Scared Monkeys Discussion Forum

http://www.foxnews.com/us/2012/07/14/iowa-mom-says-thinks-daughter-cousin-abducted-after-bikes-found-abandoned/ (http://www.foxnews.com/us/2012/07/14/iowa-mom-says-thinks-daughter-cousin-abducted-after-bikes-found-abandoned/)

(http://a57.foxnews.com/global.fncstatic.com/static/managed/img/U.S./660/371/missingiowacousins.jpg)

Iowa mom says she thinks daughter, cousin abducted after bikes found abandoned

Published July 14, 2012

Associated Press

EVANSDALE, Iowa –  The mother of a missing eastern Iowa girl says she believes the 10-year-old and her 8-year-old cousin were abducted.

Misty Cook Morrissey told the Waterloo-Cedar Falls Courier Saturday that it's out of character for her daughter, Lyric Cook, to wander too far from home. The girl often stays at the home of her younger cousin, Elizabeth Collins, in Evansdale while her mother works.

The girls were last seen shortly after noon on Friday in downtown Evansdale. Their bikes were located along a trail on the southeast corner of Meyers Lake. Investigators say they have found no other traces of the girls.
 ::snipping2::


Read more: http://www.foxnews.com/us/2012/07/14/iowa-mom-says-thinks-daughter-cousin-abducted-after-bikes-found-abandoned/#ixzz20eJA7rjj
Edit to fix typo in subject line from IO to IA, in replies 1 -22.  MB

http://blogs.desmoinesregister.com/dmr/index.php/2012/07/14/search-for-2-missing-eastern-iowa-girls-continues/ (http://blogs.desmoinesregister.com/dmr/index.php/2012/07/14/search-for-2-missing-eastern-iowa-girls-continues/)


(http://blogs.desmoinesregister.com/dmr/wp-content/uploads/2012/07/missing-girls_Grun.jpg)

2 eastern Iowa girls now missing for over 30 hours
6:52 PM, Jul 14, 2012 | by Emily Schettler

EVANSDALE, Ia. – Authorities continued to search Saturday evening for two eastern Iowa girls police say haven’t been seen since Friday afternoon.

The hunt for cousins Elizabeth Collins, 8, and Lyric Cook-Morrissey, 10, swelled Saturday to include more than 400 volunteers, and the FBI and Iowa Division of Criminal Investigation.

Rick Abben, chief deputy sheriff for Black Hawk County, said the girls were last seen by their grandmother when the two left her Evansdale home at about 12:15 p.m. Friday to ride their bicycles.

The girls’ grandmother notified police two hours later when they hadn’t returned. A firefighter located their bikes close to nearby Meyers Lake at about 4 p.m. Friday.

Abben said no other signs of the girls have turned up, despite an extensive ground and aerial search.

The volunteer search has been suspended for the day, though law enforcement officials will continue to work through the night, Abben said.

The main focus at this time is to finish dragging Meyers Lake, he said.

If nothing new is found, crews likely will conduct a more thorough search of other area bodies of water and extend the ground search.
 ::snipping2::

http://www.kcci.com/news/central-iowa/2-girls-missing-near-Iowa-lake/-/9357080/15517598/-/nerj95/-/index.html (http://www.kcci.com/news/central-iowa/2-girls-missing-near-Iowa-lake/-/9357080/15517598/-/nerj95/-/index.html)


2 girls missing near Iowa lake
Bicycles found near trial
UPDATED 12:06 PM CDT Jul 14, 2012

(http://www.kcci.com/image/view/-/15518206/medRes/1/-/maxh/460/maxw/620/-/akf58uz/-/Missing-Girls-jpg.jpg)

EVANSDALE, Iowa -

Two young girls last seen Friday around noon were still missing Saturday morning.

Elizabeth Collins, 8, and Lyrica Morrisey, 11, were last seen riding their bicycles in Evansdale, Iowa.  Their bicycles were later found along the bike trial at Myer's Lake.

 ::snipping2::

Praying that these little girls are found safe.maybe they are lost in the woods? Please let it be so....

I am sending prayers for you Elizabeth and Lyric.  I pray that you are simply lost and someone will be finding you two real soon.  God Bless.

Lyric has an innocent little FB...full of the aquarium game :( I really hope that they are okay.

Is this lake being searched and have dogs been used?

http://www.winneshiekwild.com/recreation-trails

Myers Lake Recreation Trails


map of trail
http://www.winneshiekwild.com/images/pdfs/pfrt%20brochure.pdf

http://www.kcci.com/news/central-iowa/Search-continues-for-missing-girls/-/9357080/15517598/-/scies8z/-/index.html

Search continues for missing girls
Bicycles found near trial
UPDATED 7:23 AM CDT Jul 15, 2012

 ::snipping2::

Evansdale police and fire chief Kent Smock said authorities still view it as a missing-person case, but he isn't ruling out the possibility that the girls were abducted.

 ::snipping2::

See VIDEO at link

Hat tip to Hollye from WS for this map

https://maps.google.com/maps/ms?msid=218199748434644937742.0004c4d3e1a9fb56b4658&msa=0&ll=42.47944,-92.362061&spn=0.204844,0.308647&iwloc=0004c4d406effc9c7306f

http://scaredmonkeys.com/2012/07/15/8-year-old-elizabeth-collins-her-cousin-10-year-old-lyric-cook-missing-since-71312-in-evansdale-iowa/

Seems a bit odd that both would go missing. Usually an abductor targets only one person not two, but anything is possible these days. I wonder if there was any cameras in buildings, banks, etc that may have caught them on tape riding from town to the lake?

http://blogs.desmoinesregister.com/dmr/index.php/2012/07/15/families-hold-out-hope-for-two-missing-iowa-girls/

http://wcfcourier.com/news/local/update-clock-ticks-away-as-search-continues-for-two-missing/article_18411a90-cd32-11e1-a656-0019bb2963f4.html

UPDATE: Search for missing girls in Evansdale enters third day
Posted: Sunday, July 15, 2012 11:45 am

EVANSDALE, Iowa --- Search parties headed out at about 8 a.m. today to help find two girls that went missing in Evansdale Friday afternoon.
Now in the third day of the search, family and authorities aren’t giving out hope that Lyric Cook-Morrissey, 10, of Waterloo and her 8-year-old cousin Elizabeth Collins of Evansdale will be found.

More than 200 volunteers and emergency workers gathered at the Evansdale Community Response Center this morning.
About 400 people looked for the girls Saturday, and authorities expect even more today.
::snipping2::

 ::snipping2::
During a 9 a.m. press conference, Capt. Rick Abben of the Black Hawk County Sheriff’s Department said the whereabouts of the girls is still a mystery.
Despite almost three days of searching the lake, nearby wooded areas, homes and corn fields, no credible clues have been found.

“For a lack of a better word, it’s just like they vanished. There’s just nothing,” Abben said.

Authorities say the main focus of the search is still Meyers Lake and the surrounding area since that’s where the bikes were found. Abben said 40 percent of the lake has been dragged as of this morning.

Divers assisted in the search. Evansdale, Waterloo and La Porte City fire boats will continue dragging the lake until finished, which will probably be sometime Monday, Abben said.

The ground search was expanded today. Searchers will cover the same ground as before, but more of the city and neighboring communities and rural subdivisions, like the RayMar addition, will be scoured. That includes all wooded areas, other small lakes, farm fields and the Cedar River.

Abben said it’s still considered a missing-persons case, but authorities haven’t ruled out the children were abducted as their parents believe.
Law enforcement continues to interview the family, friends of the family and other children. They are contacting registered sex offenders in the area as to their whereabouts on Friday.

“We’re grasping at straws too to take every avenue we can,” Abben said.

Shortly after 8 a.m., six search parties — ranging from 10 to 60 people — left in school busses. Many people on all-terrain-vehicles are also out.
Heather and Drew Collins, Elizabeth’s parents, said they’ll never give up hope their daughter will be found despite the lack of clues. They hope the rest of the Cedar Valley doesn’t as well.

“Just don’t give up or lose faith. Just keep looking for them,” Heather said. “It’s not if we will find them, there’s no ifs.”

“In all honesty, (hope) is all we have left,” Drew added. “God will bring them home.”

The couple, along with Heather’s sister, Misty Cook-Morrissey, Lyric’s mother, remain blown away by the support of the community and law enforcement.
Misty is confident that the search will be successful.

“I still believe good things will happen today,” she said
.
Authorities are asking anyone that was on the bike trail Friday to call the Tip Line, (319) 232-6682. It’s manned 24 hours.

A few tips have been received but none have panned out, Abben said.

“Anybody who has seen anything about these two girls we want to be notified,” Abben said. “Law enforcement is working this 24/7.”
An anonymous person has offered a $5,000 reward that leads to information that results in Lyric and Elizabeth being located.

If this is an abduction, and it may be based on my brief review- they are focusing efforts in the wrong place to catch a possible offender, imo.

Based on the location where they were last seen, and that their bikes are found together nearly 2 miles away off the trail next to an ungated area, etc...

http://blinkoncrime.com/2012/07/15/search-intensifies-for-missing-iowa-girls-lyric-cook-11-and-elizabeth-collins-8-after-30-hours/

Update From Blink:  Having had an opportunity to review the map of the last known location, their are two areas of great immediate concern I am focused on.

1. The area where they were last seen on their bikes is next to a safety shoe ( think workboot) store, and adjacent to the rear or parking area of a bar at lunchtime on a Friday and likely a payday.  Lefty’s Lounge is also a truck stop.  This location is just a few blocks from the Grandmother’s residence and some areas of it can be seen from the home if one was standing outside.   The residence also appears to be the office of Planetary Tree Services, unclear if employees report directly for the day’s jobs but the map reflects what could be utility trucks used for tree cutting.   It is not uncommon for some day laborors

2. The girls bikes and bag/cell phone are located together, in an area approximately 2 miles from the area where they were last seen.   Their are no bike trails on the roadway and only heavy traffic “highway” leading straight to the lake,  alternative routes through the neighborhood are possible,  but then they likely would have been seen.

The girls apparently rode bike s close to home frequently with no report of wandering off and the mother’s first reaction upon hearing the bike’s locations were that the girls were abducted.   That tells me that she is reasonably certain that the children would not chosen the lake as a bike riding destination as it is a natural tendency for a parent to want to NOT believe a child has been abducted as a first “option”.  She also has knowledge about what time the grandmother began calling the girls with no answer,  and the call to police came at 2.    Were they sent for anything from a store?

I would recommend that the neighborhood closest to the home be canvassed and each shop at the strip mall be visited for customers and employee timecards be reviewed with specific emphasis on any surveillance footage, traffic cams and of course, Lefty’s Lounge logs, immediately.  Close attention should be paid to anyone leaving any of the merchants between 12:15 PM and 1:15PM abruptly,  anyone leaving a shift early, or anyone taking their break out of turn, etc.

This is an incredibly tight window of time for an abduction of two , if it is one,   the bikes are found near an unfenced section directly on the other side of Route 20 with no evidence of foul play.  The trail itself is paved and very visible from the road.

http://wcfcourier.com/news/local/evansdale-police-search-for-two-missing-girls/article_18411a90-cd32-11e1-a656-0019bb2963f4.html

Donations roll in for volunteers


12:45 p.m. Sunday (July 15,2012) - EVANSDALE, Iowa --- Area residents and businesses are making sure hundreds of volunteers and emergency workers searching for two missing girls are well fed and stay hydrated.

Donations of water, sports drinks, food and ice are constantly arriving at the Evansdale Community Response Center. The police and fire station, located at 911 S. Evans Road, is ground zero in the attempt to locate 10-year-old Lyric Cook-Morrissey of Waterloo and her 8-year-old cousin, Elizabeth Collins, of Evansdale.

The children were last seen at about 12:15 p.m. Friday near downtown Evansdale riding their bikes. Their bicycles were found about four hours later on the southeast corner of Meyers Lake along the bike trail.

Family, friends, volunteers and emergency workers from throughout Northeast Iowa have been looking for the girls almost nonstop since Friday afternoon. No clues to their whereabouts have been found.

Supplies to aid the search have poured in. Some arrive by the truckload, while other concerned residents bring just a few bags of chips or ice.
At about 9:30 a.m. today, a representative from Kwik Trip Inc, a convenience store chain based in La Crosse, Wis., called food coordinators to say a semi from the company containing several pallets of food and goods — 1,000 hamburgers, 1,000 hot dogs, buns, fruit, bananas, etc. — would arrive later this afternoon.

The gesture, along with the generosity of others, brought Marlene Schaefer to tears.

“It’s just the kindness,” she said, while sobbing and wiping her eyes.

Beth Kamp of Cedar Falls is coordinating the food and drink effort. Her 14-year-old son, Hunter Dally, along with about eight others are assisting. Schaefer is in that group.

Kamp arrived early Saturday morning to drop off some water and volunteer. Officials asked if she wanted to be in charge of food and drink donations and feeding people. She didn’t think twice about accepting.

Kamp said people and businesses don’t hesitate to donate when asked, and goods just show up. Her and her son were out soliciting donations until 10 p.m. Saturday.

“At least right now, (supplies) are good. But things go fast,” she said, urging others to donate because its unknown how long the search will last.

The biggest need is for prepackaged food, like snacks, to keep searchers fed, Kamp said. Water and meat isn’t an issue at this time.

Pallet after pallet of bottled water has arrived since Friday afternoon. Local Casey’s General Stores and Papa Johns have donated hundreds of pizzas. Area Subway stores sent sandwiches. Fareway stores have sent deli meats and bread.

Panera Bread donated hundreds of bagels, Hy-Vee stores donated about 400 hot dogs and buns and other supplies. The list of donors is too extensive to name them all, Kamp said.

Food volunteer April Schultz of Evansdale is overwhelmed by the community response.
“It just shows amazing things (occur),” she said. “People will come together at a time like this.”




Link for Twitter Updates....    http://wcfcourier.com/twitter-updates-hundreds-search-for/html_7502e29a-ce9a-11e1-80bf-0019bb2963f4.html

http://www.foxnews.com/us/2012/07/15/hundreds-search-around-iowa-lake-for-missing-girls/ (http://www.foxnews.com/us/2012/07/15/hundreds-search-around-iowa-lake-for-missing-girls/)

Hundreds search around Iowa lake for missing girls

Published July 15, 2012

Hundreds of volunteers are searching around an Iowa lake for two girls who disappeared from the area, authorities say.

Cousins Lyric Cook, 10, and Elizabeth Collins, 8, were last seen shortly after noon on Friday in downtown Evansdale. Their bikes were located along a trail on the southeast corner of Meyers Lake. Black Hawk County investigators say they have found no other traces of the girls.

Authorities say about 40 percent of the lake has been searched, the Waterloo-Cedar Falls Courier reports. Investigators also are contacting registered sex offenders, the girls' family and friends of the family for possible clues.


 ::snipping2::


(http://i14.photobucket.com/albums/a306/klaasend/MeyersLake.jpg)

http://blogs.desmoinesregister.com/dmr/index.php/2012/07/15/families-hold-out-hope-for-two-missing-iowa-girls/

Families hold out hope for two missing Iowa girls
9:34 AM, Jul 15, 2012 | by Emily Schettler

http://wcfcourier.com/twitter-updates-hundreds-search-for/html_7502e29a-ce9a-11e1-80bf-0019bb2963f4.html (http://wcfcourier.com/twitter-updates-hundreds-search-for/html_7502e29a-ce9a-11e1-80bf-0019bb2963f4.html)


Twitter updates: Hundreds search for missing girls in Evansdale

Posted: Sunday, July 15, 2012 11:30 am

Hundreds of volunteers and emergency workers are searching for two missing girls from Evansdale. Here's updates via Twitter on the search for Lyric Cook-Morrissey and Elizabeth Collins.

(http://images.scribblelive.com/2012/7/15/62407bdf-f705-4c73-a776-34a0e247133b_400.jpg)
Three buses from the Waterloo Community School District are aiding volunteers in their search effort.
by Chris Essig - Courier via mobile 12:38 PM
(http://images.scribblelive.com/2012/7/15/62521015-cf10-462c-abc5-e89a8f7a6814_400.jpg)
Community Response Center on the corner of Gilbert and Evans in Evansdale has become the hub for volunteers to eat, rest and apply sunscreen.
by Chris Essig - Courier via mobile 12:34 PM

Correction. Spoke with missing girl's aunt. #evansdalesearch
by DaveFranzman via twitter 12:30 PM
Just spoke with missing girl's. Family fears abduction but no evidence. Older girl has had stranger danger talk. #evansdalesearch
by DaveFranzman via twitter 12:27 PM

Sun screen, bug spray and hand sanitizer for the hundreds of volunteers in Evansdale.
by Chris Essig - Courier via mobile 12:25 PM
Deputies say 50% of entire city of evansdale searched for girls. Searchers now spreading out farther. #evansdalesearch
by DaveFranzman via twitter 11:54 AM
On the scene with @eschettler in Evansdale. Hundreds of volunteers still scouring the town. Lake should be completely dragged by end of day.
by timeinch via twitter 11:52 AM
RT @DMRegister: Missing Evansdale girls: Follow presser updates from @eschettler and @timeinch. dmreg.co #evansdalesearch
by timeinch via twitter 11:47 AM
RT @kbolten: Read @eSchettler interview with moms of two missing northeast Iowa girls. dmreg.co
by timeinch via twitter 11:46 AM

Volunteers drag Meyer Lake while while the search continues for missing girls Lyric Morrisey, 11, and Elizabeth Collins, 8, both of Evansdale, Iowa on Sunday, July 15, 2012 in Evansdale, Iowa. (DAWN J. SAGERT / Courier Staff Photographer)
by Chris Essig - Courier 11:39 AM
Hopefully the raised award will turn up some clues if anyone knows ANYTHING! Praying harder!
by AmandaSmith8 11:38 AM
Press conference was very short...It is now over.
by Chris Essig - Courier 11:36 AM
Jane: Only real update is the reward has been boosted from $5,000 to $15,500. No other progress made in search.
by Chris Essig - Courier 11:36 AM
any updates with addressing media???
by Jane Foster 11:35 AM
No real new developments in search for missing girls. Reward now $15,500 for information#evansdalesearch
by DaveFranzman via twitter 11:33 AM
No progress in search...Authorities still looking for clues.
by Chris Essig - Courier 11:31 AM
Reward has been boosted from $5,000 to $15,500.
by Chris Essig - Courier 11:30 AM
From our reporter in Evansdale: 50% of Evansdale has been searched
by Chris Essig - Courier 11:29 AM
Capt. Rick Abben of the Black Hawk County Sheriff’s Department is addressing the media right now
by Chris Essig - Courier 11:20 AM
Abben: 80% of Meyers Lake has been dragged. The Waterloo fire department will search the Cedar River again this afternoon. #evansdalesearch
by eSchettler via twitter 11:19 AM
Press briefing for missing evansdale girls starting soon#evansdalesearch
by DaveFranzman via twitter 11:11 AM
Black Hawk deputy Rick Abben should be updating media briefly on the search. More tents, tables for volunteers at station. #evansdalesearch
by eSchettler via twitter 11:01 AM
Search for missing evansdale girls has at least 650 volunteers. Press briefing at 1:00.
by DaveFranzman via twitter 10:54 AM

Volunteers search a wooded area near the Cedar River for signs of two missing girls. #Evansdalesearch p.twimg.com
by eSchettler via twitter 10:30 AM
If you have any information or photos to share, please post them in our chat
by Chris Essig - Courier 9:45 AM
The search continued at 8 a.m. today. To help go to the Evansdale Community Response Center @ 911 S. Evans Rd.
by Chris Essig - Courier 9:37 AM

Volunteers get instructions for their search. Many of the areas are wooded and conditions are hot. #evansdalesearch p.twimg.com


Read More: http://wcfcourier.com/twitter-updates-hundreds-search-for/html_7502e29a-ce9a-11e1-80bf-0019bb2963f4.html#ixzz20ipQLWeg

Fingers crossed for these 2..... ::MonkeyAngel::  I have a feeling they will be found ok...hope I am right

https://twitter.com/DaveFranzman (https://twitter.com/DaveFranzman)

Dave Franzman ‏@DaveFranzman
Next press briefing about missing girls set for 6pm. ‪#evansdalesearch‬  3m

https://twitter.com/timeinch (https://twitter.com/timeinch)

Timothy M. Meinch ‏@timeinch
Incident Commander with Evansdale Fire Department said the entire city limits have been searched by foot, dog, plane and other means.  5m

using info from Hollye map, http://goo.gl/maps/jSfP  .....the girls didnt have to drive/ride
the streets to the lake,the trail head is not far from last seen

Collins' Residence
166 Brovan Boulevard Evansdale IA
--TO--
Girls Last Seen ~ 7/13, 12:15pm  is 0.1 mi  away from Collins
"behind Lederman’s Big & Tall Clothing, 3524 Lafayette Road, about 12:15 p.m. on Friday."
--TO--
trail head,near DQ,  is 0.2 mi from B&T,you can follow south to bike
4 Queens Dairy Cream  ‎3640 Lafayette Road Evansdale, IA 50707
http://goo.gl/maps/c71R

overland view bike route,from home to last seen to bike total mile is ,  1.6 mi, 8 mins
http://goo.gl/maps/3810

wonder who lives @ 167 Brovan Blvd,thats behind the shoe store,and across from
collins 166  Brovan Blvd
http://goo.gl/maps/IIK7

Live video: Press conference
 
Authorities are giving an update at 6 p.m. on the case. Here's live video


Read More: http://wcfcourier.com/twitter-updates-hundreds-search-for/html_7502e29a-ce9a-11e1-80bf-0019bb2963f4.html#ixzz20jbIMmzF

Volunteer search has been suspended, 900 people showed up for volunterr search today. The police not sure if there will be a search tomorrow. People need to watch news for potential searches. Authorities are meeting now to discuss what next steps today, at this time not planning an organized search Monday.

Also stated that they have stopped dragging the lake, pretty confident that the two girls are not in Meyers Lake.

https://twitter.com/eSchettler (https://twitter.com/eSchettler)


13s Emily Schettler ‏@eSchettler
Deputy Abben: police are looking into the backgrounds of construction workers along I380. Some are staying locally. ‪#evansdalesearch‬

11m Emily Schettler ‏@eSchettler
Deputy: authorities are meeting now to discuss what next steps today, at this time not planning an organized search Monday ‪#evansdalesearch‬e

12m Emily Schettler ‏@eSchettler
Deputy: searches are confident the Girls are not in meyers lake. ‪#evansdalesearch‬

7/15/12, 6 PM Press Conference: Black Hawk County Sheriff’s deputy Rick Abben Discusses Searches for Missing Lyric Cook-Morrissey & Her Cousin Elizabeth Collins in Evansdale, Iowa

http://scaredmonkeys.com/2012/07/15/71512-6-pm-press-conference-black-hawk-county-sheriffs-deputy-rick-abben-discusses-searches-for-missing-lyric-cook-morrissey-her-cousin-elizabeth-collins-in-evansdale-iowa/


 ::snipping2::

Video: Authorities give update on missing girls
Micah Graham | Posted: Saturday, July 14, 2012 7:54 pm
http://wcfcourier.com/video-authorities-give-update-on-missing-girls/vmix_c9a0c020-ce17-11e1-8ec9-001a4bcf887a.html

Here's another earlier video from yesterday with Capt. Rick Abben  Posted: Saturday, July 14, 2012 5:15 pm
http://wcfcourier.com/video-the-search-for-two-missing-girls-in-evansdale/vmix_5b456bfa-ce01-11e1-92c2-0019bb2963f4.html

http://www.kcci.com/news/central-iowa/1-000-people-search-for-missing-girls/-/9357080/15517598/-/ax2sxcz/-/index.html (http://www.kcci.com/news/central-iowa/1-000-people-search-for-missing-girls/-/9357080/15517598/-/ax2sxcz/-/index.html)


1,000 people search for missing girls
UPDATED 7:36 AM CDT Jul 16, 2012
EVANSDALE, Iowa -

More than 1,000 people spent Sunday searching for two missing Eastern Iowa girls.

Elizabeth Collins, 8, and Lyric Morrisey, 11, were last seen riding their bicycles in Evansdale, Iowa on Friday.  Their bicycles were later found along the bike trial at Myer's Lake.

Misty Cook Morrissey said Saturday that it's out of character for her daughter, Lyric Cook, to wander too far from home. The girl often stays at the home of her younger cousin, Elizabeth Collins, in Evansdale while her mother works.

The girls were last seen shortly after noon on Friday in downtown Evansdale. Their bikes were located along a trail on the southeast corner of Meyers Lake. Investigators say they have found no other traces of the girls.

Evansdale police and fire chief Kent Smock said authorities still view it as a missing-person case, but he isn't ruling out the possibility that the girls were abducted.

 ::snipping2::

http://www.desmoinesregister.com/article/20120716/NEWS/307160018/Huge-search-turns-up-no-signs-of-missing-Evansdale-girls?Frontpage&nclick_check=1 (http://www.desmoinesregister.com/article/20120716/NEWS/307160018/Huge-search-turns-up-no-signs-of-missing-Evansdale-girls?Frontpage&nclick_check=1)

Huge search turns up no signs of missing Evansdale girls
More than 1,100 people gather to comb Evansdale area; rescue crews drag lake
6:03 AM, Jul 16, 2012 

(http://cmsimg.desmoinesregister.com/apps/pbcsi.dll/bilde?NewTbl=1&Site=D2&Date=20120715&Category=NEWS&ArtNo=715006&Ref=PH&Item=1&Maxw=640&Maxh=410&q=60)

(http://cmsimg.desmoinesregister.com/apps/pbcsi.dll/bilde?NewTbl=1&Site=D2&Date=20120715&Category=NEWS&ArtNo=715006&Ref=PH&Item=2&Maxw=640&Maxh=410&q=60)

(http://cmsimg.desmoinesregister.com/apps/pbcsi.dll/bilde?NewTbl=1&Site=D2&Date=20120715&Category=NEWS&ArtNo=715006&Ref=PH&Item=5&Maxw=640&Maxh=410&q=60)

 ::snipping2::

http://www.kcrg.com/news/local/Missing-Girls-Family-Has-Faced-Adversity-Before-162562466.html?utm_medium=twitter&utm_source=twitterfeed

Missing Girl's Family Has Faced Adversity Before
Story Created: Jul 16, 2012 at 6:17 AM CDT
Story Updated: Jul 16, 2012 at 8:06 AM CDT

God bless the searchers -- it's not for the faint of heart.
Prayers these girls are found and come home safely.
(http://i380.photobucket.com/albums/oo242/Brandi-Monkey/WEATHER/Animation1b.gif)

https://twitter.com/KCRG (https://twitter.com/KCRG)

KCRG ‏@KCRG
Authorities are stopping cars in Evansdale, handing out missing person posters. http://twitpic.com/a8dm6y (http://twitpic.com/a8dm6y)  ‪#evansdalesearch‬

(https://twitpic.com/show/large/a8dm6y)

https://twitter.com/DaveFranzman (https://twitter.com/DaveFranzman)

Dave Franzman ‏@DaveFranzman
Officers in Evansdale have now begun stopping vehicles as part of search effort for two missing girls.

http://www.desmoinesregister.com/article/20120716/NEWS/120716004/Quiet-morning-in-Evansdale-as-search-for-missing-girls-continues/?nclick_check=1#updates


Parents of missing Iowa girl speak out in Evansdale
8:36 AM, Jul 16, 2012

VIDEO at link

http://wcfcourier.com/twitter-updates-hundreds-search-for/html_7502e29a-ce9a-11e1-80bf-0019bb2963f4.html

Not great quality or super exciting, but here's video of Heather and Drew Collins, Elizabeth's parents, being interviewed by Good Morning America earlier.

https://twitter.com/timeinch (https://twitter.com/timeinch)

Timothy M. Meinch ‏@timeinch
Cars backed up for blocks on roads by Meyers Lake. Officers questioning drivers and searching vehicles ‪#evansdalesearch‬ pic.twitter.com/CY2Ro5vV (http://pic.twitter.com/CY2Ro5vV)  1m

(https://p.twimg.com/Ax8ignXCEAEkx0S.jpg)

video of some of the searchers,it has several clips
http://bcove.me/lasgk2z6

found on this pg
http://www.desmoinesregister.com/article/20120716/NEWS/120716004/Quiet-morning-in-Evansdale-as-search-for-missing-girls-continues/?gcheck=1&nclick_check=1

https://twitter.com/CourierEssig (https://twitter.com/CourierEssig)

Chris Essig ‏@CourierEssig
Graphic: The clues so far in the ‪#evansdalesearch‬ - pic.twitter.com/8p9WoFDc (http://pic.twitter.com/8p9WoFDc)

(https://p.twimg.com/Ax8lWwjCEAIlAj2.jpg)

There may be a larger copy of the map coming.

http://chrisessig.com/missing_girls_map.jpg

(http://chrisessig.com/missing_girls_map.jpg)

https://twitter.com/timeinch (https://twitter.com/timeinch)

Timothy M. Meinch ‏@timeinch
City of Evansdale is now draining Meyers Lake to eliminate possibility the girls may be in it, Mayor Chad Deutsch said ‪ 1m

::snipping2::

http://www.cnn.com/2012/07/16/us/iowa-missing-cousins/index.html (http://www.cnn.com/2012/07/16/us/iowa-missing-cousins/index.html)

What would it take to abduct TWO girls of this age?  Any similar cases?   ::CowboySmiley::

https://twitter.com/timeinch (https://twitter.com/timeinch)

Timothy M. Meinch ‏@timeinch
Water from Meyers Lake is flowing into the Cedar River. ‪#evansdale‬ pic.twitter.com/yZW7rLMX (http://pic.twitter.com/yZW7rLMX)  3m

(https://p.twimg.com/Ax8zNa0CEAAdXAg.jpg)

https://twitter.com/timeinch (https://twitter.com/timeinch)

Timothy M. Meinch ‏@timeinch
Slow going pic.twitter.com/W4m7POJF (http://pic.twitter.com/W4m7POJF)  13m

(https://p.twimg.com/Ax82G8bCQAEVhvb.jpg)

14m Timothy M. Meinch ‏@timeinch
"They want to eliminate the possibility that they could be in there," Mayor Deutsch said ‪#Evansdalesearch‬

16m Timothy M. Meinch ‏@timeinch
City officials say they believe it will take a couple days to drain lake. It appears there is only 1 drain into the river.

Here is a good timeline of the search efforts.  http://wcfcourier.com/news/local/update-meyers-lake-being-drained-in-search-for-little-girls/article_18411a90-cd32-11e1-a656-0019bb2963f4.html

https://twitter.com/eSchettler (https://twitter.com/eSchettler)

Emily Schettler ‏@eSchettler
Residents watch as authorities section off Meyers lake ‪#evansdalesearch‬ pic.twitter.com/y3nrcMcZ (http://pic.twitter.com/y3nrcMcZ)
(https://p.twimg.com/AyBPscICQAI0iaW.jpg)

Emily Schettler ‏@eSchettler
Official sectioning off the lake called his boss to ask if he could tell us why, boss said to wait until 4 pm press con. ‪#evansdalesearch‬

12m Emily Schettler ‏@eSchettler
Officials are surround the lake w/caution tape. Wont say why. ‪#evansdalesearch‬

14m Emily Schettler ‏@eSchettler
Authorities are placing caution tape around Meyers Lake. Checking w officials on what it's about ‪#evansdalelake‬ pic.twitter.com/GLGD0WgC (http://pic.twitter.com/GLGD0WgC)
(https://p.twimg.com/AyBOYYNCMAI_3WT.jpg)

Emily Schettler ‏@eSchettler
Right now, many media gathered around Meyers Lake; constant stream of residents is stopping by. ‪#evansdalesearch‬



22m Mark Kappel ‏@DTLB58
@eSchettler Are there any press conference updates scheduled for today? Btw, you are doing a great job!

18m Emily Schettler ‏@eSchettler
Reply to @DTLB58 There's supposed to be one at 4 p.m. If officials have news before that they may call one sooner.



Emily Schettler ‏@eSchettler
An ambulance just arrived on scene at Meyers Lake ready to respond but crew says they have not heard anything yet. ‪#evansdalesearch‬

1h Emily Schettler ‏@eSchettler
Evansdale man: I saw the girls Friday afternoon. http://dmreg.co/M6Nq9O  ‪#evansdalesearch‬

3h Emily Schettler ‏@eSchettler
Lots of area residents are coming to check out the situation at the lake. Some came overnight because they couldn't sleep ‪#evansdalesearch‬

3h Emily Schettler ‏@eSchettler
Very somber mood in Evansdale; one local says he won't let his kids out of the house w/o him anymore, "this isn't supposed to happen here"

3h Emily Schettler ‏@eSchettler
Local biz Creative Impact is making buttons w photos of the missing girls. ‪#evansdalesearch‬ pic.twitter.com/aJ5WBzCw (http://pic.twitter.com/aJ5WBzCw)
(https://p.twimg.com/AyAgF5ECEAEV2Qc.jpg)

Emily Schettler ‏@eSchettler
A rescuer official walks the perimeter if meyers lake ‪#evansdalesearch‬ pic.twitter.com/hBb7hRNV (http://pic.twitter.com/hBb7hRNV)
(https://p.twimg.com/AyAcKvFCAAIvolU.jpg)

4h Emily Schettler ‏@eSchettler
Search crews out near the lake this morning. ‪#evansdalesearch‬ pic.twitter.com/0twt0w2V (http://pic.twitter.com/0twt0w2V)
(https://p.twimg.com/AyAYUngCAAAOiyX.jpg)



4h Grant Rodgers ‏@GrantMRodgers
@eschettler Any idea on whether that info about police dogs picking up the girls' scent was accurate?

4h Emily Schettler ‏@eSchettler
@GrantMRodgers not sure about the scent, news crews out overnight said dogs were out near the lake#evansdalesearch



4h Emily Schettler ‏@eSchettler
There are investigators along the Southeast end of Meyers Lake ‪#evansdalesearch‬

4h Emily Schettler ‏@eSchettler
The lake is calm this morning as officials wait and water levels drop. Streets are pretty quiet now. ‪#evansdalesearch‬ pic.twitter.com/kiHxSZ76 (http://pic.twitter.com/kiHxSZ76)
(https://p.twimg.com/AyAQJz7CAAA3MBY.jpg)

4h Emily Schettler ‏@eSchettler
News crews on scene at Meyers Lake in Evansdale; draining still continues here. ‪#evansdalesearch‬ pic.twitter.com/6cyM56bT



https://twitter.com/DaveFranzman (https://twitter.com/DaveFranzman)

Dave Franzman ‏@DaveFranzman
Police just taped off a larger section of Meyers lake probably in preparation for shoreline search. ‪#evansdalesearch‬  16m



https://twitter.com/CourierEssig (https://twitter.com/CourierEssig)

Chris Essig ‏@CourierEssig
Missing children spokesman remains hopeful in hunt for missing girls ‪#evansdalesearch‬ - http://bit.ly/NC4Dff   13m

https://twitter.com/eSchettler (https://twitter.com/eSchettler)

Emily Schettler ‏@eSchettler
Watch video interview w/ an Evansdale man who says he saw girls Friday afternoon near the lake: http://dmreg.co/NfjT2g (http://dmreg.co/NfjT2g)  ‪#evansdalesearch‬



41m Emily Schettler ‏@eSchettler
Residents watch as authorities section off Meyers lake ‪#evansdalesearch‬ pic.twitter.com/y3nrcMcZ (http://pic.twitter.com/y3nrcMcZ)

24m Nicole Crain ‏@thenicolecrain
@eSchettler Still sectioning off Meyers Lake?

21m Emily Schettler ‏@eSchettler
@thenicolecrain a sheriffs deputy told our photographer they're sectioning off public access to Meyers lake ‪#evansdalesearch‬

18m Nicole Crain ‏@thenicolecrain
@eSchettler Oh I see. Makes sense. I thought I saw Sunday sheriffs confident girls weren't in lake, but still searching? Thanks for updates!

https://twitter.com/eSchettler (https://twitter.com/eSchettler)

Emily Schettler ‏@eSchettler
Aunt pleads with those watching the news to bring the girls home ‪#evansdalesearch‬  1m
\
1m Emily Schettler ‏@eSchettler
Girls' aunt says canines traced scent of girls to their bikes by the lake last night. Says she's bracing for worst but hoping for the best.
\
8m Emily Schettler ‏@eSchettler
Misty Cook-morrissey is being interviewed for the nancy grace show right now. ‪#evansdalesearch‬ pic.twitter.com/fSQzgKML (http://pic.twitter.com/fSQzgKML)
(https://p.twimg.com/AyBd297CEAA23Xf.jpg)

If they jumped in the water wouldn't there be signs of shoes etc left behind?
Even if someone tossed them in  the flip flops would have shone up somewhere.
Always make your kids have a cell phone on them I make my grandson keep his in a zip lock bag when he goes to camp every day

https://twitter.com/eSchettler (https://twitter.com/eSchettler)




Emily Schettler ‏@eSchettler
Misty: police have provided us no updates other than that the dogs have traced a scent and they were happy w the lead

33s Emily Schettler ‏@eSchettler
Dan morrissey: my daughter knows how to swim and if they went swimming we think they'd have taken their shoes off

1m Emily Schettler ‏@eSchettler
Misty: night time is the hardest; we have no theory don't have any idea, pretty confident theyre not around here

2m Emily Schettler ‏@eSchettler
Misty: we trust they're doing everything they can

2m Emily Schettler ‏@eSchettler
Lyrics dad: I'm impressed w the search and authorities' work so far

3m Emily Schettler ‏@eSchettler
Lyrics dad: I Don't think they're in the lake;

4m Emily Schettler ‏@eSchettler
Misty cook morrissey: trying to remain positive and stick together

shown up somewhere

I really have doubts that they are in the lake.

The mother of the 10 year old girls seems to be so relax for this circumstances. I would like to know if the kids have other friends in the area, maybe older brothers or fathers were involved  ::MonkeyNoNo::

http://www.hlntv.com/article/2012/07/17/missing-girls-grandmother-somebody-could-have-snatched-them

'Somebody could have snatched' missing Iowa girls
updated 4:44 PM EDT, Tue July 17, 2012

 ::snipping2::
CNN correspondent Jim Spellman reported that FBI search dogs picked up the girls’ scent at the spot where the bikes were found and followed it along a path that leads into a wooded area.
 
Another possible witness reportedly emerged Tuesday who could help narrow the timeline of the disappearance. A man who lives about a half-mile from the lake told the Des Moines Register that he saw the girls pass his home on their bikes sometime between 12:00 and 3:00 p.m. on Friday, which would have been after Wylma Cook last saw them.
 ::snipping2::

Video at link

http://www.desmoinesregister.com/article/20120717/NEWS/120717002/Witness-said-he-may-seen-missing-Iowa-girls-after-their-disappearance?odyssey=mod%7Cmostview&nclick_check=1

Witness said he may have seen missing Iowa girls after their disappearance
10:39 AM, Jul 17, 2012

 ::snipping2::
Carpenter, who lives north of the lake, said he saw the girls between 12 and 3 p.m. while he was outside watering his yard.

“I was out watering my yard between 12 and 3:00 and the girls rode their bikes right by our house,” Carpenter said. He and his wife, Marcella, were at Meyers Lake this morning to observe the activity.

“We see them practically all the time ride their bikes right past our house, but they come down and turn around in the street,” he said.

Black Hawk County Sheriff deputies came to the Carpenters’ house later Friday afternoon and notified them of the girls’ disappearance, Carpenter said.

“They were knocking on our door and going house to house checking for information and stuff about the girls and they came and talked to us about them and said they wanted to know if we knew anything about the girls,” Robert Carpenter said.

Marcella Carpenter was out delivering newspapers with her granddaughter when deputies visited the house.

She started to cry when she heard the news of their disappearance, she said.

