IA IA - Elizabeth Collins, 8, & Lyric Cook, 10, Evansdale, 13 July 2012 - #21

[Confusion]

I hope this isn't inappropriate, but I am curious. Now that he knows what happened to the girls, I wonder if Dan will decide to accept that plea and do his time.

 

[Bootsctr]

It's scary to think that the perpetrator could have committed this crime and returned in time to help with the search for the girls.

My prayers are with their families as they mourn their children and begin the healing process. I also pray that the person(s) responsible are caught and justice served.

Downright creepy that the killer could have been involved with the searches.

 

[Bootsctr]

I was really holding out hope of a Jaycee Duggard-like situation going on here with the girls and that someone was just holding them captive but they'd be found alive.

I am very saddened by this discovery. But in some small way, I am glad the girls were found together and I take it to mean neither spent much time facing down their abductor alone. I hope they were able, in the end, to be of some small comfort to each other. I just read Ann Rule's new book which includes info on Susan Cox Powell's sons' murder by their dad. When their bodies were found, the boys were found holding each other's hands.

These girls seemed to be not only cousins but close friends who did a lot together. It is doubly sad to lose two children. But I am somewhat comforted by the fact that each of these girls had one of their best friends & cousin there with them so that they were never completely alone with the monster that did this and so that they weren't alone at the end.

me too...

 

[Marilynilpa]

Do they keep track of who is camping in the area, like maybe who might have been camping there at the time they went missing? Iirc I remember some of the earlier threads had a lot of speculation about people camping near the lakes.

I remember that, too, and there was a local who reported that she and her boyfriend witnessed what they thought was suspicious activity at a campground. So there was quite a bit of discussion, probably around thread 2 or 3, about campers/camping.

 

[trigger]

:heartbeat: such sad news they may have found theses 2 precious girls :heartbeat:

I'm glad they were found. I cannot even imagine not knowing where your child was for all this time. Their families are religious and will be strong for each other.

:rose: RIP Lyric and Elizabeth :rose:

 

[Fukiyama]

Confusion:

Dan's trial was just recently continued. The trial judge probably isn't going to put it off again. As to the plea deal, I don't know if it's still on the table or not. While RSOs are coming onto the radar, I am interested in seeing what Dan does next and if it tells us anything at all. The possible connection to his sudden wanting of a trial back in July has always intrigued me.

 

[ktgirl]

I have to tell you that as heart breaking as the news is, I am in fear. we have a murderer of children walking around our community. I grew up here and have heard of Seven Bridges Park but never knew where it is located...my gut is telling me with the abduction taking place at Meyers Lake and those precious little girls being found at Seven Bridges Park, this is the work of a local. as a side note...many meth manufacturors make meth in wodded areas.

I've known similar fear. I lived through the Baton Rouge serial killer's reign of terror in south Louisiana when women from college age into middle age were being killed and the killer had not been caught (or I should say killers' reign of terror since there were at least 3 serial killers active in the same time and area as BR serial killer Derrick Todd Lee).

It was also a very scary time for me (and the women of south Louisiana) when Mickey Shunick went missing and the months before her abductor/killer was found. I work in the area where she went missing. It's terrifying when a killer who appears to abduct & kill at random is on the loose.

Being afraid for yourself is scary enough, but being afraid for your children has to be beyond terrifying (I don't have kids). Sending love and light to the locals around Evansdale. And hopes the perp will be caught right away.

And of course it is important to take every proactive/protective measure necessary. But if you let that fear completely rule your life, the killer wins by managing to completely terrorize you. So stay vigilant (and I admit if I had kids they wouldn't be outside without an adult like ever) but don't let the fear completely rule your heart. Times of community tragedy like this also show locals how much love exists in a community, even one where few know each other. And love always wins out over fear.

 

[Foxfire]

Do they keep track of who is camping in the area, like maybe who might have been camping there at the time they went missing? Iirc I remember some of the earlier threads had a lot of speculation about people camping near the lakes.

Don't know if they have camper registration at the park, but in some states, the state & federal parks have cameras at the entrances. In the state where I live, park rangers also monitor park activity 24/7.

Here is an example of a child predator that was identified by info from a park camera.

http://www.yellowstonegate.com/2012...id-arrest-of-photographer-charged-kidnapping/

Oct 15, 2012 – Yellowstone surveillance cameras were instrumental in helping authorities ... identify a license plate matching a suspect vehicle that led to an arrest in the ... Jesse Paul Speer, 39, of Manhattan, Mont. was arrested Saturday

 

[sweetpea33]

Confusion:

Dan's trial was just recently continued. The trial judge probably isn't going to put it off again. As to the plea deal, I don't know if it's still on the table or not. While RSOs are coming onto the radar, I am interested in seeing what Dan does next and if it tells us anything at all. The possible connection to his sudden wanting of a trial back in July has always intrigued me.

he is also looking asking for a change of venue. I believe out of 150 questionaires that went out to potential jurors, 26 had knowledge of his crimes and 61 had formed an opinion.
http://wcfcourier.com/news/evansdal...cle_abd83fb6-3d96-11e2-b810-0019bb2963f4.html

 

[Ms Pragmatic]

My heart is broken for these families. The outcome, though not what I had hoped for, was one many of us expected as the days turned into weeks-and then into months. Now that their bodies have been located, my guess is that LE will pore through the mountains of paperwork pertaining to the case. Sometimes, the name(s) of the perp(s) have been there all along. Perhaps even from within the first 24 hours.

