Elizabeth Collins, Lyric Cook-Morrissey: Relatives fear missing Iowa cousins were abducted

By: Crimesider Staff
Topics: Daily Blotter

Undated photos of missing Iowa cousins Lyric Cook-Morrissey (left) and Elizabeth Collins (right)

/ Personal photo

(CBS/AP) EVANSDALE, Iowa - Family members of Elizabeth Collins and Lyric Cook-Morrissey, who went missing in northeastern Iowa, are beginning to wonder whether the cousins were abducted, after days of investigations appeared to produce no significant leads.

PICTURES: Hundreds search for missing Iowa cousins

Elizabeth, 8, and Lyric, 10, were last seen Friday at their grandmother's house in Evansdale, a suburb of Waterloo. Their bicycles and Elizabeth's purse were found later that day at nearby Meyers Lake and FBI dogs detected the girls' scent in the area.

On Monday, authorities began draining the lake, a task that FBI spokeswoman Sandy Breault said could take up to three days.

Breault also said the reaction from the dogs indicated a "strong possibility" the girls had been at the lake but that because there were no confirmed sightings there, authorities couldn't be certain.

Chief Deputy Rick Abben of the Black Hawk County Sheriff's Office said the case was still considered a missing persons investigation and that they were draining the lake to rule out the possibility the girls were in the water.

Lyric's parents said they didn't think the girls had drowned, noting their swimming abilities and the fact that no shoes were recovered on the bank of the lake. Relatives suspect an abduction.

"I don't think that they're in the lake, not at all, but it is just like a dead end as far as we know so far," said Dan Morrissey, Lyric's father.

"The area where the bikes were found is fenced on both sides, and it is right where maintenance gate is. It is a spot that looks to me like a trap," Morrissey said. "Somebody could have just come along right then or followed them down. It would have been the worst spot to be in."

Tammy Brousseau, 48, an aunt to both girls, agreed that the girls may have been abducted. She said just last week she taught Lyric how to "save someone if they went limp in the water" and that she also taught both girls how to "drop to the ground and fight" if someone tried to snatch them.

A massive sweep of the area that drew hundreds of volunteers over the weekend failed to find any evidence. Authorities dredged the lake and interviewed family, friends and registered sex offenders who live in the area. At least 30 FBI investigators joined the search.

More on Crimesider
July 16, 2012 - Search resumes for missing cousins, Iowa police say
July 16, 2012 - Authorities "grasping for straws" in missing Iowa girls case, sheriff deputy says
July 17, 2012 - Authorities begin draining Meyers Lake in search for missing Iowa girls

23 Photos

Bodies of missing Iowa cousins identified

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17 Comments +

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by moonflower2010 July 18, 2012 7:47 PM EDT

I hope the girls are ok, although they probably aren't.:(

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by knewsteerrrrr July 18, 2012 9:36 PM EDT: It should be obvious last Friday they are dead, and not simply "missing" from wandering away!


by lillyhorton July 19, 2012 9:25 AM EDT: I don't think they are dead they just aren't in a good place right now.


by americanusa July 18, 2012 7:08 PM EDT: PS? if anyone wants to get it done and the fbi is unwilling to do it? I know a forensic investigator with 17 years with federal examinations/investigations involving criminal investigations who would be willing to fly to that area, work with the police, with the trucking company, and others to at least go thru that employee/trainee list and compare to the national sex offender database. what the center for missing and exploited children say?; Reply to this comment

by americanusa July 18, 2012 7:05 PM EDT

start with bringing in all 'local sex offenders'?? why the 'H" not ask for the trucking training company records in cedar rapids (south 16th st sw) and compare against the national crime database--with computer tools it is easy to do. I do know the FBI, local police, AND the des moines register were contacted about this. why?. many of the people going to that truck driver training school are being brought in from out of state without complete records checks; some after getting there are put out of the program and then stranded because they dont have enough money to get home. it's only 50 miles from evansdale to cedar rapids.. an easy and frequently traveled road by the 'trainee drivers' and others associated. why not check into it? are the local fbi too cozy with trucking company and afraid to step on toes? wake up. the company will have no problem furnishing information if asked. any trained forensic examiner using computer tools could do this legwork in 1, 2, oor 3 days max.. with a helper. in fact, I bet the Evansdale police department has some expert talent in their own department that could accomplish the task if the fbi is either too lazy or not willing to do it.. why not try and at least rule it out.. or find out while any potential offenders might still be in the area to talk with? you tell me.

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by knewsteerrrrr July 18, 2012 9:37 PM EDT: Waste of time.

by americanusa July 18, 2012 6:55 PM EDT

!! they are looking at local registered sex offenders. good start, bu not enough. I KNOW the FBI and local law enforcement have been contacted about another large pool of people from out of state are being sent by bus to that part of the state; some have criminal records some don't. initial response from the fbi was that this out of state group of people was located 50 miles away from Evansdale in Cedar Rapids (which was reported to them). a company has been paying bus fare to bring in potential 'student' truckers into cedar rapids--likely about 300 in the past month alone. people needing jobs, without criminal records checks completed before they show up. point? potential for many sex offenders. simple to check, why not?

