IA IA - Elizabeth Collins, 8, & Lyric Cook, 10, Evansdale, 13 July 2012 - #18

[TxLady2]

I was also thinking along those lines. I mean people "hunt" for Easter eggs and they go on scavenger hunts. I go hunting for clothes in the morning sometimes. Nothing gets killed in these. Also traditional fox hunts described by my British friends never result in a dead fox, it is a game of chase and find by scent detected by dogs. I can see that search sounds better, less ominous maybe but hunt does not seem offensive to me. Just my opinion.

It's just a word! If we start getting upset over a reporter's choice of a word, then we must be getting desperate. It may not be our choice of the right word, but reporters are human too, and everyone is entitled to one mistake a day, IMO. I'm sure it wasn't meant to be disrespectful.
I hunt for things all the time with no intent of killing them... it's not just an Iowan thing, GrannieDhu.

 

[Sunlight]

I am local, but I can't recall anything extremely significant about that weekend except during the searches, it was discussed that John Deere had some event that weekend so they donated all their extra food on Sunday July 15th to the search teams. Also I did see it mentioned about a high school in Evansdale - since Evansdale is basically a suburb of Waterloo, most of Evansdale attends East High in Waterloo. Columbus High School is a private Catholic school, also in Waterloo, but I suppose anyone in the area can enroll there if willing to pay.

Most importantly, my family and I camped out at Deerwood campground that weekend. It was extremely full. Much busier than I have ever seen it before. In fact, we could barely find a place to park our camper. I assumed it was due to the construction work on the Interstate and was told many of the workers were staying there. I heard all the construction workers had been contacted by LE right away. Surprisingly, we were only contacted 2 WEEKS AGO by LE. It had been 4 weeks before we were asked anything. :what: Not sure why the DCI would contact us if they had suspects or any POI that revolved around the family. JMO, of course!

Was that before or after your first or more interestingly your 2nd post here?

 

[Marilynilpa]

I am local, but I can't recall anything extremely significant about that weekend except during the searches, it was discussed that John Deere had some event that weekend so they donated all their extra food on Sunday July 15th to the search teams. Also I did see it mentioned about a high school in Evansdale - since Evansdale is basically a suburb of Waterloo, most of Evansdale attends East High in Waterloo. Columbus High School is a private Catholic school, also in Waterloo, but I suppose anyone in the area can enroll there if willing to pay.

Most importantly, my family and I camped out at Deerwood campground that weekend. It was extremely full. Much busier than I have ever seen it before. In fact, we could barely find a place to park our camper. I assumed it was due to the construction work on the Interstate and was told many of the workers were staying there. I heard all the construction workers had been contacted by LE right away. Surprisingly, we were only contacted 2 WEEKS AGO by LE. It had been 4 weeks before we were asked anything. :what: Not sure why the DCI would contact us if they had suspects or any POI that revolved around the family. JMO, of course!

Thanks for your informative post. It's great when a local can add much needed insight into what is going on.

I find it interesting that there was such a delay in contacting you. Do you mind sharing with us what questions LE asked you?

Thanks!

 

[TxLady2]

Thank you, For some reason when I was Reading this I thought,

Hmmm yeah, what if the were at the lake and their bike were there in the path when Mr. G rode by,

BUT

they were NOT abducted yet, They were just off playing some where by the lake, then they moved their bikes to the location they were found up against the fence by the gate.

Then they were abducted.

We have never heard if the place where Mr G saw the bikes is the same place that LE later found them,

have we?

And didn't Sheriff Abben say they were leaning against the fence?

EXACTLY! I've thought the same thing, just never expressed it, I guess.

 

[GrainneDhu]

Where can i find that info...:hug:

How often....?

>>>Like........... say every Friday between 12-3:00 pm? Just saying...

