IA IA - Elizabeth Collins & Lyric Cook - Found Deceased - Evansdale - 13 Jul 2012 #39

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Cook is the mother of Lyric Cook, who along with her cousin Elizabeth Collins went missing nearly 11 years ago while riding their bicycles in Evansdale. Their bodies were found months later.

No arrests have ever been made in the girls' murders.
 


Cook is the mother of Lyric Cook, who along with her cousin Elizabeth Collins went missing nearly 11 years ago while riding their bicycles in Evansdale. Their bodies were found months later.

No arrests have ever been made in the girls' murders.

I’m sorry to read this news. I wish a breakthrough could be made with Elizabeth and Lyric’s case.
 
I recently stumbled across this. It looks like a documentary is in progress?
I hope so. I would love to see attention brought back to this tragic case. I feel that somehow these girls have been lost in the media. We haven't forgotten you Lyric & Elizabeth. I pray some day soon there will be justice for you.
 
Just posted. Some of the details discussed were new to me. Especially in regard to Michael Klunder... wow!
 
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10 years after Evansdale case, investigators inching closer to justice

A few lines, RSBM, that made my ears perk up

“Time creates advances in technology, things that we’re able to do now that weren’t necessarily able to do back in 2012,” Reger said. He added private companies and labs have offered up new technology to help develop leads in the case. Reger would not elaborate on what type of technology.“

AND

“In 2014, Evansdale Police Chief Kent Smock ruled Klunder out as a suspect in the Evansdale case.

Reger did not rule him out, or in.

“Michael Klunder was a specific, that the timing of him being within nine months of this and the call to rule him out . . . those are decisions that were made by the investigators that had more to say than I would right now,” Reger said. “It would be inappropriate for us to comment on ruling in and ruling out, which I know is super frustrating.”
Does this refer to familial DNA analysis? Which technologies? I don't remember whether DNA was reported one way or another. The bodies were not found for months. I don't think they were just bones, and clothing was found. I see a new video has been posted ... curious what's new.

"That institutional knowledge coupled with advances in technology gives investigators hope that they will make a break in the case.

“Time creates advances in technology, things that we’re able to do now that weren’t necessarily able to do back in 2012,” Reger said. He added private companies and labs have offered up new technology to help develop leads in the case. Reger would not elaborate on what type of technology."​

same link
 
I remember years ago discussing that the suspect must be familiar with Meyers Lake, where they were lured and abducted, and Seven Bridges Park, where the bodies were found. Seven Bridges Park was a teen camp with water sports, fishing, hunting. It closed when the nearby bridge collapsed. Meyers Lake was a teen party spot that ended when the highway was built. That helps narrow down the age of the suspect.

"A firefighter located the girls’ abandoned bikes about a mile from the Collins’ home along a trail that surrounded Meyers Lake. The location of the bikes immediately concerned law enforcement – an area of trail in the southeastern corner of the lake hidden by trees and brush, approximately 40 feet from Interstate 380.
...

We do believe that it is somebody that is familiar with the Meyers Lake area and Seven Bridges area,” said Bremer County Detective Jason Ellison, who has been assigned to the investigation in 2017."​

 
Just posted. Some of the details discussed were new to me. Especially in regard to Michael Klunder... wow!
Klunder was ruled out in May 2014.

"Authorities determined Klunder was not in Evansdale on July 13 and was not involved in the girls' disappearance or killing. Police believe Klunder was in or near his home in Stratford when the Evansdale girls disappeared, Smock said.

"We never close the door fully, but we're very comfortable saying we're no longer interested in looking at him," Smock said."

 
Klunder was ruled out in May 2014.

"Authorities determined Klunder was not in Evansdale on July 13 and was not involved in the girls' disappearance or killing. Police believe Klunder was in or near his home in Stratford when the Evansdale girls disappeared, Smock said.

"We never close the door fully, but we're very comfortable saying we're no longer interested in looking at him," Smock said."


Yes, I'm aware.

Smock's team made the call. Reger, the DCI agent, was very careful with his words when being asked about that determination which I found curious. He certainly didn't unequivocally back it up, which is what I would have expected.

Drew mentions in the YouTube video that Klunder's phone was pinging around his home the day Elizabeth and Lyric went missing. But still... He mentions a lot of odd coincidences that are just hard to ignore. He still seems to mull it over. As do I. That's all.
 
Yes, I'm aware.

Smock's team made the call. Reger, the DCI agent, was very careful with his words when being asked about that determination which I found curious. He certainly didn't unequivocally back it up, which is what I would have expected.

Drew mentions in the YouTube video that Klunder's phone was pinging around his home the day Elizabeth and Lyric went missing. But still... He mentions a lot of odd coincidences that are just hard to ignore. He still seems to mull it over. As do I. That's all.
That's my understanding as well - that Klunder was ruled out by his phone location. Throughout the investigation, Klunder could not be 100% ruled out, but he was no longer a person of interest after 2014 due to facts that placed him somewhere other than Evansdale on July 13, 2012.

Drew is quoted in 2014 (upthread) that he agreed that Klunder is not interesting in the search for the person who murdered his daughter.