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by lillyhorton July 19, 2012 9:23 AM EDT: there are bad people not registered. Creeps get caught but it is harder to catch those in the business of making money exploiting children.

by lillyhorton July 18, 2012 5:00 PM EDT

I appears to me that both parents said though the girls have gone to the lake it wasn't a popular destination for them. It was a distance and the heat would be a factor in their decision to go. Abductors would not attempt to take the girls in populated areas but it is known that they use other children to pull them to secluded places. The girls might be used in sex related crimes which seems to be on the rise. This may be local as in 20 miles away from the area.

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by americanusa July 18, 2012 6:59 PM EDT: a trucking company has a 'school' for truck drivers in cedar rapids. rather than training local people, they are bringing in bus loads of job-desperate people trying to get an 18 wheeler license. I KNOW the FBI was furnished information about this, sure many honest people, but they should expand the search of sex offenders beyond those living to include those who have been brought in from as far away as Florida. easy enough to check: check the company student trainee records against the national sex offender registry thru the fbi. very least: ask the trucking company for names of all students rejected because of sex offense records found after hired but arriving in cedar rapids. why NOT? you tell me. they don't have a clue but don't want to follow this lead?


by knewsteerrrrr July 18, 2012 9:39 PM EDT: y americanusa July 18, 2012 6:59 PM EDT
a trucking company has a 'school' for truck "

This some kind of personal vendetta against that trucking school or what? you posted this libelous trash half a dozen times already!


by sbarr10 July 18, 2012 1:29 PM EDT: I am fearing the worst but am still holding hope that these girls will be found alive and well. The circumstances are very puzzling, the authorities have practically nothing to go on, and they and the families need our help and best wishes.; Reply to this comment

by BorisBadenov1520 July 18, 2012 12:33 PM EDT

They crapped around not thinking that the USA is filled with these sexual predators? Face it - we are not a family orientated nation anymore, and we are corrupted by our courts and our sorry leader embracing sexual deviants and those that break the law.

Find the animal behind this incident, from trial to appeal in one year, and bring back the chair and fry him or her in the reality TV venue.

The judges are idiots, Obama is a political pimp, and the left are screwing up a once safe and respected nation.

We the majority in a Republic not a Democracy should be at arms to take back our country, mandate the values that made us great, and eliminate thee animals as we used to, saving us time, money and two more little girls lives.

Drugs, slaves, organ harvesting, cults and rapists - have we had enough to realize the system is broken and the liberal values and approach is destroying our nation and our families???

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by SpittinBullitz July 18, 2012 1:27 PM EDT: Most of the "sexual predators" you speak of are religious conservative wackos. Take Utah, for example, a very republican state, and a very religious state. Utah watches more pornography than any other state in the union, and Utah State Prison houses 80% sex offenders. No other prison in the U.S. comes close! Take a look at the Catholic hierarchy, very conservative, and a well-known safe-haven for pedophiles. Now take a look at the Boy Scouts, an organization run by religious organizations, and they've had one child sex scandal after another. One sexually abused boy scout received an 18 million dollar settlement.

And your comment about "sexual deviants" is completely off-the-wall. Most pedophiles are heterosexual males, like Sandusky. When was the last time you read about a gay man molesting a child? I bet you never have because it's extremely rare. Most child molesters and rapists are straight men, and many have wives and children of their own. Molesting children is all about power and control, and there's no cure for pedophilia. You need to educate yourself.


by ralphing July 18, 2012 3:19 PM EDT: The neighbor who lived down the street from me when I was in grade school was gay, and he also was found to have molested kids in the neighborhood. All adults knew he was gay, and told us not to be alone anywhere with him. He always tried to get me to go inside his house, but I never did. I know for a fact that other kids I knew did do it. This guy had other adult gay friends but he had no specific preference in the age, any male would do.


by MegaProcrastination July 18, 2012 7:39 PM EDT: Ralphling, that is sometimes the case but not a general rule. I know a guy who is into girls, any age, doesn't matter. He's molested so many of his female relatives it's beyond ridiculous. Of course his family never did anything about it and the other day I heard he has a Facebook account, which totally disturbs me but there's nothing I can do about it. At any rate, just being homosexual doesn't make a person a pedophile. Most of them prefer adults, as do the majority of straight people.


by knewsteerrrrr July 18, 2012 9:41 PM EDT: nd your comment about "sexual deviants" is completely off-the-wall. Most pedophiles are heterosexual males, like Sandusky. When was the last time you read about a gay man molesting a child? I bet you never have because it's extremely rare."

Yeah, same thing applies to zoophiles and the claim that if they do animals as a warmup crime your children are "next" is another line of BS. Pedos are almost always hetero males, and usually known to the family.