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On July 13, 2012, cousins, Elizabeth Collins(8 years old) and Lyric Cook(10 years old) went for a bike ride near Meyers Lake in Evansdale, Black Hawk County, Idaho. Investigators found their bikes and a pink purse near the lake hours later. On December 5, 2012, hunters discovered Elizabeth and Lyric’s bodies in a very remote wildlife area called Seven Bridges Wildlife Park in Bremer County. The area where their bodies were found was about 20-25 miles from where the girls were last seen.

Before
Evansdale, Iowa is a community just shy of 5,000 people.

Some time before noon
Elizabeth Collins and Lyric Cook decided to go for a bike ride.

Callie Collins(4 years old at the time), asked to join on the bike ride, only to be told that she had to stay behind.

"But can I go?" - Callie Collins

"No because grandma is not going to come with" - Elizabeth Collins

Shortly after noon
Elizabeth Collins and Lyric Cook were last seen shortly after noon riding bikes in Evansdale, Iowa on Gilbert Drive near Meyers Lake in the middle of town, a recreation area people often went for fishing,         and the downtown area.

Search
?Thousands of volunteers searched for Elizabeth and Lyric.

After the girls' disappearance, people across the country called in tips, claiming to have spotted them.

~4:00 PM
Investigators found their bikes and a pink purse along a trail on the southeast corner of Meyers Lake at about 4:00 PM. Elizabeth and Lyric were nowhere to be seen.

Death
Elizabeth and Lyric's deaths were classified as homicide.

Authorities never revealed the cause of death to the public because they believe it is information only the killer would know.

Drew Collins said he does not want to know, but he is confident both girls put up a fight. “They were both scrappers,” Drew Collins said. “Yeah, they would have both fought."

Donation accounts for the families
Accounts have been setup at First Security State Bank at 3600 Lafayette Road Evansdale, IA, 50707 to help the families pay for expenses.

People can mail donations or stop by the bank to donate to one of both families. The fund is to help families cover expenses as they are not working and yet still have their normal bills and expenses.

Support t-shirts
A Waterloo printing company is trying to spread the story of the missing girls by printing T-shirts.

The T-shirts show a photo of Lyric and Elizabeth with the message "Bring Elizabeth and Lyric Home 319-232-6682".

The pink shirts include the tip hotline authorities are asking anyone with information to call.

Dickey's Printing said the shirts will cost $15 to $20 and range in size from small to 5X. Some 75 percent of the proceeds will be donated to the families, Dickey said.

You can order a shirt by emailing order@dickeysprinting.com or by calling 319- 234-1777.

Dickey's Printing owner Jay Dickey said nearly 1,000 orders for the shirts have already been received.

"We just want to help out any way that we can and this is one way we can," said Dickey.

Psychics
Among law enforcement and others seeking two missing Iowa cousins is another group hoping to provide information on the two little girls - those claiming to be psychic.

About 80 self-proclaimed psychics have contacted the Black Hawk County Sheriff's department regarding Lyric Cook, 10, and Elizabeth Collins, 8.

Possibly more surprising than the number of psychics offering their help is that sheriff's officials are listening to them.

Sheriff Tony Thompson said he doesn't claim to be a believer in psychic abilities, but in the absence of any hard leads, "we will listen to anybody right now."

Investigation
An extensive search involving local, state and federal investigators has failed to find them.

Bodies found
Hunters discovered Elizabeth and Lyric’s bodies in a very remote wildlife area called Seven Bridges Wildlife Park in Bremer County. The area where their bodies were found was about 20-25 miles from where the girls were last seen.

The location of the bodies
Rusted sign as you enter the 125-acre Seven Bridges Wildlife Area.

Over a long stretch of gravel road and into the Bremer County park. A canopy of trees extinguishes the sun.

Park car in a clear area by the Wapsipinicon River. Nearby, angels are nailed into two trees in honor of Elizabeth and Lyric.

Walk through knee-high grass and fallen trees, looking left and right for marks of the spot. The earth has shifted over time.

Seven minutes after leaving parking is the spot.

"You could be screaming, and no one could hear you," Drew Collins says. "I think about that, for a little girl to be down here with a stranger they don’t know. And then you wonder what they went through."

"I would never come out here alone. It’s kind of scary being out here," Drew Collins said. "To me, this place is not a peaceful place. We can only imagine what happened to them here."

Drew Collins said he thinks Elizabeth and Lyric were alive when they were brought here, it seems impossible to him that they could have been carried.

"I think about how bad the bugs were and how scary it must have been for them," Collins said. "Who could do this to two little girls?"

Police announce discovery of the bodies
Authorities announced that Elizabeth and Lyric's bodies had been found, but few details were released.

Candlelight vigil being planned
Meanwhile, as the state and nation mourn the loss of Cook and Collins, two Des Moines women want to make sure the girls' memories live on.

"It was just devastating, heart-breaking," said vigil organizer Nicole Cunningham.

"As soon as I heard it, I broke into tears because that could be any of our children. I can't imagine the pain those families are going through, because I wouldn’t know what to do if it was my own child," said vigil organizer Misty McGrean.

The tragic story deeply affected Cunningham and McGrean, who said they monitored the events from July, when the children disappeared, to Wednesday, when hunters found the girls' bodies near a wooded area in Bremer County.