“I broke down for the first time because I was so used to, especially Elizabeth, seeing her every night ride her bicycle and she always stopped and talked to people. She was a friendly little girl,” Marcella Carpenter said. “You know, it’s hard when you’ve got a grandchild the same age.”
 ::snipping2::

Iowa Mom Believes that Missing Elizabeth Collins & Lyric “Misty” Cook-Morrissey May have been ‘Taken’ … Resident Says He Saw the Girls Ride by his House

http://scaredmonkeys.com/2012/07/18/iowa-mom-believes-that-missing-elizabeth-collins-lyric-misty-cook-morrissey-may-have-been-taken-resident-says-he-saw-the-girls-ride-by-his-house/

::snipping2::

The longer the story goes on, sadly the worse the outscome might be. The resident who saw the girls ride by their house made in interesting comment. He said he saw them do it all the time which gives rise to a pattern and someone who may have targeted them. If they were in the lake at some point they would have floated to the top, unless they were weighted down.

I hope for the best but this is not looking good.

I agree Red. This is not going to end well.

https://twitter.com/eSchettler (https://twitter.com/eSchettler)

Emily Schettler ‏@eSchettler
Water levels are down significantly at Meyers Lake this morning. No new reports of anything found. ‪#evansdalesearch‬ pic.twitter.com/qOaNgtDa (http://pic.twitter.com/qOaNgtDa)
(https://p.twimg.com/AyFty8nCAAEQNiD.jpg)

How can a culprit "take" a child who is 145 lbs?   ::MonkeyEek::

Lyric appeared to be a strong little girl and a bit hefty, she could easily get out of a jam.
IMO.   UNLESS, she knew the culprit. IMO

.........and handle 2 at the same time......... Perhaps more than 1 Perp?

http://easterniowanewsnow.com/2012/07/17/police-weigh-secrecy-public-help-in-missing-person-cases/#.UAbdGWAgI7Q.twitter

Police weigh secrecy, public help in missing person cases
Posted July 17, 2012 5:32 pm by Erin Jordan/SourceMedia Group News

Maybe.

Rumor is DM was sleeping on afternoon of Friday 13. His sixteen year old son, was also sleeping, supposedly. IMO

Do you know what the Sixteen year old son, looks like?  I don't.  Curious. TIA 

Why were they sleeping on a summers day? ::MonkeyEek::

http://blinkoncrime.com/2012/07/15/missing-iowa-girls-lyric-morrissey-and-elizabeth-collins-dad-daniel-morrissey-has-long-history-with-burglary-drugs-battery-possible-mental-illness/


I found what sonny-boy looks like...do not know the statue, as if he is tall or short.

He is a minor, I am not posting his FB page, instead B.'s link, click Dillin

(under Elizabeth and Lyric's, photo's)

I am sorry if this has already been discussed.  I am just curious about the mystery of Dad and son, snoozing on a summers afternoon. If true....

I can tell you that we've had several days in my hometown where the temps reached triple digits.  Even the best a/c unit can't completely combat the effects of the heat.  It drains the energy out of you and sleep just takes over.  My kids and I have spent many afternoons napping.  Also consider that the nights are still in the high 80s/low 90s and sleep is not comfortable.  Those daytime naps make up for the nighttime awakenings. 

Not sure about the temps in IA on that day.  Just suggesting a possibility.

http://www.ajc.com/news/nation-world/trash-separated-in-search-1480258.html
Trash separated in search for missing Iowa cousins
July 18, 2012

DES MOINES, Iowa — A spokeswoman for a company that collects trash in a northeast Iowa city where two young cousins disappeared says trash from the city is being separated from other collections so investigators can check it.
Debbie Acklin of Black Hawk County Waste Disposal says authorities asked the company Monday to start dumping trash from Evansdale homes and businesses in a separate area of the county landfill.
 ::snipping2::

True. 

Women, men and children need to be recharged.  :) 

Thanks, Muffy Bee,

What do you think LE is looking for? 

Does LE need a search warrant for the garbage/trash collection?  TIA 

Just curious why he decided after five days, to have the trash separated?

They went missing Friday the 13th and they asked on Monday the 16th to separate the trash.  Probable that trash had not been picked up yet in the vicinity so should be OK timewise.

http://www.kcrg.com/news/local/Missing-Girls-Father-Feels-Hes-Being-Treated-Like-Suspect-162891386.html

Story Created: Jul 18, 2012 at 11:59 AM CDT
(Story Updated: Jul 18, 2012 at 1:13 PM CDT )

KCCI.com

(http://media.kcrg.com/images/7676670+-+WIR+-+Missing+Cousins+-+07_17_2012+-+13.49.191.jpg)

Thank-you.

I do not know if Dan Morrissey is an actual suspect at this point,  but this quote strikes me as "disassociated" in relation to this case.
 ::snipping2::

"It's not normal to us; it's awkward. But we know it's part of the investigation and very necessary and they want to rule out everything, if it’s someone we've encountered over the years, so I understand that," Misty Cook-Morrissey said.

End  ::snipping2::

They both  have criminal records, and in particular, Mr. Morrissey's is extensive- and he would and should be more than use to police interviews. 

It bothers me tremendously that Misty said  "if it's someone we encountered over the years".

Parents availing a theory publicly with the accompanying demeanor gives me pause.

B

Please forgive me for speculating...Dad looks as if he has hit the meth pipe a few times.  His face has that skeletal look, pasty/grey skin and hollow eyes.  Probably just me but this mom and dad don't seem attached to their child and I am basing just on hearing her on tv and reading his comments.  As a matter of fact, I couldn't tell this mom apart from Carnel's egg donor.  Both sounded happy to be on tv and like it was an audition for them!  Sad.  All MOO.

http://www.desmoinesregister.com/article/20120718/NEWS/120718031/Search-for-missing-girls-causes-tensions-to-rise?odyssey=tab|topnews|text|Frontpage&sf5151918=1


Search for missing girls causes tensions to rise

8:07 PM, Jul 18, 2012

EVANSDALE, IA — Tensions appear to be mounting between law enforcement officials and the family members of two missing girls who disappeared after going for a bike ride on Friday.

The father of one of the girls stormed out of a long interview with authorities on Tuesday after law enforcement officials accused him of killing Lyric Cook-Morrissey, 10, and Elizabeth Collins, 8, the girls’ grandmother said.

In addition, Wylma Cook said the family is growing frustrated with the attention officials are focusing on Meyers Lake, which is next to a recreational trail on which the girls’ bikes were found. Family members believe the girls were abducted while authorities say the case is one involving missing persons.
 ::snipping2::

Looked at news story again and mom is cracking half smiles, dad is completely disconnected and Gma, well she's doesn't even have a tear, crack in her voice and telling about them missing as if it is some story she read years ago with no feelings at all to me!  I don't get these families these days!  LE would have to chase me down the streets to keep me from hollering out my childs name and knocking on every door and window within 20 miles of me!  Don't think I would be able to hold myself together long enough to talk to reporters either!

These Girls are missing in relation to the activities and lifestyles of at least Dan and Misty Morrissey.

Misty June Marie Cook Morrissey and Daniel Eugene Morrissey are former meth chefs.

Both have compelling rap sheets that indicate they are or have been criminal informants.  At a minimum, former co-defendants were or are due to be sentenced for similar activity the week before, and the week after the girls "vanished".

Dan M is the new Jessie Pinkman

http://www.kcrg.com/news/local/Family-Feels-Police-Scrutinizing-Them-163011886.html

Family Feels Police Scrutinizing Them
Story Created: Jul 19, 2012 at 7:00 AM CDT
Story Updated: Jul 19, 2012 at 7:25 AM CDT


EVANSDALE, Iowa --- The family of two girls missing from Evansdale hope investigators can continue to focus on finding the cousins and not worry too much about some family members' past.

"There is history in our family, but it is not one we are scared of. It is one we have dealt with in the past and we've come past it as a family," Misty Morrissey said Wednesday.

Misty's daughter Lyric Cook-Morrissey and niece Elizabeth Collins, 8, have been missing since July 13.

Misty said the family's past has nothing to do "with the disappearance of our children."

"Look into it all you want. Scrutinize it all you want and then let's get back to what the real focus is which is our girls. Because ultimately no matter how far you look into us we are completely open. It's not going to lead anywhere," she said.

The day before Daniel Morrissey's daughter disappeared, the court set a September date for him in connection with drug charges that allege police found items used to make meth in his home in December.

Morrissey also has a pending domestic assault charge stemming from an August incident where he allegedly assaulted Misty Morrissey.

One of his alleged accomplices in the drug case had a pretrial conference the day of the disappearance, and another co-defendant was scheduled to plea the following Monday.

Misty Cook pleaded guilty to conspiracy to manufacture and distribute meth in 2003. She is charged under her maiden of Cook.
 ::snipping2::

 ::snipping2::
Cook said officials also took a computer from her home and searched her attic Wednesday. Abben would not confirm the search or seizure, but said no search warrants had been issued.

Tammy Brousseau, the missing girls' aunt, said she thinks if someone wanted retaliation they would have targeted Dan.

"The children weren't exposed to those people. They were pretty much, for the most part, kept away from there and Misty would kick Dan out when she suspected (drug) usage," Brousseau said.
 ::snipping2::

Thank you Blink for telling us about their past history with meth and cooking it.  It certainly could explain why both parents are so cold and detached!  I suspect they are still using and that is why they seem so inappropriate  and aloof.  We just witnessed two beautiful women who lost their lives due to a man using meth and unable to control himself on it.  If these parents are so innocent then they should understand the scrutiny of their past by LE and roll with it rather than minimize it as if it couldn't be a factor in the children's disappearance.

::rhino::

Hi Monkey's,

Lyric has a birthday coming up. 

Did she have any birthday money?

I recalled Misty said she is eleven and not ten.  Was her B.D. celebrated early? IMO

 ::MonkeyEek::


www.realitychatter.com/t4064-elizabeth-collins-and-lyric-cook-morri...Cached

The hunt for cousins Elizabeth Collins, 8, and Lyric Cook-Morrissey, 10,

 DOB: Jul 31, 2003 ...

 Height: 4'11" (150 cm) Weight: 145 lbs

http://www.realitychatter.com/t4064-elizabeth-collins-and-lyric-cook-morrissey-missing-7-13-12

The hunt for Lyric and Elizabeth: Meyers Lake draining stopped; FBI dogs and divers involved in search
 Posted: Thursday, July 19, 2012 11:30 am


EVANSDALE, Iowa--- City crews have ceased the drawdown of Meyers Lake today to allow divers with a special FBI team to work in some of the deeper underwater pockets as the search for two young cousins continues.

“We can’t drain the deep areas anyway, so what we have done is the public works and street department personnel and the city engineer will make sure that whatever level it is is the most prime condition for whatever resources law enforcement need to deploy,” Evansdale Mayor Chad Deutsch said this morning.

The FBI is sending in California-based dive team that is scheduled to arrive in Evansdale today, said Sandy Breault a spokeswoman from FBI’s Division Office in Omaha, Neb.

The team may not begin operations until Friday.
 ::snipping2::

Read More: http://wcfcourier.com/news/local/the-hunt-for-lyric-and-elizabeth-meyers-lake-draining-stopped/article_e795f002-d1ad-11e1-b983-001a4bcf887a.html#ixzz215UrUtKI

 ::snipping2::

Both Daniel and Misty have criminal records. In fact, Misty, whose maiden name is Cook, was just released from federal prison on May 30 after being convicted of nine crimes, including illegal drug use, association with persons involved in criminal activity, excessive alcohol use, and failure to comply with drug testing.

Eight years earlier, in 2003, she was sentenced to four years behind bars after she plead guilty to conspiracy to manufacture and distribute methamphetamine. Her sentence was later shortened to five months in prison and one year of supervised release. In 1998 she was found guilty of having an open container of alcohol in a vehicle and in 1997 she plead guilty a false report to law enforcement, a crime for which she was sentenced to six days in jail.

Misty also ran into trouble along with one of her bosses. According to court papers, Misty played a role in a meth operation run by David Mickelson, her former boss at the BIG Ten Mart in Waterloo, Iowa.

"Cook testified that she obtained pseudoephedrine pills from various people and provided them to Scott Reavis, who used them to make methamphetamine," court records state.

Cook twice purchased case quantities of pseudoephedrine pills from Mickelson – for $1,400 a case – and provided them to Reavis to make meth. Mickelson was convicted of conspiracy to manufacture meth and distribute pseudoephedrine with that intent. He was sentenced to 121 months in jail.

 ::snipping2::

http://abcnews.go.com/US/missing-iowa-girls-parents-criminal-records-spotlight/story?id=16810959

 ::snipping2::


The day before Daniel Morrissey's daughter disappeared, the court set a September date for him in connection with drug charges that allege police found items used to make meth in his home in December.

Morrissey also has a pending domestic assault charge stemming from an August incident where he allegedly assaulted Misty Morrissey.

One of his alleged accomplices in the drug case had a pretrial conference the day of the disappearance, and another co-defendant was scheduled to plea the following Monday.

 ::snipping2::


Cook said Dan was at his mother's house with his and Misty's 16-year-old son Friday when the girls disappeared.

 ::snipping2::

http://wcfcourier.com/news/local/the-hunt-for-elizabeth-and-lyric-family-talks-about-scrutiny/article_8e1533ec-d128-11e1-af57-0019bb2963f4.html

For those who have not seen this video of Lyric's parents, I am re-posting.

I note that Misty defers only one question repeatedly to Dan.  "Do you think the girls are in the lake?"

She does not answer either time, among other body language.

I am all for rehabilitation, make no mistake,  but people with the amount of criminal experience these two have, which, btw, is very recent, I remain very concerned.

Misty in particular had 2 Federal convictions in two states .  Just unreal the risk these girls were in.

Misty doesn't act like anything is going on she even cracks a smile or makes a joke.
Maybe they owed money for past drugs deals and let some take the girls until they come up with the money they owe them..JMO

not a tear in her eye

Attorney advises parents of missing girl to stop talking to police

July 19, 2012

EVANSDALE, Iowa — An attorney has advised Misty and Dan Morrissey against talking with the police or media, according to Misty Morrissey’s sister.

Tammy Brousseau, Misty Morrissey’s sister, said Thursday that the attorney also told the parents not to take any additional polygraph tests.

 ::snipping2::

http://qctimes.com/news/state-and-regional/iowa/attorney-advises-parents-of-missing-girl-to-stop-talking-to/article_ed1ac290-d1d1-11e1-9324-001a4bcf887a.html

Family of missing Iowa cousins consults attorney

Posted July 19, 2012 at 2:15 p.m.,

EVANSDALE, Iowa — An aunt of two Iowa girls missing for nearly a week says the family has consulted with an attorney amid growing tensions with law enforcement officers handling the case.

 ::snipping2::

She says that this week a male family member briefly walked out of an interview with law enforcement in frustration. She didn't identify him.

 ::snipping2::

http://www.courierpress.com/news/2012/jul/19/family-missing-iowa-cousins-consults-attorney/

Lawyer tells family of missing Iowa girls to stop talking to police, media
 
Family also told not to take polygraph tests

 2:01 PM, Jul 19, 2012

Evansdale, Ia. - The parents of Lyric Cook-Morrissey, one of two girls missing since Friday, will stop speaking to the media and police on advice from an attorney, a family member told reporters today.

Tammy Brousseau, an aunt of Cook-Morrissey, 10, and Elizabeth Collins, 8, said an attorney told Dan Morrissey and Misty Cook-Morrissey this morning they should stop taking polygraph tests. The parents began working with the lawyer today.

Dan Morrissey has denied having anything to do with the disappearance of the girls, despite accusations from law enforcement this week that he is involved, family members have said. He stormed out of an interview with authorities Tuesday, family said.

Federal Bureau of Investigation agents last night again interrogated Dan Morrissey about his involvement in the girls' disappearance, Brousseau said. Agents started beating at the door of a hotel room the family had checked out in an attempt to get some rest, she said.

 ::snipping2::

"They have accused (Dan Morrissey.) They said they have evidence. Well we all know if that was the truth they'd already have Dan locked up."

 ::snipping2::

Morrissey faces a September trial in Black Hawk County involving drug arrests from last year, court records show.

 ::snipping2::

http://www.desmoinesregister.com/article/20120719/NEWS/120719019/1001/news/?odyssey=nav%7Chead&nclick_check=1

Divers with sonar to search lake for Iowa cousins

 Posted: Jul 19, 2012 1:06 AM MDT Updated: Jul 19, 2012 11:17 AM MDT

DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) - A dive team using sonar equipment will search a northeast Iowa lake for evidence of two missing cousins who disappeared nearly a week ago, an FBI spokeswoman said Thursday.

Sandy Breault said the team will begin the search of Meyers Lake in Evansdale around 6 a.m. Friday. Authorities stopped draining the lake Thursday because the team's sonar equipment needs at least 6 feet of water to function properly. They previously said they wouldn't finish draining the lake until Friday.

The team uses two kinds of sonar - one that can detect debris in murky water and another that provides a 360-degree analysis of the bottom of the lake. That device is mounted on a tripod that sends signals to computers on the surface helping direct divers where to search.

The dive team is equipped to go into the deepest parts of the lake, which may be as deep as 20 feet.

 ::snipping2::

http://www.kfvs12.com/story/19060857/lake-landfill-searched-for-missing-iowa-cousins

How handy that a lawyer doesn't want them to speak or polygraph (cough, cough, cooperate) anymore!  They say they have taken polys but do we know the outcome?  Wonder if they have been asked the question during the test if they knew of anyone that might hurt the kids in retaliation to something the rents have done?  Whew...I need to go back to school!  My sentence structure and wording are borderline jibberish, lol!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OXQOKoZYWWs&feature=youtube_gdata

MISSING IN IOWA: Grandma says 'It's absolutely no family'

Published on Jul 17, 2012 by cfteditor

BY ANELIA K. DIMITROVA

On day five since the disappearance of two Iowa cousins, investigators say they plan to reinterview family members.

Vicki Weikert, the paternal grandmother of Lyric Cook-Morrissey,10, says family members are not involved in the disappearance of her granddaughter and her cousin, Elizabeth Collins, 8.

"if you look up dysfunctional in the dictionary, you re gonna see our pictures," she said as crews continued to drain an Evansdale lake in the vicinity of where the bikes and a purse were found, "but we will fight to the death for our children."
   ::MonkeyEek::

Good morning Monkey's,


 ::MonkeyBike::
Grandma Vicki said Daniel does not have a car and he does not have a license.

Does Daniel have a bike?  He has to have some kind of transportation. IMO

 ::MonkeyTongue::
Does Daniel's son own a vehicle or a license? 

 ::MonkeyEek::
Who is Daniel Eugene Morrissey's daddy?  He is a mystery this man.


 

http://www.intelius.com/results.php?ReportType=1&formname=name&qf=victoria&qmi=&qn=blow&qcs=Waterloo%2C+IA&focusfirst=1

 I have been poking around newslibrary.com and "my life"...

 

Daddy :)

I found two names possible connection to DEM.

 ::MonkeyEek:: ::MonkeyEek::

Apr 2, 1974 –

Tuesday April Waterloo Courier Waterloo Iowa In the Legislature .....

Robert Morrissey 19 and Vicki Sue Weikert 20  ...

(seven links down)
http://www.google.com/#hl=en&gs_nf=1&gs_mss=vicki%20sue%20we&cp=33&gs_id=2q&xhr=t&q=vicki+sue+weikert,+waterloo,+iowa&pf=p&sclient=psy-ab&oq=vicki+sue+weikert,+waterloo,+iowa&gs_l=&pbx=1&fp=1&biw=1024&bih=571&bav=on.2,or.r_gc.r_pw.r_qf.,cf.osb&cad=b




Page 2, Waterloo Courier, April 2, 1974: NewspaperARCHIVE.comnewspaperarchive.com/waterloo-courier/1974-04-02/page-2Cached
You +1'd this publicly. Undo

Grandpa :)



James L. Weikeit

James L. Weikert, 71, (snip, because of address) died on Wednesday, October 13, 2004 at his home, of cancer. He was born May 12, 1933 in Waverly, Iowa...
 ::snipping2::


Jim's life, whether work or waterskiing or whatever he did, was a testament to his belief in the Lord, his deep love for his family, and his friendship to many and an example to all.
Jim is survived by his wife, Ilene; daughter, Vicki Weikert of Waterloo; son, Dean Weikert and his wife Linda, of Austinville, Iowa; daughter, Barb Mueller and her husband Max, of Omaha, Nebraska; daughter, Ann Green and her husband Jim, of Lansing, Michigan; and daughter, Carolyn Johnson and her husband Brent, of Waterloo; twenty grandchildren: Dana Petrovich of Aurora, Missouri: Daniel Morrissey, of Ft. Dodge, IA.: Hayley Novak of Muscatine, IA.: Caleb, Edith, Nancy, Lydia, Ezra, Abbie, and Elizabeth Weikert of Austinville, Iowa: Morgan and Emily Mueller of Omaha, Nebraska: Mary, Jimmie, and Paul Green of Lansing, Michigan: Carrick, Keenan, Kyle, Connor, and Carter Johnson of Waterloo; and four great-grandchildren: Riley and Nicholas Petrovich of Missouri: and Dillon and Lyric Morrissey of Waterloo.

He is preceded in death by his parents; and two sisters, Betty Briggs and Jean Weikert.

http://www.genealogybuff.com/ucd/webbbs_config.pl/noframes/read/4408

Live Chat  ::MonkeyTongue::
20 July 2012


The Hunt For Elizabeth And Lyric
Map: Timeline of events

The search continues for Elizabeth Collins, 8, and Lyric Cook, 10, who have been missing since Friday, July 13. Here's a look at their last know whereabouts in Evansdale and the investigation that has taken place since then.


http://wcfcourier.com/news/evansdale_search/

http://abcnews.go.com/US/missing-iowa-girls-fbi-divers-search-cousins-lake/story?id=16820318
Missing Iowa Girls: FBI Divers Search Lake; No Clues Yet
July 20, 2012

 ::snipping2::
An FBI dive squad with sonar equipment arrived this morning to search Meyers Lake, near where the girls' bikes were found on a nature trail last Friday. Authorities have already dragged the lake and had been in the process of draining it when the dive team was called into town. However, officials emphasize that they are only continuing to search the lake to be "100 percent" certain the girls are not in it. The girls' families have been adamant that they believe the girls are somewhere else.

"The girls aren't in the lake. We've all been convinced of that basically since Friday," Craig Ceilley, a family spokesman, told ABC News today. Lyric Cook is 10; Elizabeth Collins is 8.
 ::snipping2::
In the past week investigators have questioned both Misty and Dan several times. Brousseau said Dan at one point left a police interview because he felt he was being treated like a suspect.

"I can see Dan becoming very defensive after he's being told, you know, 'You killed your daughter and niece. You know you did. We have proof. We have evidence that you did this.'"

Brousseau said the Morrisseys, who are separated, have a violent past that even involves a restraining order.

"At one point Dan had assaulted Misty and that's where the no-contact order came into place," she said.

On Wednesday night investigators went to a nearby hotel where Misty and Dan were staying, but Dan claimed he was tired and wanted to go to sleep. The following morning Misty took a urine analysis and a polygraph test. However, Brousseau said the pair had been advised by their attorney not to speak any further to police or the media or submit to any more polygraph tests.

Rick Abben, the spokesman for the Black Hawk County Sheriff's Office, said Thursday that their silence was not helpful to investigators.
 ::snipping2::
Video at Link

https://twitter.com/KCRG (https://twitter.com/KCRG)

Nancy Newhoff ‏@NancyNewhoff
Abben: House to house searches may reconvene #evansdalesearch

Nancy Newhoff ‏@NancyNewhoff
Abben: Everybody is being checked into #evansdalesearch

2m Adam Carros ‏@acarros
Dpty Sheriff Abben: "We know the family's background and nothing is being discounted" #EvansdaleSearch

3m KCRG ‏@KCRG
No suspects at this time. #evansdalesearch

Giving no details on the evidence seized #evansdalesearch
Retweeted by KCRG

5m Nancy Newhoff ‏@NancyNewhoff
It's an abduction because girls not in the lake, and if they were lost they'd have been found: Abben #evansdalesearch

6m KCRG ‏@KCRG
Authorities now calling this case an abduction. #evansdalesearch

7m KCRG ‏@KCRG
Authorities confident girls are not in the Meyers Lake. #evansdalesearch

7m KCRG ‏@KCRG
$50,000 reward offered for arrest/conviction in this case #evansdalesearch

7m KCRG ‏@KCRG
Evidence located in the case has been sent to the Iowa DCI. #evansdalesearch

10m KCRG ‏@KCRG
Live stream is activated from the #evansdalesearch press conference on http://KCRG.com  & @WCFCourier.com

Chris Earl ‏@chrisearl9
Awaiting 4 pm news conference from Evansdale on missing girls. #EvansdaleSearch

http://transcripts.cnn.com/TRANSCRIPTS/1207/16/ijvm.01.html

JANE VELEZ-MITCHELL

Girls Vanish During Bike Ride

Aired July 16, 2012 - 19:00   ET

THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.


UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I want to bring in Jane Velez-Mitchell. And Jane, you`re going to talk to the mother of Lyric, one of the little girls there, the 10-year-old, and also both kids` aunts. What do you want to talk to them about?

JANE VELEZ-MITCHELL, HOST: Well, we have more and more family members who are joining us, because this is a desperate race against time. And these family members want to do everything they can to get any information out there.

We are going to try to solve this issue of what they were wearing at the time these two girls went bike riding. I also have questions about how were the bikes left? Were they on a kickstand? Did they look like they were left there deliberately, or were they scattered on the ground?

And also about one of the bags -- the bag that little Elizabeth had, being 20 feet away. Does the other child have a cell phone, too? Did she leave with a bag? There are so many unanswered questions.

We want to do everything we can to help this family. Our heart goes out to them. And we want to be of service.

Tonight we are talking exclusively with Lyric Morrissey`s mother, father, and brother, and both of the girls` aunts as we try to help these families and this community find these precious, innocent 8- and 10-year- old girls.

What has happened in our nation? Are we at a point now where two girls can`t even go out for a summertime bike ride?

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

VELEZ-MITCHELL (voice-over): Tonight, a terrifying mystery as two young girls vanish into thin air. The 8- and 10-year-old cousins went for a bike ride and never came back. Their bikes and a small purse found abandoned. More than a thousand neighbors search all weekend for the two children and don`t find a thing. Could they have been abducted? Can`t children even ride their bikes anymore?

Plus, 120 of George Zimmerman`s jailhouse calls just released, and an interview with mystery witness No. 9, who makes bold allegations that George Zimmerman molested her, starting when he was just 8. Is the release of this information going to deprive him of a fair trial? Will the jury ever hear this claim? We`ll tell you why the defense is outraged. And we`ll talk to the attorney for Trayvon Martin`s family for their take on this stunning development. It`s gotten so bad Zimmerman`s defense wants a new judge. I`m taking your calls.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: It is a completely baffling case.

VELEZ-MITCHELL: Perplexing and frankly terrifying mystery.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Hundreds of people are helping in the search for Elizabeth Collins and Lyric Cook.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Their bikes were found, but there`s no sign of them.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: After an entire weekend of searching, they have very few, if any, clues.

VELEZ-MITCHELL: Two young girls, 8 and 10, going for a bike ride on a Friday afternoon.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: It was just like they vanished. Into nothing.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: It`s like they just vanished.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: The last place that I can tell you is where they were at is when grandma seen them at 12:15.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Family members do fear that someone abducted the cousins, but so far investigators have found nothing.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: We`ve got a few leads on them, but so far nothing is standing out.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: So far, searchers have come up empty. What happened to the girls?

(END VIDEOTAPE)

VELEZ-MITCHELL: I`m Jane Velez-Mitchell coming to you live.

A terrifying mystery grips an Iowa community. What happened to two young girls who went for a bike ride together, using the buddy system, on a Friday afternoon, and simply vanished without a trace?

Members of their family join me tonight in a primetime exclusive. We want to find these girls.

Eight-year-old Elizabeth Collins and 10-year-old Lyric Cook are cousins and good friends. Left their homes Friday shortly after 12 noon on their bikes. When they didn`t come back, their grandmother reported them missing that afternoon at around 3 p.m.

Cops moved into action. Just about one hour later, both of the girls` bikes were discovered on a dirt path next to Meyers Lake. Now just 20 feet away from the bike they found little Elizabeth`s purse and cell phone. Remember, she`s 8 years old.

Police dragged the lake over the weekend, but they found absolutely nothing. Right now, as we`re speaking to you, they are draining the entire lake, which is the size of five acres, a process that could take as long as three days.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

CHIEF DEPUTY RICK ABBEN, BLACK HAWK COUNTY SHERIFF`S DEPARTMENT: Today the process has begun to drain Meyers Lake. There are grates in the lake with screens on them so the lake can be drained and nothing of any size will be allowed to get through.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

VELEZ-MITCHELL: The girls` grandmother was the last to see these two girls, ages 8 and 10, Friday when they left on their bikes. That`s what kids do. That`s what kids do in the summertime. And they were smart enough to go together, the buddy system.

She says they take this trip all the time. They`ve taken it thousands of times, she said, with no problem. So far investigators are totally baffled and perplexed by their disappearance.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: We don`t have any indications of any foul play. No one has come in saying, "Hey, we saw a person in the area" or anything like that.

We`ve got a few leads that have come in, but nothing that`s panning out.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

VELEZ-MITCHELL: We`re taking your calls on this mystery: 1-877-JVM- SAYS, 1-877-586-7297.

Straight out to my very special, exclusive guests, the missing 10- year-old`s parents, Misty and Daniel Morrissey.

Thank you so much for joining us. We cannot imagine the torture that this has to be for you, and we want to help find your daughter. We know this is a race against time.

Misty, where were you, and how did you get the news that your 10-year- old daughter, Lyric, had vanished, along with her 8-year-old cousin and friend?
MISTY MORRISSEY, MOTHER OF LYRIC: I was at work. I work at Casey`s Gas Station, was getting off of work. My mom called and said -- she is about four blocks away. She said, "You know what? I can`t find the kids. They`ve been riding their bikes. If you just want to come here and help me find them, that would be great." So it was kind of really casual. Maybe they just rode a little too long. Maybe found a friend and were playing a little too long outside.

So I rode right -- I drove right down there. That`s how I found out that they, you know, were gone.

VELEZ-MITCHELL: I want to understand the position of the bikes, because I think this is absolutely crucial.

Now the girls` bikes were discovered at about 4 p.m., just an hour after they were reported missing. And 8-year-old Elizabeth`s purse and her cell phone were also found about 20 feet away from the bikes.

But they say that they didn`t find any clues along with the bikes. Now, I want to ask you, and maybe your husband Daniel knows, did the bikes look like they were placed there deliberately by the girls? For example, were they on the kickstands? Or were they scattered on the dirt road, as if they had been dumped there -- Daniel?

DANIEL MORRISSEY, FATHER OF LYRIC: When I got there, it was around 5 p.m. And they already roped off the whole area, and they weren`t allowing anybody back there. I have no idea what the bikes` positions were.

I believe the direction they said was going west on the trail. So like, they were going to probably continue in the same direction. They just stopped, it seemed like.

I don`t know -- I didn`t know that the purse was 20 feet away or anything like that.

Honestly, we haven`t received hardly any information about any of this or any updates to any degree. We`ve just been sitting, waiting, walking, looking, talking to people.

It`s just been a nightmare, this -- it`s been a challenge to continue to -- to hold everything together and to continue to just keep believing and praying and trusting God that He`s got -- He`s got this. And either way, the way anything goes. He`s big enough to -- to sustain us in this time, and we`re just going to trust in Him.

VELEZ-MITCHELL: We know, and we cover these stories all the time. So we know it`s absolutely standard operating procedure that authorities have to -- it`s protocol -- examine the families first and then eliminate them and proceed. So I understand that you, Misty, have gone and taken a polygraph. What can you tell me about -- have you, as well, Daniel? How did that work to get that out of the way?

M. MORRISSEY: Yes. Yes, absolutely. We -- I did a polygraph this morning. Dan has yet to do his. He`ll do his later. Several of our other family members did theirs yesterday. We were in extensive interviews yesterday from 12 afternoon until about 11 p.m. -- 10 p.m., 11 p.m. last night.

So we were kept away from the search. We were kept away from a lot of the family members. We were in individual rooms. So there was a lot of stress yesterday and this morning, just being away from everybody that we love and trying to get as much information as we could on our backgrounds, on our family, on our friends, on any information that we thought might be pertinent or they thought might be pertinent to the case.

So absolutely we`ve been involved in that, and yes, that`s been hard and very stressful, but we know that it`s a very necessary measure that they need to take to rule out anybody that`s close by. So absolutely we`ve been involved in that the last couple of days.

VELEZ-MITCHELL: You`ve shown incredible courage to be able to keep it together to talk like this in this incredibly stressful time. And I can`t even imagine what it must be like inside for you to go through this.

But I just want you to know that our thoughts are with you, and we want to do everything we can. We want to job somebody`s memory. We`re talking to you, hoping that somebody in your community says, "Oh, my gosh." Either "I saw them" or "I know something." Somebody said something. Somebody is acting strange. Somebody in your community suddenly leaves to take an unplanned vacation. Somebody who lives in the neighborhood.

Daniel, I want to ask you, do you have any -- is there anybody who might have a motive to hurt the girls? Is there anything that would indicate that somebody might want to do something? Any enemies?

D. MORRISSEY: Absolutely not. Those girls are just beautiful, you know. They`re -- they`re loving and full of just life. And they`re just a joy to be around. I haven`t found anybody that would not want to be around them. So absolutely not. No enemies, no nothing like that.

It`s just baffling to try to figure out the pieces to the puzzle. Looking at it, it doesn`t make any sense. I don`t know. It`s just, are we going to get answers? I`m not sure.

I`m impressed with how the FBI and DCI have been handling the case and taking it very seriously. It`s -- it`s a nightmare. But just how people have volunteered and put their time and the whole community coming together and everybody is just -- it`s weighed on their hearts. And...
VELEZ-MITCHELL: Misty, can I ask you quickly, do you -- can you update us on a description of the clothing that the children were wearing?

M. MORRISSEY: OK, I can tell you what I know. I know that it`s a little disturbing, and it`s kind of frustrating for us as a family, as well, because you don`t notice sometimes what did your kid throw on that morning and what did they take off in?

I left for work at 8:30 that morning, and so Lyric was still in her pajamas. She was in a bright green shirt. Sometimes she tends to wear that same pajama outfit, you know, with my mother over to my sister, Heather`s. I know for sure she had on her purple flip-flops. And that`s the only shoe that has -- is missing from the home. So we know that for sure. There are about...

VELEZ-MITCHELL: Well, tell me that. What was that? What?

M. MORRISSEY: My understanding...

VELEZ-MITCHELL: Yes, tell me that. Spell it out. Describe what was missing.

M. MORRISSEY: What was missing is her purple flip-flops. They`re just maybe a Wal-Mart brand. They`re flats. They`re purple. They`re about a size 9. We believe that they have the diamonds across the top that go over the foot. They are a size 9. It`s the only shoe that`s missing for Lyric right now.

As far as clothing, I woke up and seen her in her green -- a bright green shirt. After she left, I`m not sure what she wore.

Elizabeth, my understanding, has on her white T-shirt, her black high tops with pink on them. So that`s kind of the description that we have right now.

Again, Heather and I both, you know, kind of left for the morning to go about some business that we needed to take care of. And the girls tend be very -- a little bit more independent. So if they got ready on my own and maybe my mom was cleaning or taking care of the dog. She may not have seen that they changed or what they changed into.

So I know it`s as frustrating, probably, for people who are out searching as it is for us to not have it.

VELEZ-MITCHELL: Have you taken you -- have you taken your own dogs out? I don`t know if this is scientific, but I know that my dogs know where I am, like, practically when I`m two blocks away. Have you taken your own dogs out to see maybe if they react to anything?

M. MORRISSEY: We don`t have any animals of our own for Lyric, OK?

We have two dogs -- well, we actually have four dogs at Heather`s house. Two small dogs, two large dogs, and to my knowledge we haven`t taken any of them out. I`m not sure if we need permission to do that, but we haven`t -- I don`t think that`s been a suggestion yet.

I know they have the K-9 units out. They have some other dogs out. They`ve taken plenty of property to use for the smell. Clothing, shoes, with trained professional dogs. So we really trust that, you know, that they`re using the appropriate measures in that respect.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

ABBEN: I have nothing on their clothing description at all. We asked the parents, you know, to look through their clothing, that type of thing, maybe, to help us find out what they were possibly wearing, but they`re unable to tell us.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

VELEZ-MITCHELL: Where is 10-year-old Lyric Cook and her 8-year-old cousin, Elizabeth Collins? These precious, precious, innocents. Did something that`s the most all-American thing you can do in the summertime. They got on their bikes together, and they went for a bike ride. We`re talking Iowa. We`re talking two-hour drive outside Des Moines, an hour drive outside Cedar Rapids.

These girls were just living the life we should all live, and they vanished into thin air.

Now we`re learning a little bit from the older girl`s mom that she may have been wearing purple flip-flops, size 9. And then the younger girl may have been wearing a white T-shirt with black high tops. But this is just speculation.

The moms were busy doing their everyday activities. One is at work. And the grandma was watching them. But she was possibly cleaning up when they took off on their bikes. Nothing wrong with that. We -- what kind of a country have we gotten to where two girls using the buddy system cannot go biking?

I want to go to Tammy Brousseau. Hopefully, I`m pronouncing your name right.

TAMMY BROUSSEAU, AUNT: Yes.

VELEZ-MITCHELL: You are the aunt -- and you`re the sister of Misty, and you`re the aunt of these two girls. I understand that you taught Lyric what to do if anybody ever tried to grab her. Tell us about that.

BROUSSEAU: Absolutely. I have taught my girls -- for fear of this exact situation ever happening, I have taught my daughter, who is 11, and she`s very close to Lyric, the 10-year-old, Misty`s daughter.

I have taught her, if someone approaches you and they`ve got their hand on you, drop your body to the ground. Kick, fight, scream, do everything you can in your will to stop them from getting you into a vehicle, because once they`ve gotten you into a vehicle, you know the chances of your survival decrease.

And Lyric was very, very on top of this. She`s very aware of it. So it`s very baffling to understand how someone got off with a 10-year-old and an 8-year-old at the same time. Because it`s as though they disappeared into thin air in broad daylight.

VELEZ-MITCHELL: Does it seem -- do you believe that they were taken by a stranger?

BROUSSEAU: Absolutely. Absolutely. I feel in my heart that there are a lot of pedophiles that live in that area. Myers Lake is not a very large lake. It has the bike trail that runs around it.

When my mother and I, the grandmother who was babysitting, when my mother and I went on our search for them, and this was at about a quarter to 3 -- and keep in mind the last they were seen was at 11:30 a.m., when they told mom they were going on the bike ride. So that is the last time they were for sure seen. And now, it`s going on to -- it`s getting close to being a quarter to 3.

We stop at Meyers Lake. I said, "Mom, drive me to Meyer Lake." I had Elizabeth`s older brother who`s 12, Kelly (ph), with us. And I just jumped out and started asking random strangers, "Have you seen two little girls?" Gave them the description, the colors of the bikes, and possibly what they were wearing.

And one man stepped forward and said, "Yes, I seen them going east on the bike trail at about 2:30." Now, whether he`s telling the truth or not, they do have this man`s name. You know, I don`t know. Whether he`s a person of interest, I don`t know.

But the girls` bike did trail around and ended up on the south side of the lake by the interstate, which would be 380, I-380.

COMMERCIAL BREAK)

ABBEN: An Amber Alert was not issued for two reasons. One, we do not have a person of interest that has been identified, and secondly, we did not have a vehicle description to put out. So an Amber Alert does not apply in this case.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

VELEZ-MITCHELL: Where are 10-year-old Lyric Cook and her 8-year-old cousin and friend Elizabeth Collins? They went for a bike ride around noon on Friday. They haven`t been seen since.

We`re talking with their frantic family. We`re trying to do everything we can. If anybody knows anything, if you`ve seen anything, anything suspicious or if anybody is acting strangely in or around that area. This is a small town, about a two hour`s drive outside Des Moines, an hour`s drive outside Cedar Rapids.

And I want to go back to Tammy Brousseau. You`re the aunt of the missing girls. You said that you went two the area where they ultimately found the bikes. Did you see the bikes? Did you find them?

