IA IA - Elizabeth Collins, 8, & Lyric Cook, 10, Evansdale, 13 July 2012 - #36

[threecrazykids]

IMO, and my opinion only - I have always felt the girls went Brovan, to the corner of River Forest, took a right up to Lafayette, rode down to the trail from there, stopped at Fareway and asked directions to the lake (at which they would have likely told them to just stay on the path until you come to the lake).

Once they maybe got to the skate park, they realized they kind of "knew where they were" but didn't stay on the trail?? Or maybe they DID stay on the trail all the way to the back of the lake where their bikes were found.???

This is where it gets kind of sketchy for me as to which way they would have gone. They could have hung a right at the skate park (on Gilbert) which too, would have taken them to the front part of the lake (by the parking lot) - which, didn't we hear from LE they were spotted closer to that area in the 1ish timeframe? (I need to refresh, as I've been scouring from the beginning and only on thread 8. UGH) This would also account for the claimed sighting of the girls going "east" on the trail...from the parking lot around to the back.

Or, they could have turned onto Gilbert from the skate park and got as far as Lake Ave and took it down - which would have accounted for the Carpenter's sighting...and ran right into Arbutus and the backside of the lake - which could account for the cut through in that grassy area, maybe?

I am only considering this route as likely because of a completely unsubstantiated rumor (which I am taking to be true) that the girls hit them up for directions behind Fareway - and the fact that they said the girls were riding "AWAY" from the lake (whatever that meant) and also the mention of ATM footage from the bank that sits on the corner of Lafayette and S. Evans.

So my theory (to summarize) is Brovan, Right on River Forest Road, Right on Lafayette, and then right on either S. Evans down to the lake, or Evansdale Trail down - from there there are several twists, turns, and roads they could have taken and still landed at the back of the lake while riding around.

 

[watcher9]

Oelwein teen missing - same area as Seven Bridges


http://wcfcourier.com/news/local/pu...cle_9e2879a5-baf8-5d46-9092-220ad9ee38d6.html

(Same article - different pic) http://ihavevanished.com/tag/olivia-rupright/


Also - a story regarding an Iowa Sex Trafficking survivor who has chilling recollection of being brought to a park and then told if she didn't do what they said to just "take her out on the highway and shoot her".

http://www.kwwl.com/story/28107644/2015/02/13/iowa-sex-trafficking-victim-shares-her-story

Did they ever find the missing teenager?

 

[watcher9]

Your way also makes sense.
I guess the girls could have gone any which way that fateful day.
Was it ever clarified what was Elizabeth's normal ride route?

 

[threecrazykids]

Did they ever find the missing teenager?

I've seen NOTHING as far as updates on this. She does have a page here on Websleuths though:

http://www.websleuths.com/forums/showthread.php?271269-IA-Olivia-Rupright-16-Oelwein-10-Feb-2015

If you go to the Oelwein Police Department on FB it looks like a MR sent the request to the police department for it to be posted. On her page as of 9 hrs ago there were no updates.

Unbelievable

 

[watcher9]

Thanks for the link.
When you first posted that she was missing, I didn't see her thread in the Missing Forum. I just read your latest post there that her phone last pinged in Dubuque which is 90 miles straight east on US-20. That road is the same one that goes by Meyers Lake. Coincidence?

 

[Squeeze]

IMO, and my opinion only - I have always felt the girls went Brovan, to the corner of River Forest, took a right up to Lafayette, rode down to the trail from there, stopped at Fareway and asked directions to the lake (at which they would have likely told them to just stay on the path until you come to the lake).

Once they maybe got to the skate park, they realized they kind of "knew where they were" but didn't stay on the trail?? Or maybe they DID stay on the trail all the way to the back of the lake where their bikes were found.???

This is where it gets kind of sketchy for me as to which way they would have gone. They could have hung a right at the skate park (on Gilbert) which too, would have taken them to the front part of the lake (by the parking lot) - which, didn't we hear from LE they were spotted closer to that area in the 1ish timeframe? (I need to refresh, as I've been scouring from the beginning and only on thread 8. UGH) This would also account for the claimed sighting of the girls going "east" on the trail...from the parking lot around to the back.

Or, they could have turned onto Gilbert from the skate park and got as far as Lake Ave and took it down - which would have accounted for the Carpenter's sighting...and ran right into Arbutus and the backside of the lake - which could account for the cut through in that grassy area, maybe?

I am only considering this route as likely because of a completely unsubstantiated rumor (which I am taking to be true) that the girls hit them up for directions behind Fareway - and the fact that they said the girls were riding "AWAY" from the lake (whatever that meant) and also the mention of ATM footage from the bank that sits on the corner of Lafayette and S. Evans.