"It hits close to home," Cunningham said.

The two women are organizing a candlelight vigil at Grays Lake Park on Saturday.

"Having children of our own and knowing this could happen to anybody, it's just something we felt we should do for the community and for the family to show our support," Cunningham said.

"(This is) to remember and to be positive and to let them know it's not just their community that's hurting. It's all of us," McGrean said.

The vigil will start at 6:00 PM. Those interested in attending are asked to bring a candle and wear pink, which was the girls' favorite color.

Investigation
Investigators are collecting evidence throughout the weekend at a park where the girls' bodies were found, and they said determining the exact cause of death could take some time.

Candlelight vigil
A candlelight vigil for Elizabeth and Lyric took place at 6:00 PM at Grays Lake Park.

Drew and Heather Collins supports reinstatement of death penalty in Iowa
The parents of four missing or kidnapped and murdered Iowa children are meeting with Gov. Terry Branstad Monday morning in his office at the statehouse.

The families hope to gain the governor's support for reinstatement of the death penalty.

Noreen Gosch, mother of Johnny Gosch who disappeared in 1982, Drew and Heather Collins, parents of Elizabeth Collins, Andrew Christie, father of Evelyn Miller, and Addonis Hill, father of Donnisha Hill who was kidnapped and murdered in 2006, spoke quietly with each other before the meeting began.

Sen. Kent Sorenson went into the meeting with the families. He is drafting legislation called "capital justice" which would reintroduce the death penalty in limited cases to the state of Iowa.

The parents said they believe Iowa needs to provide get tougher on crimes against children and the death penalty should be available.

"Iowa is one state in the center of Midwest, states touch that touch us -- all have the death penalty," said Noreen Gosch.

"It's almost like Iowa is a safe place to kidnap kids. These people know it," said Drew Collins.

The families want the death penalty reinstated for class AA felonies. They want a life sentence for kidnapping, but death for kidnapping and murder.

Elizabeth Collin's father said she and her cousin Lyric are dead because the killer had no incentive to let them live.

"But if we had the death penalty he could think, 'Well, if I murder them I'm going to get the death penalty so maybe I should let them go," said Drew Collins.

Collins said if the murder happens, then that person will get what they deserve.

"They don't deserve to live -- they don't," said Drew Collins.

Heather Collins said she used to be against the death penalty, but Elizabeth's death changed her mind.

Sorensen said he faces an uphill battle with Democrats in control of the Senate.

"I can go and talk to them, but it's going to take people from Iowa rising up and saying, 'This is what we need,'" said Sorensen.

Donation scam
?Scammers have been going from door to door in some parts of Black Hawk County, seeking cash they say is for two slain cousins.

An acquaintance of Elizabeth's mother, Heather Collins, told her about two boys who had knocked on her door Sunday. Heather Collins soon notified the county sheriff's office. Collins told Waterloo television station KWWL the scammers are "taking advantage of a tragedy."

Sheriff's Capt. Rick Abben advises people to ask solicitors for literature that can be checked out and any donations made later.

Investigation
No arrests have been reported.

Daniel Morrissey sentenced
Judge David Staudt sentenced 37-year-old Daniel Morrissey, the father of Lyric Cook, to prison to up to 90 years in prison on drug charges.

He has a mandatory minimum of 30 years in prison before parole.

Drew Collins brought to location bodies were discovered
???Drew Collins was first brought to the spot where Elizabeth and Lyric were found dead. It was about two years after Elizabeth and Lyric disappeared.

Mayor notices worldwide attention to case while on vacation
Just last year, Evansdale Mayor Doug Faas and his wife went on a vacation to Mexico. When they chatted with other tourists and said they were from Evansdale, the strangers immediately mentioned the cousins.

Similarities to the murders of Abigail Williams and Liberty German
Investigators have also drawn comparisons to another crime that happened in Delphi, Indiana in 2017. The Indiana State Police compares notes with Iowa investigators but said despite similarities, there is no reason to believe the two cases are connected.

"We have spoken with Iowa authorities about that case just like we've spoken to so many agencies with their unsolved cases. We're simply comparing notes. At this point we do not have a connection with that case," said Sgt. John Perrine with the Indiana State Police.

Elizabeth Collins' father Drew said the so-called 'coincidence' is scary because authorities believe there's another person out there who would kill two young girls.

Collins said his family has been through so much the last few years-- he doesn't get excited when a potential new lead surfaces.

"I feel a connection to anybody that's lost a kid, in any way. Whether it be cancer or a car accident. Or, or murder. I know how hard it is. It goes through a family. It's devastating," said Collins.

Collins said his family sends condolences to the families in Indiana.

Drew Collins 5 years crime scene interview
Drew Collins silently points to a single, rusted sign as he enters the 125-acre Seven Bridges Wildlife Area.

He drives his pickup truck over a long stretch of gravel road and into the Bremer County park. A canopy of trees extinguishes the sun.

He parks his car in a clear area by the Wapsipinicon River. Nearby, angels are nailed into two trees in honor of Collins' daughter, Elizabeth, and his niece Lyric Cook-Morrissey.

Collins is on his way to the site where hunters stumbled upon Elizabeth and Lyric, resolving part of the mystery of the girls' fates but leaving unknown who took them and what happened. The case made national news and forever changed the lives of the girls' families, neighbors and Iowa law enforcement officers involved in the case.

