Families of missing Iowa girls await IDs of bodies
EVANSDALE, Iowa (AP) - Five months after two young cousins vanished while riding their bikes, residents of the northeast Iowa community where they were last seen are anxiously waiting to hear whether two bodies found by hunters are those of the missing girls.
The families of Elizabeth Collins and Lyric Cook asked for privacy after being told that the bodies were discovered Wednesday in a wooded area, Black Hawk County sheriff's Capt. Rick Abben said.
Abben wouldn't say where the bodies were found, and that they were being sent to the state medical examiner's office for identification. He said he hoped to release more information Thursday.
"It's definitely not the outcome that we wanted, obviously," said Abben, appearing to fight back tears. He spoke at a news conference in Evansdale, where the girls had been staying with their grandmother when they disappeared.
"This is a difficult thing for us to go through. It's a difficult thing for the community," he said.
Elizabeth was 8 years old and Lyric was 10 when they disappeared July 13 near a popular recreational lake in Evansdale, about 110 miles northeast of Des Moines. Investigators found their bicycles and a pink purse near the lake hours later, but no sign of the girls.
On Wednesday night, about 70 people attended a prayer vigil at the lake, some cradling plastic cups with candles to protect the flames from the cold wind. Some were holding out hope that the bodies weren't those of the missing cousins, though others seemed resigned to accept tragic news.
"I don't want to think the worst, but two bodies. It's just really heartbreaking," said Amanda Mulzac, who lives in nearby Waterloo and was among hundreds of volunteers who helped in the initial search. "At their age I was out by myself, but now it's different. Hold your babies close."
Barb Collins, a machinist who grew up in Evansdale and helped lead the group in prayer, said the community was grieving.
"These were just innocent children. These girls should have been left alone. They should be home safe in their beds, and it's only a coward who would have done something like this," she said after the vigil.
Abben declined to say Wednesday if there were any suspects in the cousins' disappearance.
Hundreds of volunteers helped investigators to search for girls, traipsing through cornfields and wooded areas in and around Evansdale, a city of 8,000 residents. The mayor even joined the search in his private plane.
Days later, an FBI dive team brought in specialized equipment to search the bottom of the lake for the girls but found nothing. Police then classified the case as an abduction.
Investigators had largely been tight-lipped in the months since. An FBI spokeswoman initially said investigators had reason to believe the girls were alive, but other investigators backtracked, saying only that there was no reason to believe the girls were dead.
Authorities had asked hunters to look out for the girls during this fall's popular deer hunting season.
Abben said the bodies were discovered around 12:45 p.m. Wednesday, but refused to say where. He said the area was still being processed as a crime scene and could not be compromised.
"Preservation of that scene is paramount," he said.
Abben said the girls' families wanted to express gratitude to the community for their support but have asked the media to respect their privacy at this time.
Investigators have poured through thousands of tips and chased multiple theories in the case.
They looked into Cook's parents, who had criminal records for prior involvement in making methamphetamine. Cook's father, Daniel Morrissey, is being prosecuted for domestic assault and a series of meth and other drug charges, and he backed out of a plea agreement with prosecutors the day before the disappearance. They have denied any involvement.
The region had rallied in support of the girls. Photographs of the cousins seemed to be everywhere in northeastern Iowa: on T-shirts and buttons worn by locals, and on fliers hung on gas station walls and in business windows.
Residents held prayer vigils, even as the months passed. Last week an anonymous donor pledged $100,000 for information about the girls' whereabouts, on top of the $50,000 that police had offered.
After Wednesday night's vigil, family friend Sarah Curl said it was a tight-knit, caring community.
"When something happens to one family it happens to all of our families," Curl said. "This could have happened to anyone."
The families of Elizabeth Collins and Lyric Cook asked for privacy after being told that the bodies were discovered Wednesday in a wooded area, Black Hawk County sheriff's Capt. Rick Abben said.
Abben wouldn't say where the bodies were found, and that they were being sent to the state medical examiner's office for identification. He said he hoped to release more information Thursday.
"It's definitely not the outcome that we wanted, obviously," said Abben, appearing to fight back tears. He spoke at a news conference in Evansdale, where the girls had been staying with their grandmother when they disappeared.
"This is a difficult thing for us to go through. It's a difficult thing for the community," he said.
Elizabeth was 8 years old and Lyric was 10 when they disappeared July 13 near a popular recreational lake in Evansdale, about 110 miles northeast of Des Moines. Investigators found their bicycles and a pink purse near the lake hours later, but no sign of the girls.
