It's most likely the female traveler who reported the Kurta massacre was a member of the Phantom Troupe, and not Sheila.
This is going to be a detailed analysis of the variables surrounding how and why the Kurta massacre was reported.
The main focus will be to answer the question: "who was the female traveler?" And what we can garner from that.
This post will be long, and explore various possibilities to be as unbiased as possible. There will be a tldr at the end. Feel free to disagree with any of my reasoning, and please let me know if and why you do.
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According to the news report, the massacre was discovered by a female traveler.
Many fans believe this traveler must be Sheila. After all, she was seen to be traveling through the same forest, and provided with a shelter which couldn't have been too far from the village.
But it's nearly impossible for Sheila to have reported the crime... To understand why we have to consider the timeline of events first.
At the beginning of Vol 0, Kurapika states he met Sheila 1 year ago. That means 1 year before he asks the elder to let him take the exam and leave the village.
Note: this monologue started at the beginning of the chapter when Kurapika argues with the elder.
So let's look at the total amount of time Sheila would have to be lost in the forest before finding the crime scene:
>X amount of time traveling before meeting Pairo and Kurapika + 1 year + a few weeks during Kurapika's test (estimating) + the 6 weeks Kurapika was out of the village.
This should total to at least 14 months spent ("lost") in the Kurta's forest. And this is assuming Sheila was innocently traveling through to begin with.
Personally I find this unbelievable.
Even if we assume she spent almost the entire year being tended to by Pairo and Kurapika (which in itself is extremely suspicious), it's wild to think she would be wandering around the forest, in what couldn't have been too far from the village, for several weeks afterwards with no significant reason.
And if she was being true about her nature, it becomes even more unlikely. With how she was prone to injury, it's more likely after leaving her shelter she would die of an accident.
This is too hard to believe, so I will eliminate the explanation that Sheila stayed in the forest.
That means we have only 2 ways Sheila can be the traveler:
1.) The perpetrators of the massacre told Sheila what they did. She traveled back to the area and reported to the nearest authorities.
2.) Sheila was directly involved with the massacre.
The next detail we need to examine is why the female traveler would report the incident.
1.) This is what anyone would do if they discovered a crime scene. (The traveler is a random character, or Sheila was informed by the culprits.)
2.) The traveler knows the village is hidden and the crime scene will never be discovered. But she wants the world to know this crime occurred, so she reports it to the authorities. (The female traveler was a member of Phantom Troupe.)
Now realistically, what is the likelihood the female traveler is a random character, by chance discovering the village after the massacre? (Too unlikely imo so we can rule this out.)
So lets combine the remaining variables and see the options:
1. Sheila was innocent and reported the crime because that was the moral thing to do, after the perpetrators informed her.
2. A troupe member posed as a traveler to report the crime and sow fear of Meteor City. Potential targets (flesh collectors) then know, based on the description of the crime, scarlet eyes were collected and would be circulating on the black market.
3. Sheila was a member of (or helping out) the Phantom troupe and was directly involved in the crime, same motive as option #2.
The next variable we need to hone in: was Sheila working with the Phantom Troupe.
Well, in their early plans we see her walking away looking rather sad.
Walking away while Chrollo, Uvo, and Shal discuss their strategy to bait criminals.
And 3 years later, when the friends reunite as the birth of the spider, Sheila is nowhere to be seen.
To me, this suggests Sheila did not become a leg of the spider. So I will eliminate option #3.
Now what is interesting, after eliminating all unlikely variables there seems to be only one thing of certainty: Sheila had to be innocent...or did she?
Let's try to make it work: "evil Sheila." "Sheila is Pariston" or similar theories which suggest she played a part in orchestrating the massacre without doing any of the actual murder.
Based on what we know about Pariston, the Kurta massacre does not seem like a worthwhile investment for him.
Remember, Ging compared Pariston to a "crying baby." Pariston needs drama and attention - and preferrably the negative kind because that makes things more interesting for him.
So having his wounds tended and talking to kids who barely understand his language for weeks or months....it doesn't align with Pariston's needs.
But Sheila doesn't have to be Pariston to be evil. Maybe she was playing 4D chess, orchestrating the massacre for some other reason. Maybe she really hated the Kurta and wanted them dead.