Collins doesn't like to make this trip.

He looks into the forest.

“It gets worse,” he says.

He walks through knee-high grass and fallen trees, looking left and right for marks that remind him of the spot. But the earth has shifted over time.

Seven minutes after leaving his pickup, he finds it.

“You could be screaming, and no one could hear you,” Collins says. “I think about that, for a little girl to be down here with a stranger they don’t know. And then you wonder what they went through.”

Collins was first brought here about two years after his daughter and niece disappeared. This is his fifth visit.

"I would never come out here alone. It’s kind of scary being out here," Collins said. "To me, this place is not a peaceful place. We can only imagine what happened to them here."

Collins said he thinks Elizabeth and Lyric were alive when they were brought here — it seems impossible to him that they could have been carried.

“I think about how bad the bugs were and how scary it must have been for them,” Collins said. “Who could do this to two little girls?"

Elizabeth's parents, who have three other children, divorced.

Collins said his experience in 2012 would be comparable to sitting comfortably in the living room at home — until a semi truck barrels though at 80 miles per hour.

“I’ve kind of just watched things kind of crumble,” Collins said. “I don’t think the person that did this has any clue what they have done.”

His son, Kelly, 17, and daughters Amber, 11, and Callie, 9, had their childhoods stolen from them, Collins said.

They don't get to just go over to anybody's house. He doesn’t let them ride their bikes without an adult present. When someone forgets an item in the car, he walks with the child just a few feet out to the driveway.

Collins said he and Heather Collins had a good marriage. But the death of their eldest daughter led to them coping in different ways.

They split last year.

Heather Collins declined requests for an interview.

“How I dealt with it a lot of times probably wasn’t good for a marriage,” Drew Collins said. “I just kind of blocked myself out and would just hide.”

Collins still owns his tree-trimming business. He holds onto hope that justice will happen for his daughter.

“It’s still all I think about," Collins said. "You just kind of learn how to deal with it, and that’s your new life."

All seven Evansdale police officers have pictures of the cousins at their desks.

They're not supposed to take the case personally. But it can’t help but hit home, said Evansdale Police Chief Jeff Jensen.

Portraits of Elizabeth and Lyric hang high on the wall of his office, next to pictures of his grandchildren.

“A lot of my gray hair comes from this case, because you think about it,” Jensen said. “You lie down and you think ‘Oh, maybe this.’ I think a lot of our officers play the game ‘Oh, what about this or that?’"

Since the abductions, when officers see kids biking, they take note of what they’re wearing and who’s near them.

People still approach officers and ask about the case. Collins calls monthly for updates.

The former chief, Kent Smock, was fired in 2015, accused of various forms of misconduct, including creating a hostile work environment. But otherwise, there has been little turnover in the police department.

Jensen, who was a sergeant in 2012, initially thought the department's big break in the case would come after the girls’ bodies were found.

“For members of this department, it will probably never be a cold case,” Jensen said.

Investigation
This year, the Iowa Division of Criminal Investigation did a "hard reset" in the case, said special agent Mike Roehrkasse.

Hundreds of people from dozens of agencies have contributed to five years of interviews, physical investigations and data collection, creating an unwieldy mountain of potential evidence.

Now, Roehrkasse said, three DCI agents and an investigator at the Bremer County Sheriff’s Office will be the “core group" in an effort to cut out some of the noise.

In April, they started reviewing the case from the beginning. That consistent understanding of the case could make canvassing neighborhoods more effective, Roehrkasse said.

“Everyone is on same playbook. They know what’s important and valuable,” Roehrkasse said. “You have to go back and digest it a little more.”

It’s highly probable the killer knows the Seven Bridges area, because he or she may have lived there or previously visited the park, Roehrkasse said.

Seven Bridges is in an an isolated area with only the one sign indicating its existence. Former high schoolers in the area said it was a party spot, so some people are familiar with it, said Bremer County Sheriff Dan Pickett.

At least two people have tried to confess to taking the girls, but investigators knew they weren't responsible because they didn't know any of the many details of the case that have not been made public.

In the last five years, the DCI has looked into family members, friends, neighbors and over 300 sex offenders.

That includes suspects in other high-profile cases involving children. Michael Klunder kidnapped two girls in Dayton in 2013 — one escaped, and Klunder killed the other and later himself. But investigators determined he was not a suspect in the Evansdale case.

When asked about Jeff Lee Altmayer, an Ankeny man who is in jail on suspicion of enticing children with the intent to commit sex abuse, Roehrkasse said, “Most I’ll say about him is he’s a lead. ... He’s somebody we’re definitely keeping an eye on.”

Altmayer, 57, was arrested after being accused of trying to lure a 6-year-old girl into his car with $100, and falsely claiming to be a police officer in Onawa on Nov. 16.

Before November, Iowa DCI agents were receiving reports from across the state that a man was trying to entice children into his car by offering $100, said Iowa DCI Assistant Director Mitch Mortvedt.

After Altmayer's arrest, the DCI learned local law enforcement in Grundy and Jasper counties arrested him on suspicion of similar enticement crimes earlier last year.

At the time of his arrest, he worked for Alliance Inspection Management as an automobile damage field inspector, according to court documents. This gave him the opportunity to freely travel across the state and reach more victims, Mortvedt said.