I don't know about Evansdale in particular but you could find out:

http://evansdale.govoffice.com/index.asp?Type=B_BASIC&SEC={6F475F1D-CDC1-46F9-B685-E3FF34A7DBFA}

I know in Iowa City, the lift stations were checked twice a month and it only took like 15 minutes for the routine maintenance checks. There was a lift station at the end of my street and being a curious person, when I saw the city truck there, I popped in to ask what they were doing. For the maintenance checks, they just look at the dials and levels of various things.

 

[GrainneDhu]

I am local, but I can't recall anything extremely significant about that weekend except during the searches, it was discussed that John Deere had some event that weekend so they donated all their extra food on Sunday July 15th to the search teams. Also I did see it mentioned about a high school in Evansdale - since Evansdale is basically a suburb of Waterloo, most of Evansdale attends East High in Waterloo. Columbus High School is a private Catholic school, also in Waterloo, but I suppose anyone in the area can enroll there if willing to pay.

Most importantly, my family and I camped out at Deerwood campground that weekend. It was extremely full. Much busier than I have ever seen it before. In fact, we could barely find a place to park our camper. I assumed it was due to the construction work on the Interstate and was told many of the workers were staying there. I heard all the construction workers had been contacted by LE right away. Surprisingly, we were only contacted 2 WEEKS AGO by LE. It had been 4 weeks before we were asked anything. :what: Not sure why the DCI would contact us if they had suspects or any POI that revolved around the family. JMO, of course!

My guess is that LE has all these lists of people and they have, to a certain extent, profiled them into categories for checking. They have to in a case like this where they are faced with checking with literally hundreds of people.

For whatever reasons, you must fall into a low suspicion category. See? If you were naughty, you too could be in a high suspicion category. <LOL>

 

[CN2Souls]

I don't know about Evansdale in particular but you could find out:

http://evansdale.govoffice.com/index.asp?Type=B_BASIC&SEC={6F475F1D-CDC1-46F9-B685-E3FF34A7DBFA}

I know in Iowa City, the lift stations were checked twice a month and it only took like 15 minutes for the routine maintenance checks. There was a lift station at the end of my street and being a curious person, when I saw the city truck there, I popped in to ask what they were doing. For the maintenance checks, they just look at the dials and levels of various things.

Does the City of Evansdale have a EX-con program, to help them with jobs?

Our County here does, it give them jobs raking Parks, picking up trash on highways and cleaning Port-a-Pottys to pay off their fines..

 

[GrainneDhu]

Does the City of Evansdale have a EX-con program, to help them with jobs?

Our County here does, it give them jobs raking Parks, picking up trash on highways and cleaning Port-a-Pottys to pay off their fines..

I don't know. The city of Evansdale has a website here:

http://evansdale.govoffice.com/

 

[Adair88]

Was that before or after your first or more interestingly your 2nd post here?

LOL I had to go back to check what and when was said - yes, they showed up at my house and spoke to my mom August 14. They had stopped by because my camper was not parked in my yard that week. My boyfriend had taken it to his house to adjust the hitch, so I guess that peaked their interest. They had told her they had also stopped by the week prior, but no one was home. They asked my name and phone number, and my boyfriend's name and phone number. They were more interested in him I guess because I signed his name on the registry form but then used my address. I was so excited to finally be contacted I drove right to the Evansdale police station that night to talk to someone, but the DCI investigators were not there and instead they called my boyfriend! ullhair:

 

[tlcya]

I've mentioned that a few times, and so have others. I've also wondered if they've been vague about where they were just to keep something that would help them identify real tips from people just wanting to be important/helpful. They have never said exactly where the bikes were, what direction they were facing, how close together they were or anything else. Abben never said the girls/perp left the bikes leaning against the fence. He specifically said, each time he was asked, that the bikes were leaning against the fence when he arrived on the scene.