BROUSSEAU: I did not find them. As I was saying, a man, who I approached and started asking questions, said he had seen the girls going east on the bike trail. It`s a small lake. It wraps around on the south side of the lake.

With my sister Heather, the mother of Elizabeth Collins, the 8-year- old, she called the police at 2 p.m. By 3 p.m., Evansdale police were there, and the deputies from Waterloo were all swarming the place. They went on -- they drove their vehicles right onto the bike trail. We watched them go to the site. They found the bicycles. They contacted us and said, "We have -- we have the bicycles. We have Elizabeth`s purse and no girls."

VELEZ-MITCHELL: Does Lyric have a cell phone? Does Lyric have a cell phone?

M. MORRISSEY: Lyric did not have a cell phone with her. She has one, but did not have it with her.

BROUSSEAU: She had one, but not with her.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: It is a completely baffling case.

VELEZ-MITCHELL: Perplexing and, frankly, terrifying mystery.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Hundreds of people are helping in the search for Elizabeth Collins and Lyric Cook.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Their bikes were found, but there`s no sign of them.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: After an entire weekend of searching, they have very few, if any, clues.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

VELEZ-MITCHELL: Where is 10-year-old Lyric Cook and 8-year-old Elizabeth Collins? We`re trying to help find them with the family of really both girls because they`re cousins. But Lyric Cook`s mom is with us as well as her sister, the aunt of both the girls, Tammy Russo.

Tammy, I want to get back to you. Do you have any thoughts with anybody in the area -- and I`ll ask this of Misty as well -- acting strangely? Was there -- have you seen any strange people, people driving around in vans, any sense that this is -- any foreshadowing whatsoever?

TAMMY RUSSO, AUNT OF MISSING GIRLS: Absolutely not. There was nothing that seemed terribly out of the ordinary. There was a little boy fishing, and he had been there a long time. I asked him as well, when I first approached and started asking random people. I said, "Did you see two little girls on a bicycle? He said "No". I said, "How long have you been here?" He said, "A long time."

So when I told you a man said that he had seen them going east on the bike trial, whether that was true or not, yes, they have his name, they know who he is. But it appears what he said was true because like I said the lake wraps around and the bikes were found on the south side. And that`s where the girls --

VELEZ-MITCHELL: I want to jump in because I want to ask Misty a question. Do you think your daughter or Elizabeth would want to go in that lake and go swimming?

MISTY MORRISSEY, MOTHER OF LYRIC CDOOK: You know, I think that -- I think the ride to the lake is quite a long distance for the both of them. If they decided to take that journey and --

VELEZ-MITCHELL: How far? How far?

MORRISSEY: -- they made it to the lake -- a mile, mile and a half.

RUSSO: Yes.

MORRISSEY: You know. If they decided to make that journey, which I probably don`t put past a lot of kids to go ahead and do --

RUSSO: We`ve been swimming a lot lately.

MORRISSEY: I think that my daughter, you know, I can speak for my daughter, that yes, she might want to get into that lake.

RUSSO: But we feel they would have took their shoes off, their flip- flops.

MORRISSEY: Yes.

RUSSO: Those would have been left sitting on the shore.

MORRISSEY: On the side -- yes, on the shore.

I mean, we`ve been swimming at a lake all summer for the last five weeks. I`ve been off work. We`ve been swimming and spending time together. I think she`s very comfortable with a lake setting. If it came down to, would she swim? Absolutely.

VELEZ-MITCHELL: Well, they are draining that lake. We pray that your children, 10-year-old Lyric and 8-year-old Elizabeth are found. We want to do everything we can. That`s why we`re bringing in right now. And please keep us updated if you hear anything from police.

But we`re bringing in a team of experts right now. Pat Brown, criminal profiler. You`ve been listening to all this. Your thoughts?

PAT BROWN, CRIMINAL PROFILER: Well, they`re obviously doing the right thing. They`re draining the lakes. That would eliminate an accident. They`re talking to the family and making sure they got all the information from them and can eliminate them. That`s the good things.

And then I think they have to look at two other possibilities -- the idea of somebody watching the girls. That happens a lot and people do not realize it. When we say, was there anybody creepy out there? We don`t see the creepy guy because he does blend in. He sees the girls go by.

I would be curious to know how often the girls do go out on their bicycles. How often they take a similar route so someone might follow them. And I would also be interested to know what access somebody has to that lake area when they`re going by with the bicycles?

VELEZ-MITCHELL: Kera Mashek, reporter, KWWL, do you know if the bikes were screwed on the ground or if they were neatly placed? And what about the bags, 20 feet away?

KERA MASHEK, REPORTER, KWWL: We have been told that the bikes were laying very neatly, just like any child that might get off their bike and go for a walk. They were just sitting right there along the lake side like any other ordinary day, nothing really awry with that. And the purse was also just kind of sat down -- not like it was thrown around or that they would, you know, been involved in a struggle of any kind.

The interstate is fairly close, though. So certainly, they could have wandered into that very easily as well.

VELEZ-MITCHELL: Jon Leiberman, investigator, HLN contributor -- 241 registered sex offenders in this area? What?

JON LEIBERMAN, HLN CONTRIBUTOR: Right. And that`s what -- that`s what our investigation found today, Jane. And that`s something I wanted to point out.

We have some other new information too. But yes, police have ruled out the registered sex offenders in that specific area, but what we found is when you go ten miles from this small town in diameter, you see 241 registered sex offenders.

Also, as the reporter just said, you have I-380 that connects Cedar Rapids and Waterloo, which is a concern of investigators as well. We have learned police are processing those two bikes and that purse. They`re looking for any stranger DNA. They`re also looking for any stranger fingerprints.

We`ve also learned as of right now police haven`t found any signs of struggle. They found nothing to indicate a struggle. So the question remains, did they leave with somebody that they know, or were they abducted by a stranger, perhaps by a registered sex offender, or did they go swimming in this waterway?

VELEZ-MITCHELL: Marc Klaas, founder, Klaas Foundation, child advocate -- I`m also interested in this man who seems to have seen him. What should police do?

MARC KLAAS, FOUNDER, KLAAS FOUNDATION: Well, I don`t think you want to condemn people that are trying to give you evidence for a missing child.

VELEZ-MITCHELL: Right.
KLAAS: I think the police are doing everything they can do. The most likely scenarios were that the girls are in the lake. They possibly wandered off some place -- it`s a pretty remote area and are unable to get back, or that there was some kind of a snatch and grab. That would have been a highly difficult maneuver to pull off on two children that know how to respond to somebody trying to take them, unless, of course, they knew the individual who did it.

VELEZ-MITCHELL: We hope and pray that these two little girls are found ok. If you know anything, call police immediately.

 ::snipping2::

http://transcripts.cnn.com/TRANSCRIPTS/1207/17/ng.01.html
NANCY GRACE

No Clues in Disappearance of Two Iowa Cousins

Aired July 17, 2012 - 20:00   ET

THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.


NANCY GRACE, HOST: Breaking news tonight, live, Cedar Falls, suburbs. A massive search under way for two little girls, 10-year-old Lyric and her little cousin, 8-year-old Elizabeth, the two girls riding their bike downtown Evansdale, lunchtime, broad daylight. We learn police discover the two girls` bikes, Collins`s little purple purse and a play cell phone near Meyers Lake. As over 1,000 volunteers join the search, initial dredging efforts Lake Meyers reveal nothing.

Bombshell tonight. Police, family, volunteers vow they will bring the two little girl cousins home alive, as experts say kidnap the most likely scenario, while criminologists say it`s as if these two little girls have simply vanished off the face of the earth.

Tonight, with us and taking your calls, the girls` families desperate for help. Tonight, the search for the two little girl cousins, just 8 and 10.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Rescue crews search for 10-year-old Lyric Morrissey and 8-year-old Elizabeth Collins.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: It`s as though they disappeared into thin air in broad daylight.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Two girls on a summer bike ride.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Left their grandmother`s house for a bike ride. It`s the last time anyone saw them.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Authorities found their bikes and a purse near a lake.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: When the police found the bikes, that`s kind of when it got serious.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: One of the girls` purses was found not too far away in some bushes.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: So far, those are the only traces left behind.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Family members do fear that someone abducted the cousins. But so far, investigators have found nothing.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: It`s just baffling to try to figure out the pieces to the puzzle.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: It`s a 24/7 search operation by law enforcement.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Meyers Lake remained the focus since it`s the last place the girls were seen.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Hundreds of people are helping in the search for Elizabeth Collins and Lyric Cook.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Combing corn fields, looking deep into a lake, going door to door, state and federal agencies including the FBI are on the ground helping with the search.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: But so far, searchers have come up empty.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: It`s just like they vanished (INAUDIBLE) nothing.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

GRACE: Good evening. I`m Nancy Grace, I want to thank you for being with us. Bombshell tonight. Live to Cedar Falls suburbs. A massive search is under way at this hour for two little girls, 10-year-old Lyric and little cousin, 8-year-old Elizabeth, the two girls riding their bikes, downtown Evansdale, lunchtime, broad daylight.

Tonight, the search for the two little girl cousins just 8 and 10. And joining us exclusively in primetime tonight, their families who are literally begging for your help to bring their girls home alive.

We are taking your calls. I want to go straight out, before I go to the girls` family, to CNN correspondent Jim Spellman, who`s joining us there at Meyers Lake. Jim, thank you for being with us.

JIM SPELLMAN, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Hey, Nancy. This investigation currently is on two tracks. On the search and rescue track, after several days of hundreds of people from the community searching fields and wooded areas all around here and finding nothing, they`ve decided to drain this lake to be absolutely sure there`s nothing important to the investigation in this lake.

The second track is the law enforcement track, that the FBI has been added to the mix. Just yesterday, FBI scent dogs came here, worked with the family to get scents out of shoes from these little girls to try to find any sort of lead. We know that they did get a scent and they were able to follow it for some distance. We`re not sure where that`ll lead them or if it will become an important part of this investigation yet, Nancy.

GRACE: Jim Spellman, CNN correspondent joining me there at Meyers Lake. Boom (ph). Jim, I want to go over what you just said. You told me that scent dogs have been brought in and they were smelling the little girls` clothing and shoes? Did I hear that?

SPELLMAN: That`s right, Nancy, out of the girls` shoes. Family members were lined up so that the dogs could eliminate their scent. They then followed the scent from where the girls` bikes were found. And we know that the dogs went not too far, but into a wooded area at the end, the terminus, of this bike path. And that`s as far as we know that the dogs got.

Again, we don`t yet know the importance of that. But we know that they have definitely amped up this investigation by bringing in those dogs, Nancy.

GRACE: OK, Jim, I hate to backtrack over what you`re telling me, but I`m hearing new facts. I`m trying to digest that and fit it into the facts that I already know about Elizabeth and Lyric`s disappearance.

Everyone, at this hour, literally minutes count. Anything you can do to help find these girls, whether you live in the area and you can go be a volunteer, whether you think you saw them, whether you think you know something, this is the tip line, 319-232-6682.

Jim, I want to go back over what you just said. I`m learning something new right now, that scent dogs, after smelling in the little girls` shoes and their clothing, eliminating family members, started smelling at the bikes. And instead of going down into the water, which I don`t think that two little girls are going to go swimming in their clothes anyway -- but the dogs didn`t go towards the water, they went back toward the bike path?

SPELLMAN: They did, back towards the bike path, which ends in kind of a wooded area. Nancy, the way this lake is laid out, there`s a bike path that is sort of a U. And in the far corner of the U is where the girls` bikes were found.

And the bike path does not continue past that. It`s a densely wooded area with freeway on one side, a fence, a pretty tall fence, then the bike path, then another fence and then the water. The girls` bikes were found on the bike path between the two fences, and the purse was found between the fence and the shoreline.

GRACE: OK, tell me that one more time. And if you don`t mind, Jim Spellman, draw me the U in the air and show me where on the U the bikes were found as it relates to the water.

SPELLMAN: Sure. Nancy, if this is the U and this was the lake, right here, this is the -- this would be the southeast corner of the lake, you have a highway right here. Then you have a bike path. That`s where their bikes were found. Then another fence, and the lake in here.
This end over here, where we`re standing right now, there are homes, there`s a park, et cetera. This end is just woods and the bike path that ends.

GRACE: So are they close? Is there a fence between the girls and the highway?

SPELLMAN: There is a fence between the girls and the highway, between the bikes -- where the bikes were found and the highway, and a fence between where the bikes were found and the water, though you don`t have to go too far to get around that fence to get to the water, Nancy.

GRACE: Oh, I`m seeing it. They`re pulling it up right now. So there`s a fence between the bikes and the highway, the girls and the highway. Let me see that shot again, Liz. Between the path and the lake? Is that what you`re saying?

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: (INAUDIBLE) that was open.

GRACE: Oh, I`m hearing...

SPELLMAN: Yes, there is, although...

GRACE: ... something. Somebody`s telling me...

SPELLMAN: ... the fence between...

GRACE: ... about a gate being opened.

SPELLMAN: Yes, there was a gate -- there was a gate there that was open. It wouldn`t be difficult to get through either a hole in the fence - - which is not too close, several hundred yards away from where the bikes were found that leads up to the highway. It looks like that at one point, there was a traffic accident there, and they never repaired the fence.

And there also is another gate farther down. It wouldn`t be impossible to get from one side to the other. It wouldn`t be a huge deal to do that.

GRACE: Joining me right now, in addition to Jim Spellman joining us there at the scene at Meyers Lake, the mother of 10-year-old Lyric is with us, Misty Cook-Morrissey. Also with me, Wylma Cook, the missing girls` grandmother. Ladies, thank you for being with us.

MISTY COOK-MORRISSEY, MOTHER OF MISSING 10-YEAR-OLD GIRL: Thank you for having us.

GRACE: First out to Lyric`s mother. Ten-year-old Lyric, everyone, out riding bikes with her cousin, her 8-year-old cousin, when they seemingly just vanish into thin air. And right now, asking for your help is Lyric`s mother, Misty Cook-Morrissey. Misty, thank you for being with us.

COOK-MORRISSEY: Yes. Thank you.

GRACE: Misty, that day when she goes missing, let`s take it from the top. What happened, starting in the morning?

COOK-MORRISSEY: I left for work at 8:30 AM. She gave me a hug and a kiss and told me she would text me and let me know when I got off of work where she would be, either at Heather`s in Evansdale or back at our mother`s home in Waterloo.

I left for work. At 2:00 o`clock, my mother, their grandmother, called and said she couldn`t find them. They`d been on a bike ride, and you know, to come directly to Heather`s home. I only work just up the street. I came directly there.

My mom had been driving around looking for them. We stood in the yard and talked for a few minutes. Heather pulled up, had not been able to find them. It was about 2:20, 2:30 PM. And so Heather said, I`m going to the police station. And that`s when she went to the Evansdale PD to involve them.

GRACE: Now, Ms. Cook-Morrissey, you work not too far away. Where do you work?

COOK-MORRISSEY: I work at K.C.`s (ph). It`s a gas station/general store, which is just a couple of miles up the road from where my sister lives.

GRACE: Ms. Cook-Morrissey, where would the girls typically ride their bikes? And listen, you`re speaking to somebody, when we grew up, we could get on our bikes and ride until it was supper time and that was OK. And in your area, it`s a very, very low crime rate. It`s a lot of rural, wooded area where you`d think girls would be safe.

So tell me, what`s their normal bike route, or do they even have a normal bike route?


COOK-MORRISSEY: I don`t think they have a normal bike route, but they are not allowed to just ride freely for hours or until dark. They do have a little bit of freedom, so they`re allowed to go, you know, maybe two or three blocks away and stay within those blocks. An hour, check back in is kind of the standard that we hold with them, and mostly, they stick with it.

So it was very surprising to see that they had come this far, if, indeed, they did, you know, ride this far.

GRACE: Had they ever ridden around Meyers Lake before?

COOK-MORRISSEY: To my understanding, no. I`m not sure. I don`t think so. It`s quite a bit away.

GRACE: Did Lyric have a cell phone?

COOK-MORRISSEY: She has a cell phone that was at my mother`s, so she didn`t have one on her, no.

GRACE: OK. So she was going to text you after work, after you got off of work, from her grandmother`s cell phone. All right. That day, we know they`re missing at 2:00 o`clock. We know that much.

Now, apparently, a neighbor has come forward, like in the last hours, Ms. Cook-Morrissey, somebody named Robert Carpenter (ph), who says he saw them in the afternoon.

Hold on. Let me go out to you, Ellie Jostad. What do we know about this new person -- new to me, anyway -- emerging, Robert Carpenter? What time does he place the girls alive and well?

ELLIE JOSTAD, NANCY GRACE PRODUCER: Well, Nancy, Mr. Carpenter told "The Des Moines Register" that he was out watering his yard. He says it was sometime between noon and 3:00 o`clock when he saw the girls ride by.
Now, he`s a little closer to the lake. He`s about two blocks or so away from Meyers Lake. He says at the time, he didn`t think anything of it. And it wasn`t until he learned the girls were missing that he noticed -- you know, he maybe saw them that afternoon.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: No sign of two missing Iowa girls. It`s as though they disappeared into thin air in broad daylight.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: It is a completely baffling case.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Hundreds are helping in the search for Elizabeth Collins and Lyric Cook.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Their bikes were found, but there`s no sign of them.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: After an entire weekend of searching, they have very few, if any, clues.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: The bicycles were found by a lake, but the mother of one of the girls doubts they would have gone there on their own.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: It`s not an area that they frequented. They didn`t go far from home, either of the girls.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: It`s like they just vanished.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Family members do fear that someone abducted the cousins. But so far, investigators have found nothing.

GRACE: There is an answer! We will find these girls! A 10-year-old and 8-year-old little girl go for a bike ride on a summer morning. They are not seen again.

We are taking your calls. Out to Donna in Tennessee. Hi, Donna. What`s your question?

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I had a question about the cell phones, but I think that was answered. What about the area around where the bikes were found? Are there any tire tracks, any tire tracks on the other side of the fence?

GRACE: Good question. Joining me is Jesse Gavin, the news director at KCNZ -- KCNZ. Jesse, thanks for being with us. What do we know about potential tire tracks, if any?

JESSE GAVIN, KCNZ (via telephone): Well, there hasn`t been any word on that from authorities. And Nancy, actually, that -- they mentioned earlier in your show there is a big hole in one of the fences near the lake. That is from where a few years ago, somebody had crashed off of the interstate and into the lake and they never got around to repairing that gate. That may have been how some people have gotten down closer to the lake.

But at least at this point, it doesn`t appear that there are anything fresh -- or isn`t anything fresh in the way of tire tracks or anything like that around that bike path, even though it is very close to an interstate highway.

GRACE: To Robyn Walensky, anchor with TheBlaze. Robyn, weigh in. What do you know?

ROBYN WALENSKY, THEBLAZE: You know, what bothers me about this case, Nancy, is that you have a feisty 10-year-old and an 8-year-old, two little girls out in the middle of the summer, full of energy, riding their bikes.

So were they snatched by a stranger or strangers, plural? It would seem that it would be very difficult for one person to perhaps, you know, take them and throw them in the back of the van or whatever. It just seems maybe more than one person is involved in this.

GRACE: Everybody, we are taking your calls. And with me is Misty Cook-Morrissey. That`s Lyric`s mother. And now joining me, Wylma Cook, the grandmother. Wylma Cook, thank you for being with us.

WYLMA COOK, GRANDMOTHER (via telephone): You`re welcome.

GRACE: Ms. Cook, tell me what you saw that day, the day the girls go missing.

COOK: Well, I took her from my house -- I live in Waterloo, and her mom left for work. She rode with me to Heather`s house, my other daughter in Evansdale. And I go there every day for four or five hours, and she always goes with me. And because Heather is not well and she has four little kids. And we did a daily routine that day at, you know, in her house doing things, eating breakfast and all that stuff.

And so it was at 11:30, they asked me if they could go for a short bike ride, and I said yes. And they`ve done this millions of times. And they`ve never, never went that far. I could go outside and yell their names, and they would eventually hear me.

And this day, they just didn`t come back. And so Kelly (ph), Elizabeth`s brother, he`s 12 -- I hopped in my car because the dad came home, and I went searching Elk Run. We were down by Meyers Lake. We drove all over every little park and Evansdale, Elk Run, every mentionable place, downtown area. And we couldn`t find nobody.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

GRACE: Two little girls staying with their grandma ask to go to for a bike ride, a bike ride right in the middle of the summertime, broad daylight. What could be more innocent, more all-American than that?

With me right now is the grandmother, Wylma Cook. Her two little granddaughters, 8 and 10, go for a bike ride. They have not been seen since. At this hour, a local -- Meyers Lake is being dredged and drained. So far, those efforts have revealed nothing. In fact, scent dogs start with the bikes and go away from the water.

We are taking your calls. Out to Ms. Wylma Cook. Ms. Cook is the grandmother of 8-year-old Elizabeth and 10-year-old Lyric. Ms. Cook, you were taking me through that morning. So they asked to go and ride their bikes, and that`s about what time?

COOK: 11:30.

GRACE: 11:30.

COOK: And Lyric knew that we were going to be heading for home at 1:30 because her mom got off at 2:00.

GRACE: Did they have -- either one of them have on wristwatches?

COOK: No.

GRACE: Did either one of them have a cell phone?

COOK: Elizabeth had one, but it wasn`t activated. It was just for playing games -- in her purse, her purple purse.

GRACE: You know, Ms. Cook, I just don`t see these two little girls going into the water either skinny dipping or in their clothes.

COOK: There has been no nothing about that water, that lake. And the two little girls, they would have took their shoes and flip-flops off. Elizabeth had high black-tops (ph) on. They would have never went in that water and swam and came home dripping wet. I don`t think they would have even knowed the way to Meyers Lake.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Rescue crews search for 10-year-old Lyric Morrissey and 8-year-old Elizabeth Collins.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: It`s as though they disappeared into thin air in broad daylight.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

GRACE: How could a 10-year-old and an 8-year-old little girl have enemies anyway? Tonight, the search is on for two little girls, just 10 and 8 years old, growing up in the heartland simply asking grandma could they go for a bike ride before lunch in the middle of the summer. They`ve never been seen again.

Now, as we go to air, I`m getting word from a neighbor, Robert Carpenter, that he can spot them, place them between 12:00 and 3:00 going - - I believe he said, Ellie Jostad, in front of his home?

ELLIE JOSTAD, NANCY GRACE CHIEF EDITORIAL PRODUCER: Yes, Nancy. That`s correct. He lives just a few blocks from that Myers Lake and he says he saw them ride by, didn`t think any of it at the time.

GRACE: OK, the 12:00 to 3:00 window, I don`t know how much that`s really helping me, because, Ellie, I can`t -- the grandmother is giving me 11:30 in that same area. Now if he`s saying is more toward 3:00, now that`s helping me, that`s giving me three more hours.

So, how -- where is he getting 12:00 to 3:00? Jim Spellman, CNN correspondent, joining me at Myers Lake.

Do you know about this Robert Carpenter, a neighbor? He`s given me a three-hour window, I don`t know how much that`s helping me, other than really just confirming the grandmother`s story, but I have no reason to doubt her. So can we narrow his observation down any more toward 3:00?

JIM SPELLMAN, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Yes, the bikes were found at 3:30, Nancy. So that doesn`t really help too much to narrow it down, although, you know, it does keep them sort of this in this neighborhood.

What I find so fascinating is the geography of where the bikes were found because again, it`s this kind of dead end area, and if there was an abduction that happened, how would you get two girls, all the way to the end of -- it`s a 10-minute walk from the end of this bike path at the very least to the end of it where you might be able to get to a car or something like that. Walking up this hill through a hole in the fence to the side of the interstate, seems like an unlikely scenario.

But with no other clues being found after all of these intensive searches, it`s still a puzzle. I spoke to an investigator today here on site who said it`s like the girls just evaporated, Nancy.

GRACE: So, Liz, give me mock-up of what Jim Spellman is describing, some type of a diagram that I can look at and show the viewers.

So you`re telling me -- let me go to Jesse Gavin, Jim.

Jesse, so what -- I`m hearing from Jim that even if somebody snatched the girls from that spot, and this is where the neighbor comes in, this Robert Carpenter person, who spots them through his window. If he spots them more toward 3:00, I think it does help actually, now that I`m analyzing it, it`s got them alive and it closes the window during which a kidnap could have taken place, and it also more likely than not rules out any attempt to going swimming in this lake, all right, because that was always a possibility out there.

Now the scent dogs are telling me that`s not what happened, they did not go toward the lake, and the grandmother and the mother are telling me these girls are not going to take their clothes off and jump in naked, and they`re not going to go in and come home dripping wet. So to them their voluntary entrance into that lake is, in my mind, ruled out.

That would be like me leaving this anchor desk and hopping into a lake outside of CNN. OK? That`s not going to happen. Voluntarily.

So his sighting if it`s closer to 3:00 actually is helping me. So, Jesse, my question to you, following up on Spellman`s comments, how difficult would it be if the girls were snatched? How quickly could they be taken to that road based on their bikes as the point of the snatch?

JESSE GAVIN, NEWS DIRECTOR, KCNZ 1650AM: Well, like Jim said, it wouldn`t be the most likely scenario. Obviously that is kind of an area that`s closed off to main roads since it is a bike trail. Obviously it`s very close to an interstate, but it would be kind of tough to get to that interstate.

The other thing you`ve got to keep in mind, Nancy, about that interstate is it`s being worked on right now. There`s a lot of construction activity going on right there. So there`s going to be backed up traffic, traffic is going to be slowed down, so any kind of suspicious activity that happens in that area, it`s going to be seen by a lot of people. And obviously we`ve only got one person that`s come forward, says he anything that day. So I think that going back to the interstate, that`s something that you can probably rule out as well.

GRACE: With me tonight, literally begging for your help, the grandmother of these little girls that told them to go ride their bikes, innocently, they have done it many, many times before. And why not? Are we at a point in America where our children can`t ride their bikes in broad daylight at lunchtime on a summer morning, 11:30?

Wylma Cook is with us also. Ten-year-old Lyric`s mother, Misty Cook- Morrissey is also with us.

I want to go back to Misty and Wylma.

Misty, I`ve spoken to the grandma, let me ask you, would your girl have gone swimming? Would she have gone into that lake? Would she have jumped in her clothes or stripped down and jump in?
MISTY COOK-MORRISSEY, MOTHER OF MISSING 10-YEAR-OLD GIRL, LYRIC: I don`t think she would have stripped down and jumped in. I don`t know if she went in in her clothes. We have spent the last six weeks at lake swimming, (INAUDIBLE) Lake, we`ve gone to Bern`s Pool a lot. So we`ve been swimming, I mean, almost daily for the last six weeks. You know, so I don`t rule out that she --

(CROSSTALK)

GRACE: Would she jump in in her clothes?

COOK-MORRISSEY: It doesn`t seem likely with her clothes on. That I don`t think so.

GRACE: Well, her clothes haven`t been found anywhere, all that`s found are the two bikes abandoned on that -- on that bike path. Playing cell phone, a cell phone that`s been deactivated that she can play games on, and a little purple purse belonging to one of the girls. So they didn`t take their clothes off and jump in in their underwear, that didn`t happen or their clothes would have been right there.

So my question to you is, would it be out of character for your little girl on a bike ride to jump into the water with her clothes on and her shoes?

COOK-MORRISSEY: That would be out of character, yes.

GRACE: Everybody, we are taking your calls. Out to Jason. Hi, Jason, what is your question?

JASON, CALLER: Yes, I have a quick question. Have any of the parents done a polygraph?

GRACE: I understand that the entire family has been completely cooperative.

Robyn Walensky, anchor with "The Blaze," what do you know?

ROBYN WALENSKY, ANCHOR/REPORTER, THE BLAZE: Yes, the mother voluntarily went in, other family members, the father as well, and they have been cleared.

Nancy, I just want to point out one thing that has not been mentioned tonight. And that is that there are about 10 sex offenders living in that town of about 5,000 people. And they, too, have been interviewed by police and I understand that they have been cleared. But in a 10-mile radius, Nancy, there are 200 plus registered sex offenders.

GRACE: Wow. Unleash the lawyers. Darryl Cohen and Doug Burns.

All right, Darryl, weigh in.

DARRYL COHEN, DEFENSE ATTORNEY: Nancy, we all know that whatever happens the end of the road is not a good one. It scares me to know that these girls` scents were left, when the dogs said no, it tells me they were picked up by someone and I think it was probably voluntarily. That frightens me, because it tell me that something happened where these girls went to someone on their own volition.

GRACE: Doug Burns?

DOUG BURNS, DEFENSE ATTORNEY: I think that`s right, and I`ll tell you why, Nancy, because the most important thing that I`ve heard is that these girls did not ever ride as far as that lake. So working off the previous point, the point is, it seems to me, that they may have been grabbed. And then the bikes and them taken into an area and the bicycles deposited in the area of the lake and that`s extremely troubling.

GRACE: With me tonight, the girl`s grandmother and the mother of 10- year-old Lyric.

Everyone, our family album back. Showcasing your photos. Here our Michigan friends, the Hilliard-Turgeons. They love hot summer days at the pool, the local library, bike riding, playing UNO and McDonald`s Sundays. Well who wouldn`t?

Share photos through iReport family album at hlnTV.com/nancygrace and click on "Nancy`s Family Album."

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

ANDERSON COOPER, CNN ANCHOR: Vanished into thin air.

UNIDENTIFIED REPORTER: Eight-year-old Elizabeth Collins and 10-year- old Lyric Cook.

MARTIN SAVIDGE, CNN CORRESPONDENT: They went for a bike ride then simply vanished.

OOK-MORRISSEY: My mom called and said, you know what, I can`t find the kids. They`ve been riding their bikes.

UNIDENTIFIED REPORTER: The bicycles were found at a nearby lake, hours after the girls were reported missing.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

GRACE: Welcome back, we are taking your calls. Two little girls ages 8 and 10 vanish on a hot summer morning, the heartland.

Straight out to C.W. Jensen, retired police captain, joining me out of Cape Creek. Weigh in, C.W.

C.W. JENSEN, RETIRED PORTLAND POLICE CAPTAIN: Nancy, I`ll give you one more theory, I worked a chase about 20 years ago where two boys, 8 and 10, were sexually assaulted and then murdered in a park on Labor Day. This guy was able to go up and they were brothers, but neither one of them would leave the brother`s side so to give you one more scenario that`s chilling, you know, the girls are friends, they may not have wanted to leave the other one, might not have wanted -- known what to do.

So in my mind since I have worked a case like this, I could see one suspect being able to take two girls.

GRACE: Out to Dr. Leslie Seppinni, clinical psychologist and author.

Dr. Seppinni, what do you make of the theory earlier advanced that it was someone the girls know, hence there would not be that much difficult leading them down that path, even from the point of their bicycles?

LESLIE SEPPINNI, PSY.D., CLINICAL PSYCHOLOGIST: Well, it`s quite possible that they knew the person and they felt comfortable with the person and the person may have said, hey, I can take you on a bike path and we can have a lot of good times. However, what the gentleman just said before I think is really very interesting, because there is a case in which just a few months ago they showed on the "Today" show how one man with an ice cream truck was able to lure five boys on to the truck.

And they did it to show how easy it is if you have one kid that the other kids feel loyal, or feel that they have to find and trace and be with the other kid. So it is very possible that this was one person.


One thing that I have a question for for the parents is, did these girls have a routine? In other words was it common for them to go bike riding and go to grandma`s house so many times a week? Is it possible that somebody in the area have been watching them? Because it seems like this was very well organized and planned for these girls to get the Myers Lake, to disappear, there`s no footprints, there`s no other traces for the dogs. So this had to be very well organized.

GRACE: Good question. Let`s go to Lyric`s mom, Misty Cook-Morrissey. Also with us, the grandmother, Wylma Cook.

Was that their pattern, Miss Wylma?

WYLMA COOK, MISSING GIRLS` GRANDMA, LAST TO SEE THE GIRLS ALIVE: No, it wasn`t no pattern, because we were always at Heather`s house in the morning and they could have went for a bike ride maybe 9:00, for a short bike ride, and come back. And there was no pattern.

And then another thing I want to say is down by the lake, going, not the bike path, somebody could have snatched them along the road. If there was two people in a van, they could have thrown those kids in their van with their bikes and there`s another way to drive by the houses and get to the end of that trail and they could have chunked the bikes down there with the children.

GRACE: To Misty Cook-Morrissey, explain to me again what Miss. Cook is saying. I think I get it but I want to understand it as it relates to that bike path and where the grandma`s home is.

COOK-MORRISSEY: OK. OK.

GRACE: So what is she saying?

COOK-MORRISSEY: I just started -- I just started the job at Casey`s, so the last five days, Lyric and Elizabeth have been playing at Heather`s every day, taking bike rides, so as far as a pattern, yes, could somebody have been watching them there, and seeing that they play together, that hang out together, this last week. Yes, that could have happened.

What she`s saying is at the end of the U that you were shown, the trail comes around here, the bikes were found here, You come to that end of it, this bridge is out into a wooded area and right here is a big patch of grass where you can pull your vehicles up on to and that`s where we parked our vehicles to get back on the trail and go back this way.

So that`s what she`s saying, that someone could have very well come into that grassy area on the south side of the trail that ends as far as being able to walk or ride a bike.

GRACE: OK, Jim Spellman, joining me there at Meyers Lake, OK, this is the first I`m hearing of a quasi-parking area on a grassy turf near where the bikes were discovered. Would that have been access for someone to park there, dump the bikes and keep going?

SPELLMAN: Yes, it could -- it sort of connects the neighborhood actually quite close to the police station to this back end, that would definitely have to be somebody who was waiting there, because the bike path and the direction that the scent dogs went would lead them down this bike path, someone would have to know that they were there to be on that end, almost ready to intercept them, Nancy.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

GRACE: Where are these two little girls, an 8-year-old and 10-year- old? Two little cousins go riding bikes around 11:30 a.m. on a summer`s morning. Their grandmother tells them they can. By 2:00, she realizes they are gone.

To Dr. Joy M. Carter, chief forensic pathologist, Marion County, joining me tonight out of Indianapolis.

Dr. Carter, thank you for being with us.

DR. JOYE M. CARTER, M.D., CHIEF FORENSIC PATHOLOGIST, MARION COUNTY, INDIANA: Thank you.

GRACE: If there is evidence in the water, how could or would it destroy DNA or forensic evidence?

CARTER: Generally, fresh water`s not going to destroy DNA evidence. It may cause some artifact. Very carefully look at anything recovered from the water and compare that with known artifacts they have. As much as they can recover, they are going to have to use and utilize to find these little girls, whoever did something to them.

GRACE: Dr. Carter, what about the heat? It was over 90 degrees that day.

CARTER: The heat is going to be a problem to one of the artifacts because DNA is protein, it does break down. But those trained investigators are used to dealing with those artifacts, anything they can find will be of help.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: We have two missing girls and we have no idea why.

COOK-MORRISSEY: Very outdoorsy.

SPELLMAN: Last seen leaving for a bike ride in Evansdale, Iowa, on Friday.

COOK-MORRISSEY: And they played there every day.

UNIDENTIFIED REPORTER: Disappeared into thin air in broad daylight.

COOK-MORRISSEY: They really hits close to home.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: We`re bracing for the worst but hoping for the best.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

GRACE: Out to the lines, Phoenix, Iowa. Hi, Phoenix, what`s your question?

PHOENIX, CALLER FROM IOWA: Hi, Nancy. First, I would like to say I`m a very huge fan of yours. Your twins are just beautiful.

GRACE: Thank you.

PHOENIX: My question is what evidence are they expecting or what is it that they are expecting to find by searching vehicles at this point? Is there something specific or --

GRACE: Good question. Jesse Gavin, news director, KCNZ in Cedar Falls, what`s the answer to that Jesse?

GAVIN: Well, I think they`re just looking for whatever clues they can get, Nancy. Obviously, to this point, there haven`t been many. They found the bikes, they found the purse, they found that deactivated cell phone. At this point, that`s all that law enforcement really has to go off of. So I think that stopping the vehicles, that`s kind of a dual purpose thing.

A, it`s to get people aware of the situation, to give them some of these missing posters that we`re seeing all over town here in the area. Secondly, it`s just to see, you know what they could possibly find.

GRACE: Right.

GAVIN: Casting a wide net.

GRACE: To Misty Cook Morissey, this is Lyric`s mom. What is your message tonight, Misty?

COOK-MORRISSEY: Be on the look out. Look of our kids. Look for anything that`s strange. Keep your eyes open. And definitely contact the police if you see that. I mean that`s our message. We just want everybody to get involved and the more coverage we can get, the more people we have out there with their eyes open, the better.

GRACE: And tour, the grandmother, Wylma Cook what , what is your message tonight?

COOK: I just want my kids home, my grandkids. I want everybody to try to find them. I want them alive. I want them back home with me. I want to thank everybody for everybody`s help out there they have been just fabulous, all the friends and churches and everything.

GRACE: Wylma, when you saw them right away that day what was your last image of them?

COOK-MORRISSEY: Just the normal image, don`t be gone very long and we realized they left 11:30. By 12:30, we were not happy because they weren`t back. And that`s when Kelly, my 12-year-old grandson from Heather`s house, the dad was home so we went searching right away and by 2:00, Heather couldn`t find them either so she went straight to the police station and the police went out right away.

GRACE: Tip line, 319-232-6682. There`s a nearly $16,000 reward.
 ::snipping2::

http://transcripts.cnn.com/TRANSCRIPTS/1207/17/ijvm.01.html
JANE VELEZ-MITCHELL
Lake Drained in Search for Cousins
Aired July 17, 2012 - 19:00   ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.


UNIDENTIFIED MALE: We`re going to take a look at this map, but I want to bring in Jane Velez-Mitchell. Jane, I`m surprised that police are looking in this area, but the family members think, "Hey, they don`t go in that area." Do you think maybe police have it wrong on this one?

JANE VELEZ-MITCHELL, HOST: Well, listen, the bikes, Ryan, were found by the lake, as well as a bag belonging to the youngest girl. So they dragged the lake, and they didn`t come up with anything. But they wanted to be 100 percent sure. That`s why they`re draining the lake.

But you raise a very good point, Ryan, is what if it`s a staged scene? This is something that experts -- and we`re going to talk to not only the family live in just moments but a bunch of experts. What if something happened before they got to that lake, and then some sinister individual or individuals placed the bikes there and the bag there to throw investigators off and to have them waste time by draining the lake, which they might have predicted they would do?

We`re going to analyze this tragic disappearance. We want to be helpful and find these precious girls. As every minute ticks by, the mystery deepens into what happened to these two young cousins.

Were 8-year-old Elizabeth Collins and 10-year-old Lyric Cook kidnapped during a bike ride in rural Iowa? They have vanished with hardly a clue. Investigators are draining the lake, as we just mentioned, and using scent dogs in their desperate search. I`m going to talk to the girls` families live next.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

VELEZ-MITCHELL (voice-over): Tonight, a terrifying mystery escalates. FBI search dogs hit on a scent from two missing girls, young cousins who vanished riding their bikes in Iowa, but investigators won`t say where the trail leads.

Tonight, why some feel this spot where the 8- and 10-year-old girls` bikes were found is an odd spot for an abduction. Could a stranger have taken them? I`ll talk one-on-one with the parents of both missing girls tonight. And I`m taking your calls.
 ::snipping2::

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: A frantic search continues for missing cousins from Iowa.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Eight-year-old Elizabeth Collins and 10-year-old Lyric Cook were last seen leaving for a bike ride.

MISTY MORRISSEY, LYRIC COOK`S MOTHER: We`re worried. We are stressed out. We are lack of sleep.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: We have two missing girls, and we have no idea why.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: It`s as though they disappeared into thin air in broad daylight.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Pink ribbons as a reminder of two little girls still missing.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Today the process has begun to drain Meyers Lake.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: The lake slowly recedes, draining into the Cedar River.

DANIEL MORRISSEY, FATHER OF LYRIC COOK: The girls are just beautiful, you know?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: This corner down here is where the girls` bicycles were found and the purse of one of the girls.

D. MORRISSEY: It`s just baffling to try to figure out the pieces to the puzzle.

TAMMY BROUSSEAU, AUNT OF MISSING GIRLS: Everybody is willing to do a polygraph test, you know. We just want our girls home.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Just try to hold onto whatever hope you have.
(END VIDEOTAPE)

VELEZ-MITCHELL: I`m Jane Velez-Mitchell coming to you live.