Altmayer is considered a person of interest in a June 2016 child enticement case from Cedar Falls, about 12 miles from Evansdale, Police Capt. Mike Hayes said. A man reportedly approached three young girls at a park in Cedar Falls and offered them money to get into his car, Hayes said. Altmayer has not been charged. An investigation continues.

Altmayer is facing his first jury trial in Jasper County beginning Sept. 12. He has pleaded not guilty to all of his charges.

Hundreds of pictures of Dan Morrissey’s family stay with him in prison.

They create a jumbled puzzle of his life before entering the Fort Dodge Correctional Facility.

There are photos of his son, who visits him almost every day, and of his daughter Lyric, who has the same blue eyes as his.

Morrissey is serving a 90-year sentence for multiple drug charges. He will have to serve a minimum of a third of that.

But it’s inside these walls where Morrissey said he’s found a purpose.

"I haven't given up. It's God in my life, and that's who helped make me a better person," Morrissey said in a phone interview. "Instead of being bitter, I've chosen to heal and get better and forgive and let peace reign in my heart."

His first nine months in jail were hell. Staffers would find him blowing in and out of paper bags during panic attacks.

He felt anger toward the child predators he shared space with.

The judgment of the world loomed heavy over him. As he read the Bible, he would hear Lyric’s voice in his head, calling for “Daddy.”

No one was mean to him. They knew what he had already gone through.

Stuck and without any distractions, Morrissey was bare. He got on his knees and asked God for help — and things started getting better.

In 2013 in Newton, Morrissey said, he had a turning point with Lyric's death.

He meditated alone for hours and listed everything about her that he was thankful for: that she was conceived, that she was healthy, that she was saved by Jesus Christ.

“The last years she was alive that I had her was a blessing,” Morrissey said. “That immediately turned everything from feeling negative emotions to letting things go.

Morrissey said he knows that people judge him for his addiction and the crimes he committed. When Lyric went missing, he said, he started using methamphetamine again as a way to ease the pain. It didn’t work. Instead, he went to prison.

It’s been two years since law enforcement gave him an update on the case.

His only advantage in prison is that he can concentrate on healing.

“There’s beauty in the ashes,” Morrissey said. “If I let that stuff consume me with the negativity and poison in my heart, I couldn’t look and gaze at the beautiful things happening in my life."

Drew Collins and Morrissey have been friends since they were teenagers.

They call and talk to each other regularly.

“When there is an arrest, it’s going to be difficult putting a face to it and hearing the details,” Morrissey said. “But God will make me ready. If I’ve gotten this far. I can get the rest of the way.”

Meanwhile, about 60 miles away from Evansdale, Misty Cook is "living again," she said in an interview.

After Lyric and Elizabeth were buried, Cook was determined to move as far away as possible from Evansdale. In 2013, she went to West Union. Now she lives in St. Lucas, in northern Fayette County, where the pace of the small town soothes her.

Cook works on a chicken farm, caring for chicks, ducklings and other baby animals. Her boyfriend of two years also works there. Together, they have a 5-month-old girl named Abigail.

While her life will never be "normal," she said, she is finding beauty in the small things. “It’s been the most amazing experience of my life,” Cook said. “After Lyric, I didn’t think I would be willing to have any more kids, and God had other plans, and we were really, really blessed to have her in my life.”

The reality of Lyric's death is hard to escape. When Cook was at the hospital with Abigail, she needed to know that her daughter was wearing her security bracelet. She kept track of the location of doors and exits.

Cook stayed at home with Abigail for three months. When she had to bring her to daycare, she said, she cried everyday for 12 weeks.

Even before Abigail was born, for a year, she wouldn’t go outside, not even for simple trips to the store.

After her daughter was abducted, she turned to drugs and was sentenced to 10 years in prison in 2014. She was released in 2015.

She was aware of the scrutiny the public had subjected her to because of her past, she said. If people looked at her, would they judge and shame her?

She's moving on, though. She’s starting to get out more. She likes St. Lucas and the security it provides. She's started talking to people on Facebook.

Cook said she wants people to know that she loves Lyric. She wants people to know that she regrets her past, but that she does not deserve the shame. She wants people to know that she’s doing well.

“I can live life. I know I can love again,” Cook said. “If someone wants to look at me that way, I can hold my head up and keep going. I’m not going to fall apart in life again to hide my pain and cover up my life. I’m going to keep moving forward.”

Meyers Lake was the last place the cousins were seen.

It’s the town’s most popular park. It’s where people gathered when they searched for the girls. It’s where they gathered when they mourned them.

It will be where they will gather if someone is arrested, said Donna Frickson, 60, a local resident and volunteer.

Frickson was one of the many volunteers that helped with Angels Park, a community healing project built on an island in the middle of Meyers Lake.

The park is a memorial for Lyric and Elizabeth, along with three other girls and women in Iowa who have been killed: 5-year-old Evelyn Miller, 13-year-old Donnisha Hill and 22-year-old Lindsay Nichols. A gazebo stands tall in the grassy area for each of the slain girls.

When Frickson looks out at Angels Park, she gets chills.

“Cemeteries just break you down, while this place lifts you up,” Frickson said.

After the cousins were abducted and killed, Frickson said, residents rallied together to support one another.