On Wednesday night, about 70 people attended a prayer vigil at the lake, some cradling plastic cups with candles to protect the flames from the cold wind. Some were holding out hope that the bodies weren't those of the missing cousins, though others seemed resigned to accept tragic news.
"I don't want to think the worst, but two bodies. It's just really heartbreaking," said Amanda Mulzac, who lives in nearby Waterloo and was among hundreds of volunteers who helped in the initial search. "At their age I was out by myself, but now it's different. Hold your babies close."
Barb Collins, a machinist who grew up in Evansdale and helped lead the group in prayer, said the community was grieving.
"These were just innocent children. These girls should have been left alone. They should be home safe in their beds, and it's only a coward who would have done something like this," she said after the vigil.
Abben declined to say Wednesday if there were any suspects in the cousins' disappearance.
Hundreds of volunteers helped investigators to search for girls, traipsing through cornfields and wooded areas in and around Evansdale, a city of 8,000 residents. The mayor even joined the search in his private plane.
Days later, an FBI dive team brought in specialized equipment to search the bottom of the lake for the girls but found nothing. Police then classified the case as an abduction.
Investigators had largely been tight-lipped in the months since. An FBI spokeswoman initially said investigators had reason to believe the girls were alive, but other investigators backtracked, saying only that there was no reason to believe the girls were dead.
Authorities had asked hunters to look out for the girls during this fall's popular deer hunting season.
Abben said the bodies were discovered around 12:45 p.m. Wednesday, but refused to say where. He said the area was still being processed as a crime scene and could not be compromised.
"Preservation of that scene is paramount," he said.
Abben said the girls' families wanted to express gratitude to the community for their support but have asked the media to respect their privacy at this time.
Investigators have poured through thousands of tips and chased multiple theories in the case.
They looked into Cook's parents, who had criminal records for prior involvement in making methamphetamine. Cook's father, Daniel Morrissey, is being prosecuted for domestic assault and a series of meth and other drug charges, and he backed out of a plea agreement with prosecutors the day before the disappearance. They have denied any involvement.
The region had rallied in support of the girls. Photographs of the cousins seemed to be everywhere in northeastern Iowa: on T-shirts and buttons worn by locals, and on fliers hung on gas station walls and in business windows.
Residents held prayer vigils, even as the months passed. Last week an anonymous donor pledged $100,000 for information about the girls' whereabouts, on top of the $50,000 that police had offered.
After Wednesday night's vigil, family friend Sarah Curl said it was a tight-knit, caring community.
"When something happens to one family it happens to all of our families," Curl said. "This could have happened to anyone."
This is terrible sad, tragic and heartbreaking. I hope the police can solve this case. RIP little angels.Â
Heartbreaking!! RIP. My heart goes out to the family and friends of those girls.
It's already been confirmed that the two bodies found are that of the two missing girls.... Sadly KOMO posted this article after that came out and neglected to check the update.
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RIP
Not to jump to any conclusions but what an awful result to this search. On one hand this is the worst possible outcome, on the other hand some closure for grieving families.
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Next step is to punish the twisted sick-o that could have done something so terrible..
 @eclector Couldn't agree more.Â
Oh, this is heartbreaking. These parents need closure but this is the worst outcome for that closure!!
why does "anyone" let their underage kids ride around by themselves anymore?
@chandler What are we supposed to do, bubble-wrap them & make them stay in the house? Kids need to be allowed to play & be kids. We can't live being in constant fear.
 @chandler The parents in this community certainly won't any more but I know the parents must have felt it was much safer because they weren't alone. What a sad, sad world when kids can't even be out of the sight of their parents. When I was young, we rode our bikes 5 miles to the river, spent all day there & no one thought anything of it. My hope is one I wish I didn't have to have. I hope these two bodies are the girls who went missing. The torture of not knowing is horrendous.Â
 @chandler I was the most cautious parent in our circle of friends when my kids were little.  I always had an eye on them.  Even when they were "alone" playing in our front yard, I was looking on, unseen. However, at some point, you have to let them go a little. If the legislatures and criminal justice systems of our great land would do their jobs and permanently lock up people who've demonstrated a proclivity for harming children, you would see a huge reduction in this type of thing.  I agree with your sentiment in many ways: read the paper, look at the news, and you're going to be scared ****less about letting your kids walk, ride bikes, or play on their own.  I can't tell you how angry that makes me - why is it we parents have to live our lives in fear?  Why can't kids be kids without risk of getting snatched, while Level 2 and 3 sex offenders "do their time", get out, and enjoy complete freedom?  Things really, really need to change in how "the system" thinks about predators.
 @chandler To teach them Independence.Â