Evansdale, Iowa — A massive group of volunteers were out this weekend looking for 10-year-old Lyric Cook and 8-year-old Elizabeth Collins, the two cousins who went missing while riding their bicycles on Friday. Unfortunately, or maybe fortunately, they were not found.
The two girls were last seen leaving their grandmother’s home after being given permission to go out on a short bike ride. When they did not return home, police were called. Later that afternoon, their bikes were found abandoned near a bike trail.
By Sunday, the volunteer search effort grew to over 900 people and included local authorities and volunteers, as well as state and national agencies that included the FBI and National Center for Missing and Exploited Children. They searched a 12-square mile area, including dragging a 5-acre lake, on foot, horseback, and 4-wheelers while also using search and rescue dogs.
But even with all that, searchers have found absolutely no trace of the girls. ”It’s like they vanished,” Richard Abben of the Black Hawk County Sheriff’s Office said. “There’s just nothing.”
Police say that currently there is no evidence of foul play, and no indication of custodial issues. According to police, the girls’ parents have been very cooperative.
As of today, the volunteer search effort has been suspended.
“As we evaluate the accomplishments and results of the searches conducted this past weekend, we are not asking for any additional assistance from the general public,” Evansdale Police Chief Kent Smock said in an e-mail this morning.
“We’ve covered everything we can cover with civilian people,” Marcus Norman, volunteer coordinator with Evansdale Fire Department, told the Des Moines Register. ”Law enforcement is still working on the residential areas and things of that sort.”
Lyrics mother said that there is the possibility that her daughter, who she describes as a good swimmer, may have tried to swim at the lake, despite there being a swimming ban. Elizabeth’s mother said her daughter would never venture far from home, but could’ve been persuaded by her older cousin.
I hope they find the girls safe and unharmed, but I have been writing up these kind of stories for too long. Realistically, and more often than not with stories like this, the next post we make about these two girls will probably be a lot worse than this one.
Tags: bicycle, Crime, Elizabeth Collins, Iowa, Lyric Cook, Missing
A million times on this site, I have posted about the detrimental impact the lack of unsupervised play is having on children in developed countries (no, not just ours). It contributes to increased obesity rates, decreased socialization and stunted executive functions (judgment, self-control). Today, our seven-year-olds are operating at the level of executive function exhibited by 5-year-olds just a couple of generations ago. The damage our collective fear is having on our children is tangible and unnecessary.
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