The park is valued at about $500,000 and was built off donations, grants and volunteer contributions.

Now, they are raising money to build a bridge to make the island handicap-accessible. Frickson thinks $70,000 could get a nice bridge, but any amount will do as long as it gets done. Then they can officially open the space to the public.

Neighbors remain cautious. Parents are more wary than before the abductions about knowing where their kids are, Frickson said. An annual Child Safety Awareness Day is planned for Sunday afternoon in Evansdale.

Always remembering the girls also means always remembering their killer is still at large.

“One of the things we all know, and we don’t talk about it a lot — there is still someone out there that took the lives of two innocent children,” Frickson said. “There’s a murderer out there.”

It’s at Angels Park where Drew Collins feels close to Elizabeth.

He visits Elizabeth's white gazebo in the far corner of the park. It’s adorned with donated plants and sculptures.

Collins holds the leaves of a willow tree in his hands.

“I love this,” he says as he stands by his daughter’s memorial.

Inside the gazebo, a small angel is perched high on a ledge. He hasn’t seen the statue before.

He doesn’t like to go to the nearby cemetery where her body is laid to rest. But here, he feels a connection with her.

“It feels good to come out here,” Collins said. “I don’t think she would really want me to go out where we were. And the grave site’s not that fun, either.”

He likes to visit the park when the sun is setting, just nestling into the horizon. He brings his daughters here and lets his dogs run loose.

They’ve done it a hundred times. They start at Elizabeth’s gazebo and read her plaque. Then they move on to read the plaques of each of the girls until they're done.

As Collins reflects, he's thankful for the time he had with his daughter, her rambunctious attitude in hockey, her kind spirit toward her sisters and her stubbornness, just like his.

In August, Collins will receive training from the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children to be on its Team Hope. He will be partnered with parents who have had a child go missing, so he can use his experiences to help support them.

As much as his family has suffered, he also feels he doesn't have it as bad as some other parents. At least Elizabeth's and Lyric's bodies were found. Many other families are left forever wondering what happened to their children, as his family experienced for five months.

“I know what they’re going though and how hard it is, how devastating it is,” Collins said.

In June during the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children’s national charity ride, he met Patty Wetterling, the mother of Jacob Wetterling, who was kidnapped in 1989 and murdered. In 2016, his killer admitted what he did and took investigators to Jacob's body.

Collins doesn’t want to have to wait 27 years to know the fate of his daughter. But Wetterling's tenacity and perseverance through the experience gives him hope.

"I’m not going to quit,” he said.

CLARIFICATION: This story was updated July 12 to clarify that Misty Cook is no longer incarcerated.

Timeline

FRIDAY, JULY 13, 2012

12:15 p.m.: The grandmother of Lyric Cook-Morrissey and her cousin Elizabeth Collins sees the girls leave the house in the 100 block of Brovan Boulevard for a bike ride.

Before 3 p.m.: Evansdale residents see the girls in the 1000 block of Lake Avenue, riding their bikes.

2 p.m.: Families begin searching for the girls when Misty Cook-Morrissey, Lyric's mother, returns home and discovers the girls haven't returned from their bike ride.

4 p.m.: An Evansdale firefighter finds the girls' bikes and Elizabeth Collins' purse and cellphone on a recreational trail on the southeast corner of Meyers Lake.

JULY 14-17

More than 1,100 volunteers turn out to help search a 12-square-mile area in and around Evansdale. Meyers Lake is dragged, and then drained.

LATE OCTOBER

Friends of the families of the missing girls ask hunters to watch for clues that could lead to the cousins.

DEC. 5

Hunters report the discovery of two bodies at a Bremer County park. The bodies are later determined to be the cousins'.

MAY AND JUNE 2013

Iowans' fears are tripped again with the abduction of two girls walking home in Dayton in north-central Iowa. A 12-year-old manages to escape Michael Klunder, a sex offender, but 15-year-old Kathlynn Shepard is found dead in a river weeks later. Investigators determine that Klunder was not involved in the deaths of Elizabeth and Lyric.

FEBRUARY 2015

Evansdale Police Chief Kent Smock announces that investigators have renewed their attention on people familiar with Seven Bridges, at the recommendation of experts from the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children, the FBI and other groups. Investigators believe the killer was a local resident who'd been to the park in the past.

MAY 2015

The Iowa Department of Public Safety unveils a new Child Abduction Response Team trained to respond to and investigate abductions statewide. The killings of Elizabeth and Lyric, as well as Kathlynn Shepard in Dayton, prompted the unit's formation.

MARCH 2017

Indiana State Police say that similarities between the double-slaying of two teenage girls three weeks earlier and the Evansdale killings seem "coincidental" but that a connection is possible.

Elizabeth 'Lizzy' Collins

AGE: 8, when she disappeared.

FAMILY: Parents Heather and Drew Collins, and three siblings.

ABOUT ELIZABETH: She was a very social child, Elizabeth's third-grade teacher, Angel Munson, said this summer. "She was always the last one to finish her lunch because she was always talking."

Elizabeth loved to play hockey.

Lyric Cook-Morrissey

AGE: 10, when she disappeared.

FAMILY: Misty Cook-Morrissey and Daniel Morrissey. Her grandmother and aunts helped raise her.

ABOUT LYRIC: She liked gymnastics and the Disney Channel.