New questions tonight about whether two missing Iowa girls could have been abducted Friday during their bike ride in broad daylight. The families of little Elizabeth Collins and Lyric Cook are my very special guests tonight.

Search dogs picked up the girls` scent today near Meyers Lake, which is being drained right now. That`s where the girls` bikes were discovered along with their bag. But investigators will not say if the dogs` hit led them to any substantial clues.

The cousins -- we`re talking about little girls ages 8 years old and 10 years old -- were last seen leaving Elizabeth`s home on their bikes Friday afternoon. Their aunt says she taught them how to protect themselves.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

BROUSSEAU: I`ve taught them, you know, if you`re approached and somebody actually grabs hold of you, drop your body to the ground, scream, kick, fight, gouge eyes, do whatever you have to do. Don`t let them get you to a vehicle. You know, I told the girls, you know, once you`re in a vehicle, the chances decrease of your survival. And so I have a feeling whoever approached them had some type of weapon, something that scared them very, very badly that made them get into a vehicle.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

VELEZ-MITCHELL: Were these precious girls abducted? Were they threatened with a weapon? Police said they have no evidence of foul play. In fact, they are completely baffled by this case.

Investigators and the girls` families are desperate for clues, and they are clinging to hope.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Over and over everything in my mind a thousand times and it`s impossible. I`m just trying to hold onto whatever kind of hope you have.


(END VIDEO CLIP)

VELEZ-MITCHELL: Call me: 1-877-JVM-SAYS, 1-877-586-7297.

Joining me tonight, the grandmother of the two missing girls, who was watching them at the time that they disappeared after riding off on their bikes, is what we`ve heard. Grandmother Wilma Cook is here with the mother of missing 10-year-old Lyric. We also have the mother of missing 8-year- old Elizabeth on the phone.

This is a gut-wrenching case. You are all so brave for coming here and talking. I know you`re doing this because you want to do everything you can to find these precious, precious girls.

So, Wilma, I`m going to start with you as the grandmother. I know this is difficult, but what were the last words that you exchanged with your precious granddaughters before they took off on the bikes?

WILMA COOK, GRANDMOTHER OF MISSING GIRLS: I told them not to be gone very long, don`t go very far. They knew that they had to be back in a very short time, because Lyric knew that I was leaving Heather`s to go back to my house where she lives in Waterloo. And I didn`t figure that they would be gone very long.

And they`ve done this before. I`ve never had a problem. They`ve never went very far. There`s no way they would have went here.

VELEZ-MITCHELL: When they`ve gone off before, how long did they usually stay out? And would they stay more in the immediate area?

COOK: Yes. It was just like where the post office used to be and a parking lot and then up and down the street, maybe a little ways down on the other side. And they`d come back and check in.
And they were always thirsty, wanted a V-8 juice or something to drink. And then maybe they`d go out for a short 10-minute ride again or something. But it wasn`t a regular basis every day that I would let them go.

VELEZ-MITCHELL: Wilma, did you see them bike off? Did you see them get on their bikes and head out?

COOK: Yes. And they went to the parking lot where the post office is.

VELEZ-MITCHELL: So our question tonight, how far might Elizabeth and Lyric...

COOK: And then I went out.

VELEZ-MITCHELL: I`m sorry, ma`am. I`m going to show a map to our viewers. How might -- how far might they have gone? Take a look at this map.

The girls were last seen -- we`re talking about 8-year-old Elizabeth Collins and 10-year-old Lyric. And their bikes were found at Meyers Lake. That is the lake that is currently being drained.

Now, it`s going to take possibly up to two more days for that lake to drain enough to see what`s in there. The distance between those two spots, a little over a mile.

Now, we just heard the grandmother say they normally didn`t go this far. They stayed in the immediate area. That`s what all the family members have been saying. So I have to -- well, ask a difficult question, could they have been snatched earlier and their bikes and their bag dropped there, which would essentially mean that the scene would have been staged to make it look like they had drowned? And I`m going to put that question to Missy Morrissey, whose 10-year-old daughter, Lyric, is one of those who`s missing.

M. MORRISSEY: Sure. Sure, that could have happened. At this point we can`t rule anything out. We don`t have very many details just that the bikes and the purse were found there. So could that have happened? Probably -- I mean, it could have.

VELEZ-MITCHELL: Wilma, grandmother, I want to go back to you. If these girls were indeed snatched, is there something that you would like to say to whoever may have them?

COOK: I don`t care what they done. If they hurt them, whatever, just release them. Let them go somewhere at any kind of place where they can call. Lyric knows my number, my cell phone number. Just call me. And I will get somebody to pick them up immediately. I don`t care where you`re at. And I don`t care who did this. Let somebody else deal with it. Just let...


VELEZ-MITCHELL: Heather Collins, your 8-year-old daughter, Elizabeth, is one of the two missing. You have spoken extraordinarily of forgiveness. What did you mean by that? And what would you like to say to anyone who may have taken your precious daughter and your precious niece?

Heather? Heather, can you hear me?

HEATHER COLLINS, MOTHER OF ELIZABETH COLLINS (via phone): I can barely hear you.

VELEZ-MITCHELL: OK. What would you like to say to anyone who may have taken your precious daughter and your precious niece?

COLLINS: Just what I`ve always said is, you know what? I do not pass judgment on anybody. that is for God to do. I forgive you. God has forgiven you, so I will forgive you. We just want our children brought back.

I don`t want to know who you are. I don`t care who you are. I just want them dropped off at the police station or at my house and just be seen running to my house. That`s all I want. I don`t -- I don`t care who you are. I don`t want to know who you are. It`s not -- it`s not for me to -- to judge you or for whatever reason you have decided to do this.

Obviously, you know, you have a lot of evil in you. And, you know, God will work on your heart. We are praying that God will work on your heart and just continuously put it in your brain that -- to bring the children home safely. You know, so much that it is just hurting you and you can`t deal with it anymore until you bring the girls back home safe.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: It`s very difficult to picture how any kind of abduction might happen here, because you have this highway right here, major interstate. Then you have this grassy area down a hill. And then this bike path that goes parallel to the water.

The girls` bikes were found all the way on this end of this bike path. But to get out of this on the bike path, you have to go all the way around the whole lake to get to an area where you could get out. That would seem to be an unlikely spot for somebody who was trying to abduct these kids to try to get away.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

VELEZ-MITCHELL: So we are trying to decipher this mystery and find out what happened to these two precious girls, ages 8 and 10, who vanished seemingly into thin air. Their bikes were found by the lake.

But you just heard a reporter saying essentially that this is an odd place for an abduction, because it would be hard to drive right up to where the bikes were found by the lake, and it would leave big tire tracks. So how would somebody force the girls from that spot to a waiting vehicle by foot?

I want to bring in Daniel Morrissey, the father of 10-year-old missing Lyric.
Thank you, sir. I know this is agonizing for you. We`re trying to make some headway and trying to understand what may have happened. Are you concerned about all the focus being on draining the lake or much of it anyway, I should say? And do you think that could be a distraction if, for example, these children had been snatched and taken somewhere else?

D. MORRISSEY: No. I think that every effort put forth is worth -- it`s just -- there`s more being done than what we could do, for sure. And anything that is done is going to be appreciated, for sure.

VELEZ-MITCHELL: Let`s just set the stage and discuss what everybody was doing when the girls biked off. Now, we understand, Misty, you were working at the gas station. So what about you, Daniel? Where were you? How did you find out?

D. MORRISSEY: I was in Waterloo at my mom`s house with my son. And I was taking a nap, and my wife called and woke me up and told me that Lyric was missing.

This had just happened probably four days before, that where she was supposed to go to, you know, a certain destination and then come back, and after a while she hadn`t come back. And they went to that destination and she wasn`t there. And so things got stirred up. My wife called me then and told me the same thing, that she`s missing. And I told her to call the cops.

And they went around to drive around some more, and all of a sudden my daughter`s calling me from my wife`s phone and saying, "Daddy." You know?

So four days after that I`m getting another call from my wife and saying the same thing, you know. So I`m like what? And so she was out looking for her and I guess, you know, the police got involved and...

VELEZ-MITCHELL: I`m not -- I`m not sure I understand. Are you saying that there was an incident prior to the Friday incident?

D. MORRISSEY: Yes.

M. MORRISSEY: Yes. A week before this, Lyric and her other cousin, Tammy`s daughter, Kaylee (ph), who were in Green Briar, which is another division of Waterloo, and they went walking to the park. They were gone for an extended amount of time. We went looking for them at the park, and they weren`t there. So we called the police. They -- right when I called the police they came walking up to the house.

VELEZ-MITCHELL: So I`m trying to process all this. And you know much more about it. Please don`t take anything I`m asking personally, but is it possible that the little -- one of the little girls may have wanted to run away or been overly curious about just going off? Getting to that age where they want to just maybe take off?



M. MORRISSEY: No.

D. MORRISSEY: Absolutely not.

M. MORRISSEY: No.

VELEZ-MITCHELL: Is there any commonality? Is it just a coincidence that these two incidents happened a couple of days apart?

M. MORRISSEY: I think so, yes. The first incident, you know, a week prior, her and Kaylee (ph) were just playing at the park. You know, just playing, being kids. And it really wasn`t that far away. It wasn`t -- they were gone a little bit too long, but they weren`t that far away.

VELEZ-MITCHELL: Tell us about Lyric, your daughter, Misty.

M. MORRISSEY: Say that again?

VELEZ-MITCHELL: Tell us about your daughter, Lyric.

M. MORRISSEY: Oh. Lyric is fun. Lyric is a very trusting girl. She loves to play. She loves to be outside. She enjoys soccer, reading, playing on her DSI. She`s a social girl.

D. MORRISSEY: She loves school. She loves school work.

M. MORRISSEY: Yes. She even likes wrestling.

D. MORRISSEY: Yes.

M. MORRISSEY: She likes to wrestle.

VELEZ-MITCHELL: Now, Daniel, police are following protocol. They have to do this. They have to look at the family and talk to the family. We understand you took -- well, first of all, Misty, you took a polygraph. When we spoke to you yesterday, you were describing how -- police have said the family`s cooperating completely. You did one. Now, tell us about your experience, Daniel.

D. MORRISSEY: I don`t know. It`s just hard to deal with. On top of everything else. You know, I don`t know -- I don`t know really how -- how to keep going. But I got to, you know?

COMMERCIAL BREAK)

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

BROUSSEAU: The girls` bikes did trail around and ended up on the south side of the lake by the interstate, which would be 380 -- I-380. The bikes were just dropped down right on the bike trail.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

VELEZ-MITCHELL: OK. So the bikes were found near Interstate 380. It`s a small highway next to Meyers Lake, again, where the girls` bikes were found. This interstate could be crucial, because it leads to two major cities in Iowa: Waterloo and Cedar Rapids. Both much bigger than Evansdale. Evansdale, where this is going down, is only 5,000 people. Waterloo has 68,000. Cedar Rapids has 255,000.

So again, we`re going to talk to the family, this very courageous family. They`re doing everything they can, trying to find these precious two girls, these cousins who were good friends.

If the girls were abducted, and you have mentioned -- some family members have mentioned, they believe yes, this is a sad, horrific possibility. You know the area. Do you think that the focus should start being a little bit more on Waterloo and Cedar Rapids? Have the police told you anything about what they`ve done to check, for example, rest stops, gas stations, weigh stations, whatever?

D. MORRISSEY: Haven`t heard anything like that. I mean, they`re not -- they`re not telling us exactly how far everything`s going, where they`re going with everything. We`ve just been right here for the first three days just looking all over everywhere. And, I don`t know, we`re still here. Just kind of waiting. I don`t know. Waiting to drain this lake and see where things go.

VELEZ-MITCHELL: Let me ask you, Misty. Here`s what I`m trying to get my head around. If they had gone swimming, they probably would have taken their shoes off, especially Elizabeth, supposedly, was wearing high-tops. If they had been taken, it`s very likely that the flip-flops that your daughter, Lyric, was reportedly possibly wearing would have fallen off.

Are you perplexed by the fact that there doesn`t seem to be any evidence immediately around the area where the bikes were found? Although I think it`s very suspicious that her bag was found 20 feet from where the bikes were.

M. MORRISSEY: Absolutely. And it was 20 feet away and over a fence. So it was separated from the bikes by a tall fence. We`re not sure if the gate was open at the time. The gate was open when the father, Drew, went down to identify the bikes.

But, yes, absolutely no evidence. Doesn`t seem to be any details. It`s extremely frustrating.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

We do know that there is a way through a wooded area you could conceivably get to a road at the other end of the neighborhood. You would have to know this neighborhood inside and out to put that together. And even more so to know that these two girls might be there at that time.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: We do know that there is a way through a wooded area that you can conceivably get to a road at the other end of a neighborhood. You really have to know this neighborhood inside-out to be able to put that together. And even more so to know that these two girls might be there at that time.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

VELEZ-MITCHELL: Where are 8-year-old Elizabeth Collins and 10-year- old Lyric Cook? We have been speaking to their family. We have a very patient panel of experts now. They`ve listened to everything. They`re going to weigh in.

We begin with Marcia Clark, former prosecutor, author of "Guilt by Degrees." what do you make out of all the information we`ve gotten so far?

MARCIA CLARK, FORMER PROSECUTOR: I kind of think right now that your theory about a perpetrator deliberately setting up a scene that makes it look as though they might have drowned in the lake makes the most sense.

And I also think that, because you have two girls, they`re young, but they`re not little babies, 8 and 10, it strikes me very possible that this is more than one perpetrator involved here. That would have been more than one perpetrator required to take control of two little girls like this and to deal with them.

They`re on bikes, as well. So they`d have to stop them, get them off their bikes and then deal with the girls in the car and put the bikes somewhere.

I wonder, though, whether they -- why they weren`t more concerned about leaving prints on the bikes or on the backpack, for that matter, because it seems very unlikely that, in the heat of the moment, they would have been able to wipe everything down, unless they were wearing gloves. But right now it does seem awfully suspicious.

It seems most -- it seems -- and I hate to say it, I really hate to say it, Jane -- But it seems most likely that this is an abduction and not just a disappearance. I really want to be wrong about this.

VELEZ-MITCHELL: I do too. This entire story is just -- it`s gut- wrenching to have to sit here and think about the possibility of these two innocents, who knows where they are right now and talking to these families so strong to hold up.

For anyone who suggests that maybe they should be weeping or crying, psychologists tell us that people go into shock. This family is in shock right now. And they are doing what they need to do to stay strong for their children.

Now, sometimes children are abducted and held close to home. We all remember the Elizabeth Smart kidnapping case. Luckily that had a happy ending back in 2002. She was 14, she was kidnapped from her bedroom by a man who had done some yard work around her family`s Salt Lake City home. He took her to his camp in the woods just three miles from her family home. Nine months later Elizabeth was discovered. Just about 18 miles from her home with this monster, Bryan David Mitchell and a female accomplice.

Mark Eiglarsh, criminal defense attorney, you`ve heard it all. What do you think?

MARK EIGLARSH, CRIMINAL DEFENSE ATTORNEY: Well, Jane, on a personal level we discuss this case around the dinner table. My oldest, two out of three kids are 10 and 8, the same ages of these two girls. And I discuss the facts of this case with my kids because I want them to know that there are people with defects in character out there who want to take children from their parents. And they need to do everything they can not to go with them. But as I`m reminding my children of this lesson, I was reminded of the words of the aunt who explained that these kids knew better. They knew to fight. They knew about stranger danger. So it really breaks my heart to think that there may be nothing you can do to stop some of these predators.

VELEZ-MITCHELL: Police in this area stopping drivers, even searching trunks.

Jon Leiberman, HLN contributor and investigative reporter, what have you learned about what they`ve picked up from the scene?

JON LEIBERMAN, HLN CONTRIBUTOR: Yes, well, a few things. We were monitoring the scanner traffic in this area today. And we do know that they picked up at least two flip-flops. We`re not sure if they`re directly related to this case.

But we also know to your point, Jane, they are really trying to figure out if the bikes and the purse were staged here, if the perpetrator brought the girls and the bikes to this location. Police have also gathered up cigarette butts and soda cans and the like to do some DNA work on that found around this lake as well.

And the reality is -- and that`s why this case is so heartbreaking, the reality is if these two little girls are in the water, then they`re not alive. But if they have been abducted, chances are they are still alive. So we need to find out where these girls are.

VELEZ-MITCHELL: Yes. And, again, my thought is what child goes in for a swim wearing high top sneakers? Let`s show you the description. You mentioned flip-flops. The older girl is believed to be wearing purple flip-flops -- purple flip-flops.

Now, I want to go back to Marcia Clark. Your thoughts when the father -- it was kind of jaw dropping, he said this had happened just several days earlier that I believe it was the oldest girl who was with another cousin stayed out too late and the police were called just a few days earlier. Your thoughts on that?

CLARK: You know, I think that kids stay out as late as they can, Jane. We were talking about this in the makeup room about the fact that we were out until all hours of the night and day, all day long; we would be out for eight hours at a time. So to have little kids out there playing, it`s summer. What do we expect them to do? They don`t like to come home. It`s fun to be outside.

I don`t draw sinister conclusions or any conclusions really from the fact they were out late earlier a night before in the summertime. They`re out playing. I get it. In this particular instance they were just out during the day.

(CROSSTALK)

VELEZ-MITCHELL: Yes, but it`s interesting. I don`t know. It`s just a wild coincidence that cops are called, there`s just a gap of a few days, one child twice. It`s an odd coincidence.

I want to go to the phone lines. Jim, Idaho, you`ve been very patient. Your question or thought, Jim, Idaho.

JIM, IDAHO (via telephone): Ys. I noticed on your map earlier that it looks like there`s a highway between the -- where the girl disappeared and the lake. Can you tell me anything about that highway?

VELEZ-MITCHELL: Jon Leiberman?

LEIBERMAN: Yes. 380 is a major concern. It connects Cedar Rapids with Waterloo. And as you can see, it is within spitting distance of this lake. So clearly that is a major concern because it gives a quick getaway route if these girls were indeed abducted. Despite the fact it`s on the other side of the lake, it still gives a quick and easy out.

VELEZ-MITCHELL: Nancy Grace has more on this developing story at 8:00 p.m. Eastern -- Nancy.

NANCY GRACE, HLN HOST: Jane, on the radar tracking crime and justice. We go live in Cedar Falls suburbs and the search for two little girl, cousins just 8 and 10 years old, Jane, vanishing on a morning bike ride from their grandmother`s. New evidence located.
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http://www.radioreference.com/apps/audio/?action=wp&feedId=9086

Today, 03:47 PM 
WCWGranny 


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Thanks to WCWGranny for the scanner information.   ::MonkeyAngel::

 http://www.justicequest.net/forums/showthread.php?p=1672572

http://transcripts.cnn.com/TRANSCRIPTS/1207/18/ijvm.01.html
JANE VELEZ-MITCHELL
Missing Girl`s Father Has Rap Sheet
Aired July 18, 2012 - 19:00   ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: And you know what? I want to bring in Jane Velez- Mitchell, because she`s been talking to family members every day, the family of Lyric, the older girl here.


And Jane, you know, we`re talking about the tips being important here, but also the family members are always important. Do you think there`s some kind of disconnect going on between the police and the family right now?

JANE VELEZ-MITCHELL, HOST: Well, I don`t think any of us can judge what these family members are going through. And people have been judging, saying, oh, well, one is smiling too much. Psychologists will tell you that we have absolutely no idea how people react. That the way they react in the movies has nothing to do with the way people react in real life.

Because first of all, they go into shock. And they`re in shock, and they`re acting as if to try to keep it together so they can be functional and be helpful in finding their children. If they were to become hysterical and fall apart, they wouldn`t be of any use.

So please, for those -- and we`ve got so many calls from people saying, "Well, why is the mother of little Lyric smiling? Why did she go for a swim?" That`s how she is staying sane so that she can function and try to find her children.

I was going to tell you that we`ve been doing some digging all day today, and we`ve uncovered some startling new information. And so we`re going to be devoting the next few minutes talking to the family to kind of set the record straight and sift through this absolutely stunning information in the hopes of finding these girls tonight.

Tonight, again, we have new information in a story that is gripping the nation. Two young cousins go missing together in Iowa. Their bikes found by a lake.

Now we are learning about the criminal past of the father of one of the girls. We`ve confirmed the information with authorities. And the family is now here to answer our questions, clear the air, set the record straight, all in the hopes of finding these precious girls.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

VELEZ-MITCHELL (voice-over): Tonight, stunning new revelations in the disappearance of two young Iowa girls, cousins who went bike riding and vanished into thin air. We`re now learning that just two days after the girls disappeared cops in a nearby town arrested a man for allegedly impersonating a police officer, claiming he tried to order a young woman into his car. Is there a connection?

And we`ll also reveal other stunners in this case that we`ve just learned. And discuss them live with the missing girls` relatives. Plus, we`re taking your calls.

Then, outrageous video you have to see to believe. Two masked men storm an Internet cafe. One with a gun, the other with a baseball bat. But then you`ll never guess who whipped out another gun and started shooting back. Is this man a crime-fighting hero? Or could he have shot innocent people by accident? What do you think?

And why did hundreds of teens storm a Wal-Mart? Is this a new phenomenon called a smash mob? And is this a destructive take on the fun flash mobs? We`ll show you the good and the bad.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Obviously something bad has happened.

VELEZ-MITCHELL: The mystery deepens into what happened to these two young cousins.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: My stomach`s just in knots over it. And I can imagine, you know, everybody else feels that way, too.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Thinking more and more that this was an abduction.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I just pray that the children are OK. If they`re hurt, I don`t care if they`re hurt, just let us have them. We`ll deal with that.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: If you`ve taken our kids, just bring them back.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: If you don`t find out anything, what happens next?

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I have no idea.

MISTY MORRISSEY, MOTHER OF LYRIC COOK: I feel like maybe they were taken.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: It`s very difficult to picture how any kind of abduction might happen here.


M. MORRISSEY: We just want our children brought back. I don`t want to know who you are. I don`t care who you are.

We just desperately want them home.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

VELEZ-MITCHELL: Good evening. Jane Velez-Mitchell coming to you live. Tonight, we have learned stunning new information as the desperate race against the clock continues to find precious little Elizabeth and Lyric, cousins who suddenly vanished without a trace as if they went into thin air. We`re going to share what we`ve learned with you in just a moment.

The girls` families have been taking a lot of heat. Now five days after the 8 and 10-year-old girls disappeared, their bikes and a bag found abandoned at a nearby lake. Lyric`s dad says he`s being targeted by cops and feels like he`s being treated like a suspect. Listen to him.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

DANIEL MORRISSEY, FATHER OF LYRIC: You`re telling the truth and they say you`re holding something back, and you`re not, what more do you have to talk about? Go over and over and over it. So I don`t know.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Did it make you feel like a suspect?

D. MORRISSEY: It made me feel like, yes, they were looking at me like a suspect. But as far as what I know, I`m not -- I know the truth. I know I`m telling the truth. Sure it was offensive.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

VELEZ-MITCHELL: And I have to tell you we`ve been getting scores of your calls about Lyric`s father, Dan Morrissey. So we did some digging. And just laying out the facts.

What we`ve learned is that the father of missing Lyric has a criminal history. His rap sheet includes methamphetamine and marijuana charges, a domestic assault charge just last December as well as forgery, theft and burglary. This is new information just coming out.

We want to hear from you. What do you think happened to little Elizabeth and Lyric? Give me a call: 1-877-JVM-SAYS, 1-877-586-7297.

Of course none of the information we just told you means that the father had anything to do with these little girls` disappearance. We are not suggesting that.

Cops say the families have been very cooperative. But we want to give the family a chance to clear the air. This information is just coming out now on this broadcast, but it`s going to come out. Other organizations, other shows are going to be talking about it.

So we want to go straight out to Tammy Brousseau, the aunt of the missing girls. Your sister is married to Dan Morrissey. What do you know? And first of all, thank you for joining us and being so helpful in this effort to get to the truth and leave no stone unturned to find these girls.

But what do you know about Dan`s criminal past and his alleged involvement with drugs, specifically methamphetamine?

TAMMY BROUSSEAU, AUNT OF MISSING GIRLS: OK. First of all, could I ask -- who am I speaking with?

VELEZ-MITCHELL: Jane Velez-Mitchell, and I`m the host of the show.

BROUSSEAU: Jane.

VELEZ-MITCHELL: Yes.
BROUSSEAU: Hi, Jane. Yes, I was just hearing a lot of different voices and stuff. Hi, Jane.

What do I know about Dan? Yes, Dan has a history, a long-term history of meth use. He`s battled with it off and on since a teen. Yes, you know, the facts are out there. They`re public record.

Would Dan ever do something like this? Harm his children? Absolutely not. He`s cooperated 100 percent with the police. He`s given them all the information.

As a matter of fact, you know, as we were coming down here and came to the lake to look for the girls, he didn`t even know about it. He was at home with his 16-year-old son, Dillon. And the mother, Misty, his wife, she was at work here in Evansdale, Elk Run, which is -- they`re connected. And when Misty got down here to the lake with me and my mother -- Grandma, you know, Misty called Dan immediately. Dan doesn`t have a vehicle. Dan`s mother -- he called his mother. She got off work real quick, went and grabbed Dan and Dillon and brought them down here.

And they started right in on with the rest of us as soon as we were allowed to get to the area where the bicycles were found and the crime tape was released, we were allowed to go in there and just start our own hunt. And that`s what we did. Dan got his four-wheeler and his son, and they went in and just started doing what a dad would do.

VELEZ-MITCHELL: So what I`m hearing you saying is that he has, in your opinion, a tight alibi. In other words, the children go missing Friday. They leave at around 12. Their -- they don`t come back at 3. Their bikes are found at 4. And he`s called, and he`s in Waterloo, which is not the same city, and comes in.

So you`re satisfied. And that is why we`re talking to you. We do not want to point fingers. We`ve been inundated with phone calls. And so we want to give you the opportunity to set the record straight about this.

Now, Lyric`s parents, Misty and Daniel -- Daniel`s the one we`re talking about who police confirm have -- has a drug history and has been charged recently involving meth -- they`ve been showing a united front. They`ve appeared on our show the last two days. And today is really the first time that we`re hearing something else that`s new. This is new, just out, that the couple is separated. That Lyric`s mother, Misty, is listed as single on her Facebook.
And now some reports are suggesting that Daniel may be Lyric`s stepfather. Can you tell us what you know, Tammy? Is Daniel Lyric`s biological father or her stepfather? And what do you know about the separation?

BROUSSEAU: He`s her biological father.

VELEZ-MITCHELL: OK.

BROUSSEAU: And they have been separated for some time because -- they`ve been separated some time because of the meth use. You know, Dan had a real issue with it. Misty wanted no part of it in her life anymore.

So, yes, you know, that`s why the separation came forth, and whether they`ll continue on with the divorce or not is yet to be seen. You know, we`re presented with this situation. So all of that, you know, is -- means nothing compared to our girls missing now, you know? We want to focus on the girls. And, you know -- but, yes, they`re separated.

VELEZ-MITCHELL: Here`s why we`re asking. Not in a way to embarrass the family, but -- and I want to bring in if I can, would you mind, Tammy, that we`re going to bring in some experts and then get back to you? So stay right there.

Wendy Murphy, former prosecutor, the reason why the drug issue is relevant is not that we`re pointing fingers, but it`s that if you`re involved with methamphetamine, the chance of having dangerous people in your life increases dramatically.

WENDY MURPHY, FORMER PROSECUTOR: Yes. I mean, that is not a news flash, Jane.

More importantly, it raises really important questions about whether this guy owed anybody money. And I would really like to ask this woman if she knows if he had debts.

Look, meth is expensive. Addiction is extremely expensive. Lots of meth addicts steal. It`s not news. And they don`t have the means to continue to pay. And that`s why they deal to get their fix. It`s not uncommon if you owe drug dealers money or you owe somebody a lot of money for your meth that you`re trying to use to feed your addiction, maybe your kid gets taken as punishment because you didn`t pay. That`s an important question.

VELEZ-MITCHELL: Well, let me just go back to Tammy and ask her. I`ve been wondering what does Daniel do for a living? What is his job?

BROUSSEAU: OK. He doesn`t have a job. He`s not working. And, you know, his issue is not -- it`s not that he`s purchasing the meth. It`s that he was caught with three meth labs. And it`s on public record. There`s a trial to take place in maybe a couple weeks here. He`s been offered a plea agreement. You know, it`s still all pending. It`s all pending.

So he`s -- the alleged charge is he made the meth, OK? So it`s not like he owed anybody any money or anything like that. He is addicted to meth. Bottom line.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

D. MORRISSEY: Obviously, something bad has happened. I -- I believe that it`s not an accident. It`s something -- it`s something and that`s what we`re trying to find out.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

VELEZ-MITCHELL: Everything that we`re talking about tonight is in the effort of finding two precious girls. And we`re talking about 8-year-old Elizabeth and 10-year-old Lyric, who vanished while biking.

Now, we, as journalists, are obligated to dig. We are not with any agenda. Our only agenda is finding these children. And unfortunately, that requires looking into everything.

Now, Waterloo police told us that Lyric`s dad was arrested twice just this past December for alleged possession of meth with intent to deliver, possession of marijuana with intent to deliver, and conspiracy to manufacture meth. His past charges include forgery, theft, burglary and other narcotics violations.

So as we take a look at this record, we want to just get everything out of the way, Tammy. And then we`re going to move on. Because then we can clear the air and, again, this in no way implies that he had anything to do with his daughter`s disappearance.


But unfortunately, the sad part -- and I say this as a recovering alcoholic with 17 years of sobriety -- is that when you`re involved with alcohol or drugs, often bad things follow. Whether it`s other people -- you can be completely innocent, and sometimes other people get involved.

There`s one more thing I want to cover with you and then we`re going to move on, is that OK?

BROUSSEAU: OK. That`s fine.

VELEZ-MITCHELL: And that is we were also told by police that there was a domestic assault charge against Dan from last October. Can you just explain that?

BROUSSEAU: It`s true. Yes. It`s an assault on Misty, his wife.

VELEZ-MITCHELL: Did it ever...

BROUSSEAU: That`s true.

VELEZ-MITCHELL: What was his -- what`s his relationship with Lyric? I mean, that`s the key. Because he seems like a very loving father as we hear him. And to his credit, he`s been talking on camera. And police say he`s cooperating.

BROUSSEAU: Absolutely. Dan`s cooperating 100 percent. His relationship with Lyric was a good relationship.

You know, as far as a meth addict goes, I mean, Lyric was aware that her dad was a drug user. So was she allowed to go and hang out with him? And no. Grandma has temporary custody of Dillon and Lyric. And so Lyric was living with Grandma, you know. We wouldn`t allow Lyric to be around that situation.

But Lyric was fully aware of what was going on. Not happy with her dad, no. No child would be. But Dan is cooperating 100 percent.

VELEZ-MITCHELL: Well, again, I want to give you props and hats off to answering some tough questions. And I have to tell you we had a lot of discussions today because the last thing we want to do is embarrass you or the family. We are on your side.

BROUSSEAU: Sure.
VELEZ-MITCHELL: But the fact is, the truth is, that as soon as we found this out we knew it was going to come out. And we might as well give you a chance to set the record straight and put it in context as opposed to it exploding and maybe coming out in a way that is more hurtful. We don`t want to be hurtful.

BROUSSEAU: Sure.

VELEZ-MITCHELL: The only thing we want to do is find these little girls.

BROUSSEAU: Sure.

VELEZ-MITCHELL: So from the bottom of my heart, Tammy...

BROUSSEAU: Cover all grounds. Cover all grounds. Yes.

VELEZ-MITCHELL: Cover all grounds. That`s the point.

Now, let`s talk about something else. The FBI brought in scent dogs yesterday to scout the area around Meyers Lake. And first they started with the girls` families. Listen to how that worked. It`s fascinating.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

M. MORRISSEY: We all stood in a single-file line while the dogs came by and sniffed us. And that was to eliminate our scent. And then they let the dogs smell something of the girls`, and the dogs took off, picked up a trail -- both of them picked up a scent of the girls and went to the water`s edge, some rocks by the water`s edge. We know that it`s...

(END VIDEO CLIP)
VELEZ-MITCHELL: So, Tammy, what do we know about the dogs hitting on the trail, the scent about 300 yards into the woods?

BROUSSEAU: Correctly -- correct. You know, Misty was told one thing. I was told directly by the investigator. And I also watched the dogs myself. We were brought approximately halfway down on the south side of the lake. The bikes were probably, you know, 500 yards up ahead. You know, they were no longer there. I`m just saying that`s where they were dropped on the path. So the dogs were here. Back up. And just as Misty said, lined up and walked past the dog and the dog was able to sniff each one of us because we were all in those woods hunting around.

Then the dog one at a time, one for Elizabeth and one for Lyric, was allowed to smell articles of the girls. The dogs took off as fast as they could go. The men had to keep up with them. The dog clearly identified that Elizabeth was, in fact right where the bikes were found as she was there. And then the dog ran on into this area of dense forest and brush that`s probably about 300 to 400 yards long. And it`s easily accessed if you go out and around.

There`s a driveway and a big area where you can pull up onto it, pull up into it. And someone could have easily pulled up into that area and had been watching Lyric from where we`re standing here, Lyric and Elizabeth, when they`d went around. And then they went and accessed it at the other end.

And back to the investigation, the investigator told me so the dogs went farther on into the woods. And he said that gives us new leads and new information and we are going to stop at that point and we`re going to go back and analyze what these dogs have picked up because then of course the same thing was done for Lyric with another dog. And that dog did the same thing. Positively identified Lyric to be in that very same spot and also into the 300 to 400 stretch of woods.

They wouldn`t tell us anything beyond that point. They wanted to go back and analyze it and said they`d be in contact with us when they found out any more information.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

D. MORRISSEY: Those girls are just beautiful, you know. They`re loving and full of just life. No enemies, no nothing like that. It`s just baffling to try to figure out the pieces to the puzzle.

(END VIDEO CIP)

VELEZ-MITCHELL: That mother and father of the oldest child, Lyric, you see the two girls who are missing. And we`re doing everything we can to find them.

Now, I want to go to T.J. Hart. You`re the co-host of Des Moines`s morning news 98.3. You`ve been hearing everything that we`re talking about. The fact that the dad who`s spoken out not a suspect, want to emphasize that, cooperating fully with police, but does have a lot of narcotics charges. And his relative, the aunt of the missing girls just said, hey, he`s a meth addict.

He`s invited on our show any time. He`s been on twice already to explain and to weigh in on all of this. But were you shocked by the extent of his criminal history, T.J. Hart?

T.J. HART, RADIO HOST: Yes, I was, to be quite honest with you because he had been coming forward. However, he started complaining yesterday that the police and other investigators were treating him like a suspect. And that got everybody`s attention when he started making the complaints.

And oftentimes, well, every time anymore when an investigation begins, they always start with the family because they have the closest knowledge of a missing child. And they also have the closest knowledge of who might have come in contact with them, who their friends are, who the potential harmful people in their lives might be.

But he spoke right up and said, you know, initially that he felt like he was being treated like a suspect at first.

VELEZ-MITCHELL: Yes.

HART: Red flags.

VELEZ-MITCHELL: So just his saying that in your mind created some red flags?


HART: Yes. Because I`ve been through this before with other missing children and other incidences where the families, you know, didn`t understand the protocol or they just felt angered that in some cases that the police should not be looking there, they should be looking someplace else for the children. Sometimes it`s just a misunderstanding.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

D. MORRISSEY: Obviously something bad has happened.

VELEZ-MITCHELL: The mystery deepens into what happened to these two young cousins.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: My stomach`s just in knots over it. I can imagine everybody else feels that way too.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Thinking more and more that this was an abduction.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I just pray that the children are OK. If they`re hurt, I don`t care if they`re hurt, just let us have them.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

VELEZ-MITCHELL: Eight-year-old Elizabeth, 10-year-old Lyric, where are these precious children? They disappeared Friday after going on a bike ride in rural Iowa. And they are draining the lake where their bikes were found along with their bag.

And nobody really knows anything except that we just heard that dogs hit on an area near the lake, but the dogs established that these two girls -- if these dogs are accurate, were at the lake and then went into the woods about 300 yards.

We`re also learning some disturbing information about little Lyric, the oldest child`s father. This in no way indicates that he is a suspect; he is not. He`s cooperated fully with police. He`s taken a polygraph. But this man does have a rap sheet, a long one.

And in fact police confirmed for us that this past December he was arrested for possession of methamphetamine with intent to deliver as well as conspiracy to manufacture methamphetamine. He and his wife, we are now learning, are divorced -- excuse me, separated. And he lives somewhere else.

So with that I want to go to T.J. Ward, private investigator, former police officer in Atlanta. Your thoughts about all this really stunning new information that we`ve uncovered on this show tonight.

T.J. WARD, PRIVATE INVESTIGATOR: Well, you have to take into consideration that the police have to start with the family. And then take the physical evidence into account what they`ve done already. Draining a lake may take them to another level.

But I don`t think the police are fully convinced, yet, that the family members -- they haven`t cleared them. In their mind they have to go back.

And it`s sad that the family gets somewhat offended that they have to go back and keep questioning them or polygraph or voice analysis or whatever. But when missing persons cases, that`s the place that you have to start, the people that had last contact with these children in order to work your way out and weave your way out.

Thank goodness for shows like yours that we can put this information out and maybe somebody will be watching and saw something when the kids went missing if that`s the case.

VELEZ-MITCHELL: Well, Wendy Murphy, former prosecutor, it was not easy to hit this aunt with all these disturbing bits of information that we uncovered, but our first responsibility is to the children. And she seemed to understand that. I`m so grateful because it pains me; it`s an awkward position to be in. We`re on the family`s side because we`re on the children`s side.

WENDY MURPHY, FORMER PROSECUTOR: Yes. VELEZ-MITCHELL: But this history of drugs on the father`s part -- and you heard his sister-in-law, the aunt of the missing children, say he`s a meth addict. Does that affect how police pursue the case? In other words, do they have to give that weight?

MURPHY: Yes. And I agree with you. Tammy deserves a lot of credit. She clearly was saying things that made her uncomfortable, which proves that she really does have this child`s interests at heart. I`m not so sure about the father who, if he`s a suspect and feeling targeted should be saying and come at me. I don`t care what you do. Do anything to me. I want to find my child. That wasn`t the vibe I got from him.

But to answer your question, the cops are going to ask a guy who deals drugs who were you working with. Remember, one of the charges is conspiracy, meaning he was working with some others, a team of people to make these three meth labs create business for the guy.

In the drug world, if you give bad drugs to somebody, if you, you know, don`t give them as much as they think they`re entitled to, you make somebody angry in that world, they can`t go you don`t do business right. They can`t exactly call the cops, right? They do their own form of justice. And sometimes if you make people mad in that world, they`re going to come after you and your family. And so of course they`re focused on him. Of course, they are.

VELEZ-MITCHELL: Now, Jeff Gardere, forensic psychologist, you`ve been listening patiently. What do you make of all of it?

JEFF GARDERE, FORENSIC PSYCHOLOGIST: Look, I understand how this father feels. This is a guy who we`re finding out from the aunt already has been ostracized by the family. They know he has a very serious drug problem. And therefore he`s always treated like a suspect. As Rodney Dangerfield said, he`s just not getting any respect. And therefore he feels really put upon.

But the needs of the many in this case, Lyric and Elizabeth, outweigh the needs of the few, the needs of Dan. And I think Dan is going to have to toughen that skin up. And, look, if you`re a cop and you`re dealing with Dan and you know that he`s involved in conspiracy to distribute drugs, he`s a suspect. You know that you are going to have to stay on his case.

VELEZ-MITCHELL: All right. Thank you, expert panel. We`re all over it. We are going to do this again tomorrow. We`ve got other new information.
 ::snipping2::

http://www.foxnews.com/Published July 20, 2012
Associated Press
2012/07/20

Interesting article. 

 ::snipping2::

The order issued by Senior Judge Jon Fister on Thursday said the sheriff's office should deliver the supervision notice personally to Morrissey, who was directed to report to corrections officials immediately after receiving it.

