'Dancing Up with Our Savior': Iowa Mourns the Missing Cousins of Evansdale

By Alison Gowans and B.A. Morelli

CEDAR FALLS, IA -- For nearly five full months, Iowans joined in the lookout, joined in fundraisers and joined in prayer for 9-year-old Elizabeth Collins and her 11-year-old cousin, Lyric Cook-Morrissey.

The two little girls vanished from Meyers Lake in Black Hawk County on July 13, and hopes of their safe return continued until Wednesday, when two small bodies were found in a wooded area of Bremer County, 25 miles to the north.

Evansdale, the girls’ hometown, epitomizes small-town Iowa, an unassuming community of 4,751 people -- about a quarter of them kids -- just southeast of Waterloo and Cedar Falls. The town, built on four square miles of what had essentially been farmland, was formed only in 1947, its motto, “A City of Good Neighbors.”

At the last Evansdale Council meeting, the top item on the agenda was whether to give the public works director permission to buy a John Deere tractor.

With two of its children stolen in broad daylight while riding their bikes and now presumed murdered, Evansdale -- and all of Iowa, really -- are taking the loss personally.

“They’re our girls,” said Clair Metcalf, of Waterloo, the only city of any real size close to Evansdale.

She stood with her children, Noah Metcalf, 8, and Madeline Farrell, 4, at a vigil for the girls on Thursday. She said she never met Lyric and Elizabeth, but that didn't stop her from mourning them.

“They’re everybody’s girls,” she said.

All of Iowa Touched

When Elizabeth and Lyric were missing, their pictures seemed to be in every newspaper in the state. When they were apparently found -- formal confirmation of their identities is pending -- the news was on every news station, on the top of the front page of almost every newspaper in Iowa. The Des Moines Register, headquartered more than two hours away, filled its front page with pictures of the girls and a headline larger than its banner.

Once again, Iowa lost more of its innocence.

"I feel so badly for the suffering the little girls endured," said Noreen Gosch of West Des Moines, whose son was abducted 30 years ago and never found. "No child should go through such violence. No child should live in fear of being kidnapped."

People across the state felt the same way. From Sioux City to Dubuque and the Des Moines metro in between, business owners had posted missing fliers in their windows, plastering Lyric's and Elizabeth’s faces across Iowa.

In Black Hawk County, trees and light poles are festooned with pink ribbons, pink having become the official color representing the search for the cousins.

In Evansdale, Waterloo, Cedar Falls and beyond, the girls’ presence and photos are everywhere. On Wednesday, when hunters stumbled across two bodies in rural Bremer County, television stations switched their programming to live coverage of the grim news from law enforcement: the bodies were believed to be Lyric and Elizabeth.

"I can't speak for others, but it makes all parents squeeze our kids a little tighter and makes us more aware of what’s going on around them," said Officer Randy Peterson, community liaison for the Urbandale Police Department, nearly three hours away. "It shakes a community down to its core when a national case like this does happen. I hope it never happens again, as a police officer and as a parent."

Iowa's Pain

The Thursday vigil, held across the street from the Evansdale police station just hours after authorities further announced they were “confident” the bodies found were the cousins, was one of many vigils, prayer services and fundraisers held in the months since the cousins disappeared.

For most of that time, with the girls’ fate a mystery, hope was the byword.

Lisa Helland, of Cedar Falls, placed a pink ornament on a memorial Christmas tree at the vigil.

“I just needed closure,” she said. “We just held out hope they would come home safe. We were so positive and upbeat.”

The case resonated deeply with so many across Iowa. If it could happen in Evansdale, it could happen in anyone’s town, and it could be anyone’s children.

“We can relate - we’ve got kids,” her husband, Kyle Helland, said. “They’re hard-working families, just like us.”

Months ago, shortly after the girls went missing, the Hellands helped organize a fundraiser for the families, where they met Drew and Heather Collins, Elizabeth's parents.

“Drew told us, ‘We’ll see you at the celebration!’” Lisa Helland said, recalling hopes the girls would soon be home. She paused. “I guess we’ll see them at the celebration of life.”

On Thursday, Heather Collins posted this on her Facebook page:

“We knew when our girls went missing that would be two outcomes unfortunately this is not the one that we wanted but we know our girls our dancing up with our savior. We know that he will continue to be with us giving us strength and comfort always.”

A Summer Bike Ride

The girls left Elizabeth’s house in Evansdale early on July 13 for a bike ride on a warm summer day. Neighbors saw a familiar sight as the girls pedaled by and headed over to Meyers Lake. It wasn’t until hours later, when the girls didn’t return, that concern grew. A full-scale search ensued after a firefighter discovered the girls’ bikes abandoned by the lake.

Hundreds of volunteers and multiple law enforcement agencies scoured the woods, ditches and fields. A dive team explored Meyers Lake, which was later drained for good measure. Surrounding communities were also asked to search.

Investigators called the case an abduction, but a ray of hope shined through.

A Ray of Hope

An official from the Federal Bureau of Investigation said about a week after anyone saw the girls that they had reason to believe the cousins were still alive.

Rumors swirled that perhaps Lyric’s parents knew something. Dan Morrissey and Misty Cook, who had a history of arrests and drug activity, came under suspicion, and their legal woes served as a sidebar throughout the five-month search as court appearances came and went.

Birthdays and anniversaries passed while the whole state stayed on the lookout. Missing posters, newscasts and even a booth at the Iowa State Fair offered steady reminders that Lyric and Elizabeth had not come home.

Iowans seemed to be on edge as dozens of abduction attempt reports came into police stations across the state.

Never Give Up

The Cook-Morrissey and Collins families published a letter pleading with those responsible to find it in their hearts to return the girls, and they made a renewed effort to canvass the state with new fliers. As the holidays approached, they hoped for a return by Thanksgiving. Then in time for Christmas.

As summer turned to fall, authorities called on hunters to keep an eye out. On Wednesday, hunters came upon the little bodies in a secluded area of the 125-acre Seven Bridges Wildlife Area in Bremer County.

It’s not clear if that area had been searched before. Authorities have released few details about how the bodies were found. An autopsy has been completed, and it is expected to confirm the bodies are the girls and perhaps offer more clues about what happened. Authorities say they are leaning toward a homicide.

While this chapter of the case has concluded, the next chapter opens. Who is responsible and why?

Authorities have received thousands of tips, and they are still searching the Seven Bridges woods for clues. But, as Iowans know too well with September's 30-year-anniversary of Johnny Gosch’s abduction, sometimes the second chapter never ends.

A reward has grown to $150,000, originally for information leading to the return of the girls.

The reward is now for information leading to the capture and conviction of whoever is responsible for Iowa's loss.