Lyric and two other cousins gave themselves the nickname the "Bradford Badboys" after a music video by one of their favorite bands. To donate

To help build a bridge in Angels Park, designate the donation for the Angels Memorial and send it to First Security State Bank, which has locations in Evansdale and Cedar Falls

Investigation
Among the perplexing aspects of the killings: The National Center for Missing and Exploited Children says abductions of random children have become less common; predators typically seek children online. It's rarer still for two children to be taken at once, and in the middle of the day.

In Evansdale, a town of about 5,000 just outside Waterloo, the impact remains profound. Police officers say they think about the unsolved case every day.

In just the past few months, authorities began a new approach in their investigation of the killings.

Drew Collins
“I don't think there is ever going to be a day in my life that I don't think about it constantly and wonder where she'd be or what she'd be doing,” said Drew Collins, Elizabeth’s dad.

“To me, I think it almost has to be somebody local that either knows the Seven Bridges area well, or kind of, and definitely maybe blended in because nobody stood out that day,” Drew Collins said.

Drew Collins said he does not want to know, but he is confident both girls put up a fight. “They were both scrappers,” Drew Collins said. “Yeah, they would have both fought."

Elizabeth's parents divorced because of their differences in dealing with the immense grief.

“It's more than a person can deal with,” Drew Collins said.

Even five years later, Drew Collins says there is still hope. “After five years they are not giving up on this case, and we're going to hunt this guy down until we catch him,” Drew Collins said. “I know they are not going to give up.”

Now, the Collins kids never go anywhere without an adult and wear necklaces with a picture of Elizabeth.

Amber Collins
Elizabeth’s sister, Amber Collins, said her family has torn apart. “She's supposed to be here, and she's not, so I just really miss her,” Amber Collins said.

Callie Collins
“Just the thought of not having your sister here when you wake up -- it's just terrifying,” said Callie Collins, Elizabeth’s sister. Callie she said she still remembers everything. “I said, ‘But can I go?’ and she said, ‘No because grandma is not going to come with,’” Callie said.

Investigation
Authorities say new leads still trickle in and that they are following up on every single one.

To date, authorities have interviewed more than 1,000 people and looked into more than 300 sex offenders.

Authorities are still offering a $150,000 reward in the case.

Angels Park
Meyers Lake is now called "Angels Park".

Memorials for Elizabeth and Lyric are everywhere in the park.

Two gazebos in Angles Park Memorial Island memorialize Elizabeth and Lyric.

?To mark the 10-year anniversary, the city is holding a 10-mile ride and drive to raise money for Crime Stoppers.

Drew Collins 7 years interview
“It’s weird because it seems like yesterday and it also seems like forever,” said Drew Collins, Elizabeth’s father.

“I do feel like somebody knows something out there, but maybe they’re scared,” Collins said.

“I have hope,” Collins said.

He said he has new hope after hearing online DNA profile websites have recently helped police catch murderers years later.

“I am hoping technology that is on the edge of coming out or something that is recent or new will bring this case to a close,” Collins said.

However, Collins still struggles daily.

“Because of this my family has been torn apart,” Collins said. “My marriage failed, a lot of things went south.

One thing remains strong: The family is committed to finding out who did this to Elizabeth and Lyric.

“I pray every night and my girls pray for justice,” Collins said.

Investigation
Once a month Drew Collins meets with FBI agents for coffee to check in. The FBI remains tight lipped on the details but tell him they are determined to find his daughter’s killer.

“As far as a person of interest, there hasn’t been a solid one,” said Mitch Mortvedt, of Iowa Division of Criminal Investigation.

Authorities aren’t ruling anything out. They’ve looked at more than 300 sex offenders and interviewed more than 1,000 people.

Authorities have never revealed the cause of death or autopsy results. They believe that is only information the killer would know.

Motorcycle event
The family is held the annual memorial Ride in Evansdale. Proceeds going to Cedar Valley Crimestoppers and the Angel's Memorial Park.

Registration costed $20 and started at 11:00 AM. All vehicles were welcomed at the ride. Following the ride was a raffle and music.

Investigation
Authorities interviewed more than 1,000 people and hundreds of sex offenders. No arrests have been made.

Motorcycle event
Dozens of motorcycles gathered in Evansdale, Iowa for the 9th annual memorial ride to raise money and awareness.

The money for the ride goes towards the Cedar Valley Crime Stoppers as well as the Memorial Isle in Meyers Park.

?The ride has raised over $30,000 over the last nine years and has led to tips and arrests of 700 people.

?Someone also donated $25,000 towards the reward fund for information about the two girls, raising the reward to $75,000 total.

Drew Collins and Larry Crum motorcycle event interview
“You have to keep trying; you can never give up,” Drew Collins, Elizabeth’s father, said.

Collins said the ride was for the two girls, but also to raise money for others living the same nightmare.

“You won’t believe how many people have missing kids out there,” Collins said.

?After the girls went missing, Collins joined a number of groups including Endangered, Missing, and Exploited children where he met Larry Crum, of Kentucky. Crum’s daughter, Amber Nicole Crum, went missing the day after Christmas 38 years ago.

“I don’t celebrate Christmas in my house anymore,” Crum said. “No lights, no gifts, no tree, just the worst day of my life.”