There are similarities between Klunder and both Delphi and Evansdale. It's not only Klunder who abducted and murdered 2 girls. Delphi and Evandale are hunting/fishing areas. Klunder was a hog processing plant. It looks like three different men abducted and murdered 2 girls at the same time.
 
That's my understanding as well - that Klunder was ruled out by his phone location. Throughout the investigation, Klunder could not be 100% ruled out, but he was no longer a person of interest after 2014 due to facts that placed him somewhere other than Evansdale on July 13, 2012.

Drew is quoted in 2014 (upthread) that he agreed that Klunder is not interesting in the search for the person who murdered his daughter.

There are similarities between Klunder and both Delphi and Evansdale. It's not only Klunder who abducted and murdered 2 girls. Delphi and Evandale are hunting/fishing areas. Klunder was a hog processing plant. It looks like three different men abducted and murdered 2 girls at the same time.
Klunder abducted 2 but only murdered 1, one of the girls escaped and survived.

I think mentioning Jesse Speer in this discussion would be appropriate because he attempted to kidnap multiple girls, as well but was only successful at getting the one, the others got away and were able to alert police that one girl was kidnapped.

Article about Speer:

 
EVANSDALE, Iowa, (KWWL) 11 years and still unsolved, but the annual "Ride & Drive For The Girls" is coming up July 15 to help keep the memory alive.


"Some days are good days and some days are bad days. Holidays are really hard, says Drew Collins, the father of Elizabeth Collins.

11-years ago on July 13, 2012, Evansdale cousins, Elizabeth Collins and Lyric Cook-Morrisey, were first reported missing at Meyers Lake in Evansdale.

The girls went on a bike ride, when they would never be seen again.

There's a 20+ minute video with Drew included in the link. IIRC-KWWL has been doing an interview for several years now and airing it on tv. I know I watched one last year too.

ETA-https://www.kwwl.com/news/top-stories/i-just-feel-more-connected-to-her-here-id-rather-come-here-says-drew-collins/article_f362575c-1d39-11ee-9a35-6349a00cef91.html
 
EVANSDALE, Iowa, (KWWL) 11 years and still unsolved, but the annual "Ride & Drive For The Girls" is coming up July 15 to help keep the memory alive.


"Some days are good days and some days are bad days. Holidays are really hard, says Drew Collins, the father of Elizabeth Collins.

11-years ago on July 13, 2012, Evansdale cousins, Elizabeth Collins and Lyric Cook-Morrisey, were first reported missing at Meyers Lake in Evansdale.

The girls went on a bike ride, when they would never be seen again.

There is a 20+ minute new video interview with Drew included in this link. IIRC-The Steele Report has aired a story for the last several years about the girls right before the anniversary. I know I watched it last year and it's a local channel for me.
 
"It's still devastating every day not to have her," Heather Collins, Elizabeth's mother and Lyric's aunt, said in a 2022 interview ahead of the 10th anniversary of their abduction.

"It's the first thing you think of in the morning and the last at night. For me, it's very fresh. Doesn't seem like 10 years," Elizabeth's father, Drew Collins, around the same time.

Authorities never revealed the cause of death to the public because they believe it is information only the killer would know.

Federal authorities and Evansdale police believe the killer is likely familiar with Evansdale and saw a window of opportunity to kidnap and kill the girls. Investigators said the culprit may also have attempted to abduct children in the past and may have tried to change their appearance after the girls’ deaths.

Lyric's parents, Dan and Misty Morrissey have both received prison sentences for unrelated drug charges. At the time, their involvement with drugs fueled speculation. Authorities now say they do not believe Lyric’s parents were involved in the incident.

“I think people are confident in saying they didn't have an active role,” Mitch Mortvedt, head of field operations for the Iowa Division of Criminal Investigation, said to KCCI in a 2017 interview. “However, that doesn't rule out anything coming in in the future.”
 
Eleven years ago today, Lyric and Elizabeth disappeared while out riding their bikes. They were found murdered in December of that same year. If alive, their murderer walks freely among us to this day. I firmly believe that someone has information about who killed these two young girls, but for whatever inexcusable reason, they are not willing to share what they know with LE. That person is protecting a murderer. It’s unconscionable. That person could provide some relief to Lyric’s and Lizzy’s parents, siblings, extended family, friends, neighbors and the public, but they prefer to hide the information they know.

1689271921597.jpeg
 
can't believe it's been 11 years. So much mapping, trying to find likely search areas when they were still missing, trying to map out how they ended up where their bodies were found. I had my suspect but since never named a POI we weren't allowed to discuss. I hope one day this one gets solved.
 

This week marks the 11th year since the two girls were abducted July 13, 2012, at Meyers Lake in Evansdale. In December of that year their bodies were found in a wilderness area in Bremer County. The girls would have been 20 and 23 this year.
………

New this year is the formation of the Elizabeth Collins Foundation.

The organization is dedicated to helping families of missing individuals and educating the community on the prevention of abduction, sexual abuse and trafficking.
……….

As for Lyric and Elizabeth’s case, Collins said there are no new tips. He is hoping new evidence comes in or technology is created to help with the current evidence. Otherwise, he said, the case seems stagnant.
 

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