 

[Ollipop]

I am wondering about if the girls' clothes or other items belonging to them were found with the bodies. The bodies, it seems to me, would be skeletonized after nearly 5 months. But they knew almost right away - despite the fact that the no medical examiner or coroner or forensic anthropologist had viewed the remains yet yesterday - that these were likely Lyric & Lizzie.

I'm not sure this assumption would be made (and so widely publicized) based upon size of the remains only. There are other missing kids across America they could be (granted the location makes it more likely it's Lyric & Lizzie, but I doubt this was enough to go on without an expert examining the remains).

This makes me think their clothes (or some other items belonging to them) were found with/on the remains and gives me hope there will be some type of forensic evidence to tie to a perp (and use to put him away for a long, long time).

From what I have heard, the bodies were found with the clothing that the girls were last seen wearing. This is why, I suspect, that Heather Collins confirmed on FB that the bodies were the girls.

I'm not familiar with 7 Bridges. I've heard of it before, but that's it.

As for the man who died in downtown Waterloo on the same day: he was a good friend of mine years ago. I've seen him around town several times but our lives pulled us in opposite directions over the years. I know he struggled with substance abuse for many years (starting about the time I met him). He had great kids, was a positive influence in many, many people's lives. It is painful to know that his last moments were of desperation, pain, and anguish so deep. He would give a stranger the shirt off his back to help, but unfortunately was unable to help himself. We shared many good times, and I suppose monsters are good at concealing that side of themselves, but I just cannot see him being related to the disappearance in any way.

I, too, take comfort in knowing that the girls appear to have been together all along. Today is a very sad day here in Evansdale. My daughter's bus stop was somber, my son's pre-school was somber, we received a call last night that counseling would be available for our children at school.

It will be easier for the families to find some semblance of peace now that an important question has been answered, but there are still too many unanswered questions.

Thank you to the tireless efforts of so many on this site. Parents in Evansdale appreciate you helping solve this mystery.

 

[iamnotagolem]

From what I have heard, the bodies were found with the clothing that the girls were last seen wearing. This is why, I suspect, that Heather Collins confirmed on FB that the bodies were the girls.

I'm not familiar with 7 Bridges. I've heard of it before, but that's it.

As for the man who died in downtown Waterloo on the same day: he was a good friend of mine years ago. I've seen him around town several times but our lives pulled us in opposite directions over the years. I know he struggled with substance abuse for many years (starting about the time I met him). He had great kids, was a positive influence in many, many people's lives. It is painful to know that his last moments were of desperation, pain, and anguish so deep. He would give a stranger the shirt off his back to help, but unfortunately was unable to help himself. We shared many good times, and I suppose monsters are good at concealing that side of themselves, but I just cannot see him being related to the disappearance in any way.

I, too, take comfort in knowing that the girls appear to have been together all along. Today is a very sad day here in Evansdale. My daughter's bus stop was somber, my son's pre-school was somber, we received a call last night that counseling would be available for our children at school.

It will be easier for the families to find some semblance of peace now that an important question has been answered, but there are still too many unanswered questions.

Thank you to the tireless efforts of so many on this site. Parents in Evansdale appreciate you helping solve this mystery.

I just wanted to say thank you, not only for sharing the atmosphere in your area, but also for being diligent in coming back and posting throughout the last 5 months. I know it can't be easy, but we truly do appreciate your insight.

Hugs to you and your family. Thank you again.

 

[Copper]

KCRG's map just now calls Seven Bridges a wildlife area.

 

[sweetpea33]

From what I have heard, the bodies were found with the clothing that the girls were last seen wearing. This is why, I suspect, that Heather Collins confirmed on FB that the bodies were the girls.

I'm not familiar with 7 Bridges. I've heard of it before, but that's it.

As for the man who died in downtown Waterloo on the same day: he was a good friend of mine years ago. I've seen him around town several times but our lives pulled us in opposite directions over the years. I know he struggled with substance abuse for many years (starting about the time I met him). He had great kids, was a positive influence in many, many people's lives. It is painful to know that his last moments were of desperation, pain, and anguish so deep. He would give a stranger the shirt off his back to help, but unfortunately was unable to help himself. We shared many good times, and I suppose monsters are good at concealing that side of themselves, but I just cannot see him being related to the disappearance in any way.

