IA IA - Elizabeth Collins, 8, & Lyric Cook, 10, Evansdale, 13 July 2012 - #17

[CHERIE.T]

I just read about Misty.
I hope she uses therapy offered to her.
I imagine her pain is unbearable meaning she needs lots of support.
The families have my well wishes.

 

[GrainneDhu]

She may have just taken some kind of prescription for her nerves, an anti-anxiety drug, something to help her get through this horrible situation. It may not have been illegal drugs. Prescription drugs and alcohol don't mix either.
I was recently given a prescription for restless leg syndrome, and it plainly states not to take the drug with alcohol, as it will intensify the effects of it. It is not even a narcotic.
It's also very possible that even if it was a prescription, she may have taken too much, drank a couple beers or a mixed drink and passed out... whether it was intentional or not.
I hope she is going to be okay, but this has to be so terribly hard for them.

I want to note that I have no idea at all whether the following is true of any of the family members in this case.

In the case of someone who has developed a physical tolerance for a substance (alcohol or drugs), part of withdrawal is that tolerance is reduced or eliminated. Once that happens (and it's amazingly fast, something like a month for alcohol), if the person uses the substance again at the same quantity they used when they had physical tolerance, they can overdose.

A famous example is Amy Winehouse. She'd stopped drinking for some months, then something happened and she drank heavily the night she died.

Back when she was drinking all the time and had built up her tolerance for alcohol, she probably would have survived that much alcohol with nothing more wrong than a hangover the next morning.

Sadly, because she'd quit drinking, that night it killed her.

 

[RNER]

I have seen prior posts about possibly luring the girls to the lake with puppies, boat rides, and horse rides. Is there somewhere they can ride horses nearby, or does someone with knowledge of the girls own a horse?

 

[GrainneDhu]

I have followed this case from the very first thread. And I have almost always thought that Misty seemed to be horribly suffering. I cringed while I read so many folks accepting her easy smile as evidence of her not caring, or something even more sinister.

SBM

I agree.

I was always puzzled by criticism of her smile because it seemed to me that even when she was smiling, her eyes looked worried and sad.

 

[palaminodee]

Memory is complicated.
I wish that someone did see something and report it. But if I'm honest, I would say that I struggle sometimes with remembering what I said in a conversation 20 minutes earlier. Sometimes I lose whole chunks of time. Sometimes a reminder brings back a fragment of what happened or what I said. Yesterday is sometimes a mystery. Now there is a good reason for this, (stress) but if I had been walking or biking around the lake, I might only have noticed two bikes on the path. I probably couldn't have even pinpointed a time of day other than between certain hours. I may not have been able to describe the bikes well.

For example, I walked in a park last week and tried my best to remember something I saw, just to see how it must have been for anyone who was at Meyer's Lake that day. The only thing I remember now is what I intentionally tried to remember. I saw a little boy on a Razor scooter. I can't remember what color his hair or his clothing was. I think he was under 10 yrs old. I'm not even sure of where in the Park I saw him. When I try to remember, it's elusive.
Thank God I haven't witnessed anything that my testimony could have helped the outcome of because I'm pretty sure I couldn't help much.

that's exactly why I think who took the girls if it was at the lake, just "blended in"...if you live by a lake it is common to see bike riders, kids, boats etc....none of those people or what they are doing seem "out of place".

The person knew the area and how to look inconspicuous as well.

 

[ktgirl]

Is there a public bathroom along the trail somewhere? Some parks have little shelter-like buildings with bathrooms in them. If I am out running at such a park, I try desperately to not have to use these bathrooms unless the park is very well-populated, particularly by the bathrooms.

Sometimes those bathrooms have no lights, the doors don't lock, etc. They would be a perfect place to sneak up on someone.

Although I suppose if this was the case, the girls' bikes would have been closer to a bathroom (if there is one by the trail). Even so, if there are public bathrooms in the park/lake/trail area, I hope they have been searched throughly for evidence just in case.

 

[GrainneDhu]

Because he obviously suffers from a severe, criminal, mental disorder. Antisocial personality disorder, aka psychopathic.

Or he may have deluded himself that the child wanted it and was giving consent.

Jerry Sandusky apparently deluded himself into thinking that the boys and teens he sexually assaulted loved him.

 

[TeenyTaurus]

I'm probably just pulling at straws here, reading too much into things said, but...
"“There was a gentleman who regularly runs around the lake. He didn’t see either one of the girls ... but he did see their bikes and he was able to pinpoint the time of the day that he saw the bikes. Small details like this are really important to the investigation,” she said." Breault from the FBI.
When you look at the (bird's eye view) of Evansdale Nature Trail, it does not "run around the lake," as many have pointed out. Where WOULD someone's start and end points be? Would a vehicle, say, with a bike rack, or large enough to put a bike inside, be used here? Where I live, we have a very similar "trail," and many cyclists bring bikes to locations along it via vehicle. Our trail has both small "park & ride" spots, as well as parks, to do just that from. They are generally out-of-town people here, too. Just how is "regularly" accomplished?

 

[cindersoot]

I have seen prior posts about possibly luring the girls to the lake with puppies, boat rides, and horse rides. Is there somewhere they can ride horses nearby, or does someone with knowledge of the girls own a horse?