 ::snipping2::

http://transcripts.cnn.com/TRANSCRIPTS/1207/19/ijvm.01.html
JANE VELEZ-MITCHELL
New Developments in Case of Missing Iowa girls
Aired July 19, 2012 - 19:00   ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Jane Velez-Mitchell has got new developments in the Iowa case. She starts now.

JANE VELEZ-MITCHELL, HOST: We`ve got new information as the nation asks where are 10-year-old Lyric Cook and 8-year-old Elizabeth Collins? The FBI sending divers and sonar to the very lake where the two missing girls` bikes were found. This frantic search unfolding against a backdrop of family drama. Are the criminal pasts of missing Lyric`s parents distracting cops from looking elsewhere?
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

VELEZ-MITCHELL (voice-over): Tonight, shocking new allegations in the case of 8- and 10-year-old cousins who vanished on a bike ride in Iowa. You heard it here first: claims that 10-year-old Lyric`s dad has been heavily involved with methamphetamine and that he`s charged with conspiracy to manufacture the powerful drug. And tonight we`re now learning that Lyric`s mother, Misty, has a serious criminal drug history as well. We`ll bring you the details.

And we`ll also tell you why family members say Lyric`s parents feel harassed and targeted by police and think all the focus on them is taking time away from finding the missing girls. We`re taking your calls.
 ::snipping2::

A story that is gripping the nation.

MISTY MORRISSEY, MOTHER OF LYRIC COOK: We just desperately want them home.

VELEZ-MITCHELL: Two young cousins go missing together in Iowa. Their bikes found by a lake.

M. MORRISSEY: If you`ve taken our kids, just bring them back.

DANIEL MORRISSEY, FATHER OF LYRIC COOK: Everything just kind of caving in on me.

TAMMY BROUSSEAU, AUNT OF MISSING GIRLS: He is addicted to meth.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Did it make you feel like a suspect?

D. MORRISSEY: It made me feel like, yes, they were looking at me like a suspect. I know the truth. I mean, I know I`m telling the truth.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

VELEZ-MITCHELL: I`m Jane Velez-Mitchell coming to you live. The parents of a missing 10-year-old in Iowa say they have now hired a lawyer, and they are not going to do any more media interviews.

That is after family members complained that a police investigator pounded on their hotel door last night, accusing the dad of harming his daughter Lyric and her 8-year-old cousin, Elizabeth Collins, who have been missing for six days now after going on a bike ride.

Misty, the mother of the missing 10-year-old, said they got a hotel room last night -- we`re talking about these two I guess -- to get a break from the media. A family member says the investigator who questioned Lyric`s dad, the gentleman in the orange, banged on their hotel room door and started spewing accusations at him.

Lyric`s parents have come under intense scrutiny as their criminal records have surfaced. Here`s what Lyric`s aunt told me last night about the child`s dad.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

BROUSSEAU: Yes, Dan has a history, a long-term history of meth use. He`s battled with it off and on since a teen. Yes. You know, the facts are out there. They`re public record.

Would Dan ever do something like this? Harm his children? Absolutely not. He`s cooperated 100 percent with the police. He`s given them all the information.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

VELEZ-MITCHELL: The family has talked openly about their problems. Now Lyric`s parents worry that all this focus on their criminal history is distracting police investigators from going after the real culprits.

Lyric`s dad insists he had nothing to do with the girls vanishing. But he still feels like he is being treated like a suspect.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

D. MORRISSEY: I`m telling the truth, and they say you`re holding something back and you`re not, what more do you have to talk about? You know? You can go over and over and over it. You know, so, I don`t know.


UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Did it make you feel like a suspect?

D. MORRISSEY: It made me feel like, yes, they were looking at me like a suspect.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

VELEZ-MITCHELL: Their new attorney says if police had any evidence linking him to the girls` disappearance, he would already be under arrest.

We are now learning that Lyric`s mom, Misty, also has a criminal record. Misty went to prison for manufacturing and distributing meth. She just got out of prison in January and got out of a halfway house only two months ago. That`s what the feds tell us.

Do police believe the parents` criminal history has anything to do with these little girls vanishing? Or is this focus on their past taking time and effort away from the desperate search for Lyric and Elizabeth?

Call me. I want to hear from you: 1-877-JVM-SAYS. That`s 1-877-586- 7297.

We`ve got a lot of new information for you tonight. Straight out to CNN correspondent Jim Spellman, who is on the ground in Iowa near where the girls vanished.

Jim, what about these reports we`re hearing that Lyric`s dad stormed out of a police interview? And also, what happened at the hotel last night where they were staying?

JIM SPELLMAN, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Before we get into that Jane, I want to tell you some new information we just discovered.

Investigators here have asked all of the core family members to assemble right now as we speak at the school that they`ve set up as their command center. We don`t know what kind of information they want to share, if they want to ask questions. We don`t know the content; the family doesn`t know the content. But as we speak right now, according to Wilma Cook, the girls` grandmother, the family is on their way right now to meet with investigators.

VELEZ-MITCHELL: All right. Well, that`s excellent information. And I have to stop you right there and then go to Bryan Claypool, criminal defense attorney and child advocate.

To me that would say that, hey, they`re cooperating with the family. They`re bringing the whole family in. I certainly hope it`s not bad news. All of our hearts and our hopes and prayers are with these girls and finding these girls. But that certainly sounds like the police and these family members are cooperating.

BRYAN CLAYPOOL, CRIMINAL DEFENSE ATTORNEY: Well, Jane, it sounds like the family`s cooperating, but I think this new information that you`ve developed, which is great for the public to know about, about the prior criminal background of these two parents, this broadens the investigation dramatically. Because you now have to start looking at all the people that these parents were associating with. Who were they interfacing with? Were they involved in any drug deals? Were there people that are unsavory in that community that might be out to exact revenge against this family?

You now have to start looking at a whole broader depth of people here. And I think that this father, Daniel, he`s complaining about being interrogated and investigated. I`m a single parent of a 6-year-old girl. I`ll tell you right now, if my daughter went missing, I would expect the police to be knocking on my door. And I would expect to be a suspect.

VELEZ-MITCHELL: Well, here`s what federal authorities are telling us. In 2003 Lyric Cook`s mom, Misty, who we`ve been talking to on the show for a couple of days now, was sentenced for conspiracy to manufacture and distribute methamphetamine.

Now, last September they say that she violated the terms of her supervision and then served another five months in prison. She was then sent to a halfway house and got out just two months ago. Now, has she cleaned up her life? The girls` aunt told me that Misty actually separated from Dan because Misty couldn`t tolerate his involvement with drugs. Listen to this.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

BROUSSEAU: They`ve been separated some time because of the meth use. You know, Dan had a real issue with it. Misty wanted no part of it in her life anymore.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

VELEZ-MITCHELL: So Howard Samuels, addiction specialist, founder and CEO of the Hills Treatment Center, it`s possible that Misty has gotten sober and was making a better life for her children and that whatever is in her past is in her past.

HOWARD SAMUELS, HILLS TREATMENT CENTER: Well, I agree and I disagree. I mean, her drug use -- their drug use was, you know, just a few months ago.

And you have to understand, the world of crystal meth is a very sick, dangerous world to be involved in. And if their parents -- if these girls` parents were distributing and dealing this drug at one particular time, along with being addicted to crystal meth -- I mean, crystal meth is a sick, dangerous drug, Jane. I mean, the paranoid delusions, the hallucinations. It`s prone to violence. I mean, these girls could have been in major, major environment of violence and trouble along with the people that were associating with these parents. I mean, I -- if I was the police, that would be the first thing I`d be looking at.

VELEZ-MITCHELL: I want to go back to Jim Spellman, CNN correspondent on the ground in Iowa. Again, I want to go back to this report we`ve been hearing that Daniel, the father of missing Lyric, the 10-year-old, stormed out of a police interview, and then the scene later at the hotel where they were staying to get away from it.

SPELLMAN: That`s right. Two nights ago Daniel was polygraphed and was being interviewed at this makeshift command center that authorities have set up here. He tells me on the phone, he told me personally, that they were accusing him of hurting Lyric somehow. Of knowing what was going on. He said he got sick of it, he got up and he left.

Last night the families decided they needed a break from all of the media. They checked into a hotel for a night. They say the same investigator banged on their door and again was accusing Daniel, saying, "You know something. Tell us what you know."

And then we -- so that`s really frustrated them, because they feel like, look, we`ve agreed to everything. We`ve been polygraphed. You haven`t need search warrants for anything. Leave us alone. Move on. Look elsewhere. You`re not going to find your answers here. That`s what the family says.

I want to add a little bit more detail, too, about the investigation into possible drug connections. The authorities here took Daniel`s cell phone. And the grandmother, Wilma Cook, just told me that they returned the cell phone to him, and they wanted information on a series of numbers inside that phone. So clearly they want to know who was calling Daniel and who he was calling.

VELEZ-MITCHELL: Wow. That`s new information. They confiscated Daniel`s cell phone, and they`re looking at the numbers in his phone. Excellent reporting. Thank you so much, Jim Spellman.

Now, somebody who knows very much about what Elizabeth and Lyric`s parents are going through, is one of my heroes, Diena Thompson, her daughter was killed by a neighbor while walking home from school. Tragically little Somer`s body found in a Georgia landfill.

And here`s the monster who took her, Jarrod Harrell, who is serving life in prison. Diena Thompson, activist and mother of Somer Thompson, I want to ask you what the parents of these two missing children are going through right now. I know obviously you have no kind of past that is any way similar to the past that we`ve been talking about of Misty and Daniel. But what are they enduring? What are the parents of Elizabeth, who`s the 8-year-old, enduring and what should they do?

DIENA THOMPSON, MOTHER OF MURDERED GIRL: I`m sure they`re enduring, you know, magnitudes of grief and all different kinds of emotions.

As far as Misty and Daniel, you know, it`s unfortunate that they feel like they`re the suspects. But like the other guest had said, I would invite them fully into my home and let them do whatever they need to do. If you`re truly innocent, then all of this is not going to matter at the end.
As far as the other girl`s parents, I`m sure they`re just mortified, since I`m assuming one of them was visiting. They just need to hold tight and cooperate as much as they possibly can and put aside the fact that the police think that they`re the suspects. Because unfortunately, a majority of the time it is someone that the child knows.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

BROUSSEAU: Dan`s cooperating 100 percent. His relationship with Lyric was a good relationship. Would Dan ever do something like this? Harm his children? Absolutely not.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

VELEZ-MITCHELL: Now, one of our senior producers, Selin Darkalstanian, has been speaking at length with the various family members involved in this tragic disappearance, this double disappearance. So I want to bring you in, Selin.

Explain the back story here, the family dynamic. You`ve got little Elizabeth who`s 8, that`s her right there. That`s 10-year-old Lyric. And you`ve got Elizabeth`s parents and then you`ve got Lyric`s parents. Lyric`s parents are the ones with the criminal histories who have become the focus. What is the family dynamic?

SELIN DARKALSTANIAN, PRODUCER: Lyric and Elizabeth`s parents are sisters. And Lyric`s parents have been in and out of jail for years on drug charges. So Elizabeth`s mom has raised these kids, basically. Lyric has been staying with Elizabeth`s family.

And Heather is like a mom to Elizabeth because, you know, she`s been - - her mom has been gone in and out of jail. So we know that they`re more than cousins; they`re more like sisters. They`ve grown up together. And, you know, this is that family dynamic due to the drugs.

VELEZ-MITCHELL: The families of these missing girls say please don`t be distracted by this one aspect of our past. Focus on possible suspects. Police were asked if they tracked down all the sex offenders in the area. Listen to their response.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: What can you tell us about the registered sex offenders in the area?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I know that they`ve been talked to. And everyone has been cleared. So we have no concerns with that.

(END VIDEO CLIP)
VELEZ-MITCHELL: Now, Steve Kardian, former police detective, how -- there`s 241 registered sex offenders in this small town of Evansdale, Iowa, and the surrounding area. How in the world can police say so quickly -- and this was a couple of days ago they said that, that they`ve tracked down each and every one of these sex offenders and made sure they had absolutely no connection? How is that possible?

STEVE KARDIAN, FORMER POLICE DETECTIVE: It doesn`t sound possible, Jane. You have 200-something registered sex offenders in a population of just 4,000 plus. So it`s virtually impossible. It`s something that they can`t put away, they can`t put it away yet.

They are focusing on the father. The first thing we do in a police investigation after we take the initial report and speak to the parents is we run a criminal history. And that criminal history that he has is raising many red flags. That`s why they`re focusing on him. And they will continue to focus on him. And hopefully branch out into other areas, should he not deem to be the one.

VELEZ-MITCHELL: But I understand their point. There are so many other possible leads.

Take this example. Two days after these girls vanished on Friday there was a very troubling arrest in Cedar Rapids, which is just 40 miles away from where they vanished.

Now, a 59-year-old, Robin Gelson (ph), is accused of impersonating a police officer. He was, according to cops, driving an SUV and tried to get a mother -- ordered her in saying he was a cop. Now, he`s been arrested and released.

But oh my gosh, T.J. Hart, co-host of "Des Moines Morning News," you`re in the area. Are they getting too narrowly focused with all this focus on the parents and talking to the parents and knocking on their hotel room door?

T.J. HART, CO-HOST, "DES MOINES MORNING NEWS" (via phone): Well, one could justifiably say, perhaps, if you were someone just looking into this, this has so many similarities to other stories that we`ve covered here on this show as a matter of fact over the past couple of years. But, no, the parents -- you`ve got to really go through this with a fine tooth comb with them because you just don`t know what you might be missing.

And when a child goes missing, chances are the parents or the family have some kind of connection to whether they might know something or know someone who could possibly be involved in that. That`s your best scoop right there as far as getting information, your best pile of information right off the bat. And then you go out into the other branches.

We have 241 sex offenders in a short time, I remember in Satsuma, Florida, covering another situation a very similar to this where the child is yet to be found. They had a great number of child -- or sex offenders, period. And it took a little bit longer to get through with them, but within a matter of days they had those all cleared up. But they actually had one man that was not where he was supposed to have been and they kept him in jail for a good long time.

VELEZ-MITCHELL: I`m sorry, T.J.. Let me go to Kenny in Indiana. I want to go to the phone lines. Kenny in Indiana. Your question or thought, Kenny. Hey, Kenny?

CALLER: Yes.

VELEZ-MITCHELL: Hey, your question or thought, Kenny in Indiana?

CALLER: OK. I guess you`re thinking about what your question or thought is. Get back to us when you figure that out.

Listen, I want to go back to Howard Samuels. You`re an addiction specialist. Here`s what occurs to me. First of all, why would the judge send Misty to a halfway House. And what sort of people might she come in contact with at the halfway House?

SAMUELS: Well, first of all, I think the judge sending her to a halfway house was a very good move. I mean, all addicts if they get arrested and go through the criminal justice system need to go to treatment in halfway houses. That should be a requirement.

Secondly, the people she`s going to meet at the halfway house are going to be other newly sober addicts and alcoholics. Some that will be serious about the recovery, but others that are just there biding their time until they can go out and use again. So there`s going to be a mixed kind of population at the halfway House, some good, some bad.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

VELEZ-MITCHELL: Take a look at this. We`re talking about a possible abduction with these two missing girls. This is an actual attempted abduction that was caught on surveillance camera. This happening in Philadelphia right on the streets of Philadelphia.

Watch it again as a man attempts to abduct a 10-year-old girl. She reportedly kicked and screamed and bit him. And her little brother screamed, as well. And he just got scared and raced away.

There was an arrest later. Thank God for surveillance video. A man was arrested and is being charged.

But Diena Thompson, activist and one of my heroes. A woman who has shown such incredible grace in the face of the unimaginable, the abduction and murder of her own precious daughter, Somer Thompson, these parents that are going through this, OK, the one family they`re not perfect. They`re separated. They`ve had these drug issues. But that doesn`t mean -- I want to emphasize, that doesn`t mean it had anything to do with their child`s disappearance.

And I can only imagine the hell that they`re going through losing their child and then to have their entire life the most embarrassing aspect, secrets of their life spilled before the world -- Diena.

THOMPSON: You know, everything you said is true. It takes me back to October 19, 2009, all over again. It`s really hard to be the focus. It`s such a private thing to go through, but it`s so very public.

But unfortunately, when you`re put into these boats, if you will, into these situations, you`re going to just have to roll with the punches and just do and cooperate with the police however you can.

VELEZ-MITCHELL: Steve Kardian, former police detective. Yes, obviously, they -- it takes a couple of computer searches. They found out that the parents, the mother and the father of the oldest girl, have this criminal history involving methamphetamine. And that`s a very serious drug. In fact, we can show you this, what`s called "The Faces of Meth." It shows you how people change when they become addicted to meth often. And take a look at, because it`s horrifying.

But , these are people not connected with this case. They`re just meth addicts and you see before and after, hopefully in recovery. They`ve got to follow other leads, as well, Steve.

KARDIAN: Yes, Jane, they should be following other leads. They likely know something that we don`t know that is leading them to press the family, the husband and the wife, so severely.

We know that people that are on meth in my 30 years of law enforcement this is the worst drug. It is the worst people on this drug that I have ever dealt with. They would prostitute their children. They would kill their family. They would sell their children for money for the drugs.

So, yes, law enforcement likely has information that they`re not sharing with us at this moment in time.


VELEZ-MITCHELL: But I want to say this. Misty, I`ve talked to her for several days. I would -- everything I know about human nature tells me that she is not a bad person. That she is a woman who is in a very bad spot. There but for the grace of God or he who is without sin cast the first stone. I say that as a recovering alcoholic with 17 years of sobriety. We must show compassion to this family. And never assume.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
 ::snipping2::

http://transcripts.cnn.com/TRANSCRIPTS/ng.html
NANCY GRACE
Missing Girls` Family Frustrated by Police Lake Search
Aired July 19, 2012 - 20:00   ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.


NANCY GRACE, HOST: Breaking news tonight, live, Cedar Falls. Two little girls, 10-year-old Lyric, her little cousin, 8-year-old Elizabeth, riding their bikes downtown Evansdale, lunchtime, broad daylight. Police then discover the two girls` bikes, Collins`s little purple purse and a play cell phone near Meyers Lake.

Thousands join the search as initial lake-dragging efforts reveal nothing. Experts say kidnap the most likely scenario. Criminologists say it`s as if the two little girls simply vanished off the face of the earth.

Bombshell tonight. Daddy storms out on police after they accuse him of murder. But our investigation reveals Daddy`s miles away when the girls disappear, at his mother`s house with his 15-year-old son in tow. Tonight, both families claim police won`t listen, that the two girls are not at the bottom of the lake.

In the last hours, the home attic searched and the girl`s brother`s computer seized. As precious hours slip away draining Meyers Lake, why would two little girls go swimming fully clothed and wearing their shoes? And tonight, why won`t police listen? Or are they? Fifty-two hours since the draining of Meyers Lake commenced. We are on standby.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: It is a completely baffling case.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Perplexing, and frankly, terrifying mystery.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Still no sign of missing Iowa cousins, Elizabeth Collins and Lyric Cook.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: (INAUDIBLE) leaving for a bike ride in Evansdale, Iowa.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: They play together every day.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Disappeared into thin air in broad daylight.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Meyers Lake remains the focus, since it`s the last place the girls were seen.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Most of the search activity still involves the lake.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: A federal dive team will search the deep pockets of water.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: After an entire weekend of searching, they have very few, if any, clues.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I`m thinking more and more that this was an abduction.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: (INAUDIBLE) taken our kids, just bring them back.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Really hits close to home.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: How someone got off with a 10-year-old and an 8- year-old at the same time.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: It`s just like they vanished.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: What happened to the girls?

(END VIDEO CLIP)
GRACE: Good evening. I`m Nancy Grace. I want to thank you for being with us.

Bombshell tonight. Live, Cedar Falls suburbs. Daddy storming out on police after they accuse him of murder. But our investigation reveals Daddy`s miles away when the girls disappear, at his own mother`s house with his 15-year-old son in tow.

Precious hours slipping away as the lake is being drained. And why would two little girls go swimming fully clothed and with their shoes on? And tonight, why won`t police listen? Or are they?

We are taking your calls. Straight out to Jim Spellman, CNN correspondent, joining us there at Meyers Lake. Jim, what`s happening?

JIM SPELLMAN, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Nancy, here at Meyers Lake, FBI teams using sonar equipment are on their way. By Friday morning at the latest, they expect to be in this water, using that sonar equipment to try to rule out this lake as having any valuable information, or indeed the girls themselves, in it.

Meanwhile, the police investigation is ever more focused on the family. Not only Monday night did Daniel, the father of Misty, (SIC) get up and storm out of an interview after police accused him of hurting his daughter, but last night, the family tells me they checked into a local hotel to try to get a little bit of a break from the media, and the police, and the same police officer went to their hotel room, banged on the door to again accuse Daniel of knowing what has happened to Misty, (SIC) of being involved in this.

All the while, troubling details coming out about the family -- past drug use, prison time. And interesting, Nancy, I want to tell you that we found out about the family`s prison history and the drug use when the family themselves came to me yesterday and said, Please investigate this. We know that this is going to come out. We want all of this out in the open. It`s not relevant to the investigation. Investigators...

GRACE: You know what? I agree with you, Jim. I don`t think it`s relevant to the investigation. Hence, my questions about the lake.

Listen, Jim Spellman, you`re one of the single best correspondents that CNN has to offer, but here`s some breaking news for you. If everybody that had a drug offense in their background was under suspicion of murder, about, oh, 50 percent of males in America would be behind bars right now, all right?

So I want to go back to the focus of this investigation. We`ve got the lake being drained. It`s over 50 hours since the draining of the lake. And it seems to be the entire focus of FBI and police. But both families are screaming tonight, Police are not listening to us, our girls are not at the bottom of the lake!

To Tammy Brousseau, joining us along with Jim Spellman there at Meyers Lake. She is the girls` aunt, the little girls, 8 and 10 years old, Elizabeth and Lyric. I want to go to you, Tammy Brousseau. Thank you for being with us.

I understand one of the fathers, Daniel, storms out on police after they accuse him. But what I want to get -- I want to find out tonight is if our investigation correct, that at the time the girls go missing -- and we`ve got a window -- a very narrow window of time, Ms. Brousseau, because the grandmother says, OK, go ride your bikes, girls. It`s 11:30 AM, lunchtime. By 2:00 o`clock, they`re already looking for the girls. That`s a very narrow window.

Our investigation shows Daniel, the father of one of these girls, is at his mother`s house with his teenage son in tow. Tell me if that`s correct or not.

TAMMY BROUSSEAU, AUNT OF MISSING GIRLS: That is correct. I know Dan and I know Dylan (ph) very well. Dan does not have a job right now. He is staying with his mother, Vickie (ph), in Waterloo. He doesn`t even have a car. He knew absolutely nothing about this.

When Mom -- I had met Mom at her house because we had had some plans. She had originally left. When Misty showed up to pick up Lyric, and Mom said, you know, The girls have been off and it`s been a little bit too long, but you know, you guys need to go find your kids, Tammy and I have some other things that we`re doing, and Tammy`s at the house.

So Mom came and got me. We got a phone call back from Drew (ph), Elizabeth`s father, saying, You guys need to get back here and help. So me and Mom jumped in the car, and right away we came back. Kelly -- we picked up Kelly, the 12-year-old son, and we started going to all these places that they`d already checked.

I said immediately to my mom, I said, Take me to Meyers Lake, take me to Meyers Lake. This is approximately a quarter to 2:00 when I asked -- or a quarter to 3:00 when I asked Mom to take me to Meyers Lake.
We pulled into Meyers Lake, right about where Jim and I are standing. And I got up and just jumped out and started asking random people, Have you seen two little girls, one on a mountain bike, you know, gave the complete descriptions of them. And a man -- they have his name. I don`t know who he is. He said to me, Yes, I seen two little girls going west on the bike trail.

And as you can see, it`s a small lake. It`s not a huge lake. So the bike trail wraps around and then comes back east, and that`s where the bikes were, in fact, found.

So when Misty had -- when they`d found the bikes and called us and told us, Misty was standing here with us, Misty immediately called Dan and Dan called his mother. She was at work. She took work off, and she hurried up and picked Dan and Dylan up and came down here and met us to start the search and all of that for the kids, yes.

GRACE: All right. Tammy Brousseau, you`re bringing up a horrible dream. I`ve got this horrible dream where I`m running and the street and I can`t find my 4-year-old twins. And I`m just stopping everybody, I`m shaking them, and I`m going, Have you seen -- and I`m trying to get the words out to describe John David and Lucy as fast as I can. I`m trying to describe them both at the same time.

And nobody`s seen anything, nobody`s heard anything. And I just -- as soon as I get -- I just start running, and I see the next person and I grab them and I`m grabbing them by the shirt and the shoulders saying, Have you seen them? Where are they? And the dream just goes on and on and on, and nobody`s seen anything.

And to hear you tell it, it`s just like that. You get out of the car and you just start running up to people and grabbing them and saying, Have you seen these girls?

Then what happened? Take it from there.

BROUSSEAU: OK. So then we watched the investigators put the crime scene tape up. They were down there for a very long time. I would say approximately three hours, maybe more, you know, doing their investigation.

And we went back around to the southeast side of the lake, where you can actually -- there is an old, like, sewer building. There`s an old garage that sits on this chunk of land that you can actually very easily go down a few blocks and access the back of the lake area from -- from that point you can.

And so, you know, my immediate gut feelings -- you know, because in just this 10-mile radius, there is 200 pedophiles that live in this 10-mile radius. And I`ve -- since the Johnny Gosch case has happened -- I have a 24-year-old daughter -- I have been -- that is every parent`s worst nightmare.

To me, it has always haunted me to see it to happen to other families, to watch your show. My heart bleeds for those people. You never think you`re going to be in this position.

But what I`m saying is, so I -- after the tape came down, I went back in that area and I started doing my own investigation, and looking around and seeing what I could see. And I could so feel that somebody had come down here, had been watching the girls for quite some time -- whether it even started as they left Heather and Mom`s place -- they`d been following them and watching them, seen them come down here.

They know the area very well, watched the girls go around the lake. He knew how to access the back because he seen them heading down there. You know, maybe they were down there, you know, standing on those rocks, tossing them in the water, as kids do.

Anyway -- and it was a very hot, lazy Friday. There wasn`t many people out. I kind of looked around to see because after where the bikes were dropped on the bike trail, there`s about 400 yards of forest, and then that grassy area where I`m telling you that somebody could easily access the bike trail from, park their car along that grassy forest and got out and had a knife or whatever it was, and said to the girls, you know, Get in this vehicle right now or it`s over with for you.

And I could so see that -- that, you know, happening because, you know, where -- where are the girls, you know?

(CROSSTALK)

GRACE: Well, I`ve got to ask you something. Everybody, with me and taking your calls is the aunt of the little girls. She`s there at Meyers Lake, taking your calls.

And this as the dad of the one of the girls has stormed out on police, as they accuse him of murder. Our investigation reveals that he was actually at his mother`s house at the time the girls go missing, and he had his 15-year-old boy with him. And his mother is there. Now, unless he`s lying, his mother is lying, and his teenage son are all lying, then he was somewhere else.

Not only that, we`ve been told he and the rest of the family have consented to volunteer to take polygraphs, and a lot of them have already taken polygraphs.
With me is Tammy Brousseau. OK, Tammy, a couple of questions. Number one, where you found the bikes, how far are the bikes from the actual water? How many feet?

BROUSSEAU: I would say probably 12 feet from the actual water.

GRACE: OK, so they could have gone down and they were playing at the water`s edge. But Tammy, we`ve got their bicycles. We`ve got their little purple purse. We`ve got a play cell phone, a cell phone that was only used for games, sitting there. But where are their shoes? Where are their clothes?

BROUSSEAU: Exactly. Exactly.

GRACE: So I`m supposed to believe these two girls jumped in with their shoes on?

BROUSSEAU: No, they didn`t. No. Lyric, Misty, myself and my 11- year-old daughter, we have spent the summer swimming almost every day. Elizabeth had black high-top tennis shoes on. Lyric had her flip-flops on. If they were going to go for a swim, yes, they might have went in in their clothes and got wet. They know they would have gotten in trouble for it, but they might have done that. But they would have certainly kicked their shoes off at the water`s edge.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: No sign of two missing Iowa girls. It`s as though they disappeared into thin air in broad daylight.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: It is a completely baffling case.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Hundreds of people are helping in the search for Elizabeth Collins and Lyric Cook.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Their bikes were found, but there`s no sign of them.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: After an entire weekend of searching, they have very few, if any, clues.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Their bicycles were found by a lake, but the mother of one of the girls doubts they would have gone there on their own.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: It`s not an area that they frequented. They didn`t go far from home, either of the girls.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: It`s like they just vanished.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Family members do fear that someone abducted the cousins, but so far, investigators have found nothing.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

GRACE: We are taking your calls. Joining me there at Meyers Lake is CNN correspondent, one of the best, Jim Spellman. Also with us, the aunt of the missing girls, little Lyric and Elizabeth.

They`re just 8 and 10 years old. They go riding their bikes from their grandma`s house. She goes, OK, hurry back for lunch, 11:30 AM, broad daylight. They`re never seen alive again.

Where are they? It`s been over 50 hours since the draining of Meyers Lake commenced, and the family is trying to tell police, they are not in this lake. The dad storms out on police after they accuse him of murder. But our investigation reveals he was somewhere entirely different at the time the girls go missing. With us, Tammy Brousseau, the girl`s aunt, taking your calls.

Out to the lines. Ariel in Iowa. Hi, Ariel. What`s your question?

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: The question I have is, why do they keep searching the lake when they`ve dragged it and know that the girls wouldn`t be in there? Because if they dragged it, something would have to show up.

GRACE: To Dave Badali, police diving instructor, joining me out of Sarasota. Dave, Ariel in Iowa has a point. They have dredged the lake. That means they -- you explain to the viewers for me where they go along with that giant hook, that claw, hook and pull.

DAVE BADALI, POLICE DIVING INSTRUCTOR: Well, Nancy, you know, dredging and dragging are two different things. And you know, dragging behind a small boat with a net and some hooks, you can pick up some articles, but not everything. Dredging, again, will bring up a lot of stuff off the bottom.

I think right now, what they`re waiting on is the side-sonar to begin because the FBI dive team will employ some high-definition side-sonar with color imaging. And if there`s anything in that lake, they will be able to find it, Nancy.

GRACE: To Jim Spellman. He`s bringing up a good point, Dave Badali. There`s a difference between dredging and dragging. What have they done in the lake so far?

SPELLMAN: They went out with boats and they were using poles (ph), sometimes with nets on the bottom, to go around the lake, that way.

Our understanding of the approach they`re going to take with two kinds of sonar, 360-degree sonar and side-sonar, is that within this lake, there are several deeper sections, up to 20 feet deep that draining the lake wouldn`t even empty. So they`re pausing now because they need at least about 6 feet of water to effectively do this. So they`re pausing now to bring in -- to inspect those deeper sections.

But I have to say, none of the investigators I`ve spoken with here are optimistic that they`re going to find anything in the lake.

GRACE: I want to go back to the aunt of the missing girls. This is Tammy Brousseau. She`s taking your calls, everybody. Tammy, the family is saying police is not listening to them, that the girls are not at the bottom of that lake. Why are you so convinced?

BROUSSEAU: I`m so convinced because, like you said, their shoes should have been there. They would have kicked their shoes off. They knew that they should have been home at a certain time. They knew, you know, at this hour, it had been too long. They had been gone from home too long.

Just a week prior to this incident, my 11-year-old and Lyric out in my neighborhood had taken off, and my daughter knows that I only allow her to go a few blocks. We have a popsicle lady out there who hands out popsicles...

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

GRACE: We are taking your calls. Straight out to Katie in New York. Hi, Katie. What`s your question?

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Hi. My question is, isn`t it unlikely that someone would try to kidnap two children at the same time? Wouldn`t that be an unlikely scenario?

GRACE: I agree. I agree completely. To Jesse Gavin, the news director at KCNZ. What`s the police theory on two girls being kidnapped at the same time?

JESSE GAVIN, KCNZ (via telephone): Well, Nancy, they haven`t really expressed any theories at this point about a possible abduction. They`re not even calling it an abduction or a kidnapping at this point, because they want to see exactly what happens when they get the lake -- well, they`re not going to drain it anymore, but when they get the results back from some of these sonar tests of the lake.

I agree with you, I don`t think that that would be the most likely of scenarios, but at this point, there isn`t a whole lot to go off of. As we`ve said a couple of times, the only evidence we really have to work with are the two bikes, the purse, and that phone that were found there by the lake.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: It is a completely baffling case.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Perplexing, and frankly, terrifying mystery.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Still no sign of missing Iowa cousins Elizabeth Collins and Lyric Cook.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Last seen leaving for a bike ride in Evansdale, Iowa.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: They play together every day.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Disappeared into thin air, in broad daylight.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

GRACE: We are live at Meyers Lake and taking your calls. And I`m telling you -- Tammy Brousseau, you`re the girls` aunt. You know them better than any of us. Would they have jumped in fully clothed? Have you ever known them to do that?

And I`m just hung up on their shoes. Their bikes` there, their little purple purse, their little cell phone, that`s play cell phone, it`s all there. Well, where are their shoes?

BROUSSEAU: Yes, they would have never have done that. They just wouldn`t have. The shoes would have been found on the shore.

GRACE: What about their personalities, Tammy? Is one more adventurous than the other one? Would one have made the other one jump in fully clothed?

BROUSSEAU: Lyric is a little bit more, you know -- you know, I can`t really even answer that question, honestly. They`re both -- they`re spontaneous. But Elizabeth had tennis shoe high-tops on. She would have taken those off, for sure. She wouldn`t have jumped in with those on.

GRACE: No.

BROUSSEAU: I don`t believe either one of them would have wanted to show back up with mama -- with grandma babysitting and they`re soaking wet. They would have been in trouble.

GRACE: And let me get this straight. To you --

BROUSSEAU: So, no, I don`t believe they`re in the water. No.

GRACE: To you, Ellie Jostad, and I`m only rushing because I want to get all this information out to our viewers.

Ellie, the father, Daniel, the father of one of the girls, storms out on police after they accuse him, during a meeting, of murder. All right? Isn`t it true that our investigation shows, A, that both families have been cooperative with police, that they`ve either taken polygraphs or they`ve volunteered to take polygraphs, the whole kit and caboodle.

Not only that, tell me about the dad, Daniel, being at his mother`s house with his teenage son at the time the girls go missing, in a different location.

ELLIE JOSTAD, NANCY GRACE CHIEF EDITORIAL PRODUCER: Right, Nancy. Well, what the police are saying is that the family does continue to cooperate. And Lyric`s parents have both told us that they have taken polygraphs. Now, the father of Lyric, Dan Morrissey, he was at his mother`s house in Waterloo. That`s, you know, miles away. It`s the next town over from where the girls were last seen leaving grandma`s house. So, you know, he says he was there, he was taking a nap, his teenage son was in the house as well as his mother. And, you know, he was there when he got the call these girls were missing and immediately helped to start to look for them.

GRACE: OK, so this grandmother where they were, who was just with us about 72 hours ago, pleading for the return of the girls, that`s not the mother he was with, right? The grandmother?

JOSTAD: That`s right, Nancy, he was with his mother.

GRACE: OK.

JOSTAD: The girls were at, you know, the mother`s mother`s house.

GRACE: Got it. Got it.

Everybody, we are taking your calls.

To you, Dr. Vincent Dimaio, former chief medical examiner, Bexar County, forensic pathologist, joining me tonight out of San Antonio -- Dr. Dimaio, I don`t know any delicate way to put this, but isn`t it true that unless both girls` bodies were tangled up in something down at the bottom of that lake, just assume they jumped in fully clothed and wearing high-top tennis shoes and flip-flops, all right? Just don`t -- just go with that, which doesn`t make sense to me.

But if they did, and they managed to swim all the way out to the middle of the lake, and go down, and get tangled up somehow, they`re not weighted down, get tangled up in brush, other than getting tangled up in brush, wouldn`t their bodies have floated to the top? They would have surfaced by now?

DR. VINCENT DIMAIO, M.D., FORMER CHIEF MEDICAL EXAMINER, BEXAR COUNTY, FORENSIC PATHOLOGIST: Yes, because of the heat in that area and the number of days, the bodies would have decomposed. Postmortem gas would have formed and they would have bobbed up to the top of the lake.

In addition, even if they were partially tangled down there, the gas would be coming up to the top of the lake and the cadaver dogs would be going wild, because they could -- they would be able to smell that gas.

GRACE: You know what, you just brought up a really good point, Dr. Dimaio.

Dr. Dimaio, dogs have been brought in. If the girls were underwater at that lake, a cadaver dog can smell decaying human decomp through water.

DIMAIO: That`s correct.

GRACE: Back to you, Jim Spellman, CNN correspondent, joining me at Meyers Lake, along with the girls` aunt.

Jim, dogs have been brought in. FBI dogs have been brought in. They didn`t go berserk, as if there is a dead body in that lake. If you put a dog, a cadaver dog in a boat, Jim, and you take it across the lake, it will go berserk if it smells human decomp in that lake. They can smell through the water, Jim.

JIM SPELLMAN, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Absolutely. But, Nancy, I really want -- I want to make a point here. They`re really not putting a lot of resources into draining this lake. There`s maybe about two or three people at a time manning the pump, and they`re going to do this really just to absolutely rule this out.

I think much more of the thrust of this investigation is on the family, not only the interrogations we`ve talked about, yesterday when I was with family members, investigators asked for a key to an attic to search the grandmother`s attic. The family complied, no search warrants. They asked if they could take family computers, they said, sure, no search warrants.

They`ve been really focusing on the family, as far as the public part of the investigation that we can see, as much if not more than on this lake, Nancy.

GRACE: But Tammy Brousseau, talking about that laptop, that computer that was seized, doesn`t that computer belong to a 12-year-old boy?

BROUSSEAU: That computer was actually when Misty and Dan had their own home. Not too long ago when they had their own home, there was a couple of computers there. One was given to them by a friend. One had Internet access, for only a short period of time. So it was used mostly for like Word, you know? There wasn`t a lot of activity via Internet --

GRACE: Who was using it, Tammy?

BROUSSEAU: So --

GRACE: Who was using it?

BROUSSEAU: Dylan, the 16-year-old son of Misty and Dan would use it. Lyric would use it. Misty would use it. I don`t -- I`m not sure if Dan would get on it or not. But those were the computers taken from my mom`s. And when asked if they could, you know, have them, Misty told the FBI, go, take them, take whatever you want. You know, yes, take them. Take our phones, take everything. You know, we just -- we want to focus on the girls and getting them back.

GRACE: Unleash the lawyers. Kelly Saindon, former prosecutor --

BROUSSEAU: You know, I --

(CROSSTALK)

GRACE: What was that, Tammy Brousseau?

BROUSSEAU: I just wanted to say one more thing, you know, about those bloodhounds that were brought in by the FBI. They did one at a time. One for Elizabeth and one for Lyric. And I was explain to you, so the bikes were found right where those -- the rocky area is, where they`re guessing the girls may have entered the lake at.

But I was there, I watched the bloodhounds continue on into this dense forest area, which is about 400 yards. I watched them go into that area and they positively identified both girls were at that location.

GRACE: Right, at the edge of the water.

BROUSSEAU: And --

GRACE: Go ahead.

BROUSSEAU: Yes, not, you know, not at the -- just at the edge of the water. If you continue on down the bike trail east, there is about approximately 400 acres of forest, dense forest to the left side, and that is where the dogs continued on to and picked up the girls` scent. And that`s when they stopped and brought the dog back and they did the next dog.

The next dog positively identified the next girl`s person to be in that forest. And that`s kind of where I believe it went cold for them. The dogs couldn`t pick up anymore scent. I`m not saying for sure that they couldn`t pick up more scent and go on further, but that is where the investigators stopped, brought the dogs back, told us that, yes, the dogs positively identified the girls to go past the site where the bikes were dropped and farther on into the forest.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED REPORTER: Vanished into thin air.

