Friday, April 26, 2013
Sarah Werkmeister, who organized the Concert for the Angels, said blessings keep pouring in almost a week after the fundraiser for a memorial for Lyric Cook-Morrissey and Elizabeth Collins.
It's been almost a week since the Concert for the Angels, and organizer Sarah Werkmeister said the blessings just keep coming. The concert raised $31,000 to build a memorial for murdered Evansdale cousins Lyric Cook-Morrissey, 10, and Elizabeth Collins, 8. "It went really well," Werkmeister said. "Just to see everyone come together, it was beautiful." Read more: 8-Year-Old Cancer Survivor and Her Mom Pay it Forward to Honor Evansdale Cousins Follow @CedarFallsPatch on Twitter, on Facebook and through our newsletter for future news updates. She said she's appreciated stories from people who said the concert left them feeling inspired - and the stories keep coming in. She shared a Facebook message she received today from one person who …
Thursday, April 18, 2013
When Sarah Werkmeister's daughter Jersey was diagnosed with cancer, her classmate Elizabeth Collins donated to help her. Now Sarah is paying it forward for the Collins and Cook families in a "Concert for the Angels."
When Sarah Werkmeister's daughter Jersey Barfels was diagnosed with cancer in 2011, the community rallied around them. Thousands showed up at a benefit for Jersey and her family. People cooked meals and drove them to the hospital in Iowa City. One of Jersey's classmates, then just 7-years-old, brought $85 to school as a donation. That classmate was Elizabeth Collins. Last July, as Jersey's cancer was going into remission, Elizabeth, 8, disappeared, along with her cousin Lyric Cook-Morrissey, 10. Lyric and Elizabeth were abducted from Evansdale last summer. Their bodies were found in December, and the search for their killer is ongoing. The Collins, Cook and Morrissey family hardships were beginning just as Sarah and Jersey's were coming to…
Tuesday, April 2, 2013
A burial service has been planned for May for Elizabeth Collins. The family hopes the burial will be a step in the healing process.
One of the two Evansdale cousins that were abducted and found murdered six months later will be laid to rest next month. Heather Collins posted on her Facebook page that her 8-year-old daughter Elizabeth Collins will be buried at a service at 11 a.m. on May 4 at Waterloo Memorial Park Cemetery, KWWL-TV reports. "We feel that everyone in the community has given us such much support and has taken her as part of their child," Collins wrote on Facebook, according to KWWL. "We want everyone to have that chance to do the last unbearable step in putting her body in the ground. "This will just (be) one more step in the healing process, not that this will be any easier but we know with family and friends we get thru this step," she added. Elizabeth…
Monday, February 25, 2013
A memorial is being planned for abducted Evansdale cousins Lyric Cook-Morrissey and Elizabeth Collins. Residents are warning residents to be careful of scams.
A teen going door-to-door in Evansdale and offering to do chores in exchange for donations isn't affiliated with a memorial fund for cousins who were abducted and murdered last year, Evansdale Police Chief Kent Smock said Monday. Residents had reported the incident as a possible scam. Smock, however, said the issue had been discussed with the teen and his mother and the matter was taken care of. "It got overblown," he said. Though the issue with the teen has been taken care of, the incident serves as a reminder that some take advantage of tragedy. In recent weeks, scam artists have sought to capitalize in the wake of the Sandy Hook elementary school shooting and through Hurricane Sandy relief funds. Cousins Lyric Cook-Morrissey, 10, and …
Thursday, January 3, 2013
Authorities said the cause of death and other details will remain confidential as authorities continue to investigate the deaths of Lyric Cook-Morrissey and Elizabeth Collins.
Authorities will likely not release the cause of death or other details anytime soon in connection to the deaths of Evansdale cousins Lyric Cook-Morrissey, 10, and Elizabeth Collins, 8. The girls disappeared while riding their bikes near Meyers Lake in Evansdale July 13. Their bodies were found by hunters in Seven Bridges Wilderness Area in rural Bremer County Dec. 5. With the investigation ongoing, how and when the cousins died has not been released. "The only people that are going to know this information are the people who are responsible,” Evansdale Police Chief Kent Smock told The Des Moines Register. “At least until somebody is arrested and we’re comfortable with that, that’s information we’ll keep confidential.” The Des Moines …
Tuesday, December 18, 2012
The Senate Democratic leader says death penalty legislation is a non-starter, but Republican Kent Sorenson says he'll reach across the aisle for support for "capital justice."