Maybe it's just semantics, but I've wondered quite a few times if he worded it that way because he knew they weren't there when the firefighter found them. :twocents:

I agree, as to the UBM portion of your post, in one of the previous threads (within the last week) we spent time discussing what the witness said as opposed to what LE said regarding positioning of the bikes. I think I even tagged that thread accordingly (tag read: bikes found laying) once we found the appropriate quote from the bike witness. If I recall correctly, he said they were laying across the path (ie a hazard to be avoided) and NOT propped against fence. This conflicts with Abben's carefully worded statement above.

ETA link to WS posters previous post containing Mr. G's direct Quote regarding finding bikes laying in the path and having to avoid them
Websleuths Crime Sleuthing Community - View Single Post - IA IA - Elizabeth Collins, 8, and Lyric Cook, 10, Evansdale, 13 July 2012 - #5

Link to article containing quote from Mr. G (still present in article as of today 08-27-12) http://globegazette.com/news/iowa/r...cle_7dbadcc0-cfd1-11e1-b097-001a4bcf887a.html

 

[Sunlight]

LOL I had to go back to check what and when was said - yes, they showed up at my house and spoke to my mom August 14. They had stopped by because my camper was not parked in my yard that week. My boyfriend had taken it to his house to adjust the hitch, so I guess that peaked their interest. They had told her they had also stopped by the week prior, but no one was home. They asked my name and phone number, and my boyfriend's name and phone number. They were more interested in him I guess because I signed his name on the registry form but then used my address. I was so excited to finally be contacted I drove right to the Evansdale police station that night to talk to someone, but the DCI investigators were not there and instead they called my boyfriend! ullhair:

LOL. I'm so glad they are still investigating, and that is good news. Thanks for answering my question, as I had remembered that comment. I really appreciate it!

 

[Marilynilpa]

LOL I had to go back to check what and when was said - yes, they showed up at my house and spoke to my mom August 14. They had stopped by because my camper was not parked in my yard that week. My boyfriend had taken it to his house to adjust the hitch, so I guess that peaked their interest. They had told her they had also stopped by the week prior, but no one was home. They asked my name and phone number, and my boyfriend's name and phone number. They were more interested in him I guess because I signed his name on the registry form but then used my address. I was so excited to finally be contacted I drove right to the Evansdale police station that night to talk to someone, but the DCI investigators were not there and instead they called my boyfriend! ullhair:

That's very interesting, thank for sharing that info. I remember someone posting something about an RV in one of the earliest threads here. I can't remember if that was just a rumor, or if there was a MSM link.

So by the questions they asked you, it looks like the camper/RV possibility was explored by LE.

 

[Adair88]

Thanks for your informative post. It's great when a local can add much needed insight into what is going on.

I find it interesting that there was such a delay in contacting you. Do you mind sharing with us what questions LE asked you?

Thanks!

Ha they ended up calling my boyfriend and asking him the questions! :banghead: He said they asked who was camping with us, names and ages of our children, if we had any guests, if we saw anything out of the ordinary, if we brought any bikes or canoes/kayaks camping with us, what kind of vehicle he used to pull the camper, size of the truck (extended cab, length of box), what kind of vehicle I drove (including colors of our vehicles), if HE had ever been to Meyer's Lake before, when and how he found out about the missing girls, why I had signed his name on the registry and used my address (long story, he is renting the house he owns to his brother and stays out there with him half the time to help him with transportation while they are repairing the house to get it ready to sell - plus I own the camper and he owns the truck to pull it, so most of our stuff is pretty intermingled!), and why he had the camper at his house when it was usually at my house. They did not ask to see the camper at his house or look inside it. Which I would have gladly allowed!

He said he was really nervous and had a hard time understanding what he was being asked. He said the DCI investigator asked him how I had heard about the missing girls on the internet if we were camping - I have internet on my phone and am usually glued to FB - so we found out right before going camping that night. That question made him really nervous but he gave the correct answer!:woohoo:

 

[nikb]

Thank you both! I thought it was something that happened on this case. My bad....

Hopefully RNer's brother will remain a "silent" witness. I remember how Roy Krunk was treated in the Casey Anthony case & then people wonder why people don't come forward more often. I would (and have) but it is a scary thing these days with the internet.