UNIDENTIFIED REPORTER: Eight-year-old Elizabeth Collins and 10-year- old Lyric Cook.

UNIDENTIFIED REPORTER: They went for a bike ride then simply vanished.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: My mom called and said, you know what, I can`t find the kids. They`ve been out riding their bikes.

UNIDENTIFIED REPORTER: The bicycles were found at a nearby lake, hours after the girls were reported missing.
SPELLMAN: On this side of the lake, people live here. Their backyards are right back up to this lake.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: It`s just baffling to try to figure out the pieces to the puzzle.

UNIDENTIFIED REPORTER: One of the girl`s purses was found not too far away in some bushes.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I pray God brings them home safe to us.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

GRACE: We are taking your calls. Unleash the lawyers. Kelly Saindon, Chicago, Seema Iyer, New York, John Manuelian, New York.

Kelly Saindon, Jim Spellman is telling us the cops are focusing on the family. And I get it. Great, focus on the family, because that`s normally where every investigation starts. But it seems to me that that focus has gone on too long. Even our sources can confirm that the dad was with his mother and teenage son, miles away, when the girls went missing. Unless just everybody`s lying.

KELLY SAINDON, FAMILY LAW ATTORNEY: You know, Nancy, we`ve seen that, though. We have seen where people are lying, and the issue is, I think, with no other leads right now, they are putting pressure on the family. There is a criminal background. And you know this from a prosecution standpoint. They`re looking to make sure that every T is crossed, every I is dotted.

And so while it`s very frustrating for the family, they have to take a deep breath and understand the police are doing the best they can with the resources that they have.

GRACE: Put her up, please.

SAINDON: And so nobody wants --

GRACE: Kelly Saindon. Listen.

SAINDON: Yes.

GRACE: I`ve been in the system. I have been working with police since I got out of law school in 1984, all right? I`m on their side. But in this case, now I`m a mother, Manuelian, and when I see the sand in the hourglass trickling down, you know the deal, people. Let`s not sugarcoat it. Every hour that pass -- that passes right now means one more hour that the girls could be killed, if they are, in fact, still alive.

Minutes count, Manuelian.


JOHN MANUELIAN, DEFENSE ATTORNEY: Absolutely. And obviously, these police officers are looking in -- for the best interest of Elizabeth and Lyric. They`re doing everything they can. You know they are trying to cross their T`s and dot their I`s. Time is of the essence, so they`re doing everything they can, including interviewing the father, the mother, and everybody so that they can rule out and possibly hone in on the actual disappearance and where these girls went.

GRACE: All right. Seema Iyer, defense attorney, don`t just fall over in a dead faint, but I`m not so sure this honing in on the father, Daniel, right now, I`m not so sure that that`s the way to go on this. You know maybe cops know something that I don`t know. I`m sure they do, but it`s hard for me to believe that his mother would lie -- lie for him because she`s also the grandmother of these children, of one of these little girls. She`s the -- she`s the paternal grandmother.

Now, look, my mom might lie for me, but I`m telling you, not over my children. She, a grandmother, no, I don`t see it.

SEEMA IYER, DEFENSE ATTORNEY: Well, putting aside that he cooks meth at home and is accused of domestic violence, let`s talk about the kidnapping option.

Nancy, you and I both know that an experienced kidnapper will look at two little girls as prey, knowing that these two little girls, they are cousins, so one little girl is not going to let the other girl go without her. So an experienced kidnapper knows that one is as good as two.

GRACE: You know what, she`s got a point. Dr. Bethany Marshall, psychoanalyst, author of "Dealbreakers," let`s hear your theory.

BETHANY MARSHALL, PSYCHOANALYST, AUTHOR OF "DEALBREAKERS": Well, you know, most child abductions occur at the hands of noncustodial caretakers. And so I would cast a wider net with this family, not the primary family, but who were the relatives who were interested in this children? That computer might lead -- yield very important clues.

Nancy, the aunt talks about the little girls as if they`re still alive. She`s using present tense. I think that lifts the veil of suspicion regarding the primary family, don`t you think? Because when the family is involved, they always talk about the missing person as if that person is deceased. She is not doing that.

But what about Uncle Fester or the guy down the block or the babysitter that they were allowing to have access to these children, noncustodial caretakers, and now the family has some degree of guilt and cover-up, because of the access they allowed.

GRACE: Bethany, everything you`re saying is correct, Bethany. As usual. But the reality is, also, the facts. The facts are that the grandmother, who came on with me and answered questions, she`s not afraid of the glaring light of the cameras. You`d have to believe somehow, what, she`s in on it? Because the girls take off on bicycles to go bicycling? So, who, somebody trailing them? A family member trailing them in the car? I don`t -- I just don`t see it.

MARSHALL: You know what, Nancy, though family members notoriously cover up for their own. Mothers do for children, even when a grandchildren -- grandchild goes missing. So I think there is a very real possibility of that.

GRACE: Everyone, a quick break, but I want to remind you about our family album, showing your photos. Here are our California friends, the Drakes. They love to the travel, whale watch, camping trips. Share your photos at iReport Family Album, hlnTV.com/Nancygrace and click on "Nancy`s Family Album."

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED REPORTER: Two girls on a summer bike ride had disappeared.

BROUSSEAU: It`s very baffling to understand how someone got off with a 10-year-old and an 8-year-old at the same time. It`s as though they disappeared into thin air in broad daylight.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

GRACE: Out to the lines, Judy in Iowa. Hi, dear, what`s your question?

JUDY, CALLER FROM IOWA: I was wondering, if they -- I don`t believe they fell in the river and drowned, because the bodies, wouldn`t they have surfaced by now?

GRACE: You know, back to you, Dr. Dimaio, if they fell in while throwing rocks out, I think there`s very little likelihood their bodies would have gotten tangled up in anything at the bottom of the lake. I don`t see that. The only way they would be at the bottom of that lake is if they were taken out and then went down. They wouldn`t have gone out wearing their shoes. So, wouldn`t they have surfaced by now, Dr. Dimaio?

DIMAIO: Yes, they would have been on the surface by now due to decomposition.

GRACE: To Steve Moore, former fed with the FBI. Weigh in, Steve.

STEVE MOORE, FORMER FED WITH THE FBI: I have actually worked with the very team that`s going out there to side scan the lake f they are in there they`ll find it. I think sometimes we`re not thinking about the possibility that they may be looking at this as the fact that they were dumped in the lake, weighed down.

And I`m not sure that there would be decomposition coming to the surface yet. But it`s something that -- why would you not want at least this eliminated? The L.A. team isn`t taking resources away from the search for the girls.

GRACE: I`m not saying stop the draining. I`m just saying, focus out, get off the family, just for a minute, and focus out.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: We have two missing girls and we have no idea why.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Very outdoorsy.

UNIDENTIFIED REPORTER: Last seen leaving for a bike ride in Evansdale, Iowa, on Friday.


UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: And they play together every day.

UNIDENTIFIED REPORTER: Disappeared into thin air in broad daylight.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: It really hits close to home.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: We are bracing for the worst but hoping for the best.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

GRACE: Where are little Lyric and her cousin, take a look very carefully, Elizabeth? Just 8 and 10 years old.

Out to the lines, Diane in Kentucky. Hi, dear, what`s your question? Oops. Patty in Florida. Hi, Patty. What is your question?

PATTY, CALLER FROM FLORIDA: Hi, Nancy. I`d like to thank you first for all the work you do for missing children.

GRACE: Thank you.

PATTY: And also I`d like to ask you if the child predators in the area have been looked at and if they are -- if the police are allowed to enter their premises without a warrant.

GRACE: To -- very quickly give me an answer on this one, John Manuelian, if they are under parole or probation, they can have spot searches in their home, yes/no?

MANUELIAN: Absolutely. They could give up their search and seizure conditions.

GRACE: That`s right. Diane in Kentucky. Question?

DIANE, CALLER FROM KENTUCKY: yes, ma`am. Are they also searching in the wooded area where the dogs went?

GRACE: Good question. Out to the aunt of Elizabeth and Lyric, just 8 and 10, Tammy Brousseau.

Did they search out in the woods?

BROUSSEAU: Yes. That area is very small. It`s not real huge. Yes. It`s been combed through over and over repeatedly. Yes.

GRACE: To you, Miss Brousseau, Tammy, what is your message tonight?

BROUSSEAU: My message tonight is whoever has them, please let them go. We need our girls back. They are probably so scared. They are wanting their mothers and fathers.

We love you, Lyric and Elizabeth. If you can see this, we are here. We are waiting. Please, see into your heart, whoever has them, return our kids home.

GRACE: Everyone, the tip line, 319-232-6682.
 ::snipping2::

He may be back in Iowa Department of Corrections. ::MonkeyShocked::

http://www.doc.state.ia.us/OffenderInfo.asp

Today!!!  July 20,2012

Daniel Eugene Morrissey  1085521  06/17/1976 

http://www.doc.state.ia.us/OffenderInfo.asp   ::MonkeyShocked::

Sea...all I can find on his DOC listing is that he has completed everything according to his end dates?  I just went into Offender area, should I be looking somewhere else?  You know me, I'm always in the wrong place, all the time, lol!!!!

Melisb,

Snap!

Sorry. My security gizmos, prevented me from clicking on his name, and I assumed, he is in.

Hymm...drat...Rats..



http://www.doc.state.ia.us/OffenderInfo.asp
Daniel Eugene Morrissey  1085521  06/17/1976

http://www.desmoinesregister.com/article/20120720/NEWS/120720015/1042/LIFE02/?odyssey=nav%7C

http://www.documentcloud.org/documents/402951-state-of-iowa-vs-daniel-morrissey-complaint.html


http://www.documentcloud.org/documents/402950-daniel-morrissey-motion-for-pretrial-supervision.html

http://www.documentcloud.org/documents/403093-daniel-morrissey-modified-order-of-protection.html

That's okay Sea...I think we were hoping the same thing!  Drats is right!

 ::MonkeyHaHa::  ::rhino::

 

   

http://wcfcourier.com/news/local/the-hunt-for-elizabeth-and-lyric-missing-girls-case-now/article_507d9bca-d2b1-11e1-8f0b-0019bb2963f4.html

The hunt for Elizabeth and Lyric: Missing girls case now called an abduction
Posted: Friday, July 20, 2012 6:15 pm

EVANSDALE, Iowa --- Authorities said Friday they are now classifying the week-old disappearance of Elizabeth Collins and Lyric Cook-Morrissey as an abduction.
 
Capt. Rick Abben said a $50,000 reward is being offered for information that leads to the arrest and conviction of the person or persons responsible in this case.
 
"Investigators are confident that the two girls are not in Meyers Lake," Abben said.
 
Abben said investigators have also "obtained evidence" that was forwarded to the Iowa Division of Criminal Investigation lab in Ankeny.
 
He would not say when or how the evidence was obtained. He also said there are no suspects.
 ::snipping2::

Read More: http://wcfcourier.com/news/local/the-hunt-for-elizabeth-and-lyric-missing-girls-case-now/article_507d9bca-d2b1-11e1-8f0b-0019bb2963f4.html#ixzz21DcfYSdX

seahorse: I did a search and there is nothing for today's date. This is the only info I saw from your link:


Name    Daniel Eugene Morrissey
Offender Number    1085521
Sex    M
Birth Date    06/17/1976
Age    36
Location    
Offense    
County Of Commitment    
Commitment Date    
Duration    
TDD/SDD *    
* TDD = Tentative Discharge Date
* SDD = Supervision Discharge Date

Supervision Status    Offense Class    County of Commitment    End Date
Parole     D Felony     Black Hawk     03/11/2011

Supervision Status    Offense Class    County of Commitment    End Date
Parole     Felony - Enhancement to Original Penalty     Black Hawk     12/20/2010

Supervision Status    Offense Class    County of Commitment    End Date
Work Release     D Felony     Black Hawk     02/18/2010
Work Release     Felony - Enhancement to Original Penalty     Black Hawk     02/18/2010

Supervision Status    Offense Class    County of Commitment    End Date
Prison     D Felony     Black Hawk     01/14/2010
Prison     Felony - Enhancement to Original Penalty     Black Hawk     01/14/2010

Supervision Status    Offense Class    County of Commitment    End Date
Parole     Felony - Enhancement to Original Penalty     Black Hawk     10/29/2008

Supervision Status    Offense Class    County of Commitment    End Date
Work Release     Felony - Enhancement to Original Penalty     Black Hawk     12/14/2006

Supervision Status    Offense Class    County of Commitment    End Date
Prison     Felony - Enhancement to Original Penalty     Black Hawk     09/18/2006

Supervision Status    Offense Class    County of Commitment    End Date
Prison     D Felony     Black Hawk     05/10/2006

Supervision Status    Offense Class    County of Commitment    End Date
Probation     D Felony     Black Hawk     06/04/2004

Supervision Status    Offense Class    County of Commitment    End Date
Probation     Serious Misdemeanor     Black Hawk     08/23/2002

Supervision Status    Offense Class    County of Commitment    End Date
Parole     D Felony     Black Hawk     07/30/2000

Supervision Status    Offense Class    County of Commitment    End Date
Probation     Aggravated Misdemeanor     Black Hawk     01/25/1999
Probation     D Felony     Black Hawk     01/25/1999
Probation     Serious Misdemeanor     Black Hawk     01/25/1999

Supervision Status    Offense Class    County of Commitment    End Date
Probation     Serious Misdemeanor     Black Hawk     11/17/1997

http://www.kcrg.com/news/local/Friends-Family-Hold-Vigil-For-Missing-Girls.html (http://www.kcrg.com/news/local/Friends-Family-Hold-Vigil-For-Missing-Girls.html)

Friends, Family Hold Vigil For Missing Girls
By Chris Earl, Reporter



Story Created: Jul 20, 2012 at 11:05 PM CDT

Story Updated: Jul 20, 2012 at 11:31 PM CDT
EVANSDALE, Iowa – As the search for two missing girls reaches a full week, investigators say the girls are not where they left their bikes on July 13.

“Investigators are confident the two girls are not in Meyers Lake,” said Black Hawk County Chief Deputy Rick Abben in a Friday afternoon news conference. “This case is now being handled as an abduction.”

FBI search teams spent several hours at Meyers Lake before the boats and crews left the area just after 2 p.m. Friday.

Lyric Cook, 10, and Elizabeth Collins, 8, were last seen on Friday afternoon on their bikes in downtown Evansdale. Hours later, investigators discovered their bikes near the southeast edge of Meyers Lake, close to Interstate 380.

By 5 p.m. on Friday, a deputy was removing the yellow police tape that surrounded the northern edge of Meyers Lake.

“There will be less of a police presence there and they’ve stopped draining the lake,” said Abben.
 ::snipping2::

Sassi, Thank-you.



What are the chances that a well-meaning, but misguided elderly couple took the kids, to keep LCM, from her father? far fetched...I know.  Perhaps, in someone's mind they
thought LCM, would be in better hands and away from her environment. 

Why did Lyric clean daily at her paternal Grandma's?  This is where she was in trouble for not doing her chores?  Dad, brother, and other grandma could clean their own house.  Why was she cleaning the house daily?

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OXQOKoZYWWs&feature=youtube_gdata

5:59 / 6:59

Paternal grandma said Lizzie and Lyric came over daily to clean her house.

Maybe they got tired cleaning her house. Why did Lyric get into trouble for not

doing her chore,s the week before?  I only wished the reporter would have asked

paternal grandma that question.

Just food for thought -- I used to go to my great-grandmother's house every day to clean.  Now what my little mind considered cleaning and what an adult would consider cleaning were two different things.  But that was what I always told my mother -- I had to go clean.  My reward was tea and bisquits from my MamMam.  Such sweet memories.  Did I get in trouble for not doing my chores at home?  all the time.

Seahorse and Sassi:

Unless he violates the conditions of his bond, Dan Morrissey will not be incarcerated.

He has been placed in special needs supervision pre-trial services, which can and likely will include daily contact, possible monitoring and surveillance.   Iowa requires subpoenas to get any police reports or anything outside of basic docket information but I am told under the program, the suspects can be required to be subject to random drug testing as well.

Mr. Morrissey continues to be the focus of this investigation although it is my understanding Misty has not been cleared to date either.

Am I the only person that is reminded of the Cummings case with these two?

Sister, I was thinking the same.  I would go to my great-grandmother's to do yard work.  All I did was water flowers, sweep her porch and pick something for her vase.  But afterward, I got whatever sweet goodie she had made...chocolate pie, pound cake, cookies.  I looked forward to going to 'work'.  lol

My tougue is hanging out. YUM.

I cleaned often...but at home.  I dusted about everyday, because of the Steel Mills in Pittsburgh, soot was everywhere, inside and outside the house. Busy hands are a good thing. 
.

Today, 02:17 PM 
LilyPad

http://www.justicequest.net/forums/showthread.php?p=1675116
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

FBI "truly believes these girls are still alive". Says FBI has "physical evidence" but won't give specifics #evansdalesearch

by idaveprice via twitter 4:17 PM

 ::MonkeyEek::
I guess anyone can say anything on internet.  Let's hope this is true that the girls are alive.

Iowa Law Enforcement Reclassified Disappearance of Missing Cousins Elizabeth Collins & Lyric Cook-Morrissey as an Abduction


http://scaredmonkeys.com/2012/07/21/iowa-law-enforcement-reclassified-disappearance-of-missing-cousins-elizabeth-collins-lyric-cook-morrissey-as-an-abduction/

::snipping2::

Hmm ... wonder what this could be?

Thank-you, Blick for educating me.  A pee test, random test!  Great news, he is monitored.

Yes, this case reeks of the Cummings case.

The paternal grandmother gushed how Lyric liked to play with hair and make-up, just like Ron's mother went on about Haleighs love of playing with hair and make-up.  My stomach felt horrible, the paternal grandmother was petting a kitten on the video, while waiting for the lake to be drained.  I must come from Mars, I cannot see myself waiting for the water to be drained, if anyone was missing. IMO

http://www.kcrg.com/evansdaledisappearance

Commenting is closed but this chat will continue to provide updates

http://www.kcrg.com/

http://www.kcrg.com/news/local/FBI-Investigators-Believe-Missing-Girls-Are-Still-Alive-163296976.html


FBI: Investigators Believe Missing Girls Are Still Alive
Story Created: Jul 21, 2012 at 3:49 PM CDT
Story Updated: Jul 21, 2012 at 3:49 PM CDT

http://www.kcrg.com/evansdaledisappearance/Saturday-3PM-Update-Authorities-Hold-Daily-Press-Briefing-163297226.html

Saturday 3PM Update: Authorities Hold Daily Press Briefing
Story Created: Jul 21, 2012 at 3:54 PM CDT
Story Updated: Jul 21, 2012 at 3:54 PM CDT

Watch the entire FBI press conference with the media that took place at 3PM on Saturday, July 21, 2012.

http://www.foxnews.com/us/2012/07/21/investigators-believe-missing-iowa-girls-are-alive/?test=latestnews (http://www.foxnews.com/us/2012/07/21/investigators-believe-missing-iowa-girls-are-alive/?test=latestnews)

Investigators believe missing Iowa girls are alive

Published July 21, 2012

EVANSDALE, Iowa –  Investigators say they have evidence that leads them to believe two Iowa cousins who vanished last week are still alive.

FBI spokeswoman Sandy Breault said Saturday that authorities strongly believe 10-year-old Lyric Cook-Morrissey and 8-year-old Elizabeth Collins have not been killed.

She refused to say what led authorities to that conclusion, but told reporters that investigators are expanding their search beyond Iowa.

The announcement came a day after authorities said they believe the girls were abducted.
 ::snipping2::

Maybe two criminals have been schooling themselves on how to profit from what appears to be a "child abduction"?  They certainly would have many, many, creepy parents and grandparents to learn from!!!!!  I'm sure that locally and maybe even privately that particular family has been catered to because of the missing girls.  I don't know of any website or donation set up in their name but you and I both know that there are big hearted, well meaning people in this world ready to lend them a hand with just about anything and remain anonymous!

Hi Monkey's,

 Paternal Grandma Vicki said Lyric likes to play games on the computer.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OXQOKoZYWWs&feature=youtube_gdata

I wonder if the FBI has tracked Lyric and Elizabeth logging onto FB/games?

I don't care what DM's family or friends say about his stellar parenting skills.  A person on meth can become a monster capable of any atrocious act conceivable (or inconceivable as your point may be).  Remember Jorelys Rivera's killer, Ryan Brunn, the maintenance man who was high on meth?  No one who knew him thought he was capable of murder.  Meth takes away all inhibitions and replaces them rage and hallucinations. 

The mom, could be just as culpable if she is still doing it as well.    ::MonkeyHang:: ::MonkeyJustice::

One element of the Jorelys case that I've not seen with this one is that Ryan Brunn had a history of sex crimes at young girls. That wasn't released until after his suicide, but LE knew about it when he was arrested.  Unless I missed it, so far no one tied to this case has been involved in a child sex crime.   :smt102

But, yes, meth, or any other drug can cause otherwise reasonable adults to do stupid (and deadly) things.

http://www.kwwl.com/story/19081988/parents-of-elizabeth-collins-plead-for-release-of-girls
Parents of Elizabeth Collins plead for release of girls
Posted: Jul 21, 2012 10:34 PM EDT

The mother doing the interviews is a bit too giddy for a mom of a missing child IMO.
I had hope in the beginning that the girls would be ok..as time goes on though....
Mom acts like it is no big deal that 2 little girls are missing...weird!

http://www.cbsnews.com/8301-504083_162-57477386-504083/elizabeth-collins-lyric-cook-morrissey-authorities-believe-missing-iowa-girls-are-alive-report-says/

July 22, 2012 9:30 AM
FBI spokeswoman Sandy Breault said Saturday that authorities strongly believe 10-year-old Lyric Cook-Morrissey and 8-year-old Elizabeth Collins have not been killed.
She refused to say what led authorities to that conclusion, but told reporters that investigators are expanding their search beyond Iowa.
The announcement came a day after authorities said they believe the girls were abducted.
 ::snipping2::
Breault says investigators are interviewing "persons of interest" in the case, whom she declined to identify.

Please God...we could use a miracle......Hoping for the safe return of these innocents.

And from Blink at Blink on Crime (Scared Monkeys's Sister Forum)

http://twitter.com/blinkoncrime (http://twitter.com/blinkoncrime)
23h BlinkOnCrime ‏@BlinkOnCrime
Missing Iowa Girls Lyric and Elizabeth: New Evidence Found, Lake Cleared, Dad Dan Morrissey Is Suspect. Is A Ja... http://bit.ly/OMoyqI

http://blinkoncrime.com/2012/07/21/missing-iowa-girls-lyric-and-elizabeth-new-evidence-found-lake-cleared-dad-dan-morrissey-is-suspect-is-a-jailbreak-connected/?utm_source=twitterfeed&utm_medium=twitter
Missing Iowa Girls Lyric and Elizabeth: New Evidence Found, Lake Cleared, Dad Dan Morrissey Is Suspect. Is A Jailbreak Connected?
Saturday July 21, 2012

Comments at Link

First Security State Bank in Evansdale is taking donations

http://www.kcrg.com/news/local/Walkers-Runners-in-Wave-of-Pink-Support-Missing-Girls-Families-163296566.html

The FBI does not have the girls as "endangered"....why not?

Could the kids be with godparents, or with someone close to them?

so, since misty's new boyfriend that was arrested on the 20th and is being held without bond -- could he be blabbing?  just a thought.  this was in the last presser... hope they will comment further on it in todays...

http://twitter.com/ahepker/status/227089763457433601

Today's #evansdalesearch

briefing by the FBI will be carried live on KCRG-TV9 & http://KCRG.com at 3pm.

10:16 AM - 22 Jul 12

 ::MonkeyTongue::

http://www.kcrg.com/evansdaledisappearance

http://www.worldtimeserver.com/current_time_in_US-IA.aspx
 
The current time and date right now in Iowa ::MonkeyWink::

 
http://www.worldtimeserver.com/current_time_in_US-IA.aspx

http://wcfcourier.com/updates-the-hunt-for-elizabeth-and-lyric/html_7502e29a-ce9a-11e1-80bf-0019bb2963f4.html


Live video: Press conference
Authorities will be updating the public on case at 3 p.m. on Sunday



Read More: http://wcfcourier.com/updates-the-hunt-for-elizabeth-and-lyric/html_7502e29a-ce9a-11e1-80bf-0019bb2963f4.html#ixzz21No0DoAr

Press briefing being moved to Poyner school.

Heading over now by Chris Essig - Courier via mobile 3:56 PM

http://wcfcourier.com/updates-the-hunt-for-elizabeth-and-lyric/html_7502e29a-ce9a-11e1-80bf-0019bb2963f4.html


http://twitter.com/eSchettler/status/22713085676500172

by eSchettler via twitter 7/22/2012 7:59:51 PM 3:59 PM

http://twitter.com/eSchettler/status/227130856765001729



Update: Evansdale news conference now moved to Poyner Elementary School.

Likely at 3:30. Unsure of why. #EvansdaleSearch

Retweeted by Emily Schettler

 12:58 PM - 22 Jul 12 via Mobile Web ·

 ::MonkeyEek::

Testing 1, 2

Press briefing moved to Poyner Elementary School, pushed back to 3:30 p.m
. #evansdalesearch

by Chris Essig - Courier via mobile 4:10 PM

http://twitter.com/CourierEssig/status/227131966049366016

(http://images.scribblelive.com/2012/7/22/e7d23100-7ea0-45f8-b8bb-6705430417b9_400.jpg)

http://wcfcourier.com/updates-the-hunt-for-elizabeth-and-lyric/html_7502e29a-ce9a-11e1-80bf-0019bb2963f4.html

http://www.kcrg.com/evansdaledisappearance


 ::MonkeyEek::

Crews still setting up. May need another 10 minutes
by Chris Essig - Courier via mobile 4:25 PM

http://www.kcrg.com/evansdaledisappearance

Good evidence to suggest the girls are alive
by Chris Essig - Courier via mobile 4:38 PM

Because the first one was inconclusive
by Chris Essig - Courier via mobile 4:38 PM

Apparently Misty posted on FB that she had to take another polygraph
by Chris Essig - Courier via mobile 4:37 PM

About 30 FBI agents on caseby Chris Essig - Courier via mobile edited by Chris Essig - Courier 4:36 PM

Majority of family members have been cooperative
by Chris Essig - Courier via mobile 7/22/2012 8:36:05 PM 4:36 PM

Raid today at a house? I can't comment #evansdalesearch
by eSchettler via twitter 7/22/2012 8:35:51 PM 4:35 PM

Won't say exact time when witness who saw the bikes on Friday
by Chris Essig - Courier via mobile 7/22/2012 8:35:39 PM 4:35 PM

FBI: If you regularly fish at Meyers Lake, contact us. #evansdalesearch
by eSchettler via twitter 7/22/2012 8:34:37 PM 4:34 PM

FBI: If you were Meyers Lake on July 13, don't assume we know what you know #evansdalesearch
by eSchettler via twitter 7/22/2012 8:33:58 PM 4:33 PM

Also want to talk to fishermen who use Meyers Lake
by Chris Essig - Courier via mobile 7/22/2012 8:33:42 PM 4:33 PM
Gentlemen who saw bikes has been in contact with law enforcers

http://www.kcrg.com/evansdaledisappearance

http://twitter.com/CourierEssig/status/227142434608537600

No details released on evidence that suggests girls are alive #evansdalesearch
by CourierEssig via twitter 7/22/2012 8:45:51 PM 4:45 PM

Investigators looking to speak with anybody who was at Meyers Lake before 3 pm on Fri #evansdalesearch
by CourierEssig via twitter 7/22/2012 8:44:13 PM 4:44 PM

RT @NancyNewhoff: Comes to close: Not much new, but recap: Officers want anyone who was at the lake July 13 before 3 p.m. to come forewa ...
by eSchettler via twitter 7/22/2012 8:42:38 PM 4:42 PM

Briefing over. Not much new information. Almost all of the questions weren't answered

by Chris Essig - Courier via mobile 7/22/2012 8:41:30 PM 4:41 PM
When asked about highway cameras, she said all leads are being followed

by Chris Essig - Courier via mobile 7/22/2012 8:41:07 PM 4:41 PM
RT @NancyNewhoff: She knows of no ransom request #evansdalesearch

by eSchettler via twitter 7/22/2012 8:40:47 PM 4:40 PM
Won't say if there is one or several people involved in the abduction

by Chris Essig - Courier via mobile 7/22/2012 8:40:33 PM 4:40 PM
Can't say if the girls are in Iowa

Thanks seahorse!   ::MonkeyCool::

So, basically, LE had nothing new to say.  I was really hoping for a break in the case and some good news.

Certainly didn't sound like anything new.
It would be wonderful if they were still alive.
(http://i380.photobucket.com/albums/oo242/Brandi-Monkey/WEATHER/Animation1b.gif)

Hi Monkey's...


TexasMom, YW :)


https://twitter.com/perezreportsAlex Perez ‏@perezreports

Developing:  ::MonkeyEek::

Iowa authorities say they need to speak w/ man paddle-boating on lake the day girls vanished, as a witness NOT a suspect   


https://twitter.com/perezreports

Alex Perez
@perezreports

ABC News Correspondent

Chicago · http://abcnews.go.com/blogs/headlines/2012/03/alex-perez-joins-abc-news/

Police look to question boater seen on lake near where Iowa girls vanished as mom agrees to second polygraph test
Published July 23, 2012

Investigators searching for two missing Iowa cousins say they want to interview a person who was paddleboating on a lake near where they disappeared 10 days ago.

FBI spokeswoman Sandy Breault said Monday that investigators want to interview the person who was boating July 13 on Meyers Lake because that person may have information that could help the search for 10-year-old Lyric Cook-Morrissey and 8-year-old Elizabeth Collins.

Breault said the boater is not a suspect but that investigators "really do need to talk with the person." The boater has not voluntarily come forward to speak with investigators, who for days have urged the public to step forward to tell what they know. The girls' bikes were found near the lake.

Breault said investigators still believe the two girls are alive.

<snipped>

Lyric's father, Daniel Morrissey, is being watched closely by authorities but has not been named a suspect. Morrissey, 36, has a lengthy criminal history and is no longer cooperating with police. He has been placed in a pretrial supervision program in two separate drug cases, so parole officers are monitoring Morrissey's actions.

Misty Cook-Morrissey, 34, also has a criminal record. She was convicted of federal drug charges and state theft and alcohol violations. She is currently on supervised release.

She agreed to submit to a second polygraph test Monday to show she is again cooperating with investigators, their aunt said.

<snipped>

http://www.foxnews.com/us/2012/07/23/search-for-missing-iowa-girls-will-likely-expand/

http://wcfcourier.com/twitter-updates-hundreds-search-for/html_7502e29a-ce9a-11e1-80bf-0019bb2963f4.html


Live Video: Press conference
Authorities will be updating the public on the case at 4 p.m.

 ::MonkeyTongue::

Read More: http://wcfcourier.com/twitter-updates-hundreds-search-for/html_7502e29a-ce9a-11e1-80bf-0019bb2963f4.html#ixzz21TsgUW3O

Family cooperation is better now. #EvansdaleSearch
by AdamKWWL7 via twitter 5:06 PM

Anyone on paddleboat should also call LE
by Chris Essig - Courier via mobile 5:05 PM


 ::dogwag::  a bit more....


http://wcfcourier.com/twitter-updates-hundreds-search-for/html_7502e29a-ce9a-11e1-80bf-0019bb2963f4.html#ixzz21TsgUW3O

Misty Morrissey says she has passed polygraph to prove she's not involved in girls' disappearance

Posted: Monday, July 23, 2012 2:15 pm

EVANSDALE (AP) — After submitting to a second polygraph test, the mother of one of two missing Iowacousins said Monday the results should prove that she had nothing to do with their disappearance and allow investigators to focus their attention elsewhere.

Misty Morrissey said a state agent asked during Monday's polygraph whether she had anything to do with the abduction of her daughter, 10-year-old Lyric Cook-Morrissey, and niece, 8-year-old Elizabeth Collins. She said she was asked whether she knows where they are and if she could take investigators to them, adding she answered "no" to all those questions.

"It went well," she said in a phone interview afterward. "They can rule me out of their book and move on to something else."

more at link:
http://wcfcourier.com/news/local/update-misty-morrissey-says-she-has-passed-polygraph-to-prove/article_507d9bca-d2b1-11e1-8f0b-0019bb2963f4.html

Great map and timeline


Map: Timeline of events

http://wcfcourier.com/news/evansdale_search/

I am a bit puzzled. 

Is there anyone else living, at maternal G-ma's house?

There are a few others, (maybe), at the same residence.

The internet is often off target.

The FBI was so confident the girls are alive, I do not think the FBI would lie.

 ::MonkeyEek::
The girls are not listed as endangered, so does that mean they are in safe hands?


http://www.spokeo.com/search?q=jeramia+cook,+waterloo,++iowa&s9=t30#:2069689967

http://www.google.com/hostednews/ap/article/ALeqM5jhpJ55-L9rKeN7LeLRby7WNUIMcQ?docId=c4f99f1115854cd99638edb365d6e219

Grandma: No idea how Iowa cousins biked to lake
By By RYAN J. FOLEY – 4 minutes ago
(July 24, 2012)

IOWA CITY, Iowa (AP) — The grandmother who was babysitting two Iowa cousins when they disappeared nearly two weeks ago after going for a bike ride said Tuesday that she has no idea how they ended up across town by a lake.

Wylma Cook, 72, said that Lyric Cook and Elizabeth Collins occasionally went biking while she babysat them several days a week at Collins' parents' home in Evansdale. But she said they almost always stayed within blocks and had never gone to Meyers Lake, a mile away.

"It shocks me, OK. The girls never rode that far, never. It was in a two-block area, that's it. They always returned like I told them," Cook said.
 ::snipping2::
Cook, the girls' grandmother, said she doubted the abduction was linked to drugs but could not rule it out. She said Dan Morrissey voluntarily turned his cellphone over to investigators in recent days and explained all the calls he made and received.

"I mean there could be a side chance of somebody that hates him or something, I don't know," she said. "Everybody is being checked out."

Cook said she is "praying so hard" for the girls' safety while picking over the details of the day she last saw them, when they left for a bike ride at 11:30 a.m.

Cook said Lyric knew she had to return home shortly because Lyric and Cook planned to leave for the home they shared in nearby Waterloo with Lyric's mother, Misty Morrissey, by 1:30 p.m. Cook said she expected the girls to return for lunch or a drink of water or juice as they always did when they were playing in the heat.

"That's what's just so strange about all of it," she said.

Cook said she got nervous when they weren't back by 12:30 p.m. and started driving around town looking for them. After an hour of searching, she returned to the home. Cook said that Misty Morrissey stopped by after getting off work.
 ::snipping2::

http://wcfcourier.com/twitter-updates-hundreds-search-for/html_7502e29a-ce9a-11e1-80bf-0019bb2963f4.html


We are getting more leads from people coming forward. #evansdalesearch


"No indication they are in Evansdale. No indication they are not in Evansdale."

He's rehashing the case to date #evansdalesearch

"This is a nationwide search"

Investigators talking to someone who came forward as we speak

"No idea" where the girls are

We have had a few people come forward since yesterday's plea for people

Abben: more people who were at Meyers Lake Friday are coming forward


Paddleboat people have come forward after request for people on Meyers Lake was made
 ::dogwag::
80-90 people who have claimed to be psychics or mediums :)

http://wcfcourier.com/twitter-updates-hundreds-search-for/html_7502e29a-ce9a-11e1-80bf-0019bb2963f4.html

 ::justice2NJ::

http://twitter.com/KCRG/status/227874858502090755

Abben: Someone has to have seen these girls and knows what happened to them. #evansdalesearch

[b]Abben re-iterating Amber Alert does not apply in this case. No suspect description.

Press conference over

PM Construction workers who were working on the highway when the girls went missing have been interviewed. Nothing substantial has come out of those interviews

Abben: Families have provided updated pictures and they will be released soon. Newer

Abben: FBI said they are in this for the long haul. They will stay as long as we need help

"Purse was fine" - No signs of struggle

more...
http://wcfcourier.com/twitter-updates-hundreds-search-for/html_7502e29a-ce9a-11e1-80bf-0019bb2963f4.html

Thank you, Seahorse, for the updates from the press conference!  ::MonkeyCool::

http://www.desmoinesregister.com/article/20120724/NEWS/120724029/0/DATEBOOK/?odyssey=nav%7Chead

Daily briefings on missing Iowa girls end
6:04 PM, Jul 24, 2012

Authorities ended their daily news media briefings after Tuesday afternoon’s gathering, saying there was nothing new to release in the nearly two-week-old disappearance of two missing Iowa cousins.

However, despite the quieting of the public conversation, officials emphasized the search for Lyric Cook-Morrissey, 10, and Elizabeth Collins, 8, continued at top speed.

“We’re not giving up,” said Rick Abben, Black Hawk County Sheriff’s Office chief deputy, who has served as spokesman for the investigation which includes local, state and federal authorities. “We’ve still got two missing girls and we aim to find them.”

Grainy footage from a business security camera revealed Tuesday for the first time, showed the two girls riding their bikes near a relative’s home at about 12:15 p.m. July 13. The time stamp on the video matches the time frame of when the girls were last seen before their bicycles were discovered near Meyers Lake.
 ::snipping2::

Thank-you. Good site for everything. The video of PC is posted, too. 
 ::MonkeyEek::
Sometimes stinks, IMO.

Grace-land ::HelloKitty::

You are welcome with the PC updates. T.Y. for informing us the pressers have ceased.

Do you think the authorities have an idea where the kids are?


I saw on NG (about a week ago), a photo of Lyric kicking a horseshoe,wow, she looked very athletic.
I cannot see anyone taking this little girl, without a tug of war. ::CowboySmiley::

TY, Seahorse for all the info you are providing.  Any possibility than one or both of the girls were talking to unknown individuals on the internet?   ::CowboySmiley::

Flutter1, Y.W.

Realistic, yes!
 
My monkey brain is puzzled as why the girls are not listed, as endangered or "urgent" (Mizz Nancy's, favorite word).

The FBI said they couldn't stress enough that the girls are alive.  Geez, they would not need to stress to me anything :) I would believe the FBI. They do not like being lied to,  perhaps this is why the family is cooperating. We know what happened to Martha.

Back at ya, seahorse.  ::HelloKitty::

It's difficult to say if they know the who or where about the little girls, but they seem to know something that they are not sharing with the public.  Hopefully, they connect the dots as soon as possible.

Video at link

http://abcnews.go.com/US/missing-iowa-cousins-surveillance-video-elizabeth-collins-lyric/story?id=16850676

Missing Iowa Cousins: Surveillance Video of Elizabeth Collins and Lyric Cook Discovered
July 25, 2012

Authorities in Iowa investigating the disappearance of 8-year-old Elizabeth Collins and her 10-year-old cousin, Lyric Cook, have obtained new video of the missing girls from the day they vanished 12 days ago.
 
Although the girls only look like a blur as they cross the frame on their bicycles in the video, and the footage of the two girls lasts only seconds, investigators say they now are analyzing it for any clues that could lead to information about the girls whose bicycles were later recovered on a trail by nearby Meyers Lake in Evansdale, Iowa.
 
"It looked kind of grainy, I mean just zoom they were by the thing and so it's very hard to really make much out of the thing," Black Hawk County Chief Deputy Rick Abben said. "The girls were less than a block from the house when this camera captured them riding by, important to note they were riding away from Meyers Lake."

The video also matches the police timeline. Investigators say the girls left the home to ride their bikes shortly after noon July 13. The camera's clock shows it was 12:11 p.m. when they rode by.
  ::snipping2::

Where are these girls????  Wouldn't you think that if they parents were involved, the person responsible for having the girls would be someone they trusted???  Like a friend or family member???  If that were the case, I'd be looking at who isn't around right now.  Got a cousin that hasn't shown up since this happened???  How about a family friend that never missed a wedding or funeral and suddenly they can't do anything but call????  If these girls are being kept somewhere, their has to be an adult with them, right???