So my theory (to summarize) is Brovan, Right on River Forest Road, Right on Lafayette, and then right on either S. Evans down to the lake, or Evansdale Trail down - from there there are several twists, turns, and roads they could have taken and still landed at the back of the lake while riding around.

I totally agree. I wonder if anyone at the skate park saw them?? I'd think that at that time of day, there would have been kids there. However, it has been closed several times due to vandalism, and I'm not sure if it was open then or not.

 

[iamnotagolem]

It's still hard to believe that there were no other kids out playing, no one (but Mr C) saw them riding their bikes, no one at the lake saw them. Where was everyone that day?

I'm trying to imagine a day in our town that there aren't people out and about, especially in the summer. No one driving down the streets, no one out for a walk, no kids playing out in their yards, no moms taking their kiddos to the park. No dogs barked as they rode by causing someone to look out the window and see them?

Was there a major event in a different part of town that would have left the town quiet and streets empty?

 

[threecrazykids]

I have a feeling that there may be more witnesses than we have been made aware of.

 

[carbuff]

I have a feeling that there may be more witnesses than we have been made aware of.

I have always assumed that. And it seemed that the people who were talking to the press might be the ones who were considered least reliable or accurate.

 

[B4igo2it]

This is what makes me think they were abducted near their home. I do not think it was possible for them to make it to the lake in that time frame of the auction house camera and the reported sighting at the lake. Odd enough, the fishermen did not see the girls.

It's still hard to believe that there were no other kids out playing, no one (but Mr C) saw them riding their bikes, no one at the lake saw them. Where was everyone that day?

I'm trying to imagine a day in our town that there aren't people out and about, especially in the summer. No one driving down the streets, no one out for a walk, no kids playing out in their yards, no moms taking their kiddos to the park. No dogs barked as they rode by causing someone to look out the window and see them?

Was there a major event in a different part of town that would have left the town quiet and streets empty?

 

[otto]

It's still hard to believe that there were no other kids out playing, no one (but Mr C) saw them riding their bikes, no one at the lake saw them. Where was everyone that day?

I'm trying to imagine a day in our town that there aren't people out and about, especially in the summer. No one driving down the streets, no one out for a walk, no kids playing out in their yards, no moms taking their kiddos to the park. No dogs barked as they rode by causing someone to look out the window and see them?

Was there a major event in a different part of town that would have left the town quiet and streets empty?

Hadn't there just been rain showers? Weren't some suspicious about the man that was watering his yard simply because it has just rained? We know now that he is a legitimate witness. The rain would have pushed most people indoors. Two girls were seen cycling in the distance by someone that was fishing near the dock, and the bikes were seen moments after they were placed next to the gate, so some people were outside.

 

[B4igo2it]

I suspect a vehicle drove down by the pump house, tossed the bikes, and discovered the purse/cell as they were leaving the area and tossed it. Wondering if girls were in the vehicle during the bicycle drop-off which could explain the scent being picked up by the dogs. Is it possible for 2-3 bikes to fit into an older, white box-like, SUV type vehicle? What type vehicle did the tire tracks found in the Meyers Lake match? Were the same tire tracks discovered at 7Bs? Is that the forensic evidence they have?

 

[otto]

I have always assumed that. And it seemed that the people who were talking to the press might be the ones who were considered least reliable or accurate.

What makes the man that was watering his lawn, the cyclist, family members, and other people that spoke to the press unreliable or inaccurate? I thought that the people talking to the press, like the man that was watering his lawn and who had seen Elizabeth in the neighborhood on prior occasions (her good friend was pretty much a neighbor) had good information. The woman that came forth more than a year later went to police, and the press had moved on. She had good information too ... something about a truck or vehicle parked on the street near the entrance to Maiden Lane the day the girls went missing.

We just had a Friday the 13th. Did any girls in the area disappear on Jan 13, 2015? There should be a Friday the 13th in March as well. Lyric and Elizabeth went missing at noon on Friday the 13 in July.

 

[otto]

This is what makes me think they were abducted near their home. I do not think it was possible for them to make it to the lake in that time frame of the auction house camera and the reported sighting at the lake. Odd enough, the fishermen did not see the girls.

The girls were also seen near the entrance to the park in the correct time frame.

What doesn't add up is that the fishing boy said that he saw the girls cycling in the distance, which means they were riding East, past the gas station and heading towards the gate. The man watering his lawn said he saw the girls, but they wouldn't have been in that area if the lawn watering man is correct.

I think the boy that was fishing has it right. I think they cycled into the parking lot. They weren't at the gas station or the store, because there would be video evidence ... and that doesn't exist. They cycled around the lake; around the Island, and heading East when they arrived at the gate to the drainage pipe.

