Authorities are hoping people attending the Iowa State Fair might be able to help them crack the case of two northeast Iowa girls who went missing nearly one month ago.
Originally, a request came from volunteers who wanted a booth to display information about the disappearance of 10-year-old Lyric Cook and 9-year-old Elizabeth Collins of Evansdale.
But, fair spokesperson Lori Chappell says the deadline had passed to apply to rent a booth.
All 700 booths are rented and there’s a waiting list for any that open up.
“We just recently received that request and with all our plans in place for the fair that starts on Thursday, we weren’t able to accommodate the request through our typical process,” Chappell said.
She notes the case of the missing girls will still get attention as the Iowa Division of Criminal Investigation will have a booth at the fair.
“It’s working out that (the D.C.I.) has, for the past few weeks, been working on including information about the two missing girls in their booth. So, plans were already underway,” Chappell said.
The Iowa D.C.I. booth is in the Hall of Law, which located under the grandstand. The D.C.I. display will include a poster featuring pictures of the girls who went missing on July 13.
There will also be a lockbox for people to leave anonymous tips. Chappell believes there’s a chance someone attending the fair might know something about the case that could help investigators.
“With nearly one million people going to the fairgrounds over 11 days, this is probably the most effective way we can help – partnering with our law enforcement officials, who are experts at handling tips and information, and for people to go directly to them and possibly help,” Chappell said.
The Iowa State Fair begins tomorrow in Des Moines and runs through August 19.