated the public on the hunt for Jesse Ellis, the 64-year-old grandfather charged with two counts of murder for allegedly gunning down his wife and her male co-worker on March 24, but new photos of a man walking south on the beach toward St. Lucie County illustrate one big hurdle to closing this case – a whole lot of local men look like the wanted killer.

One set of high-quality images submitted by a resident of The Moorings on Friday show a man closely resembling Ellis walking south behind an oceanfront home. The sophisticated security system captured video of the man from different camera angles showing him from the front and the back.

The image shows the only man who walked south past the cameras on March 25 but did not return walking back north. The resident sifted through dozens of images of men walking alone that day, using AI-assisted technology to eliminate any man who was walking with another person, or who made the round-trip walk. The system, owned by a career public safety professional who worked with police on investigations over the years, can even sort by color of attire.

If the man in the white long-sleeved rash guard and ball cap carrying his shoes was indeed Ellis, it seems he avoided eye contact with passersby.

“As he was being approached by a northbound beach walker, he moved from an area where his feet were in wet beach sand to the area high on the beach, almost as if he was trying to avoid the northbound beach walker,” the resident wrote in his tip email to police.

The images thought to be Ellis seem to support the working theory that he did not drown, but headed south after exiting the water, and got away. Wet sandy clothing shoved under other items in Ellis’ truck and not found until the vehicle was fully searched changed the focus of the investigation from a drowning-suicide to an escape.

If he did flee south and get away, evidence left by Ellis to make police think his intent was to end his life may have been a ruse – which gave him a day’s head start. Or he changed his mind or could not go through with it. Chief David Currey pointed out in his second press conference after the double homicide that death by forcing yourself to drown “is not easy.”

Though security camera images continue to flow in, there don’t seem to be any hot leads being actively tracked down in the case, as most of the Vero Beach Police Department – apart from a skeleton crew – reportedly took a three-day or four-day respite from the station for the Easter holiday. Friday was a paid holiday with City Hall and city offices closed.

Did Ellis have a burner phone? That seems to remain an unknown. He left his cellphone and passcode for police to find, along with his wallet, passport, driver license, credit cards and a collection of weapons.

Did Ellis meet up with someone who unwittingly assisted his getaway? Did he hide in the back of a truck and hitch a ride that way?

Did he hide out in a vacant home on the South Barrier Island, or keep walking all the way to North Hutchinson Island in St. Lucie County? Did he boost a car belonging to a snowbird who would not miss the vehicle for months?

Did he have help from a friend or relative?

Presumably, detectives have already interviewed anyone who Ellis may have trusted enough to ask for help – family members, close friends, hunting buddies or even co-workers, focusing on anyone who has a cabin or property where Ellis could hide out, or even a boat or RV they cannot account for.

Hopefully, police will give the public an update on the case soon.