When they arrived at the gate, the girls were fenced on both sides ... perhaps the gate was the only choice. Elizabeth's purse was on the ground inside the fence ... 20-30 feet East of the gate, towards the wooded area. The area was a prime location for giving the elusion of accidental drownings. The placement of the purse was perfect to raise the question. Police had no choice but to drain the leech infested lake. We learned that the lake is a dumping ground for used appliances ... drowning was unlikely, but it had to be ruled out that their bodies were in the lake.

For an abductor to be there, at the very place that can be perfectly staged for a drowning, just perfect for trapping two young girls, just at the right time seems a little farfetched, so it seems that someone lured them there; either at the time that they were doing circles on their bikes in front of the Elizabeth's house, or perhaps even days earlier ... perhaps someone targeting Lyric. I think we can be sure that Elizabeth didn't normally cycle as far as the lake, and per the other children on Elizabeth's street, she didn't cycle to the lake.

On that basis, I doubt that she invited Lyric to follow her to the lake. I think Lyric heard about the lake and wanted to go there. I think that Elizabeth knew some of the way. Perhaps they first cycled towards Elizabeth's friends' house (near the lake; path difficult to find), then turned back and went to the parking lot. From there they cycled and were seen in the distance by the fishing boy. That actually adds up ...

I'd like to know about the person that Lyric and her cousin were going to meet the first time Lyric was home much too late - parents ready to call police. Maybe that was a practice run by a first timer.

 

[Ommmm]

It's still hard to believe that there were no other kids out playing, no one (but Mr C) saw them riding their bikes, no one at the lake saw them. Where was everyone that day?

I'm trying to imagine a day in our town that there aren't people out and about, especially in the summer. No one driving down the streets, no one out for a walk, no kids playing out in their yards, no moms taking their kiddos to the park. No dogs barked as they rode by causing someone to look out the window and see them?

Was there a major event in a different part of town that would have left the town quiet and streets empty?

It was insufferably hot that day. Iowa has the unique ability to feel 30 degrees hotter than what the temp reads.

 

[otto]

Green dots are people that saw the girls
Orange dot is the abductor.
Dashed green is initial route from home to Lake Ave - the route that Elizabeth knew.
Solid green line is doubling back to the park entrance.

 

[otto]

It was insufferably hot that day. Iowa has the unique ability to feel 30 degrees hotter than what the temp reads.

It was hot, and it rained on the morning of July 13.

 

[alliemay]

I have thought from the beginning that Elizabeth ventured to the lake, unknown to the Grandmother. As Cinder said, it is less than a mile, both Mr. & Mrs. C knew her, and knew her as being a friendly girl. Now unless Elizabeth's parents knew Mr. & Mrs. C, and they visited often, how else would they know Elizabeth? Elizabeth also had a friend who lived near the lake, so maybe this is also how they knew her. It really is not very far fetched to think that she would go there near a friends house, could be they planned on visiting the friend. We will never know now. Also, I have always felt that the bikes were not staged because this person was all about convenience. That is another reason why I feel 100% that they went to the lake on their own.

 

[carbuff]

What makes the man that was watering his lawn, the cyclist, family members, and other people that spoke to the press unreliable or inaccurate? I thought that the people talking to the press, like the man that was watering his lawn and who had seen Elizabeth in the neighborhood on prior occasions (her good friend was pretty much a neighbor) had good information. The woman that came forth more than a year later went to police, and the press had moved on. She had good information too ... something about a truck or vehicle parked on the street near the entrance to Maiden Lane the day the girls went missing.

We just had a Friday the 13th. Did any girls in the area disappear on Jan 13, 2015? There should be a Friday the 13th in March as well. Lyric and Elizabeth went missing at noon on Friday the 13 in July.

I don't know that any particular individual is less accurate, but it seems like if they had real information, LE would have asked them to keep it to themselves. The guy who says he saw bikes in the path specifically said LE discounted his story, and the girls' family says they never biked to the lake and so couldn't have been seen by the man watering his lawn, let alone seen regularly. Aunt Tammy also said the fishing boy hadn't seen the girls.

There are lots of contradictions and it makes a different timeline and view depending on which reports you accept and why you think they're inaccurate.

 

[NWLady]

Hadn't there just been rain showers? Weren't some suspicious about the man that was watering his yard simply because it has just rained? We know now that he is a legitimate witness. The rain would have pushed most people indoors. Two girls were seen cycling in the distance by someone that was fishing near the dock, and the bikes were seen moments after they were placed next to the gate, so some people were outside.

Otto, could you please refresh my memory on the "two girls were seen cycling in the distance by someone that was fishing near the dock" No snark intended, I just don't remember anyone fishing coming forward, but it's been so long that I could've easily forgotten it. Thanks in advance.