FBI believes the missing Iowa girls are alive
Two weeks after two girls went missing, police are calling it an abduction but the FBI believes the girls are still alive.
CNN reports that the girls were not found in the lake, during the search on Friday.
“Those girls are not in that lake,” Black Hawk County Sherriff’s Deputy Rick Abben said. “Obviously, within a week if they were lost they would have been found by now. Since we can’t find them (and) they’re not in the lake, we’re calling it an abduction.”
The FBI believes different: “We believe these girls are alive and we are not discouraged by the passage of time since their disappearance,” FBI spokeswoman Sandy Breault told reporters in Evansdale, Iowa.
Breault would not comment on the evidence investigators have that helped them come to that conclusion. She also believes somebody has some kind of information on the girls and she is urging anyone to step forward.
“Cooperation with law enforcement is the key factor in discovering the whereabouts of Lyric and Elizabeth. Unfortunately, in this case, law enforcement has not received total cooperation from all family and close friends. It’s important to note that the majority of the family has cooperated 100%,” Breault said. “We believe there’s someone out there and we would urge them to come forward.”
Elizabeth Collins and her cousin, Lyric Cook-Morrissey, went missing near Meyers Lake at about 12:15 p.m. Friday. The girls were going to ride their bikes, according to Des Moines Register.
The girls’ bikes were found by the lake at about 4 p.m. Friday and Collins’ purse and cell phone were found about 20 feet away.
Scent dogs have also been used to help find the girls, along with volunteers.
The home of Misty Cook-Morrissey, Lyric’s mother, and her grandmother’s home have been searched.
Lyric’s father, Daniel Morrissey, said he walked out of a police polygraph session because of accusations made against him hurting the girls and knowing their whereabouts.
Also, the family has all been polygraphed and questioned and had information taken from their cell phones.
Cook-Morrissey thinks it is very unlikely that the girls are in the lake and she suggests a possible kidnapping.
“They don’t swim there. My daughter is familiar with swimming in lakes, so I don’t think she would be scared of this lake, but they don’t come here and swim here,” she said. “Because we haven’t found them anywhere in the surrounding area, I feel like maybe they were taken.”
Elizabeth Collins is about 4 feet 1 inch, 80 pounds, with brown hair and brown eyes. Lyric Cook-Morrissey is about 4 feet 11 inches, 145 pounds, with brown hair and blue eyes.
“We’ve covered everything we can cover with civilian people,” said Marcus Norman, volunteer coordinator with Evansdale Fire Department. “Law enforcement is still working on the residential areas and things of that sort.”
According to the Quad City Times, officers are following all tips, conducting family and friend interviews, and contacting known sex offenders in the area.
“Just a continuous 24/7 operation,” said Abben, who’s acting as public information officer for the case.
There is a $50,000 reward offered for information resulting in the girls being found and prosecution of the person(s) involved and also a Tip Line that is open 24 hours, (319) 232-6682. Donations towards the reward can also be made at the 1st Security State Bank in Evansdale.
