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The Evansdale Murders.

Lyric Ray Lynn Cook-Morrissey, age 10 and Elizabeth June Marie Collins, 8 ag disappeared on Friday July 13, 2012, during a bike ride in Evansdale.

The two children were cousins and frequently played together, they were abducted near Meyers Lake, Evansdale, Iowa, Black Hawk County.

Their bodies found in Seven Bridges Wildlife Park in Bremer County: Dec. 5, 2012 Date of Deaths: July 13, 20

Lyric R. Cook-Morrisey, 10, and her cousin, Elizabeth Collins, 8, were reported missing to the Evansdale Police Department in Evansdale, Iowa, on Friday, July 13, 2012.

The girls were seen at about 12:23 p.m. July 13 on Brovan Boulevard in Evansdale, and then spotted between 12:30 and 1 p.m. on Gilbert Drive not far from Meyers Lake, a popular fishing and recreation area in the northeastern Iowa city of about 4,700 residents.

Their bikes and Elizabeth’s purse were later found on a trail on the southeast corner of Meyers Lake about 4 p.m. the same day the girls went missing, but there were no clues as to their whereabouts.

The girls’ grandmother, Wylma Cook, told the press she last saw the girls riding their bikes near downtown Evansdale about 12:15 p.m. July 13.

On Wednesday, December 5, 2012, hunters came across two deceased bodies in the Seven Bridges Wildlife Park near Readlyn in Bremer County — a wildlife area about 25 miles from where the girls were last seen. They contacted law enforcement officials at 12:45 p.m.

On Thursday, December 6, 2012, Chief Deputy Rick Abben with the Black Hawk County Sheriff’s Office held a press conference to announce officials were confident the bodies were those of Lyric and Elizabeth.

Abben said there were no other missing persons cases and the remains found were of a smaller stature.

The bodies were transported to the State Medical Examiner’s Office in Ankeny for positive identification.

Medical Examiner Confirms: Bodies Found are Missing Evansdale Girls On Monday afternoon, December 10, 2012, the Iowa State Medical Examiner’s Office confirmed the bodies found on Wednesday were those of Lyric Cook and Elizabeth Collins.

Chief Kent Smock of the Evansdale Police Department received confirmation Monday, according to a Black Hawk County Sheriff’s Office press release.

Smock notified the families.

No other information was released to police other than the confirmation,

Troubled History of Lyric Cooks parents.

According to a Cedar Rapids Gazette article published July 25, 2012, Dan Morrissey, 36, was scheduled to appear Friday in Black Hawk County court in Waterloo for a pretrial conference covering four separate cases, including one where he was charged with assaulting his estranged wife, Misty Morrissey, the mother of 10-year-old Lyric Cook.

The Gazette said other cases against Dan Morrissey charge him with possessing, dealing and making methamphetamine, and a range of other drug charges that could lock him up for decades if convicted. However authorities do not believe Lyric’s parents were involved in the girls’ deaths. Dan and Misty Morrissey were sent to prison on unrelated drug charges after the girls disappeared, and Mortvedt said Misty Morrissey has since been released.

Parents of Elizabeth Collins.

Investigators were closely scrutinizing Dan and Misty Morrissey and had subjected both of them to multiple polygraph tests. At the same time, investigators said Dan and Misty were not considered suspects in the girls’ disappearance, and were looking into their backgrounds and that of their associates only so as not to discount any possible leads.

Offender profile. The offender profile concluded, in part, that:

area in Bremer County;
 * The offender is familiar with both Meyers Lake/Angels Park in Evansdale and Seven Bridges Wildlife

secluded;
 * The suspect chose Seven Bridges because he or she was familiar with the area and knew it was

the suspect likely used “quiet coercion” to gain the girls’ compliance into leaving Meyers Lake, using a  ruse or threats of violence, and that other possible characteristics include:
 * The offender blends in with and may be part of the Evansdale, Bremer and surrounding communities;

employment difficulties, financial strain or mental health issues in July 2012;
 * The suspect may have been experiencing stress related to legal troubles, spousal problems,

developments in the media;
 * The suspect may avoid discussing the case or showing interest in the matter but is likely following


 * The offender may have attempted to abduct children or adults in the past;

changing hair style and facial hair. The offender’s vehicle may also have been altered with a new paint job or re-upholstery.
 * Following the disappearance, the suspect may have altered his or her physical appearance, such as

Analysts’ experience with prior abduction cases points to one person being involved, but there are cases where more than one person was involved.

Information Needed: If you have any information about the circumstances surrounding the disappearance and deaths of Lyric Cook-Morrissey and Elizabeth Collins, please call the Evansdale Police tip line at 232-6682 or Cedar Valley Crime Stoppers at 855-300-8477.

A $150,000 reward, raised privately and by the FBI, is available for information leading to an arrest and conviction in the case.

Additionally, Cedar Valley Crime Stoppers has offered a $50,000 reward for anyone coming forward with information that simply leads to an arrest.

Ref: https://iowacoldcases.org/case-summaries/lyric-cook-and-elizabeth-collins/