Photos of the missing Evansdale girls will appear on the back of Michael Annett’s race car.
The search for two missing girls in northeast Iowa will get more national attention this weekend thanks to a NASCAR driver from Iowa.
The back of Michael Annett’s number-43 car will feature pictures of 9-year-old Elizabeth Collins and 10-year-old Lyric Cook-Morrissey as he races in the U.S. Cellular 250 at the Iowa Speedway in Newton.
The cousins disappeared on July 13 while riding bicycles in Evansdale. Jeff Dennison, a spokesperson for Richard Petty Motorsports, says the idea was presented by Teresa Miller of Oelwein.
“Luckily, through the race team and sponsors, we had an opportunity to have some additional space on the car…on the deck lid or back of the car,” Dennison said.
Annett is a Des Moines native and played hockey for the Waterloo Black Hawks between 2003 and 2005. The girl’s pictures on his car will be accompanied by an 800 tip-line number.
“Our purpose is obviously to bring light to it and say ‘hey, we have a situation here and Micheal is from (Iowa),” Dennison said. “We’re looking for media attention, but hopefully it helps.”
The NASCAR Nationwide Series race at the Iowa Speedway is scheduled to begin at 7 p.m. Saturday. The race will televised by ESPN2.
Top view of Michael Annett’s car.