?The two now lean on each other to help deal with the pain of losing someone. While they continue to raise awareness about the two Black Hawk County girls, they also wanted to inspire change.

“Stop giving these people a second chance,” Collins said. “A lot of these people get out of prison high-risk for reoffending.”

Cedar Valley Crime Stoppers offers $100,000 reward
?Cedar Valley Crime Stoppers is offering a reward of $100,000 for information leading to an arrest.

Drew Collins
“It's just something that stays with you,” said Drew Collins, Elizabeth’s father. “It doesn't seem like it's been nine years. To me, it seems like yesterday."

“They were both full of energy, full of life … beautiful,” Collins said. "Elizabeth had a great sense of humor. She loved her sister and her brother; she was very family-oriented."

As the investigation continues, the girls’ families turn their grief into advocacy with memorial rides through town and child safety events for families.

Collins said he believes Elizabeth and Lyric will get justice.

“We want to get past this and get to the healing stage of this, and we can't really do that if we don't have someone in jail,” he said. “We just want to make sure this person can't do it again to another family."

Scott Reger
“Tips are regularly coming in,” Iowa DCI Special Agent Scott Reger said.

Reger said more recent missing persons case, including Mollie Tibbetts and Xavior Harrelson, help to bring in leads like if there are any similarities.

“That always generates tips as well,” he said. “Tips are coming in through other cases happening."

Investigation
Though the case remains unsolved, the Iowa Department of Criminal Investigation said its tip line for the case still brings new information.

A $100,000 reward is available for information in the case.

Cold case foundation established
A new cold case foundation has also been established in honor of the Evansdale girls. The nonprofit organization dedicated to helping families of missing people started in 2022. The Elizabeth Collins Foundation will partner with Cedar Valley Crime Stoppers to bring awareness to cold cases in hopes of garnering new tips and leads.

Heather Collins
"It's still devastating every day not to have her," Heather Collins, Elizabeth's mother and Lyric's aunt, said in an interview.

"The ultimate goal is to just find out who did this. To find out who or whom took our girls," Heather Collins said.

Drew Collins
"It's the first thing you think of in the morning and the last at night. For me, it's very fresh. Doesn't seem like 10 years," Drew Collins said in an interview.

Scott Reger
"Everything inside of me as a husband and father would want to know that myself so that makes me want to provide that to the family while the greater evil is to let that out," said DCI agent Scott Reger.

"What we find over and over again with unresolved cases. These things come together because the public continues to provide information and the investigators continue to pound that rock over and over again," Reger said.

Investigation
The Iowa Division of Criminal Investigation said it has followed up on nearly 2,000 leads. They said they also monitor sex offenders in the Waterloo area and other surrounding areas.

No arrests have been made in the case.

Lyric and Elizabeth's families continue to get updates from state investigators. The Iowa Division of Criminal Investigation says the investigation is still active.

Investigators are still asking for help and they need your help.

The reward to find the person who murdered Lyric and Elizabeth is now more than $100,000.

Drew Collins
A decade after two young girls from Evansdale were abducted and murdered, investigators and family are still searching for answers.

"I think everyone's got a niece or a daughter or a cousin, and to them it's like, 'It just couldn't happen here,'" said Drew Collins, father of Elizabeth Collins. "So I think a lot of people are worried about something happening again. I think everyone has a lot invested in finding out who killed the girls."

Collins, whose daughter Elizabeth would have turned 18 this year, holds onto hope that technology will eventually lead to an arrest in the case.

"I thought when they found the bodies that we'd have quick answers," Collins said. "But that being said, I do think time is definitely on our side. Technology is going to be on our side. Since 2012, the leaps in DNA technology are just huge. So hopefully something comes up and they'll be able to use something that was left at the crime scene to match it with somebody else."

Collins still follows the investigation, relaying tips that people send him to local law enforcement and the Iowa DCI.

"I get some people who have given me their ideas of what maybe happened. So I look into certain people," Collins said. "I mean, there's only so much investigating I can do, but I do keep my ears out. But it's not really good for the investigation for people to give me the tips, that should go to the police."

"She was a very sweet, happy, loving child," Collins said of Elizabeth. "She loved her brother. She loved her sister. She was very good to her family. She was always smiling. She was a good person. And she didn't deserve this."

"The other thing is, we have police there. And it gives the kids a chance to be around the police and know that the police are on their side," Collins said. "So it's just a well-rounded get-together for the kids."

Despite the tragedy that took place in Evansdale almost 10 years ago, Collins remains active in the community, raising awareness of his daughter's story and "pushing forward for other families of homicide victims."

"We've had so much support from people. I'm really comfortable here," Collins said. "Even though the worst thing ever happened here, I love this place. I love Evansdale. I've lived all over the country, and I'm not leaving. This is home."

Mayor DeAnne Kobliska
Evansdale Mayor DeAnne Kobliska, who worked for the city at the time of the girls' disappearance, said the case brought the community together and made them "more aware of our surroundings."

"Everybody came together, we all met at the community response center and we had hundreds of people volunteer (to search for the girls)," Kobliska said. "We had our volunteer fire department oversee all that and send groups out. People came from all over to help."

Scott Reger
According to Scott Reger, a special agent with the Iowa Division of Criminal Investigation, the department has received 117 tips in the past 10 months alone at the email address set up specifically for tips in this case, ourmissingiowagirls@dps.state.ia.us.

