A spokesman for the agencies searching for two missing northeast Iowa girls estimates up to 90 people who’ve called in tips are self-identified psychics or mediums who claim they have information about the case.
“One said that they were an intuitive and they all are giving their opinion,” Rick Abben, chief deputy in the Black Hawk County Sheriff’s office said late this afternoon. “No two are having the same vision, I guess you could say, or (telling authorities) that the girls are in the same place.”
Every potential lead, regardless of the source, is “taken seriously,” according to Abben.
“There’s no reason for us not to,” Abben told reporters. “…I’ve got four kids and, you know, I would want the same thing for my family or for your family. We’re going to treat everybody the same and do what we can to try to get these girls back.”
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, a community near Waterloo. Authorities plan to release new photos of the girls soon.
“Something that might be a little bit more updated that the family has provided us with now,” Abben said. “The pictures that we have are good, but they were school pictures and we have a couple, now, that we think are a little bit newer yet.”
Daily media briefings about the investigation are being discontinued. Abben said it makes no sense to meet daily with reporters to go over the same material. Abben said if there are major developments in the case, that information will be shared with the public.