Ray E Cook  Died in 2007 (62) Waterloo, IA  Jeramia W Cook, Wylma R Cook
 

http://www.peoplesmart.com/psp.aspx?_act=resultswp

I wonder if this was the Dad? ::MonkeyEek::


Still looking for Jeramia W. Cook (I believe the W. stands for William)

http://www.peoplesmart.com/psp.aspx?_act=resultswp

Wylma R Cook
View Full Results Age:72

Address: Click Here

Location:Waterloo, IA

Possible Relatives: Jeramia W Cook, Ray Elliott Cook

Name Appears As:W Cook
 ::MonkeyEek::


My opinions
I think Jeramia W Cook, is a man (opposed to being a Bullfrog) :)  Who is he?  Where is he?

http://search.ancestry.com/cgi-bin/sse.dll?gl=34&rank=1&new=1&so=3&MSAV=0&msT=1&gss=ms_f-34&gsfn=Ray+E&gsln=cook&msbdy=1945&msbpn__ftp=waterloo%2C+iowa&msddy=2007&msdpn__ftp=waterloo%2C+iowa&uidh=000


Web: Obituary Daily Times Index, 1995-2011

Name:  Ray E Cook
Birth:  abt 1945
Death:  Abt 2007 - Waterloo, IA
Other:  9 Oct 2007 - United States

Death, Burial, Cemetery & Obituaries

Publication Date: 9 October 2007

 ::MonkeyEek::
Note: I do not have anything conclusive, until we find an Obituary, to match the Kin.

Tuesday, Oct. 9, 2007

WATERLOO - Ray E. Cook, 62, of Waterloo, died at home Sunday, Oct. 7; no services, his body was cremated; memorials to the family; Locke Funeral Home, 233-6138, is handling arrangements

http://wcfcourier.com/lifestyles/announcements/obituaries/death_notices/article_8775f00a-d492-5a28-9b24-42728f72ed2c.html

 ::MonkeyEek::

I believe, I saw a (non-criminal) docket (REC & Misty). Where?   ::MonkeyCool::

Updated photots of the girls taken recently at the link

http://www.sfgate.com/news/article/Dad-of-missing-Iowa-girl-faces-trial-amid-search-3734795.php

Dad of missing Iowa girl faces trial amid search
Wednesday, July 25, 2012

IOWA CITY, Iowa (AP) — The father of one of the two missing Iowa cousins could learn Friday whether he must stand trial next week on domestic abuse or drug charges, raising the possibility that he could be sent to prison even as the search continues.

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 in which he is charged with assaulting his estranged wife, Misty Morrissey, the mother of missing 10-year-old Lyric Cook. Three other cases charge him with possessing, dealing and making methamphetamines and a range of other drug charges that could lock up him up for decades if he's convicted.

Lyric and 8-year-old Elizabeth Collins have been missing since July 13, when they went for a bike ride in Collins' neighborhood in Evansdale. Their bikes were found a mile away near a lake, and investigators say they have no idea what happened to them. The FBI on Wednesday made public new photographs of the smiling girls taken in recent months as the search continues.

The girls' aunt, Tammy Brousseau, said Morrissey backed out of a plea agreement in the cases earlier this month because he did not want to be jailed immediately, which it required. She said she believed he would ultimately accept a plea bargain rather than take his chances at trials to reduce the potential prison term he faces.
 ::snipping2::

Map with map markers at the link

http://wcfcourier.com/news/evansdale_search/surveillance-video-may-be-last-known-sighting-of-missing-girls/article_c7394e3c-d6a6-11e1-a4f3-0019bb2963f4.html

Surveillance video may be last known sighting of missing girls
1 hour ago  (July 25, 2012)

 ::snipping2::
They were less than a block from the Collins’ house, where grandmother Wylma Cook was reportedly watching the girls while one of their mothers had an appointment.

“They were the only two people to go by on bikes that day to my knowledge,” said Joe Pahl, who alerted police about the video July 16. “I’ve watched it.”

Pahl is the manager of Cornbelt Auctions, 3520 Lafayette Road, where a 24-hour camera captured the footage from its position behind the building. The time and date stamp — 12:11 p.m. July 13 — fits the police timeline of the case.

However, Pahl said the camera’s clock is eight minutes slower than his U.S. Cellular phone.

About 4 p.m. the youngsters’ bikes and Collins’ purse were found on the south side of Meyers Lake. Ted Gamerdinger of Waterloo, a bicyclist who said he often rides the Evansdale Nature Trail, has previously told The Courier he saw the two kids’ bikes on the trail at about 12:20 p.m., but no sign of the children.

“It’s pretty hard for girls to get a mile and a half away ... in eight minutes,” Pahl said. “I don’t even think I could ride a bike a mile in eight minutes.”

Pahl said FBI officials arrived within 20 minutes of learning about the video and “sat up here all Monday until about noon on Tuesday watching everything we had.”

“I think they marked every single car that went by,” he said. “I know they downloaded a ton of stuff off of this.”
 ::snipping2::

Hi Monkeys
If the time stamp was 12:11 and 8 min fast from the owners cell
( Pahl is the manager of Cornbelt Auctions, 3520 Lafayette Road)
That would make it 12:03 and I thought the witness said he looked at his cell phone at 12:27
Would make 25 min for them to ride approx 1.5 miles ...

It is possible I looked at a map and the trail they were on was right off the street the camera caught them on. It's a straight shot to the lake. The map says to walk there is 30 min
IMO it is very possible a customer of the auction place , grocery store, dairy queen , are all off that trail could have been watching the girls .. Maybe they watched them before ? They could have rode to the lake and not ever told their grandmother, kids do that.

Published July 26, 2012
Associated Press


IOWA CITY, Iowa –  Authorities have served a subpoena asking an Iowa-based NBC affiliate to turn over footage of its interviews with one of the mothers and grandmother of two missing cousins, saying they may contain clues about the girls' abduction.

Waterloo-based KWWL-TV announced Wednesday night that it received the subpoena seeking "raw video" of interviews conducted last week with Misty Morrissey and Wylma Cook, and made the document public on its website. The station's news director didn't immediately return a message Thursday seeking comment on whether it would comply.


 ::snipping2::
The subpoena application, filed Monday by Black Hawk County Attorney Thomas Ferguson, says the footage is needed so his office can conduct a "complete investigation" into the disappearance of 10-year-old Lyric Cook and 8-year-old Elizabeth Collins.

During the interview, Morrissey told KWWL-TV reporter John Wilmer that she and her estranged husband sought legal advice after they were accused during lengthy interrogations of having involvement in the girls' disappearance. With her mother, Wylma Cook, standing next to her, she called it a "pretty intense coercion" and said the scrutiny was probably the result of her criminal record.

"They don't have anything else. We've been to a briefing last night. There's no other information, no new leads, no evidence, there's nothing," she said. "After seven days, I realize it's probably very frustrating for them that they probably haven't been able to come up with something. It's frustrating for us as well."



Read more: http://www.foxnews.com/us/2012/07/26/subpoena-seeks-tv-interviews-in-iowa-missing-cousins-case/#ixzz21kOnzYTg
 ::snipping2::


Read more: http://www.foxnews.com/us/2012/07/26/subpoena-seeks-tv-interviews-in-iowa-missing-cousins-case/#ixzz21kOXWNNc
Read more: http://www.foxnews.com/us/2012/07/26/subpoena-seeks-tv-interviews-in-iowa-missing-cousins-case/#ixzz21kON1AfH

Interesting.  I always like it when guilty people talk on cameras. 

This reporter posted the link from the video LE subpeonad
https://mobile.twitter.com/AdamKWWL7 (https://mobile.twitter.com/AdamKWWL7)
@AdamKWWL7:interview with Lyric's mom http://t.co/DQuG45DC   #EvansdaleSearch” ( this is the interview sought after by LE on 7/20)
And this tweeter posted a pic where she's wearing same outfit at a bar same night
http://twitter.com/Garymc1841 (http://twitter.com/Garymc1841)
@Garymc184: @cmkilgo  from 7/20 posted by Haley Bertch (NIECE) on FB http://t.co/BYJefxZH

Apparently Adam same reporter above said her current boyfriend is Jeremy Mask arrested that day and broke out of jail the day before girls missing as Blinks site addresses

Also  STOLTENBERG,JUSTIN was accomplice in the drug hearing with Lyrics dad (Edit to correct error per StarMonkey.  MB)
He lives 9 min from abduction

(hope I posted links right I'm on a new phone and my computer died )

Sorry I meant STOLTENBERG,JUSTIN was accomplice in the drug hearing with Lyrics dad (Fixed it, I think.  MB)
The first hearing reset was the day before they went missing I do wonder where he is and why he didn't show for the hearing?

http://www.freep.com/usatoday/article/56503354?odyssey=mod%7Cnewswell%7Ctext%7CFRONTPAGE%7Cp

Witnesses sought in missing cousins case
1:00 PM, July 26, 2012

FBI spokeswoman Sandy Breault said today officials are still hoping to hear from people who were at Meyers Lake the day two northeastern Iowa cousins went missing.
 ::snipping2::

Meanwhile, Cook-Morrissey's father, Dan Morrissey, 36, is scheduled to appear in court Friday for a pre-trial hearing. He faces four different cases involving drug and domestic abuse charges.
 
On Wednesday, a warrant was issued for another man arrested with Morrissey on drug charges in December 2011. Jason Stolfus, 37, of Waterloo, is wanted for contempt of court, according to the Black Hawk County Sheriff's Department website.
 
Breault would not comment on whether Stolfus has been looked into in relation to the girls' disappearance.

Updated photos of the little girls

http://www.ajc.com/news/nation-world/station-to-submit-video-1485076.html

Thursday, July 26, 2012
Station to submit video in Iowa missing girls case

IOWA CITY, Iowa — The news director of an Iowa-based NBC affiliate said Thursday that the station would turn over footage of its interview with the mother of one of two missing cousins after authorities served a subpoena that claimed it could help their investigation.
 
Waterloo-based KWWL-TV announced Wednesday night that it received the subpoena seeking "raw video" of interviews conducted last week with Misty Morrissey and Wylma Cook and made the document public on its website.
 ::snipping2::

Ferguson said investigators sought the footage at a time when Misty Morrissey had stopped cooperating with them. On Monday, she resumed talking to investigators and took a second polygraph test.
 
"Law enforcement wants to be aware of what it is they are commenting or talking about, especially in situations where they had publicly indicated they were not going to be cooperative," he said.
 ::snipping2::

Uncle of missing girls hospitalized-apparent drug overdose

Posted: Jul 27, 2012 12:49 AM EDT
Written by Ron Steele, Anchor - bio | email

WATERLOO (KWWL) -

Jeremy Cook, an uncle of missing girls, Lyric Cook and Elizabeth Collins, was hospitalized late Thursday, due to an apparent drug overdose in Waterloo.

Waterloo Police, the Tri-County Drug Task Force and Waterloo Fire & Rescue were called to 1415 Vine Street in Waterloo, where they found two people allegedly overdosed.

Several sources told KWWL one of the alleged overdose victims was Jeremy Cook, uncle of the missing girls. Jeremy Cook is the brother of Lyric's mom, Misty Cook-Morrissey, and Elizabeth's mom, Heather Collins.

The other alleged overdose victim was said to be a former girlfriend of Jeremy Cook named Kari. KWWL has not been able to confirm her name.
more at link

http://www.kwwl.com/story/19127066/uncle-of-missing-girls-hospitalized-apparent-drug-overdose

This article has an interview with Elizabeth's parents but no date.....I think it's new.

UPDATE: Heather and Drew Collins say they have faith God will bring the girls home safe

1 hour ago  •  By MATTHEW WILDE

EVANSDALE, Iowa --- Thinking about the last time Drew and Heather Collins saw their daughter gives them comfort in a time of uncertainty and sorrow.

The Evansdale couple doesn’t know who or why someone took their 8-year-old daughter Elizabeth and her 10-year-old cousin Lyric Cook-Morrissey of Waterloo on July 13. What they do know is their lives are forever changed, and they will never give up hope the girls will be found.

It’s been two weeks since Elizabeth and Lyric didn’t return from a bike ride.

The days since have been long and stressful, Drew and Heather said Thursday during an interview with The Courier. Remembering the last time they hugged or gave their daughter a good night kiss keeps them going.

Shortly after Drew, who owns Planetary Tree Service in Evansdale, left for work at 6:15 a.m. on July 13, Heather said Elizabeth hopped into the couple’s bed.

Karma:I believe Dan M. worked at Planetary Tree Service.Just thought that was interesting.

“She slid right up, and her and I laid together and hugged and snuggled,” Heather said. “So, I hold on to that.”

The mother and daughter bonded. Heather said Elizabeth chatted about going to a friend’s birthday party.

“She was excited for the day,” she said.

That wasn’t the only reason why Elizabeth, often sporting a wide smile, was giddy. Her 9th birthday is next Tuesday, and Heather said she chatted up a storm about party plans already made. Plus, Elizabeth mentioned a friend’s pool party she wanted to attend on July 14.

The two discussed going to the Evansdale Youth Softball Association Award Ceremony, which was held earlier this week. Elizabeth looked forward to getting a medal. Her team was recognized, along with others during the event.

“I’m glad we had that morning,” Heather said.

Drew last saw his daughter the night before she disappeared, tucking her into bed as many dads do.

It was the usual routine: a prayer and then a kiss good night.

“I always prayed for protection over her and always prayed for my daughters to have good dreams, Drew recalled.

“Then I said good night, I love you,” he continued. “That’s the last time I talked to her.”

More at link:
http://wcfcourier.com/news/evansdale_search/update-heather-and-drew-collins-say-they-have-faith-god/article_22c6bcca-d752-11e1-8622-0019bb2963f4.html

Hi Monkey's,

Thank-you Karma for the article. 

I was wondering about Jeremia Cook!!

 I guess he is Jeremy Cook?

http://www.chron.com/news/article/Judge-delays-trial-for-father-of-missing-Iowa-girl-3740802.php

Judge delays trial for father of missing Iowa girl
Updated 01:36 p.m., Friday, July 27, 2012

WATERLOO, Iowa (AP) — A judge on Friday delayed trials in four drug and domestic abuse cases pending against the father of one of two missing Iowa cousins, saying the two-week search for the girls had made it difficult for him to focus on preparing a defense.

Daniel Morrissey could have been ordered to stand trial as early as Tuesday in the cases, which charge him with assaulting his estranged wife and possessing, making and delivering methamphetamine and carry the possibility of decades in prison. But Judge Andrea Dryer agreed to Morrissey's request for a delay, tentatively scheduling the cases for trial Aug. 28.

"I can understand why recent events may have had your mind and attention on matters other than preparing for trial with your attorney," Dryer told Morrissey during a brief hearing at the Black Hawk County Courthouse in Waterloo. But she warned him he faces "very serious charges" and needs to be ready for trial in a month.
 ::snipping2::

http://www.kgan.com/shared/newsroom/top_stories/videos/kgan_vid_12134.shtml

Friday, July 27 2012, 11:31 AM CDT
(no title provided)

WATERLOO, Iowa (KGAN/KFXA) -- The uncle of the Evansdale girls missing since July 13th suffered an apparent drug overdose Thursday.

Family members say Jeramia Cook, 32, has had trouble sleeping and eating since 10-year-old Lyric Cook, and her cousin, 8-year-old Elizabeth Collins, went missing while riding their bikes on July 13th.

Lyric’s Grandmother, Wylma Cook, says Jeramia has been depressed since the girls went missing. Wylma says Jeramia is now in stable condition Allen Hospital in Waterloo after he and his girlfriend, Carolyn Pieper, 36, overdosed on medication at 1415 Vine Street in Waterloo.
 ::snipping2::

Thanks so much Muffy !

He overdosed because he was depressed? Is that the same reason that the girlfriend overdosed  too?  ::MonkeyEek::

Good question, Cookie! ::justice2NJ::

I didn't know that depression was contagious.   ::CowboySmiley::

http://wcfcourier.com/news/evansdale_search/cupcakes-of-hope-event-planned/article_ad512b65-fac2-553e-87b5-31fcda9bf7a1.html (http://wcfcourier.com/news/evansdale_search/cupcakes-of-hope-event-planned/article_ad512b65-fac2-553e-87b5-31fcda9bf7a1.html)

Cupcakes of Hope event planned


39 minutes ago, 7/29/12
(0) Comments

EVANSDALE, Iowa --- Students and parents are invited to a Cupcakes of Hope event as a thank you to those who are helping in bringing Elizabeth Collins and Lyric Cook-Morrissey home.

Students will help decorate cupcakes and thank-you cards, which will be delivered throughout the Cedar Valley. This event will be held on Tuesday from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. at the Prince of Peace Church in Evansdale.

Supplies for cards and cupcakes are still needed to make this a successful event. If you would like to donate any of the following items: frosting, piping bags and frosting tips, sprinkles, art supplies to make cards, or tins to pack cupcakes, contact Poyner's principal, Trista Manternach. Adults are needed to deliver cupcakes as well.
 ::snipping2::

 :)

http://www.kcci.com/news/central-iowa/Missing-girl-s-9th-birthday-is-Tuesday/-/9357080/15835196/-/iu3in9z/-/index.html

Missing girl's 9th birthday is Tuesday
July 30, 2012

EVANSDALE, Iowa -
One of the two girls at the heart of an abduction case in eastern Iowa turns 9 years old on Tuesday.

Elizabeth Collins, 8, and Lyric Cook, 10, were last seen about 12:15 p.m. on July 13 in downtown Evansdale. Their bikes and a purse were found along a trail on the southeast corner of Meyers Lake about 3:58 p.m.
 
Tuesday is Collin's 9th birthday.
 
Authorities said the two were abducted and the case continues to seek help from the public to bring them home.
 
A community Cupcakes of Hope event is being held Tuesday from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. at Prince of Peace Church at 4031 Lafayette Rd. in Evansdale.  Poyner Elementary organized the event to say thank you to all the people that have donated supplies and time to the search.
 ::snipping2::

Read more: http://www.kcci.com/news/central-iowa/Missing-girl-s-9th-birthday-is-Tuesday/-/9357080/15835196/-/iu3in9z/-/index.html#ixzz229QSYA3x

http://www.kcrg.com/news/local/164912856.html (http://www.kcrg.com/news/local/164912856.html)

FBI Investigators Return to Meyers Lake in Search for Missing Girls
KCRG/Gazette/Courier Staff Reports
Story Created: Aug 3, 2012 at 1:30 PM CDT

(http://media.kcrg.com/images/7683854+-+LAS+-+07_20_2012+-+13.58.01.jpg)

EVANSDALE, Iowa - FBI officials returned to Meyers Lake Friday to follow up on a lead in the search for two cousins who have been missing for three weeks.

Sandra Breault, spokeswoman for the FBI, confirmed authorities were near the lake in Evansdale. She said the search yielded "no positive results."

Authorities were not searching the lake itself, but instead in a wooded area near the lake, said Evansdale Police Chief Kent Smock.

Authorities are looking for Elizabeth Collins, 9, and Lyric Cook-Morrissey, 10, who have been missing since Friday, July 13. Authorities have classified the case as an abduction.

The girls' bicycles were recovered at Meyers Lake by a local firefighter at 4 p.m. on July 13. The girls were last seen riding their bicycles in downtown Evansdale at 12:15 p.m.
 ::snipping2::

http://www.kcrg.com/news/local/Iowa-Racecar-Driver-Helps-Spread-Word-and-Faces-of-Missing-Girls--164965556.html (http://www.kcrg.com/news/local/Iowa-Racecar-Driver-Helps-Spread-Word-and-Faces-of-Missing-Girls--164965556.html)

Iowa Racecar Driver Helps Spread Word and Faces of Missing Girls

By Addison Speck, Reporter


Story Created: Aug 3, 2012 at 8:24 PM CDT

Story Updated: Aug 3, 2012 at 10:48 PM CDT
NEWTON, Iowa- A racecar driver is doing his part to raise awareness about the disappearance of Elizabeth Collins and Lyric Cook. Iowa native, Michael Annett, will show the faces of Cook and Collins and the number for the tip line as he races in the U.S. Cellular 250 this weekend. "It made sense, not only for the people who will be at the track Saturday evening but the people at home that are watching," said Annett.

Friday, marks 3 weeks since the two girls went missing in Evansdale. Since then, Eastern Iowans have worked to spread the word and their faces.

"This is the best way we could come up with to try and help," said Annett. The race takes place at the Iowa Speedway in Newton this weekend.

Hundreds of Thousands of people will turn out and tune in for the event, but out of the dozens of cars racing on the track, Annett's car is likely to catch a few more eyes."We had some room left on what we call the deck lid of our sport, and so many things made sense and it was the perfect opportunity to take this horrible situation and make something good come out of it," said Annett.
 ::snipping2::

http://www.kcrg.com/news/local/-Booth-at-Iowa-State-Fair-to-Feature-Girls-Abducted-from-Evansdale-165302876.html (http://www.kcrg.com/news/local/-Booth-at-Iowa-State-Fair-to-Feature-Girls-Abducted-from-Evansdale-165302876.html)

Booth at State Fair to Feature Info About Girls Abducted from Evansdale



Story Created: Aug 7, 2012 at 1:04 PM CDT

Story Updated: Aug 7, 2012 at 1:04 PM CDT
IOWA CITY, Iowa (AP) — The Iowa State Fair says a police booth will display information about two missing Iowa cousins and accept tips about their whereabouts.

The fair faced harsh criticism online Tuesday after turning down a request from volunteers who wanted a booth so they could give out information about 10-year-old Lyric Cook and 9-year-old Elizabeth Collins.

Fair spokeswoman Lori Chappell says the deadline had passed to apply to rent a booth and all 700 are taken. She says fair policy only allows groups that have booths to distribute information on the grounds.

But Chappell says the Iowa Division of Criminal Investigation had already been planning to display a poster of information and a lockbox to receive tips at its booth. She says the girls "are not being forgotten."

The fair begins Thursday.

Thank-you, Klaas.  I hope a positive lead will come from the Lockbox.

 ::justice2NJ::

 :2thinky:

http://www.kcrg.com/news/local/The-Search-for-Elizabeth--Lyric-Four-Weeks-Later-165745756.html

The Search for Elizabeth & Lyric: Four Weeks Later
Story Created: Aug 10, 2012 at 12:18 PM CDT
(Story Updated: Aug 10, 2012 at 2:03 PM CDT )

EVANSDALE, Iowa - Friday marks four weeks since the disappearance of 9-year-old Elizabeth Collins and 10-year-old Lyric Cook. Investigators believe someone abducted the girls from Evansdale on July 13th.

In a press release to the media on Friday, investigators said that they continue to receive leads on the tip line. Investigators said that they encourage the public to continue to call in with their leads, no matter how minor or insignificant the caller believes it may be.

"We also encourage anyone who may have had a minor or perhaps unintentional part at the time in the disappearance of the girls to contact investigators," the release said.
 ::snipping2::

 
Adam Amdor

 ‏@AdamKWWL7

 Leads still coming in, investigators still gathering evidence, still receiving test results on evidence already obtained. #EvansdaleSearch

10:07 AM - 10 Aug 12


http://twitter.com/AdamKWWL7/status/233972748437823488

http://www.kcrg.com/evansdaledisappearance

http://www.kcrg.com/news/local/Iowa-Cousins-Still-Missing-After-One-Month-165956316.html

Iowa Cousins Still Missing After One Month, Leads Lend Hope
Story Created: Aug 13, 2012 at 5:58 AM CDT
(Story Updated: Aug 13, 2012 at 6:04 AM CDT )

EVANSDALE, Iowa (AP) - Two Iowa girls have been missing for a month, but the FBI says leads make investigators believe the girls are still alive.
 ::snipping2::
 
The Des Moines Register says FBI spokeswoman Sandy Breault would not discuss the leads nor say whether investigators believe the girls were kidnapped for ransom, abducted by a relative or abducted by a nonrelative.
 
The likelihood of finding abducted children alive drops as time goes on, but Breault and others say it's important for relatives and investigators to not give up hope.

http://transcripts.cnn.com/TRANSCRIPTS/1208/17/ijvm.01.html
JANE VELEZ-MITCHELL

Cousins Missing for One Month; Teacher Guilty of Having Sex with Students; Rihanna` Brand New Confessions to Oprah Winfrey; Keeping Sharks Off the Menu

Aired August 17, 2012 - 19:00   ET

THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.

 ::snipping2::
Then new developments in the search for little Lyric and Elizabeth, the Iowa cousins who vanished last month while riding their bikes. What are cops saying about the attempted abduction of a fifth grade girl in the very same region? Is there a connection? Or could the powerful drug methamphetamine be behind their disappearance?

The FBI believes the girls are still alive. So where are they? Their aunt joins me tonight.
 ::snipping2::
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Obviously something bad has happened.

VELEZ-MITCHELL (voice-over): The mystery deepens into what happened to these two young cousins.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: My stomach`s just in knots over it. And I can imagine everyone else feels that way, too.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: They`re thinking more and more that this was an abduction.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I just pray that the children are OK. If they`re hurt, I don`t care if they`re hurt. Just let us have them. We`ll deal with that.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: You`ve taken our kids. Just bring them back.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: If you don`t find out anything, what happens next?

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I have no idea.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I feel like maybe they were taken.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: It`s very difficult to picture how any kind of abduction might happen here.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: We just want our children brought back. I don`t want to know who you are. I don`t care who you are.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: We just desperately want them home.

VELEZ-MITCHELL: Is an attempted abduction in Iowa linked to the disappearance of these two adorable cousins, the girls, then 8-year-old Elizabeth and 10-year-old Lyric, vanished over a month ago? They were last seen riding their bikes in Evansdale, Iowa.

Now just two and a half hours away, police say there was an attempted abduction of a fifth grade girl.

It happened yesterday morning. The little girl was waiting for her school bus. She told cops a deep purple-colored van with three black stripes on the side and tinted windows pulled up next to her.

The male driver told the girl to get in. And that`s when the child darted toward her house. And the guy drove off. So bravo to that young girl for not getting in that van.

The weapon of choice for abductors is a van. Since Elizabeth and Lyric disappeared, there have been a string of attempted abductions throughout Iowa. Cops are telling us tonight this incident in Waukee, this attempted abduction, does not appear to be linked to the missing cousins` disappearance.

How do they know that? That`s what I`d like to know.

Jon Lieberman, HLN contributor, investigative journalist, you`ve been looking into this. How can they say so quickly nothing to see here?

LIEBERMAN: Quite simply the FBI believes they have a theory of what happened to these girls. They believe these two girls are still alive. And based on the information -- which they haven`t released publicly; they`re keeping it close to their vest -- they believe they know how this went down. And this other attempted abduction does not fit into their theory of what happened to these two cousins.

VELEZ-MITCHELL: And by the way, there have been kind of a slew of attempted abductions in this general region within about two and a half hours from where the little girls disappeared. So I`d like to know what is going on there. It`s very, very disturbing.

Now, federal authorities tell us Lyric`s mom, Misty, was sentenced in 2003 for conspiracy to manufacture and distribute methamphetamine. Last September she violated the terms of her supervision and served another five months in prison. She was released in January and went to a halfway house. And she got out of the halfway house just a few months ago.

We`re talking about the mother of one of the missing girls. As is standard procedure, police have given everyone in the family a polygraph. And Misty says she passed hers. Listen.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

MISTY MORRISSEY, MISSING GIRL`S MOM: It feels kind of awkward. You know, you know that you don`t really have any information to give up, but I also know that it needed to be done.

Former prosecutor, criminal defense attorney, Holly Hughes, if she has just gotten out of a halfway house, is it possible that she met somebody in that halfway house who is a problem? Somebody who may have bad intent? Somebody who may have found out where she lived?

HOLLY HUGHES, CRIMINAL DEFENSE ATTORNEY: Absolutely because not everybody is going to be in there for the same offense. It`s not all going to be drug-related. You could have child predators in that halfway house -- even female, yes, I know what everybody`s thinking. They`re not going to mix male and female in the halfway house, but it could be somebody that she befriended who has a man in their life who is a predator.

There are all sorts of possibilities when unfortunately you`ve got a whole bunch of folks convicted of a crime put into one place. And they`re going to talk. And some of them are not reformed. They`re still looking for the next gig, the next scam, the next way to get over.

And unfortunately if this lady came out and still had ties with some of her old drug connections, we could see some type of an abduction because they`re mad about something that happened in the past. She ratted on somebody.

VELEZ-MITCHELL: And of course, we only explore that because we`re trying to find these girls. By the way, you`re looking at some just generic boaters. Cops have been looking for somebody who was on that kind of boat in the lake near where the bikes were found. And they still haven`t been able, my understanding is, to talk to that person.

Tammy Brousseau, you`re the aunt of the two missing girls -- thank you so much for joining us tonight --

TAMMY BROUSSEAU, AUNT OF MISSING GIRLS (via telephone): Yes, thank you.

VELEZ-MITCHELL: What have authorities been telling you? What is the latest? Because they were so quick to say that this attempted abduction two and a half hours away of a little girl yesterday had nothing to do with the disappearance of your two nieces. Do you think that that was correct in other words that they could discount that so quickly?

BROUSSEAU: Well, to be honest with you, I don`t keep up with the media. I haven`t watched any interviews. I haven`t -- I don`t read the paper. I tend to just steer clear of it because a lot of what I hear, you know, is so far off the beaten path that it just kind of -- it kind of sickens me to sit and listen to it.

But it`s ok. People are going to have their opinions. And there`s no getting around that. So I just --

(CROSSTALK)

VELEZ-MITCHELL: Tammy, what have authorities told you? What have authorities told you? They have said to us that they think these girls are alive. What do you know?

BROUSSEAU: Well, of course they`re going to say that they`re alive, number one, because we don`t have two dead bodies. And of course, we all want to believe that the two children are still alive. That`s our hopes. We want our children returned to us alive, yes.

They have no other leads that they`ve told us. And if the FBI does have any leads or something that they`re going off of, they`re certainly not going to tell us because they don`t want to botch up any situation that could potentially lead to the abductor and to getting our kids back.

VELEZ-MITCHELL: Tammy, it`s difficult for me. I don`t want to go through some of these unpleasant details. But unfortunately we must to cover this story.

And the fact is that Lyric`s dad -- he has a criminal record that involves methamphetamine. And he`s appeared in court numerous times. He`s due back in court in a little over a week. He insists he had absolutely nothing to do with the girls` disappearance. And he has said in the past that he felt like he was being treated like a suspect.

Let`s listen to this. I want to get your reaction to some developments.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

DAN MORRISSEY, MISSING GIRL`S DAD: You`re telling the truth and they say you`re holding something back and you`re not, what more do you have to talk about? You know. We can go over and over and over it, you know. So I don`t know.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Did it make you feel like a suspect?

D. MORRISSEY: Well, it made me feel like -- yes, they were looking at me like a suspect.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

VELEZ-MITCHELL: So, Tammy, he said, the father of Lyric, that he felt he was being treated like a suspect. Has that changed?

BROUSSEAU: No, Jane. I hope for every individual including Misty, Heather, Drew, everybody, I hope everybody is looked at as a suspect until we have the return of our children, you know. That`s proper and standard procedure. So no, let`s keep the ball rolling. Let`s stay on top of it.

VELEZ-MITCHELL: Tammy, published reports claim that after being separated for years, Lyric`s parents, Misty and Dan, you just heard from Dan, were preparing to file for divorce. Is that true?

BROUSSEAU: That`s true.

VELEZ-MITCHELL: At the time the girls disappeared they were finally preparing to divorce?

BROUSSEAU: That is true. But they hadn`t been in a relationship for at least over a year.

VELEZ-MITCHELL: Do you think that that might be a factor here?

BROUSSEAU: We can throw it into like a 2 percent factor, you know -- maybe even a 1 percent. It`s very, very low factor that Dan or Misty`s criminal drug history had anything to do with the disappearance of these two little girls.

Lyric lived in Waterloo and Elizabeth lived in Evansdale. It was a secluded area where the girls came up missing, you know. My thoughts just tend to continue to lean towards a pedophile; he got his opportunity.

VELEZ-MITCHELL: Well, Tammy, I want to thank you for joining us. Our hearts are with you and your entire family. We`re going to stay on top of this case. And if you know anything, if you`re watching, please call police immediately.
 ::snipping2::

http://siouxcityjournal.com/news/state-and-regional/iowa/mother-of-missing-evansdale-iowa-girl-hospitalized/article_fb59255b-217e-5bee-8c26-17845df6e667.html

Mother of missing Evansdale, Iowa, girl hospitalized
4 hours ago (August 21, 2012)

WATERLOO, Iowa | The mother of one of two cousins who have been missing for more than a month has been hospitalized.

According to police reports, Misty Morrissey, 34, was taken to Allen Hospital Monday evening after she was found unresponsive at a relative’s home.
 ::snipping2::

According to the report, police acting on a tip found Morrissey sleeping and were unable to wake her.

Family told officers she had been at the hospital earlier in the day and been heavily medicated and later drank alcohol, the report states.

http://www.kwwl.com/story/19332348/mother-of-missing-evansdale-girl-hospitalized

Mother of missing Evansdale girl hospitalized
Posted: Aug 21, 2012 1:34 PM CDT

 ::snipping2::
Misty's mother, Wylma Cook, says Misty is doing okay and says her daughter has obviously been under a great deal of stress recently. Wylma Cook would not confirm why Misty was in the hospital.
 
According to a police report, Misty was in a deep sleep and could not be woken up.  Family members said she was at the hospital earlier in the day, heavily medicated, and later drank a large quantity of alcohol.  She allegedly also took an unknown amount of her own prescribed medication.
 
The family also told officers she was threat to herself..
She was later admitted to the ICU.

http://www.sfgate.com/news/article/Father-of-missing-Iowa-girl-seeks-change-of-venue-3813360.php

Father of missing Iowa girl seeks change of venue
Published 1:02 p.m., Friday, August 24, 2012

WATERLOO, Iowa (AP) — The father of one of two missing Iowa cousins is asking for his trial on drug charges to be moved.
 
The Waterloo-Cedar Falls Courier (http://bit.ly/PHh7jx ) reports that Daniel Morrissey's attorney says his client cannot receive a fair trial in Black Hawk County.

Read more...

http://www.kwwl.com/story/19370410/morrissey-appears-in-court-trial-gets-continued

Morrissey appears in court; trial gets continued
Posted: Aug 24, 2012 2:59 PM CDT

WATERLOO (KWWL) -
Dan Morrissey was in Black Hawk County Court Friday morning for a pre-trial hearing on charges from several separate incidents last year.
 
The charges include domestic assault, possession of a controlled substance, and possession of meth making materials.

Friday morning, a judge agreed to delay his trial 30 days. Morrissey's lawyer said he is not able to focus due to his missing daughter.
 ::snipping2::

Investigators want you to study photos of missing girls
Authorities ask for new information on missing girls
UPDATED 6:34 AM CDT Sep 07, 2012

EVANSDALE, Iowa — Authorities have setup a new email address and released six key points to help get new leads in the case of two missing Iowa girls from Evansdale.

 ::snipping2::


The new email for tips is OurMissingIowaGirls@dps.state.ia.us. Tips can also still be submitted by phone at 515-323-4360.

Investigators said six key points should be kept in mind as the public works to help solve the case:

 ::snipping2::

http://www.kcci.com/news/central-iowa/Investigators-want-you-to-study-photos-of-missing-girls/-/9357080/16505396/-/item/0/-/l8n01mz/-/index.html

Surveillance video may help find missing girls
Posted: Sep 07, 2012 3:29 PM MDT

EVANSDALE (KWWL) - This Friday marks eight weeks since 9-year-old Elizabeth Collins and 10-year-old Lyric Cook disappeared from Evansdale.

Authorities believe the people involved in the abduction may have been recorded on a surveillance camera. Officials have hundreds of hours of footage collected, but they need your help to find what to look for.

 ::snipping2::

http://www.kwwl.com/story/19487211/surveillance-video-may-help-find-missing-girls

http://abcnews.go.com/blogs/headlines/2012/09/iowa-cousins-missing-2-months-authorities-plead-for-help/

Sep 13, 2012 3:04pm
Iowa Cousins Missing 2 Months; Authorities Plead For Help

 ::snipping2::
“Today marks two months since the disappearance of 11-year-old Lyric Cook and 9-year-old Elizabeth Collins,” Rick Abben, chief deputy at the Black Hawk County Sheriff’s Office, said in a statement Thursday. “Both girls were last seen on July 13 at 12:15 p.m. riding their bicycles away from the Collins residence in Evansdale. We have information that the girls were seen approximately 12:23 p.m. on Brovan Blvd. and between 12:30 and 1:00 p.m. on Gilbert DR. in the area of Meyers Lake in Evansdale.”
 
A $50,000 reward for information that leads to the arrest and conviction of the person responsible for the girls’ disappearance has been offered.
 
“Law enforcement is asking for anyone that was in the Arbutus Ave. or Gilbert Dr. and Elmer Ave. areas or anywhere in Evansdale on that day that may have seen the girls to notify us,” he said.
 ::snipping2::

http://www.wxow.com/story/19544827/marking-two-months-since-elizabeth-lyric-disappeared

Marking two months since Elizabeth & Lyric disappeared
September 14, 2012

Thursday marked two months since Elizabeth Collins and Lyric Cook disappeared in Evansdale. Investigators believe someone snatched the cousins while they were riding their bikes near Meyers Lake on July 13th.
 
Chief Deputy Richard Abben said they're getting tips every day, although not as many as they received the first few weeks. They have confirmed additional people saw Lyric and Elizabeth the day of their disappearance.
 
Thursday, they issued a plea for anyone who was in the Arbutus Avenue, Gilbert Drive, and Elmer Avenue areas on July 13th, and who may have seen the girls, to call police. Several witnesses reported seeing the cousins in this area between 12:30 and 1:00 that afternoon.
 
At a candlelight vigil Thursday night, Elizabeth's parents Drew and Heather Collins once again asked for help from the community -- saying, someone knows where the girls are, and they just want them home.
 ::snipping2::
Investigators ask you to keep an eye out for anything out of the ordinary. Even if you think it's minor, it may be the break authorities need. Also, study the girls' photos closely -- not just their hair or eye color -- those can be changed. Look at their smile or their freckles, and keep their images in mind when you see children in public.
 
If you do have any information, you're urged to contact authorities at 319-232-6682 or ourmissingiowagirls@dps.state.ia.us. A $50,000 reward is available for information leading to the arrest of the person, or persons, responsible.

http://transcripts.cnn.com/TRANSCRIPTS/1209/12/ijvm.01.html
JANE VELEZ-MITCHELL

Teen Goes Missing After Joy Ride; Robbery Suspect Throws Money Out Car Window

Aired September 12, 2012 - 19:00   ET

THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.


UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Thanks, folks. "JANE VELEZ-MITCHELL" starts right now.

 ::snipping2::
Then, a new break in the case of two missing cousins in Iowa. Cops believe they could have the surveillance video showing the girls as they`re being kidnapped. But they need our help. Do cops still think the two girls are alive? And if so, where on earth are they? We`ll investigate and talk to their aunt.
 ::snipping2::

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: A frantic search continues for missing cousins from Iowa.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Eight-year-old Elizabeth Collins and 10-year-old Lyric Cook were last seen leaving for a bike ride.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: We`re worried. We`re stressed out. We`re lack of sleep.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: We have two missing girls. And we have no idea why.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: It`s as though they disappeared into thin air in broad daylight.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Pink ribbons as a reminder of two little girls still missing.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Today the process has begun to drain Myers Lake.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: The lake slowly recedes draining into the Cedar River.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Those girls are just beautiful, you know.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: This corner down here is where the girls` bicycles were found and the purse of one of the girls.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: It`s just baffling to try to figure out the pieces to the puzzle.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Everybody is willing to do a polygraph test, you know. We just want our girls home.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Just trying to hold onto whatever hope you have.

END VIDEO CLIP)

VELEZ-MITCHELL: Tonight, could new surveillance video unlock the mystery of two missing Iowa cousins? Police believe that the girls, ages 9 and 10, were abducted and that the kidnapper`s vehicle was caught on surveillance tape. But what vehicle and what location should they hone in on?

In a moment I will talk to the girls` grandmother, the last one to see them before they vanished. Investigators pouring over hours and hours of footage from around the time Elizabeth Collins and Lyric Cook disappeared two months ago. They need your help. They`re desperate for that crucial tip to help them know what to look for.