"It's kind of the natural trajectory of cases as they become more long-term," Reger said. "Information isn't coming in at the speed at which it did early on. But the information is still coming in."

Reger has assisted on the case since it began in 2012, and became the lead Iowa DCI agent on the case after his predecessor left for another law enforcement job in 2017. While he had trained for child abduction cases, Reger said this was the first such case he had worked.

"Child abduction homicides are some of the hardest cases to work because they're high profile. We as a society want to protect our children," Reger said. "Beyond that, particularly living in the community ... being that some of the agents are from this area, you feel the weight of wanting to find a resolve, not just for yourself, but for the community at large, as well as the family."

Reger encourages anyone with information in the case to send a detailed email to ourmissingiowagirls@dps.state.ia.us.

"It's an active investigation, this case is not sitting on a shelf somewhere gathering dust," Reger said. "We have countless examples across our country of cases that everybody thought they were never going to figure out what happened. And time just has a way of fleshing a lot of these cases out. So that's how we're going to continue to approach this one."

Jason Ellison
Jason Ellison, a detective with the Bremer County Sheriff’s Office, joined the investigation in 2017. He said that investigators are "constantly evaluating what resources we could apply to assist our case."

"DNA technology along with forensic genealogy and electronic forensics have come a long way in the last three years or so," Ellison said. "So it's an exciting time in law enforcement for agencies that have cases similar to this, where it's kind of that endurance investigation, and we're waiting for some technology or new information that will help us push the case forward."

Elliot declined to say whether there are currently any suspects in the case, adding that "it's inappropriate for an investigative team to comment on certain suspects or people of interest."

Investigation
Local law enforcement and the Iowa Division of Criminal Investigation continue to receive tips and investigate the case.

Upcoming motorcycle event
The community will hold the 10th annual Memorial Ride and Drive event honoring the girls at 8:00 AM. July 16. The money raised from the event is donated to Cedar Valley Crime Stoppers. To pre-register and buy raffle tickets, visit the Elizabeth Collins Foundation website.

Motorcycle event
The 10th annual Memorial Ride and Drive event honoring Elizabeth and Lyric was held.

Annual Child Safety Day
An annual child safety day was established in Evansdale in the girls' memory. Child safety day raises awareness of children's safety issues, including bike helmets, properly installing a car seat, stranger danger education and DNA kits.

Annual motorcycle event
An annual motorcycle ride was established in Evansdale in the girls' memory.

Federal suspect description
Federal authorities and Evansdale police said that the suspect is likely familiar with Evansdale and saw a window of opportunity to kidnap and kill the two girls. Investigators said the murderers may also have attempted to abduct children in the past and may have tried to change their appearance after the girls’ deaths.

False confessions
Two other people have confessed to the crime, but authorities eliminated them after finding out they did not know any intimate details about the case.

Lyric's Parent's arrests
Lyric's parents, whose criminal pasts prompted unfounded speculation during the early days of the search, later spent time in prison for other crimes.

Lyric's parents, Dan and Misty Morrissey have both received prison sentences for unrelated drug charges. At the time, their involvement with drugs fueled speculation. Authorities now say they do not believe Lyric’s parents were involved in the incident.

Misty Morrissey has since been released from prison.

“I think people are confident in saying they didn't have an active role,” Mitch Mortvedt, head of field operations for the Iowa Division of Criminal Investigation, said to KCCI. “However, that doesn't rule out anything coming in in the future.”

Morrissey had earlier pleaded guilty and agreed to Alford pleas, which acknowledges evidence needed for a conviction, to charges involving the manufacture of methamphetamine and other drug offenses.

The Waterloo Courier newspaper reported that Morrissey had faced 235 years in prison if the charges were run consecutive, but in June he entered a plea agreement limiting his exposure to no more than 45 years behind bars.

The charges stem from incidents before and after the cousins disappeared.

Jeff Altmayer
Authorities recently investigated an Ankeny sex offender as a new lead. Jeff Altmayer, 58, is charged with trying to enticement children in Jasper, Monona and Grundy County by offering them 100 dollars to get in his van. Court records show he was working as a traveling automobile damage field inspector.

“It's very concerning to us when you have an individual like that that has the access that he does through his employment at the time to basically roam the state or roam the Midwest,” said Mitch Mortvedt Head of Field Operations for the Iowa Division of Criminal Investigation.

Elizabeth's Parent's divorce
Elizabeth's parents, who have three other children, divorced.

Elizabeth's parents divorced because of their differences in dealing with the immense grief.

Collins said his experience in 2012 would be comparable to sitting comfortably in the living room at home — until a semi truck barrels though at 80 miles per hour.

“I’ve kind of just watched things kind of crumble,” Collins said. “I don’t think the person that did this has any clue what they have done.”

His son, Kelly, 17, and daughters Amber, 11, and Callie, 9, had their childhoods stolen from them, Collins said.

They don't get to just go over to anybody's house. He doesn’t let them ride their bikes without an adult present. When someone forgets an item in the car, he walks with the child just a few feet out to the driveway.

Collins said he and Heather Collins had a good marriage. But the death of their eldest daughter led to them coping in different ways.

They split last year.

“Because of this my family has been torn apart,” Collins said. “My marriage failed, a lot of things went south.