Someone who is a witness has horses

 

[cindersoot]

Is there a public bathroom along the trail somewhere? Some parks have little shelter-like buildings with bathrooms in them. If I am out running at such a park, I try desperately to not have to use these bathrooms unless the park is very well-populated, particularly by the bathrooms.

Sometimes those bathrooms have no lights, the doors don't lock, etc. They would be a perfect place to sneak up on someone.

Although I suppose if this was the case, the girls' bikes would have been closer to a bathroom (if there is one by the trail). Even so, if there are public bathrooms in the park/lake/trail area, I hope they have been searched throughly for evidence just in case.

As your pulling into the parking lot, to your right is a bathroom.

 

[dotr]

Wondering about the variety of "out of towners" in town for this event? July 13, 2012
http://eventful.com/waterloo/events...rloo-iowa-five-sullivan-b-/E0-001-047969641-1

 

[elmomom]

I posted a story of something that happened to me when I was a preteen out riding my bike. I want to repeat the story because I think it helps show people how easy an abduction can happen to two girls on bikes.
A friend and I decided to go off on a bike ride on a long bike trail, much further from home than we would have ever ridden alone before. The trail was alongside a busy road for the most art, occasionally it would curve into the woods and out of sight of the road for a little bit. It was the middle of a weekday during summer. As we rode into one of the cuves into the woods, a man appeared from out of the forest onto the path ahead of us holding a smallish knife. We came to an abrupt halt. He led us off the path, with us wheeling out bikes, and deeper into the woods. He did not touch either of us, although he exposed himself and was obviously enjoying himself. We were a few years older than Lyric and Elizabeth, and very street smart (I grew up in NYC), but believe me, the ONLY thing we thought of is, HE HAS A KNIFE. No running, no screaming no fighting him off for neither of us. It only took a few seconds. Had he had a car to take us with, I know we would have been... GONE.
Do I think it was planned? No. Do I think he was hanging out waiting for prey to appear? No. I just think he was walking the trail, and like so many criminals out there, took advantage of a happenstance situation that was presented to him. As far as he was concerned, he was just in the right place at the right time.
I'm not saying that this is what happened to L and E, but just reminding folks that it does sometimes JUST happen like that without advance planning and forethought. It really doesn't have to be complicated.

 

[TeenyTaurus]

Someone who is a witness has horses

Oh, and just because my brain is all over the map today, our similar trail here, while it's a bit rarely done, also allows horses on it. Just no motorized vehicles. Just a thought...

 

[cindersoot]

At what distance on this trail could you hear a bike coming?

On a sunday afternoon on that trail, I never saw any bikes. It was just me.

 

[cindersoot]

Oh, and just because my brain is all over the map today, our similar trail here, while it's a bit rarely done, also allows horses on it. Just no motorized vehicles. Just a thought...

No horses, that would really be something someone would notice.

 

[GrainneDhu]

I'm probably just pulling at straws here, reading too much into things said, but...
"“There was a gentleman who regularly runs around the lake. He didn’t see either one of the girls ... but he did see their bikes and he was able to pinpoint the time of the day that he saw the bikes. Small details like this are really important to the investigation,” she said." Breault from the FBI.
When you look at the (bird's eye view) of Evansdale Nature Trail, it does not "run around the lake," as many have pointed out. Where WOULD someone's start and end points be? Would a vehicle, say, with a bike rack, or large enough to put a bike inside, be used here? Where I live, we have a very similar "trail," and many cyclists bring bikes to locations along it via vehicle. Our trail has both small "park & ride" spots, as well as parks, to do just that from. They are generally out-of-town people here, too. Just how is "regularly" accomplished?

A vehicle could be used to bring a bicycle to ride part of the trail.

If a bicyclist lived in Waterloo and rode their bicycle regularly, it would be easy to ride over to Evansdale and back from almost anywhere in Waterloo.

When preparing for RAGBRAI, the Register suggests that by July, a bicyclist be putting in 15-20 miles daily (that translates into an hour to an hour and a half) and at least one 40-60 mile ride once a week. RAGBRAI is an event that over 15,000 bicyclists ride in each year and most of them are recreational riders.

 

[TeenyTaurus]

I not long ago ran across TWO photos of something that, upon closer examination, extended a thought. Different places I saw 'em, but... it was interesting. Not sure what, if anything, I might conclude about such, but it was interesting.
Dealt with horses...

 

[GrainneDhu]

On a sunday afternoon on that trail, I never saw any bikes. It was just me.

Ollipop posted a while back that usage of that part of the trail seemed down to him. Which doesn't surprise me; no matter how you think the bicycles got there, clearly something deeply creepy happened there.

I think it will be a while for many people before they feel comfortable on that loop of the trail. And even if adults feel comfortable, I'm betting that kids are being forbidden to go to Meyer's Lake still.

 

[cindersoot]

Does any of the websleuths that have been on this site for along time know if the FBI, or LE check here for theories, leads, etc ?

 

[RNER]

Someone who is a witness has horses

Well then...I will have to change my line of thinking about the conflicting timeline related to 2 sets of bikes to something else! Darn it!