One of the lead investigators made this chilling comment. Quite, "Whoever did this walks among us and lives among us." The cousins vanished the afternoon of Friday July 13th; their grandma, the last one to see them as they left for a bike ride in Evansdale, Iowa. They did this all the time, biking.

Police say this grainy surveillance footage shows Lyric and Elizabeth on that fateful bike ride. About four hours later their bikes and Elizabeth`s purse were found on the banks of a nearby lake. But the trail then goes cold.

Lyric`s parents have been under intense scrutiny because of their criminal past. They`ve each taken polygraph tests and insist they have nothing to do with the girls` disappearance. Still, the dad you`re looking at there, Daniel Morrissey has said that he feels he has been treated like a suspect.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

DANIEL MORRISSEY, FATHER: When you`re telling the truth and then they say you`re holding something back and you`re not. What more do you have to talk about?

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Did it make you feel like you were a suspect?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: It made me feel like, yes, they were looking at me like a suspect. As far as what I know, I`m not -- I know the truth. I mean, I know I`m telling the truth.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

VELEZ-MITCHELL: I know you`ve been following this case. Call me with your theories: 1-877-JVM-SAYS, 1-877-586-7297.

We are very delighted to have with us tonight Wylma Cook, the girls` grandmother, the last one to see these two girls before they vanished as they road off on their bikes. Wylma, tomorrow will be two months since Elizabeth and Lyric, your granddaughters, vanished. My heart goes out to you. This has got to be a nightmare. How are you and the parents of these two girls holding up? What is it like?

WYLMA COOK, GRANDMOTHER OF THE COUSINS (via telephone): It`s really hard. It gets harder every day. But we keep praying. We have faith in the Lord that they`re going to be coming home.

And as for that new surveillance that they`re talking about, there isn`t any. We talked to Kent Smock, the chief of police from Evansdale. I don`t know who started that story. But it`s not true.

VELEZ-MITCHELL: Well, here`s the thing, Wylma. It`s not like they found surveillance of the girls. What we`ve heard is that police have hours and hours of surveillance. We`re talking about from the area. There are stores with surveillance cameras, gas stations, parking lots, but they don`t know where to start looking or what to look for.

If let`s say there was a van involved, they don`t know what van, what color van or even if there was a van. So they`re asking everybody. Please report anything suspicious that could point to a potential suspect or vehicle that was suspicious.

Tom Shamshak, you`re a former police chief, you`re a private investigator; police say if somebody changes their hair color or facial hair, is acting differently or suspiciously, repainted their car to make it look different or moved out of the neighborhood abruptly. Aren`t those some of the things to look for? What else, Tom?

TOM SHAMSHAK, PRIVATE INVESTIGATOR: Jane, you`re correct -- looking for immediate flight after this occurrence. Although, you know, we really have to begin looking at the scene where these bikes were found. Was it staged? Could they have been abducted elsewhere and the bikes placed there?

Law enforcement would be looking at footwear impressions in the area. Was there any evidence of a struggle in that area? Looking for tire marks that might have indicated that a vehicle fled at a high rate of speed. But you`re right, that`s what has to be done. Looking at automobile plates from the highway, if it`s a toll road, capturing that information and going out there.

VELEZ-MITCHELL: I want to --

SHAMSHAK: People that might have been in the neighborhood working.

VELEZ-MITCHELL: We`re looking at this lake, and I want to ask Wylma, the girls` were -- their bikes were found near that lake. What do you think happened? What`s your theory, Wylma?

COOK: I feel that they never made it to the lake. I feel they were caught before they even got to the lake. And a lot of us feel that way. Some of us don`t.

VELEZ-MITCHELL: Do you think that the scene, with the bikes, was staged?

COOK: That`s the way I feel.

VELEZ-MITCHELL: And who would have done this? Who had the motive to take these girls?

COOK: I have no idea because it`s no family member. It`s none of people we know. Nobody had no vendetta against us.

VELEZ-MITCHELL: Wylma, I say this not to embarrass you or anyone but only and only because it could be crucial to the case. It`s been publicly reported many times missing Lyric`s mom and father have lengthy criminal records. That`s just a fact. Her mom, Misty, was released from a halfway house just a few months ago. She pleaded guilty to conspiracy to manufacture and distribute meth as well as illegal drug use. Her estranged husband, Dan Morrissey has been convicted of burglary, theft and was arrested last year on conspiracy to manufacture meth and possession of meth with intent to deliver. He`s also facing domestic assault.

Now, Howard Samuels, founder and CEO of The Hills Treatment Center, addiction specialist and a person in recovery, when you`ve heard Wylma say, well, there was nobody with a vendetta, but if you bring in alleged conspiracy to distribute meth, what doors does that open?

HOWARD SAMUELS, CEO, THE HILLS TREATMENT CENTER: Well, Jane, where there`s smoke there`s fire. I mean let`s be real about this. They associated with a criminal element especially because they were manufacturing meth with a lot of other criminals. And so where there`s these type of individuals -- and I`m not accusing the parents, but I`m certainly accusing the environment and the other people that had access to the kids. Not a healthy environment. So how could there not be a connection between those two things?

VELEZ-MITCHELL: Stacey Honowitz, if the dad you`re looking at there is about to go to trial, could somebody have taken these children to try to silence him so that he wouldn`t testify against them?

STACEY HONOWITZ, FLORIDA PROSECUTOR: Well, absolutely. I mean, you really have to get past the big elephant in the room like what Howard was saying. When you`re in a criminal element especially if you`re getting ready to go to trial and if you`re dealing with meth, you`re dealing with a very dangerous element and anything is a possibility. So the police are honing in on the criminal activity of the parents.

The father`s upset that he`s looked at like a suspect. I can understand that. But he has to go further out and peel back the layers of people that he`s been associated with to make a determination as to whether or not there was any kind of involvement.

VELEZ-MITCHELL: Let`s go to a quick phone call, George in Washington State. Quick question, George.

GEORGE, WASHINGTON STATE (via telephone): She`s so cute.

VELEZ-MITCHELL: George. All right. I think George is saying that these -- young ladies are beautiful young ladies. And they are. Wylma, what we`re doing is showing the pictures --

(CROSSTALK)

COOK: Yes, but I feel --

VELEZ-MITCHELL: Go ahead.

COOK: -- you know, that was many years ago that all that happened. And everybody that they knew as of the last few years, everybody has been checked out thoroughly. And I don`t feel he had anything to do with --

(CROSSTALK)

VELEZ-MITCHELL: All right. But it was really in December of 2011 that Daniel was arrested for possession of meth. That`s not that long ago. That`s less than a year ago. So I understand your point. But we`re just looking at possibilities.

Again, it may be something completely unrelated. We just have to look at all the possibilities.

And, Wylma, I hope you come back soon with some good news. But we`re going to stay on top of this case and continue to get your granddaughters` pictures out there. Thank you.

Now, we`ll bring you the latest on the search. We want to bring these beautiful young girls home, obviously.
 ::snipping2::

http://www.kcrg.com/news/local/Dubuque-County-Adds-A-Child-a-Missing-System-170413496.html

Dubuque County Adds "A Child is Missing" System
Story Created: Sep 19, 2012 at 5:43 PM CDT
(Story Updated: Sep 19, 2012 at 7:06 PM CDT )

DUBUQUE, Iowa - Dubuque County is changing the way it handles missing child reports. The county is now using an alert system called, "A Child is Missing". That system alerts communities when any child, mentally ill, or elderly person disappears.

Terri Wainwright, of Dubuque, is collecting signatures for "the cousin's law". In an effort to help police issue alerts earlier in the event of a missing child search.

Wainwright is the great-aunt of Lyric Cook and Elizabeth Collins, two cousins now missing from Evansdale for more than two months.

Wainwright said, "I think 'A Child is Missing' is fantastic and it will be basically supplemental to when the cousin's law goes into effect."

When the Black Hawk County cousins first disappeared, Dubuque County Sheriff Don Vrotsos decided to make a change to his county's missing child alert policy.

Vrotsos said, "if they have a missing child we can't always use the Amber Alert because the Amber Alert is more restrictive. They're going to know we are out there doing what we can to immediately find that child."
 ::snipping2::

http://www.kwwl.com/story/19613179/can-drive-to-benefit-missing-girls

Can Drive benefits missing girls
Posted: Sep 22, 2012 3:45 PM CDT

WATERLOO (KWWL) -
As the search continues for cousins Lyric Cook and Elizabeth Collins, a can and bottle drive held at the National Cattle Congress grounds raised awareness and money for the Missing and Exploited Children's Foundation.

Volunteers accepted donated cans and bottles Saturday.  People were also encouraged to sign the petition for the so-called "Cousins Law", a law that would that would change Amber Alert guidelines.
 ::snipping2::

http://blogs.desmoinesregister.com/dmr/index.php/2012/09/25/judge-denies-dan-morrisseys-request-for-a-change-of-venue-in-upcoming-trial/

Judge denies Dan Morrissey’s request for a change of venue in upcoming trial
11:08 AM, Sep 25, 2012

A judge has denied the request of the father of a missing Waterloo girl to have his trial moved away from Black Hawk County.
 
The order denying Dan Morrissey’s change of venue request was filed Monday, according to online court documents.
 ::snipping2::
His trial, originally scheduled for mid-August, has been pushed back and is set to begin on Nov. 13.

http://www.kwwl.com/story/19849548/missing-girls-investigators-recanvassing-evansdale-neighborhoods

Missing girls investigators 'recanvassing' Evansdale neighborhoods
Posted: Oct 18, 2012 12:06 AM CDT Updated: Oct 18, 2012 12:59 PM CDT

EVANSDALE (KWWL) -
The search for Elizabeth and Lyric goes on, and state and local investigators were busy in Evansdale Wednesday night, conducting what was described as a ‘recanvassing' of Evansdale neighborhoods.
 
Nine-year-old Elizabeth Collins and 11-year-old Lyric Cook have been missing now for 97 days, as of Thursday. The cousins vanished while on an Evansdale bike ride July 13. The FBI has said it still believes the girls are alive. 
 
Several callers to the KWWL newsroom said they saw law enforcement activity Wednesday night, and wondered what was going on in Evansdale.

The callers and e-mailers said several law enforcement vehicles were on the streets and that they saw at least one helicopter in the skies above the community.

Wednesday evening, Black Hawk County Sheriff's Department Chief Deputy Captain Richard Abben confirmed with KWWL that there is additional law enforcement presence in Evansdale.
 
He said DCI investigators have about 110 homes they want to visit in this effort. Abben explained there are some people who live in the area who were not home during the initial door-to-door search. There are also new families who have moved into the neighborhood surrounding Meyers Lake.
 
State agents believe someone has to know something.  They're hoping to find new information that people failed to mention, or didn't think was important, during this new search.
 ::snipping2::

http://www.kwwl.com/story/19871263/hunters-asked-to-look-for-signs-of-missing-cousins

Hunters asked to look for signs of missing cousins
Posted: Oct 20, 2012 3:21 PM CDT

WATERLOO (KWWL) -
A grassroots effort is encouraging hunters to keep an eye out for evidence of two missing cousins.

Investigators believe Lyric Cook and Elizabeth Collins were abducted in Evansdale more than three months ago. Now friends of the girls' families are asking hunting license vendors, like Hy-Vee in Waterloo, to remind hunters to watch for signs of the cousins.
 
"If we can help, by when we're telling people when they're out in the woods -- keep an eye out looking for them. We need to bring them home," said store director Chad Hartogh.
 
Iowa DNR Conservation Officer Chris Jones supports the effort. He was part of the initial search for Lyric and Elizabeth. Now, more than three months later, he knows investigators are exploring every avenue to uncover much-needed evidence.
 
"With what we've got going on right now, I think this is an excellent opportunity. A lot of the areas don't see anybody in there for a lot of the year. And then come fall, all the sudden they're getting flooded with hunters," said Jones.
 ::snipping2::

http://wcfcourier.com/news/evansdale_search/daniel-morrissey-drug-trial-delayed-again/article_17c711fe-2a9e-11e2-b6ca-001a4bcf887a.html

Daniel Morrissey drug trial delayed again
5 hours ago  (November 9, 2012)

WATERLOO, Iowa --- Trial has been delayed for the father one of the missing cousins.

Daniel Morrissey, father of missing Lyric Cook-Morrissey, had been slated to go before a jury on drug charges this coming Tuesday.

But on Friday, the case was pushed back to Dec. 11, according to court officials.

The postponement came as the defense renewed its efforts to move the trial to another county because of publicity surrounding the girls’ disappearance.

On Thursday, defense attorney Kevin Schoeberl and Assistant County Attorney Brad Walz submitted a questionnaire to be given to prospective jurors to help determine the change-of-venue matter.
 ::snipping2::

http://www.press-citizen.com/viewart/20121112/NEWS01/121112004/Mother-missing-Iowa-cousin-appear-court?odyssey=nav%7Chead

Mother of missing Iowa cousin to appear in court
2:14 PM, Nov 12, 2012

IOWA CITY, Iowa (AP) — The mother of one of two missing Iowa cousins must appear in federal court to face allegations she violated the terms of her supervised release in a decade-old methamphetamine case, records show.

U.S. District Judge Linda Reade signed an order last week directing Misty Morrissey to appear in a Cedar Rapids courtroom Wednesday, one day after family members will mark the four-month anniversary of the disappearance of 11-year-old Lyric Cook and 9-year-old Elizabeth Collins.

A summons delivered to Morrissey on Friday says that federal probation officials have filed a “supervised release violation petition” against her. The allegations against Morrissey are shielded from public view, as the documents were filed under seal.
 ::snipping2::
 

Mother of Missing Iowa City Girl to Face Federal Court

Nov 12 2012

Although there is no news about the missing Iowa City cousins, the mother of one of them will be appearing in federal court on unrelated charges, according to an article on sfgate.com.

Misty Morrissey, mother of 11-year old Lyric Cook, has been ordered by a U.S. District Judge to appear in federal court in Cedar Rapids on suspicion of violating her supervised release.

Officials filed what is called a "supervised release violation petition" against Morrissey. No information has been released about the conditions leading up to the filing, as the documents regarding the case are sealed until the court date.

Morrissey's release was conditional, and was given to her in relation to a methamphetamine case from 2003.

 ::snipping2::


http://www.iowacityowl.com/posts/612-Mother-of-Missing-Iowa-City-Girl-to-Face-Federal-Court

Open letter at link

http://siouxcityjournal.com/news/state-and-regional/iowa/parents-of-missing-evansdale-iowa-cousins-write-open-letter-to/article_70aa4543-000c-5092-b54d-c313bbf1bb54.html

Parents of missing Evansdale, Iowa, cousins write open letter to kidnapper
2 hours ago 

EVANSDALE, Iowa | The parents of the missing cousins are reaching out to the person who took the girls this summer.

In a letter submitted to Waterloo-Cedar Falls Courier, the parents of Lyric Cook-Morrissey and Elizabeth Collins ask the unknown abductor to be a hero and let the children go free.

"Our thought of the letter was to just get out to whoever has them and to just really touch their hearts to return the girls, that they still can do this," said Heather Collins, Elizabeth's mother.

Heather Collins composed the letter, which was also signed by her husband, Drew, and Lyric's parents, Daniel Morrissey and Misty Morrissey.
 ::snipping2::

http://thegazette.com/2012/11/13/mother-of-missing-iowa-girl-raises-awareness-in-davenport-stop/

Updated: 13 November 2012 | 1:06 pm
Mother of missing Iowa girl raises awareness in Davenport stop

The mother of one of two missing Iowa cousins was in the Quad-Cities on Tuesday to raise awareness about the case.

Nine-year-old Elizabeth Collins and her 11-year-old cousin, Lyric Cook, disappeared from Evansdale while riding their bikes on July 13. Tuesday marks four months since they were last seen.

“We’re getting their faces up everywhere,” Heather Collins, Elizabeth’s mother, said at a stop Tuesday morning in Davenport’s Vander Veer Botanical Park before heading downtown. “If there’s one person who still doesn’t realize the girls are missing, that’s a shame.”

Collins said she had 750 flyers to pass out throughout the day in Davenport and around the Quad-City area. Her husband and Elizabeth’s father, Drew Collins, traveled to Omaha to pass out flyers. They have friends covering the Mason City and Des Moines areas.
 ::snipping2::

http://wcfcourier.com/news/evansdale_search/area-law-enforcement-marks--month-anniversary-since-girls-kidnapped/article_5f38de8e-2dbc-11e2-8c9e-001a4bcf887a.html

Area law enforcement marks 4-month anniversary since girls kidnapped
1 hour ago

This is a statement released by the Black Hawk County Sheriff's Office today:

Today, Nov. 13, marks four months that Lyric Cook-Morrissey and Elizabeth Collins have been missing. They were last seen riding their bicycles in Evansdale on Friday July 13th at approximately 12:15 p.m.

While law enforcement has nothing new to report on the girls we continue to receive good tips regarding their disappearance and those tips are being followed up on.

We wish to reiterate that anyone that has information concerning this case or was in Evansdale on July 13th between noon and 6 pm. that may have seen the girls riding their bicycles or in the area of Meyers Lake that have not talked to law enforcement to call in on the tip line at (319) 232-6682 or 1-800-346-5507.
 ::snipping2::

http://www.wowt.com/news/headlines/Missing-Cousins-Case-Hits-4-Month-Mark-179223151.html?ref=151

Posted: Tue 9:25 PM, Nov 13, 2012
Missing Cousins Case Hits 4-Month Mark

Tuesday night dozens of people are gathering in Evansdale to mark four months since Lyric Cook and Elizabeth Collins went missing.

The cousins were last seen July 13th, while riding their bikes near Meyers Lake in Evansdale. Investigators believe the two were kidnapped, although they have not found any evidence to suggest where they are being held.

The families are holding a prayer vigil at Countryside Vineyard Church Tuesday night, but as they mark this four month milestone, the families are trying to think of new ways to get Lyric and Elizabeth's story out, or keep it fresh in people's minds.

"There's not much we can do. This is what we CAN do," said Drew Collins.

Drew Collins considers everyday another day to search, and another day to hope. He refused to let his family and friends spend November 13th dwelling on their pain.

"We wanted to do something that was productive. It was Drew's idea, actually," said family friend Sara Kipp.

Tuesday morning, several people fanned out over Iowa, heading to Des Moines, Mason City, Sioux City, and Davenport. Their goal is to get new fliers up in as many places as possible state-wide.
 ::snipping2::

http://thegazette.com/2012/11/14/feds-to-drop-petition-against-misty-morrissey/

Feds to drop petition against Misty Cook-Morrissey
Updated: 14 November 2012 | 1:30 pm

CEDAR RAPIDS – A hearing for a Waterloo woman on a federal supervised release violation set for Wednesday morning in Cedar Rapids was cancelled because prosecutors changed their mind about revoking her supervised release.

A prosecutor filed a document under seal Wednesday seeking to dismiss the petition.

Misty Cook-Morrissey was in the courthouse Wednesday before she knew the hearing was cancelled.
 ::snipping2::

http://www.kcrg.com/news/local/Fundraiser-Drive-for-Elizabeth-and-Lyric-179794931.html

Month Long Fundraiser for Elizabeth and Lyric
Story Created: Nov 17, 2012 at 7:48 AM CST
(Story Updated: Nov 17, 2012 at 9:06 AM CST )

EVANSDALE, Iowa – A month long fundraiser will help raise the reward money for two missing Black Hawk County cousins. Elizabeth Collins and Lyric Cook were last seen on July 13th in downtown Evansdale.

The girls’ families with work in conjunction with the Cedar Valley Crime Stoppers for the fundraiser drive. All proceeds from the fundraiser will be used as a reward for information that leads to the missing girls. The money will be held for up to five years, if the fund is still needed. The drive will start on Monday November 19th and end on December 19th.

If the girls are found and a reward can’t be given, the money will go to the Cedar Valley Crime Stoppers general fund. The girls’ families said that if the funds can’t be used to benefit the girls, then it’s their wish that the money be used to help other victims and their families.
 ::snipping2::

I just can't understand how nothing has turned up of these two little ones.  It just makes no sense to me.

       Omaha World Hearld just said that hunters have found the bodies that they think are the cousins.    ::MonkeyTears::   The article did not say IN  Meyers Lake but by the lake, said bikes were found on a pathway close by. I will try to find out more.  Today at 3:08 from http:/www. omaha.com .

Thank you.  Such sad news.

http://www.foxnews.com/us/2012/12/05/hunters-reportedly-find-bodies-missing-iowa-cousins-police-say/
Hunters reportedly find bodies of missing Iowa cousins, police say
December 5, 2012


EVANSDALE, Iowa –  Hunters found two bodies Wednesday believed to be those of young Iowa cousins who vanished five months ago while riding their bikes near a lake, authorities said.
The families of 11-year-old Lyric Cook and 9-year-old Elizabeth Collins have been notified of the discovery, said Capt. Rick Abben of the Black Hawk County Sheriff's Office. Abben wouldn't say where the bodies were found.
Appearing to fight back tears as he broke the news in Evansdale, near where the girls disappeared in July, Abben said: "It's definitely not the outcome that we wanted, obviously."
"This is a difficult thing for us to go through. It's a difficult thing for the community," he added, recalling how officers had worked around the clock looking for the girls.
The girls' families have asked the media to respect their privacy, and they offered no immediate comment.
The bodies are being sent to the state medical examiner's office to confirm their identities, and the area where they were found around 12:45 p.m. is still being searched, Abben said.
 ::snipping2::
Abben said additional details would be released at a news briefing Thursday.

Read more: http://www.foxnews.com/us/2012/12/05/hunters-reportedly-find-bodies-missing-iowa-cousins-police-say/#ixzz2EDtQEMMv

No official confirmation yet.  But I think they have a very good idea.   ::MonkeyNoNo::  I hope there's enough evidence to help bring some justice for the girls and their families and friends.  It won't bring them back, but it may prevent someone that's responsible from getting away with murder.  JMHO

http://abcnews.go.com/US/missing-iowa-cousins-lyric-cook-elizabeth-collins-bodies/story?id=17888330#.UL_YsuSum3k
Lyric Cook and Elizabeth Collins: Bodies Found in Search for Missing Iowa Cousins
December 5, 2012

Nearly five months after Iowa cousins Lyric Cook and Elizabeth Collins disappeared, the girls' families have been told two bodies were found by hunters in a wooded area, though the identities of the bodies have not been confirmed, authorities said.

Capt. Rick Abben of the Black Hawk County Sheriff's Office said at a press conference this afternoon that the bodies are being transported to the state's medical office in Ankeny, Iowa, for positive identification.

"It's definitely not the outcome that we wanted, obviously," Abben said. "This is a difficult thing for us to go through."
 ::snipping2::

   

   Strange how quickly the Omaha paper up dated their original post. Some eager reporter must have screwed up and the original article disappeared too. hmmm. We will just have to see I guess?! I want justice for the girls if it is them!    ::MonkeyMad::

I think sometimes media is so eager to be the first to get something out, they do so without verifying information.  And then it disappears or changes.  I've seen that happening lately. 

I'm hoping there will be justice for Lyric and Elizabeth too. 

http://www.kwwl.com/story/20270787/2012/12/05/police-two-bodies-found-may-be-related-to-missing-cousins-case (http://www.kwwl.com/story/20270787/2012/12/05/police-two-bodies-found-may-be-related-to-missing-cousins-case)

Link to Press Conference video:


http://www.kwwl.com/story/20270787/2012/12/05/police-two-bodies-found-may-be-related-to-missing-cousins-case?autoStart=true&topVideoCatNo=default&clipId=8035660 (http://www.kwwl.com/story/20270787/2012/12/05/police-two-bodies-found-may-be-related-to-missing-cousins-case?autoStart=true&topVideoCatNo=default&clipId=8035660)


The full police statement released Wednesday:

Evansdale Missing Cousins Law Enforcement Update (12-05-12)

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE:

Captain Rick Abben, Chief Deputy

Black Hawk County Sheriff's Office

225 East 6th Street

Waterloo, Iowa 50703

319-291-2587

rabben@bhcso.org

www.bhcso.org

Today, at approximately 1245hrs, law enforcement was notified by hunters that they had discovered two deceased bodies in a wooded area.

The Cook and Collins families have been notified of the discovery.

The bodies are being transported to the State Medical Examiner's Office in Ankeny for positive identification.

Lyric and Elizabeth were last seen Friday, July 13, 2012, at approximately 12:15 Pm riding their bicycles in Evansdale. Their bicycles and a purse were found at Meyers Lake in Evansdale.

Since that day the investigation has been on going, numerous agencies have been and are still involved in this case. The public has been very helpful in assisting with searches and calling in leads. A substantial reward has been established that leads to the arrest and conviction of the person or persons responsible in this case. Cedar Valley Crime Stoppers continues to accept donations toward their reward at 1-855-300TIPS. Anyone with information is asked to call the TIP Line at 319-232-6682 or e-mail: OURMISSINGIOWAGIRLS@dps.state.ia.us

Law enforcement wants to thank the public and the media for their assistance and support in this case. No further information will be released at this time. A news conference will be held tomorrow at 4:00 PM at the Evansdale City Hall. If pertinent information can be released before that time you will be notified otherwise nothing else will be released at this time.

The family wishes to extend their gratitude to the community for their on-going support and at this time request privacy.

Here's the UK Daily story.

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2243714/Iowa-cousins-missing-Hunters-bodies-Lyric-Cook-Morrissey-Elizabeth-Collins.html

Hunters find bodies of missing Iowa cousins who disappeared while riding their bikes in July

    Investigators have held on to hope that Lyric Cook, 10, and Elizabeth Collins, 8, were alive
    Grainy video showed the girls riding by on their bicycles on the day that they vanished in Evansdale, Iowa
    Young cousins were last seen on July 13

By Daily Mail Reporter and Associated Press

PUBLISHED: 18:11 EST, 5 December 2012 | UPDATED: 19:44 EST, 5 December 2012

Although we all always hope for a good outcome - I never saw any reason to believe these poor children were alive - especially with the family's background.

Sad, nonetheless.

 ::MonkeyAngel::

Hopefully, they will find who committed these terrible crimes.

May the family find some closure.  How very sad.

 ::MonkeyAngel::   ::MonkeyAngel::   ::MonkeyAngel::

http://www.foxnews.com/us/2012/12/05/hunters-reportedly-find-bodies-missing-iowa-cousins-police-say/

Hunters reportedly find bodies of missing Iowa cousins, police say


 ::crymonkey2::  There is always that small, small hope that they will return home alive.  I am thankful that they have been found so that those who loved them, including the members of LE and the community, can now find some closure.  May there be enough evidence to lead to their killer(s).

 ::MonkeyAngel::   ::MonkeyAngel::
     Lyric                     Elizabeth

So sad...   ::MonkeyTears::

This combo made from undated photos provided by the FBI shows cousins Lyric Cook, 10, right, and Elizabeth Collins, 8, who have been missing since Friday, July 13, 2012. Authorities say hunters have found bodies believed to be two young Iowa cousins who disappeared while riding their bikes in July. (AP/FBI)

Read more: http://www.foxnews.com/us/2012/12/05/hunters-reportedly-find-bodies-missing-iowa-cousins-police-say/#ixzz2EEkWLtE6

 ::MonkeyWaa::

I was hoping that they were being held by someone and would be found.  Also, it appeared that LE and federal investigators believed in that theory. They disappeared the day after DM was to plead to drug charges.  Now their bodies might have been found, and DM drug trial is schedule for December 11.  ::MonkeyNoNo::

http://wcfcourier.com/news/evansdale_search/daniel-morrissey-drug-trial-delayed-again/article_17c711fe-2a9e-11e2-b6ca-001a4bcf887a.html
Daniel Morrissey drug trial delayed again
November 09, 2012 12:49 pm 

http://wcfcourier.com/news/evansdale_search/missing-cousins-update-dozens-gather-for-vigil-in-evansdale/article_0fbb9a30-3f4c-11e2-97bf-0019bb2963f4.html

Missing cousins update: Dozens gather for vigil in Evansdale
1 hour ago 

EVANSDALE, Iowa --- Hours after authorities announced a devastating find potentially linked to the missing cousins case, community members gathered in somber remembrance.

About 80 friends, neighbors and strangers huddle on the banks of Meyers Lake earlier tonight --- a place synonymous with the girls’ disappearance since they vanished while riding bikes in town. The girls' bicycles were found at the lake July 13, the day they went missing.

Many at Wednesday's vigil gazed silently across the dark body of water. Several women tried to light candles inside plastic cups and protected the flame from chilling winds by covering the opening with cold hands.

“We shouldn't be here. These were just innocent children,” said Barb Collins of Waterloo. “These girls should have been left alone to start with. They should be home safe in their beds.”
 ::snipping2::

http://www.kare11.com/news/article/1000988/391/Hunters-find-bodies-believed-to-be-Iowa-cousins

Another tragic example of how much our world has changed.  When I was their age, my brother and I would ride our bikes, go to the woods and make forts, all kinds of things.  Not so anymore.  Prayers for these families.

How very, very sad and a crying shame. What have we come to when kids cannot just ride their bikes? I remember a world where my friend and I would ride our bikes 8-10 miles and we were younger than Elizabeth Collins and Lyric Cook. It really makes me wonder just what happened to our society? I don't believe that they existed before and that we just did not hear about it. Although we did not have a 24-7 media, eventually you would read, see or hear about the news. It is almost as if these predators have become more brazen and care less about their actions.  Something really needs to be done to protect children.

Although they have not yet been positively ID'd, it is obvious it was them discovered by hunters.

http://scaredmonkeys.com/2012/12/06/hunters-discover-two-bodies-in-wooded-area-believed-to-be-missing-lyric-cook-her-cousin-elizabeth-collins-in-evansdale-iowa/

God bless these two little girls.

 Rest in Peace Elizabeth & Lyric ::MonkeyAngel:: ::MonkeyAngel::

 ::rhino::  off topic/Hey Rob, Happy Holidays, miss ya

http://www.kcci.com/news/central-iowa/Missing-Girls-Mom-confirms-on-Facebook-girls-deaths/-/9357080/17668070/-/naxgep/-/index.html

Missing Girls: Mom confirms on Facebook girls deaths
 UPDATED 10:12 AM CST Dec 06, 2012

EVANSDALE, Iowa —
Heather Collins posted on Facebook Wednesday news about her daughter's death, hours after a news conference that two bodies had been found near Evansdale by hunters.

The Waterloo-Cedar Falls Courier newspaper reports that Collins wrote, “We have been so blessed by...all the prayers and support tonight with the gut wrenching news that my beautiful daughter and niece’s bodies were found by hunters today."

Collins also wrote, the girls "are up in heaven with our Savior," and the "nightmare of where they are and what is happening to them has been answered."
 
Collins is the mother of Elizabeth Collins, 9 and aunt of Lyric Cook-Morrissey, 11.

Authorities are expected to hold a 4 p.m. news conference to release any new information.  It's not known if they will be able to release the identity of the bodies found on Wednesday at Thursday's news conference.
 
Bodies Found 25 miles from Evansdale.
 
Bremer County Sheriff Dewey Hildebrandt said Thursday the bodies were found in Seven Bridges Wildlife Area, a county-maintained park along the Wapsipinicon River that is popular for hunting and fishing.
 ::snipping2::
Read more...

http://www.kwwl.com/story/20277088/2012/12/06/press-conference-on-missing-girls-today-at-400-pm

Press conference on missing girls today at 4:00 p.m.
Posted: Dec 06, 2012 8:37 AM CST

 ::snipping2::
While authorities await autopsies from the State Medical Examiner's Office for positive identification, Heather Collins, Elizabeth's mother, said on Facebook Wednesday night that the bodies are those of Lyric and Elizabeth.
 
KWWL will carry today's press conference live on air and at KWWL.com.

http://www.kwqc.com/story/20271640/hunters-find-two-bodies-missing-evansdale-girls
Mother says two bodies found are those of missing Iowa cousins
Updated: Dec 06, 2012 11:06 AM EST
By Marcia Lense -
 ::snipping2::
Heather Collins posted the following statement on her Facebook page: 
 
"We have been so blessed by the [outpouring] of all the (prayers) and support tonight with the gut wrenching news that my beautiful daughter and niece's bodies were found by hunters today. This was [not] the outcome we wanted but we know that they are up in heaven with our Savior and [our] nightmare of where they are and what is happening to them has been answered.
 
Lord, we know that you have them in your loving arms and we are so blessed [f]or that."
  ::snipping2::
Investigators have not yet confirmed the identity of the bodies.  They also will not yet say exactly where the bodies were discovered.  However, several sources tell KWWL-TV the bodies were found in a wooded area of the 7 Bridges Park in rural Bremer County. The park is 22-miles north of Evansdale, where the girls went missing last July.
 
We may learn new details at a press conference scheduled for Thursday at 4 PM.  KWQC-TV is following the latest developments.

7 Bridges Park
http://goo.gl/maps/zC5NM

 ::MonkeyAngel::

http://altoonaherald.desmoinesregister.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20121206/NEWS/121206012/Search-missing-Iowa-girls-clues-narrows-Seven-Bridges

Search for missing Iowa girls clues narrows at Seven Bridges
12:00 PM, Dec. 6, 2012

READLYN, Ia. -- Law enforcement officers appear to have begun to search ditches along a road about a half-mile west of the entrance to Seven Bridges Wildlife Area, apparently where two hunters on Wednesday found two bodies.

A steady drizzle has begun falling in the area as authorities search the roadside. Law enforcement officers are also placing small yellow flags in spots in the ditch, which runs along 270th Street near the park’s entrance.

Seven Bridges Wildlife area is about 25 miles north of Evansdale, the Black Hawk County community where Lyric Cook-Morrissey, then 10, and Elizabeth Collins, then 8, were last seen on July 13. The Bremer County park has canoe access to the Wapsipinicon River.

Authorities remain tight-lipped about whether the two bodies found around 12:45 p.m. Wednesday by hunters are that of the missing Iowa cousins.

This morning an Iowa State Medical Examiners SUV entered the heavily wooded 125-acre park. Local, state and federal police have been driving in and out of the park all morning.
 ::snipping2::
 

Video at link

http://www.kcrg.com/news/local/Sheriff-2-Bodies-Found-in-Bremer-Co-Wildlife-Area-182379951.html

Sheriff: 2 Bodies Found in Bremer Co., Mother of Missing Girl Reacts to News on Facebook
Story Created: Dec 6, 2012 at 10:08 AM CST
(Story Updated: Dec 6, 2012 at 12:56 PM CST )

(http://media.kcrg.com/images/02scene.jpg)

(http://media.kcrg.com/images/01scene.jpg)

(http://media.kcrg.com/images/03scene.jpg)

http://www.kcci.com/news/central-iowa/Missing-Girls-Positive-identification-still-not-complete/-/9357080/17668070/-/bfc6q8z/-/index.html (http://www.kcci.com/news/central-iowa/Missing-Girls-Positive-identification-still-not-complete/-/9357080/17668070/-/bfc6q8z/-/index.html)


Missing Girls: Positive identification still not complete
UPDATED 4:22 PM CST Dec 06, 2012

EVANSDALE, Iowa —

Authorities said a positive identification of two bodies found Wednesday has not yet been completed, but they believe based on evidence at the scene and the preliminary investigation that the bodies are Lyric Cook and Elizabeth Collins.
 ::snipping2::

Autopsy with positive identifications has not come in yet; when it does, they will notify the families.  Two bodies...smaller in stature.

http://www.kcrg.com/news/local/BREAKING-NEWS-Bodies-Identified-As-Missing-Cousins-182385121.html

BREAKING NEWS: Authorities Confident Bodies Belong to Missing Girls
Story Created: Dec 6, 2012 at 10:44 AM CST
(Story Updated: Dec 6, 2012 at 4:11 PM CST )

EVANSDALE, Iowa — Officials Thursday are confident that the two bodies found in a Bremer County wildlife area are those of two girls who disappeared from Evansdale in July.

At an afternoon news conference Thursday, Bremer County Sheriff Dewey Hildebrandt announced that the bodies of Elizabeth Collins and Lyric Cook were found by hunters on Wednesday afternoon in Seven Bridges Wildlife Area, a park along the Wapsipinicon River (that is) popular for hunting and fishing, about 25 miles from Evansdale, where the girls were being watched by their grandmother when they disappeared on July 13.
 ::snipping2::

Video at link
http://www.kcrg.com/news/local/WATCH-Authorities-Confident-Remains-Belong-to-Missing-Girls-182439001.html

I'll move to Missing Found deceased

http://www.press-citizen.com/article/20121206/NEWS01/121206006/Site-bodies-discovery-confirmed?odyssey=nav%7Chead

Update: Officials confident bodies are missing Iowa girls
3:53 PM, Dec 6, 2012

The bodies that were discovered this week at a remote park in Bremer County were likely that of missing Iowa cousins Lyric Morrissey-Cook and Elizabeth Collins, a law enforcement official said today.

The bodies that were discovered by hunters at Seven Bridges Wildlife Area “were small in stature and we have no one else missing from this area,” said Black Hawk County Sheriff Capt. Rick Abben, during a news conference in an answer to a question about what led authorities to believe the bodies were those of the missing girls.

Abben said investigators were moving toward reclassifying the case as a homicide investigation, but would wait for information from the autopsies before proceeding.

The two cousins had been missing since July 13.

Abben said the bodies were taken to the State Medical Examiner’s Office in Ankeny where positive identifications will be made. He said he didn’t know how long it would take before that was done.
 ::snipping2::

Video of news conference at link

http://whotv.com/2012/12/06/missing-cousins-officials-confident-bodies-are-missing-girls/

MISSING GIRLS: Officials Confident About Identities
Posted on: 3:14 pm, December 6, 2012, by Kelly Maricle, updated on: 04:38pm, December 6, 2012

 ::snipping2::
Chief Deputy Rick Abben with the Black Hawk County Sheriff’s Office said at a Thursday news conference that though a positive forensic identification has not been made by the State Medical Examiner’s Office, evidence found on the scene where the bodies were found makes them confident the bodies belong to the missing girls.
 ::snipping2::

http://www.google.com/hostednews/ap/article/ALeqM5j0f6jzNKAImH5HI97TIk3cyGy1UQ?docId=752217a66fa54f7c85c62d20c5ee0839

Authorities 'confident' bodies are 2 Iowa cousins
By By RYAN J. FOLEY and DAVID PITT, Associated Press – 33 minutes ago

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Abben said investigators were leaning toward reclassifying the case as a homicide investigation, but would wait for information from the autopsies before proceeding. He declined to say whether the bodies were concealed, or how long investigators thought they had been there. Relatives have not gone to see the bodies and "there's no reason for them to do so," Abben said.

Officers from several agencies scoured fields, woods and ditches near the Seven Bridges Wildlife Area for any possible evidence in the case. Deer hunters apparently stumbled on the remains Wednesday in the secluded area, which is intersected by the Wapsipinicon River and is a popular spot for hunting and fishing.

Abben said investigators would continue combing the area for clues for several days and the park would remain closed to public access until at least Monday. "We will gather whatever is out there," he said.
 ::snipping2::

http://siouxcityjournal.com/ap/lee/branstad-policies-on-missing-kids-should-be-reviewed/article_b9a6fb55-393e-5aca-a7f4-10831440e453.html

Branstad: Policies on missing kids should be reviewed
5 hours ago  •  ROD BOSHART Journal Des Moines Bureau writer

DES MOINES | Gov. Terry Branstad on Thursday said state officials will review policies on missing children in light of news that two bodies were found in a wooded area of Evansdale, Iowa, on Wednesday. An autopsy will determine whether the remains are those of two missing cousins.

"It's a tragic situation," said Branstad, whose office held off issuing a public statement pending official identification by the state medical examiner.
 ::snipping2::

(http://www.idigitaltimes.com/data/images/full/2012/12/05/3802-the-two-bodies-found-in-iowa-woods-on-wednesday-are-believed-to-be-10-.jpg)
http://www.idigitaltimes.com/articles/13387/20121206/hunters-find-2-bodies-iowa-woods-cousins.htm

Hunters found the girls bodies.

Perhaps, it might be logical that a hunter may be the culprit.

Merry Christmas Kermit and Nut.