Sorry HeavenLeigh! I think I forgot the "OT" on one of my posts. It's related to this case in terms of how witnesses are being scrutinized, but not related otherwise. I didn't mean to make it sound like one of those cryptic "I know something you don't know" posts. Thanks to everyone who responded before I got back online.

 

[Marilynilpa]

I agree, as to the UBM portion of your post, in one of the previous threads (within the last week) we spent time discussing what the witness said as opposed to what LE said regarding positioning of the bikes. I think I even tagged that thread accordingly once we found the appropriate quote from the bike witness. If I recall correctly, he said they were laying across the path (ie a hazard to be avoided) and NOT propped against fence. This conflicts with Abben's carefully worded statement above.

I'm not sure if TG's statement conflicts with Abben's statement. Yes, Abben commented on where the bikes were located when he arrived on the scene. But I don't recall if he, or anyone else, has ever indicated where the bikes were when the fireman found them. Maybe they were still laying across the path, and the fireman moved them out of the way when he found them.

Anyway, Abben's statement doesn't conflict with TG's statement, IMO.

 

[palaminodee]

LOL I had to go back to check what and when was said - yes, they showed up at my house and spoke to my mom August 14. They had stopped by because my camper was not parked in my yard that week. My boyfriend had taken it to his house to adjust the hitch, so I guess that peaked their interest. They had told her they had also stopped by the week prior, but no one was home. They asked my name and phone number, and my boyfriend's name and phone number. They were more interested in him I guess because I signed his name on the registry form but then used my address. I was so excited to finally be contacted I drove right to the Evansdale police station that night to talk to someone, but the DCI investigators were not there and instead they called my boyfriend! ullhair:

and keep in mind, you are an "honest" camper that gave accurate info, who knows if all follow the rules, I know some campgrounds are self-service, not sure about the one you went to...
At self-service the camper could put false info, plus may have fake LPlates too if they had a specific agenda!

 

[nikb]

I think this whole time, we have been in agreement about the circumstances under which the bikes were found ... the staging has always seemed too difficult or risky imo. I still think the girls either knew their abductor (or their abductor knew them by sight or name) or a woman was involved so the girls would feel safe leaving with her.

We are reading more and more about these young girls who are abducted and held for months or years as, basically, sex slaves. It's possible Lyric and Elizabeth were taken and are still alive.

I'm with you there. It just seems so overly complex to stage the bikes. "Passively staged" as someone described earlier (convince the girls to ride there and leave their bikes) or just plain abducting the girls from that location seems so much more likely to me. I have also thought from the beginning it's someone they know and feel reasonably safe with, or felt reasonably safe with at the time.

 

[Marilynilpa]

They did not ask to see the camper at his house or look inside it. Which I would have gladly allowed!

SBM

I wonder why LE didn't ask to see the camper?

Don't you wish YOU'D been asked all those questions? You'd probably have thought of a few questions of your own to ask. But it sounds like your BF did a good job.

 

[Confusion]

I'm not sure if TG's statement conflicts with Abben's statement. Yes, Abben commented on where the bikes were located when he arrived on the scene. But I don't recall if he, or anyone else, has ever indicated where the bikes were when the fireman found them. Maybe they were still laying across the path, and the fireman moved them out of the way when he found them.

Anyway, Abben's statement doesn't conflict with TG's statement, IMO.

That was pretty much my point in my post. He was so vague on everything he talked about that it's hard to tell what he is saying/hiding. I know he was asked at least a couple of times about where the bikes were found and he just repeated that they were leaned against the fence when he arrived. I get the impression that he knew that they had been moved by either LE or FD, not only because of the way he worded it, but also because they never asked if anyone else had moved them.

 

[Sunlight]

So....I guess they are looking for campers, canoes, kayaks, bikes, and a method to tow or transport them to the lake. Maybe there was something on one of those videos that looked suspicious. MOO