Parents of some of Iowa’s missing and murdered children said they won’t give up until Iowa reinstates the death penalty, despite Gov. Terry Branstad’s earlier statements that it won't be a priority when the Legislature convenes in January. Branstad supports capital punishment in some circumstances and said he sympathizes with parents, but said Democrats who control the Iowa Senate would likely block it, the Des Moines Register reported. The discovery two weeks ago of the bodies of missing Evansdale cousins Elizabeth Collins and Lyric Cook-Morrissey has renewed talk about restoring the death penalty to keep Iowa children safer. Authorities say there is a strong likelihood the girls were murdered after they were abducted while taking a …
Thursday, December 13, 2012
Family, friends and the community gathered in Cedar Falls to celebrate the life and love of Elizabeth Collins, whose body was discovered with her cousin Lyric Cook-Morrissey after a search that lasted nearly five months.
Hope, not despair, was the theme of the night Thursday as the community gathered to bid farewell to one of its stolen children, Elizabeth Collins. Elizabeth, 8, was mourned not just by her family and friends, but by thousands of people who spent months searching and praying for her and her cousin, Lyric Cook-Morrissey, 10, after the two girls disappeared while riding their bikes one sunny July day. "It’s a celebration for her," Elizabeth's mother Heather Collins said as around 1,500 people filled Heartland Vineyard Church in Cedar Falls. Countless others watched the service live on the local and regional news. "I know she’ll be looking down on us, smiling and dancing along with us and singing." The "Life and Love of Elizabeth" ceremony …
Elizabeth Collins and her cousin Lyric Cook-Morrissey, of Evansdale, went missing July 13. Their bodies were recently discovered. A 'Life and Love Celebration' and visitation will be held for Elizabeth tonight.
A "Life and Love" service in honor of Elizabeth Collins is taking place in Cedar Falls tonight. Collins, 8, and her cousin, Lyric Cook-Morrissey, 10, of Evansdale, disappeared while riding their bikes near Meyers Lake July 13. Their bodies were discovered in a wooded area of Bremer County last week. Heartland Vineyard Church, at 405 Greenhill Road, Cedar Falls, will have a visitation and service for Elizabeth tonight, Dec. 13. The visitation is 5 p.m. to 6:30 p.m., with the service to begin at 7 p.m. The church also plans to offer a live stream of the funeral on its website. Other media outets, including KWWL and KCRG, are also planning live coverage. A service for Lyric will be held separately. Her mother, Misty Morrissey, grandmother …
Wednesday, December 12, 2012
A Life and Love Celebration service for Elizabeth will be Dec. 13 at Heartland Vineyard Church, 1405 Greenhill Road, Cedar Falls. Visitation 5 p.m. to 6:30 p.m., service 7 p.m.
- OBITUARIES
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Wednesday, December 12, 2012
Elizabeth June Marie Collins was born weighing 9 pounds and 13 ounces at Allen Memorial Hospital in Waterloo, Iowa: the daughter of Drew and Heather (Cook) Collins. She was a student at Poyner Elementary School and was a bubbly little person, with the best smile, who loved what life had to give and all it had to offer. Elizabeth enjoyed dressing up and getting her nails and hair done. She loved singing, riding her bike and playing softball and hockey. She had a big heart and had a great love for animals. Elizabeth also loved playing with her siblings and ordering them around. She enjoyed going on vacations and had traveled to many places. Mom and Elizabeth loved their time together, shopping and having dinner. Many times were treasured …
Tuesday, December 11, 2012
Lyric Cook-Morrissey and Elizabeth Collins' bodies were found in Bremer County last week. A $150,000 reward has been offered for information leading to the capture and conviction of the culprit or culprits.
For almost five months, Iowans searched for any sign of Evansdale cousins Lyric Cook-Morrissey, 10, and Elizabeth Collins, 8. Now that their bodies have been found, the search has shifted focus. An Evansdale printing company, Creative Impact Company, which was heavily involved in disseminating "missing" fliers after the girls disappeared, has now created a flier aimed at finding justice. They are asking people across the state to share and post the flier in the hopes of raising awareness that the public's help is still needed. Authorities are seeking any information that could help find the person or persons involved in the cousins' disappearance. A $150,000 reward is available for information leading to an arrest and conviction in the …
Alison Gowans
8:24 pm on Thursday, April 25, 2013
Sarah, you just made my night. more ›