I, too, take comfort in knowing that the girls appear to have been together all along. Today is a very sad day here in Evansdale. My daughter's bus stop was somber, my son's pre-school was somber, we received a call last night that counseling would be available for our children at school.

It will be easier for the families to find some semblance of peace now that an important question has been answered, but there are still too many unanswered questions.

Thank you to the tireless efforts of so many on this site. Parents in Evansdale appreciate you helping solve this mystery.

the man who died in Waterloo the same day was found on the railroad tracks at 12:28pm BEFORE the bodies were found by the hunters at 12:45pm. I think the close timing was probably just coincidence.

 

[Marilynilpa]

From what I have heard, the bodies were found with the clothing that the girls were last seen wearing. This is why, I suspect, that Heather Collins confirmed on FB that the bodies were the girls.

I'm not familiar with 7 Bridges. I've heard of it before, but that's it.

As for the man who died in downtown Waterloo on the same day: he was a good friend of mine years ago. I've seen him around town several times but our lives pulled us in opposite directions over the years. I know he struggled with substance abuse for many years (starting about the time I met him). He had great kids, was a positive influence in many, many people's lives. It is painful to know that his last moments were of desperation, pain, and anguish so deep. He would give a stranger the shirt off his back to help, but unfortunately was unable to help himself. We shared many good times, and I suppose monsters are good at concealing that side of themselves, but I just cannot see him being related to the disappearance in any way.

I, too, take comfort in knowing that the girls appear to have been together all along. Today is a very sad day here in Evansdale. My daughter's bus stop was somber, my son's pre-school was somber, we received a call last night that counseling would be available for our children at school.

It will be easier for the families to find some semblance of peace now that an important question has been answered, but there are still too many unanswered questions.

Thank you to the tireless efforts of so many on this site. Parents in Evansdale appreciate you helping solve this mystery.

Olli, I think the way you describe your friend is very touching. I, too, know someone who was a very positive influence in many lives, and yet could not save himself.

I hope your children are okay, and I'm glad to know the school is making counseling available. As hard as it is for us to process this information, it must be harder for kids who don't quite understand what happened, but know that it was something bad. JMO

Thanks for all of the insight you have provided over the past months.

 

[LisaB]

I was really holding out hope of a Jaycee Duggard-like situation going on here with the girls and that someone was just holding them captive but they'd be found alive.

I am very saddened by this discovery. But in some small way, I am glad the girls were found together and I take it to mean neither spent much time facing down their abductor alone. I hope they were able, in the end, to be of some small comfort to each other. I just read Ann Rule's new book which includes info on Susan Cox Powell's sons' murder by their dad. When their bodies were found, the boys were found holding each other's hands.

These girls seemed to be not only cousins but close friends who did a lot together. It is doubly sad to lose two children. But I am somewhat comforted by the fact that each of these girls had one of their best friends & cousin there with them so that they were never completely alone with the monster that did this and so that they weren't alone at the end.

Unfortunately, the fact they WERE together may have given the perp more power. He could not only threaten to hurt one of the girls to make her cooperate, but could ALSO threaten to do the same to her best friend/cousin. And more than likely, at least one of the girls had to witness what happened to the other.

I had a random thought this morning about the bikes and purse. If the girls had gone to the lake and gotten off their bikes to wander around, throw rocks into the water, or whatever, leaving the purse with the bikes, the person who abducted them may not have even realized they were theirs until they heard it on the news. He/she/they might not even have noticed that there WERE bikes. If the girls thought they were going with a friend, they'd probably have taken AT LEAST the purse, and if possible, the bikes with them. If, however, they knew they were in trouble, they may have left them on purpose, realizing the bikes and purse would be found and a search would ensue.

 

[Confusion]

he is also looking asking for a change of venue. I believe out of 150 questionaires that went out to potential jurors, 26 had knowledge of his crimes and 61 had formed an opinion.
http://wcfcourier.com/news/evansdal...cle_abd83fb6-3d96-11e2-b810-0019bb2963f4.html

Now that the bodies have been found, it'll probably be even harder to find people in the area who haven't heard of him.

 

[Fukiyama]

KCRG's map just now calls Seven Bridges a wildlife area.

Yeah, I highly doubt it's going to have any high tech surveillance of people coming and going. Counties can't afford that.

 

[miimaa]

I have missed the post or news stating the girls were murdered. Posts keep referring to a 'perp' but how does anyone know how these girls died? How does anyone know the girls were actually abducted?

Is it possible they could have left their bikes and hiked around - getting lost in the woods?

 

[Fukiyama]

Unfortunately, the fact they WERE together may have given the perp more power. He could not only threaten to hurt one of the girls to make her cooperate, but could ALSO threaten to do the same to her best friend/cousin. And more than likely, at least one of the girls had to witness what happened to the other.

Like John Coffey keeps saying in The Green Mile, he killed them with their love. D: