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

[Adair88]

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.

Yes, I called and spoke to a DCI officer on the 16th, because I was tired of waiting for them to contact me. My bf has a terrible memory and gets nervous when anyone in authority talks to him (he can't even interview without becoming a blubbering mess for gosh sakes!) so I really wanted them to ask me questions! But the DCI investigator said as long as they spoke to someone associated with our camper that was good enough. Darn.

ETA: Oh and they HAD seen my camper already, it was in my yard when they stopped by the week prior. But it was not here on the 14th when they stopped again. They did not ask to see inside it, which I thought they should have done that weekend at the campground!

 

[Marilynilpa]

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.

I agree with you, it seemed Abben deliberately avoided answering the question directly.

I wonder if perhaps a witness came forward who admitted he/she moved the bikes? TG said they were laying across the path, so it's possible someone else decided to move them out of the way. I'm not saying this happened, just speculating.

 

[Adair88]

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!

Deerwood has about 100 or so sites. In the front of the campground there are places for seasonal campers with full hook-ups. In the back are just electricity hook-ups, but many people do stay there all season. To register, you simply fill out a slip and hand it to the camp hosts with your money, no questions asked.

Deerwood usually has a mixed bag of people there, some campers/RVs are very nice and expensive, and others are very worn down. It is not uncommon for people down on their luck to live there during Summer months in a tent or camper. The campground is straight down Gilbert Drive from Meyer's Lake, but I still believe it would take someone knowledgeable about the area to find that lake, especially since the Interstate ramps going into town right between Meyer's Lake and Deerwood had been closed for months prior to this happening.

 

[Confusion]

I agree with you, it seemed Abben deliberately avoided answering the question directly.

I wonder if perhaps a witness came forward who admitted he/she moved the bikes? TG said they were laying across the path, so it's possible someone else decided to move them out of the way. I'm not saying this happened, just speculating.

Possibly the runner who pinpointed the time for them?

 

[Sunlight]

Just a random thought...maybe they are looking for a kayak or canoe in relation to the river rather than the lake, i.e., that someone who went kayaking down there may have seen something....something along those lines. Do people camp at the campgrounds and do their water stuff down on the river, as well as the two lakes...Meyers and Hanson lakes. Didn't they use kayaks, etc., to search part of the river? There was a link to that just the other day.

 

[Simp]

Thank you Adair88!!!!!!! We are glad to have you here!!

 

[Snowbunny]

Does anyone know if these construction workers are local hires or possibly from other parts of the country? I guess what I'm asking is did you notice out of state license plates in the campground?

 

[dotr]

Not saying that you don't have the right to be offended, but in reality it is just a word. I agree that you "search" for something that is missing and you "hunt" for prey, but we all use the phrases "Easter Egg Hunt" and "Scavenger Hunt" and no one questions the choice of words. I think we are all just sensitive because it is two innocent girls we are talking about.

Searching sounds (to me anyway) more passive, but the term" hunt", used in relation to to the girls, sounds more aggressive, down to business and threatening - as if to say okay, our little search is done - and now we are coming in to find the girls and "get" the fox who took them!

 

[Snowbunny]

When we still had our camper we use to go over to Adrian, MN, camping and there were a lot of painters that would come from AR, AL, KY and would park their campers there for the summer. A lot of them would bring their families with them and never really bothered anybody.

 

[Adair88]

Just a random thought...maybe they are looking for a kayak or canoe in relation to the river rather than the lake, i.e., that someone who went kayaking down there may have seen something....something along those lines. Do people camp at the campgrounds and do their water stuff down on the river, as well as the two lakes...Meyers and Hanson lakes. Didn't they use kayaks, etc., to search part of the river? There was a link to that just the other day.

Deerwood Park is alongside the Cedar River. There is a boat dock there, but I have not seen anyone use it, and to be honest, I have not heard anyone on a boat either?? Mostly people will fish in that area, but boats can and do go down the Cedar River too. I'm not so sure about canoes or kayaks on the Cedar River, it is not a popular place to do that as far as I know because it can be very deep (I think!). You cannot see or access Meyer's Lake from the Cedar River or Deerwood Park, but I suppose anyone could go anywhere to put a boat, canoe, or kayak into the water. They did use kayaks to search Meyer's Lake, not sure about the Cedar River though.

One thing of note though that I just realized - the town's softball/baseball/T-Ball diamonds are at the entrance of Deerwood. It was mentioned Elizabeth was on a team, and played the night before she disappeared. Not that it has anything to do with her missing, but that does place her very close to the campground the night before.

 

[Sunlight]

Deerwood Park is alongside the Cedar River. There is a boat dock there, but I have not seen anyone use it, and to be honest, I have not heard anyone on a boat either?? Mostly people will fish in that area, but boats can and do go down the Cedar River too. I'm not so sure about canoes or kayaks on the Cedar River, it is not a popular place to do that as far as I know because it can be very deep (I think!). You cannot see or access Meyer's Lake from the Cedar River or Deerwood Park, but I suppose anyone could go anywhere to put a boat, canoe, or kayak into the water. They did use kayaks to search Meyer's Lake, not sure about the Cedar River though.

One thing of note though that I just realized - the town's softball/baseball/T-Ball diamonds are at the entrance of Deerwood. It was mentioned Elizabeth was on a team, and played the night before she disappeared. Not that it has anything to do with her missing, but that does place her very close to the campground the night before.

Now...that is very interesting...indeed...

 

[Snowbunny]

Adair88, have you ever been at the ball diamonds when kids were playing and seen any of the construction workers there watching the games? Do the locals intermingle with any of the construction workers that stay at the campground that you know of?

 

[Adair88]

Does anyone know if these construction workers are local hires or possibly from other parts of the country? I guess what I'm asking is did you notice out of state license plates in the campground?

Yes, I like to look at license plates! In particular, I saw a camper from Washington state that caught my interest, and wondered why this person would come to Iowa of all places! They had a satellite TV dish so my assumption was construction. A lot of the campers looked as if they had been there many weeks and there were quite a few in a row that had not been occupied for a few days (including Mr. Washington). I know that because a burn ban had been put into place here on July 8, and they still had the fliers rolled into their door handles on July 13. We had to drive through the park twice and then finally the camp hosts told us to camp in a place I had never been before and didn't even know the area had electricity hook-ups. Our 'neighbors' had also been there awhile by the looks of it. Makes me want to drive down there now and see if any of those campers are still there.

 

[CN2Souls]

Deerwood Park is alongside the Cedar River. There is a boat dock there, but I have not seen anyone use it, and to be honest, I have not heard anyone on a boat either?? Mostly people will fish in that area, but boats can and do go down the Cedar River too. I'm not so sure about canoes or kayaks on the Cedar River, it is not a popular place to do that as far as I know because it can be very deep (I think!). You cannot see or access Meyer's Lake from the Cedar River or Deerwood Park, but I suppose anyone could go anywhere to put a boat, canoe, or kayak into the water. They did use kayaks to search Meyer's Lake, not sure about the Cedar River though.

One thing of note though that I just realized - the town's softball/baseball/T-Ball diamonds are at the entrance of Deerwood. It was mentioned Elizabeth was on a team, and played the night before she disappeared. Not that it has anything to do with her missing, but that does place her very close to the campground the night before.

RBBM

Thank you, Thank you....

I have been wondering about this for a long time as to where the baseball game was held.

Know this has me thinking.... Hmmmmm:waitasec:

 

[nikb]

I agree with you, it seemed Abben deliberately avoided answering the question directly.

I wonder if perhaps a witness came forward who admitted he/she moved the bikes? TG said they were laying across the path, so it's possible someone else decided to move them out of the way. I'm not saying this happened, just speculating.

For those who've been following along for awhile sorry for the repeat info, but I'm still not sure on this either. I really do think someone riding a bike quickly on a fairly narrow trail could think of bikes leaning against a fence as being across the path. IIRC one of the earlier quotes that I'll try to find again said they were "neatly placed," as well as Elizabeth's purse being set down, indicating that there hadn't been any type of struggle. I could swear in one of the very first reports the bikes weren't right together on the path, but I have yet to find that again - story disappeared/changed, lack of Google skills, or bad memory - I'm not sure which!

 

[Sunlight]

Yes, I like to look at license plates! In particular, I saw a camper from Washington state that caught my interest, and wondered why this person would come to Iowa of all places! They had a satellite TV dish so my assumption was construction. A lot of the campers looked as if they had been there many weeks and there were quite a few in a row that had not been occupied for a few days (including Mr. Washington). I know that because a burn ban had been put into place here on July 8, and they still had the fliers rolled into their door handles on July 13. We had to drive through the park twice and then finally the camp hosts told us to camp in a place I had never been before and didn't even know the area had electricity hook-ups. Our 'neighbors' had also been there awhile by the looks of it. Makes me want to drive down there now and see if any of those campers are still there.

Were there any people camping there that gave you the creeps?

 

[CHERIE.T]

I do not understand why there is absolutely no new news, no more information nothing to go on. How did these two girls just vanish in broad daylight and we still know nothing?

I know exactly how you feel butterfly.

 

[eileenhawkeye]

Yes, I like to look at license plates! In particular, I saw a camper from Washington state that caught my interest, and wondered why this person would come to Iowa of all places! They had a satellite TV dish so my assumption was construction. A lot of the campers looked as if they had been there many weeks and there were quite a few in a row that had not been occupied for a few days (including Mr. Washington). I know that because a burn ban had been put into place here on July 8, and they still had the fliers rolled into their door handles on July 13. We had to drive through the park twice and then finally the camp hosts told us to camp in a place I had never been before and didn't even know the area had electricity hook-ups. Our 'neighbors' had also been there awhile by the looks of it. Makes me want to drive down there now and see if any of those campers are still there.

I am obsessed with looking at license plates, and seeing how many states I can see. It's really not that that unusual to see far-away states. I live in Iowa City and I saw two HAWAII's and a few ALASKA's in a few month span. Okay, well I actually think I just saw the same Alaska car over and over.

ETA: If you drive from Washington to the East Coast, you'll go right through Evansdale.

 

[Snowbunny]

Adrian MN's campground has their ball diamonds and swimming pool right at the entrance of their city campground also. People always kept a pretty close watch over their kids, even when the kids went to playground area. Only once did we ever have any problems at Adrian. I had bought my son a pocket rocket for his birthday and we had it with us and when we weren't using the pocket rocket we would chain it up. One afternoon we chained up the pocket rocket and left to go into town to get something to eat and when we got back someone had broken the tail lights on the pocket rocket. My son was really heartbroken, but when we asked anybody about the situation nobody had seen anything or anybody near the pocket rocket until after the people with the fifth wheel that was parked next to our camper had left and that's when people came forward and told us it was the guy parked next to us that broke the tail lights off the pocket rocket and that they didn't want to say anything because they had seen him with guns.

 

[Adair88]

Adair88, have you ever been at the ball diamonds when kids were playing and seen any of the construction workers there watching the games? Do the locals intermingle with any of the construction workers that stay at the campground that you know of?

I have driven past there when a game or two was going on, but I have never stopped or watched a game there myself. It would be a small hike from the campground to the diamonds to watch a game, so it could be very possible, but I could not say one way or another.

<modsnip>. Around here, people are usually very friendly and will often start talking to their 'neighbors' when camping. For example, last year my boyfriend was approached twice by a man staying there in Deerwood for the summer and sold his truck to him by the end of the summer. I think most campers are very friendly and talkative. So I'm sure there were interactions between locals and out-of-towners.