For this to work, we have to make a lot of assumptions about Sheila and the Kurta. And with what we do know about her, I don't see anything suggesting she wanted to bring misfortune to anyone. If anything, she seems quite optimistic and hopeful for humanity, based on her passion for the book Dino Hunter.
That said, if you really want evil Sheila to work, you can always make a case all of this was a ruse.
I have a never say never philosphy. And ultimately Togashi will make it happen if he wants. But based on what we know as of now, I think evil mastermind Sheila needs to be discarded.
Something else worth considering: how does mafia involvement influence everything?
I bring this up because there are some theories that the mafia was involved in the massacre.
One theory that comes up occasionally: the mafia committed the crime, the troupe showed up later, left the note, and took the credit for infamy.
This theory can be discarded, not only because Uvo remembers fighting the Kurtas, but the motive for the troupe to take ownership of the crime weakens. At this point, their reputation shouldn't hinge on this one crime. And if the mafia already has all the eyes, then the troupe has no bait to interest a target.
But what about the troupe attacking first and the mafia coming after?
This theory can work in a specific order:
>The troupe kill the strong Kurtas -> the mafia attack next killing the remaining villagers and collect the eyes -> meanwhile the troupe inform Sheila of the fight -> Sheila goes back only to find everyone dead, and reports the crime.
Interestingly, this theory also implies someone on the troupe's side must have been an informant to the mafia, making the massacre a coordinated attack. This could be the MC elders or Sheila.
But this is where the female traveler makes or breaks things.
In this case, the traveler could not be a troupe member - it doesn't make sense to go back after finishing their job.
The traveler also couldn't be a mafia member. The mafia doesn't need to spread a message to the world. They just need to get the goods and get out.
This means Sheila cannot be the spy and the traveler.
The only way Sheila can be an informant for the mafia is if the female traveler was random, which I believe is too unlikely.
However a situation where the informant was the Meteor City elders and the traveler was Sheila could work. This makes the coordinated attack feasible along with the reporting of the crime by an uninvolved party.
So if you're following, we have two options left at this point: 1.) Sheila returned to the village because the troupe informed her of the crime, and reported it or 2.) The crime was reported by a troupe member.
Finally, one last thing to consider: the revenge note ties the massacre to Meteor City. At this point, even those in the criminal world did not know the troupe are from Meteor City.
The big question: how did Kurapika figure this out? He is very set on the troupe after all. Only one person could tell him...that's Sheila. And this means Sheila isn't the person who reported the crime.
For her to do this she would have had to stay near the village after reporting and wait even longer for Kurapika to show up...which she should not be expecting.
This is why I believe Sheila had to have learned about the massacre from the news (or directly from a troupe member), around the same time as Kurapika.
This makes it plausible for them to run into each other. They reacted to the news at the same time and began the travel back to the forest, creating an opportunity to cross paths again.
Now why would Sheila go back there? Maybe she simply went back to get her book. Or maybe something more... While I have a hard time believing she masterminded the whole thing, I don't necessarily believe her intentions were completely innocent. Put a bookmark on this for now, though.
So at this point, I see no other way Kurapika could be so certain the troupe are responsible, without Sheila divulging this. Unless this is a plothole, but that would be surprising.
And this leaves us with only one possibility for the female traveler....she was a member of the Phantom troupe and a perpetrator of the very crime!
Reporting their own crime makes prefect sense. If they hadn't done this, the world would very likely never know the Kurtas were killed, and never know the condition their bodies were in...suggesting valuable body parts were collected.
If the troupe were looking for someone they believed was interested in these parts, they needed to spread the news to draw those criminals out. We know for fact the troupe operates with this mentality in mind: create a web to attract and trap targets. This is their entire modus operandi.
Now I'm not claiming anything I said is 100% correct - I hope that's been obvious. You could make an argument for any of the possibilities I eliminated.
But as of today, not knowing when new chapters will be released...or if these questions will even be adressed in those chapters...this is the conclusion i find the most likely.
And I believe this is an important clue that deserves to be looked at with greater detail. We shouldn't just assume the traveler was Sheila so quickly.
Tldr: It's unlikely Sheila spent over a year in the same area of the forest, making it unlikely she could be the female traveler. There is also no evidence to suggest she was a member of the Phantom troupe, or possessed an evil agenda. Therefore, the most likely scenario is that a member of the troupe posed as a traveler to report the crime and spread the news to the world, as this is at the core of their ideology - creating a web to find and trap criminals, and protect Meteor City.
