Girls' Bike Ride Ends In Tragedy

Stabbed Bodies Of Two Second Graders Found In Rural Illinois Park

(CBS/AP) 
"They were best friends," said Laura Unrein, who lives near the park. "When one left, the other left. They were always together."

"They were very sweet girls," said Julie Dobnikar, who teaches second grade at the school. Dobnikar added that the girls' teacher is "very distraught right now."

Bowers reports that police have spent hours interviewing family members, but still say they have no clear leads and no real suspects. Kids in Zion remain under protective lockdown.

The killings stunned this town about 45 miles north of Chicago, prompting police and school officials to escort children directly onto buses at the end of the school day. Dozens of anxious parents waited until their children emerged from the front doors of the school, then put their arms around their kids or clutched their hands as they walked to their cars.

No child was allowed to leave unescorted, Dobnikar said.

Many parents say they're worried about the safety of their own kids after the sudden disappearance and murders.

Jeanette Ortiz said she is worried because her 11-year-old son plays and rides his bike in the same park. She came to the school to pick him up.

"I'm going to have to tell him that he needs to be careful no matter where he goes," she said.

Neighbors around the park say it's been a quiet and safe place for decades.

Social workers and a crisis intervention team have been called to help the students.

"We will be monitoring the students," Collins said. "There will be a time that they will be able to interact with others if they need assistance beyond what the school can provide. We have community resources as well as faith-based organizations that are ready to step up and assist in any way possible."

Brent Paxton, a Lake County Board member who lives across the street from the nature area, said the neighborhood is generally safe and quiet, and his three young children play in the park.

"Obviously, if it was random act, somebody just picking up kids in the park, I would be very concerned about that," Paxton said.

Zion has about 22,000 residents. Nestled near Lake Michigan, the community was founded in 1901 by a religious faith healer as a utopian community. It retains a quiet, at times rural feel despite being on the edge of both the Chicago and Milwaukee metropolitan areas.