Investigators working on the case of two missing northeast Iowa girls want to interview a person who was paddle-boating on a lake that’s near where the girl’s bicycles were found.
Ten-year-old Lyric Cook-Morrissey and her cousin, eight-year-old Elizabeth Collins, disappeared Friday, July 13. They were last seen riding their bikes in Evansdale. Rick Abben, chief deputy in the Black Hawk County Sheriff’s office, said authorities believe the girls are alive and the public may hold the clue to their whereabouts.
“I’d like to say, ‘Yeah, there they are — right outside. Let’s grab ’em and get ’em in,’ but unfortunately I can’t do that,” Abben said during a news conference Monday afternoon. “I know the officers are working 24/7 to bring these girls home, get ’em back to the community. I hope we can get ’em back soon. Someone has to know something.”
The girls’ bikes and a purse were found near Meyers Lake and authorities say the paddle-boat operator they’d like to come forward is not a suspect, but may be able to provide some clues about what was happening in the area that day. Abben says investigators want anyone who was in the area on Friday the 13th to come forward, even if that person believes they have nothing to add to the case.