IA IA - Elizabeth Collins, 8, & Lyric Cook, 10, found deceased, Evansdale, 13 Jul 2012 #38

[MistyWaters]

Jeff Almayer may be considered a suspect but from his known actions, he doesn't seem to be a killer type. IMO

Here is a summary of the case which mentions Jeff Altmayer and his possible involvement. Good read and very interesting comments.

'When asked about Altmayer on July 12, 2017, Roehrkasse told KWWL, “The most I would say is that he is one of our leads and I will leave it at that.”

Lyric Cook and Elizabeth Collins

Here is a copy of the appeal for one of his life sentences in 2019 where it was affirmed that he was guilty. I read part of it and thought those with a legal mind would enjoy reviewing it.

State of Iowa v. Jeff Lee Altmayer

From your first link and the reason why LE holds back information. It’s hard to believe anyone would want to be convicted of a heartless crime they didn’t commit solely for the notoriety however it’s a reality in today’s world.

“As of July 2017, two people have confessed to the crime, but KCCI said authorities eliminated them after discovering the individuals had no intimate details about the case.”

 

[Zabble]

@carbuff - you make a good point about LE not forgetting - I think the Kristin Smart case is an excellent example of that too. In both Dylan’s and Kristin’s case, like @helpfulcharlie and @Ozoner pointed out, there were obvious suspects at the time and LE’s actions early on in those cases showed that.

Here, we’ve seen no searches of specific locations tied to certain people, no interviews with certain people, etc. The only hint of a suspect was when they released a description of a vehicle that was seen in the area around the time of the disappearance and asked for tips on it. And not that my opinion matters to LE one bit, but I’m still irked that they didn’t release that information for a year or so when I believe they had it pretty early on. I understand protecting the investigation so they likely wanted to track it down on their own, but it seems in other cases, LE gives themselves a month or two to do that and then quickly realizes they aren’t getting anywhere, the public may be a valuable resource for them and that a plea for help is better when the public’s memories are fresher. Two recent cases come to mind with regard to that - Summer Wells and Mollie Tibbetts.

I could be 100% wrong about all of the above and hope I am. I wonder if the fact that this was the first case I followed and it hasn’t been solved clouds my judgment. I know this is a bit OT, but I wonder if anyone can tell me, if the very first case you followed hasn’t been solved, what is your outlook on it being solved now?

So very interesting. The very first case I ever followed was the Madeleine Mccann case. Not on here, but on Reddit. Seems like there’s some movement on that finally, although not sure if it will lead to the suspect being charged.

The first case I’ve followed on Websleuths was the Delphi Murders and unfortunately I think that’s heading the same as the Evansdale case…

 

[Zabble]

Most of the cases I’ve followed have not been solved, to the point that when the first one was solved I wasn’t even sure what happens on websleuths when there is an arrest.

This happened recently for me. A man was charged with the murders of campers Russell Hill and Carol Clay in Victoria, Australia. First case I’ve followed where a suspect was charged

 

[Zabble]

Thanks! I don't remember this news clip. So 6-7 years ago, LE was looking for ANYONE familiar with the 7 Bridges area. Not just anyone who seemed suspicious. And yet even with that broad approach there is no arrest. Either LE interviewed this killer and he was convincing enough or, in spite of looking at everyone, they still missed him. I wonder if this killer lived in the area in the past - e.g., lived there in high school, but lives farther away at the time - and was missed by LE.

I've followed this case off and on over the years but never tried to find out anything on 7 Bridges. I did find this: Seven Bridges Wildlife Area - Bremer, IA

Having spent a lot of time hunting in the deep south, I find 166 acres to be a rather small area for public hunting. I can't imagine that the 166 acres would support a lot of deer for public hunting. Maybe for a private hunt club. Looking at it on Google maps in the satellite mode it is surrounded by woodlands or marsh to the north and south with the Wapsipinicon River running through the middle of all of it. Private lands or public surrounding it? After looking at it on Google there are probably quite a few hunters and fisherman who use that area with the Waterloo metro area having a population of 169K per Wikipedia. Waterloo, of which Evansdale is a suburb, is only 30 minutes away. That is a LOT of ground to cover for LE. I imagine if this was a person familiar with Seven Bridges from hunting and/or fishing they may have shifted to another nearby area such as Dudgeon Lake Wildlife Area to the south of Evansdale now.

Is there any notable bridges at 7 Bridges Wildlife Area?

It just strikes me that Libby and Abbie were killed at the the Mononn High Bridge which is on a trail in Delphi, Indiana.

2 murders of 2 girls, both with a connection to hiking trails / outdoor recreation areas and both possible connections to bridges.

 

[JnRyan]

Is there any notable bridges at 7 Bridges Wildlife Area?

It just strikes me that Libby and Abbie were killed at the the Mononn High Bridge which is on a trail in Delphi, Indiana.

2 murders of 2 girls, both with a connection to hiking trails / outdoor recreation areas and both possible connections to bridges.

Interesting question. I don't remember hearing anything from Evansdale LE about looking at Delphi. In August 2017, ISP 1st Sgt Jerry Holeman gave an interview with Fox59 about the Delphi murders and he, very briefly, mentions Evansdale. He stated that they and Evansdale investigators looked at the cases. He stated that no connection was found that they could see. HOWEVER, he qualified that by stating that because the girls were found so late the Evansdale investigators didn't really have much due to the condition of the bodies so a full comparison was not possible. The video of that interview is no longer online, but the transcript made by WSer Spellbound is in the media posts of the Abigail Williams/Liberty German case on WS.

 

[JnRyan]

This is interesting, or at least it is to me anyway. I don't remember any confirmation or denial of DNA evidence in this case. While searching for something else I came across this article.
Evansdale murder case still 'very active' a year later

"Officials have declined to say whether DNA evidence was found with Elizabeth and Lyric's bodies."

 

[watcher9]

This is interesting, or at least it is to me anyway. I don't remember any confirmation or denial of DNA evidence in this case. While searching for something else I came across this article.
Evansdale murder case still 'very active' a year later

"Officials have declined to say whether DNA evidence was found with Elizabeth and Lyric's bodies."

I think there may have been only bones remaining. Now, their clothes??? I don't remember any mention of any clothing.

In your link, there was another interesting article about finally catching up with testing of old rape kits. I wonder if this could be used in all DNA cases?

After 6-year effort, state says rape kit backlog eliminated

 

[LaborDayRN]

I think there may have been only bones remaining. Now, their clothes??? I don't remember any mention of any clothing.

In your link, there was another interesting article about finally catching up with testing of old rape kits. I wonder if this could be used in all DNA cases?

After 6-year effort, state says rape kit backlog eliminated

I also wonder if they might be able to get touch DNA from the clothing if there was any.

 

[Yemelyan]

Another poster made an excellent suggestion here once, that I certainly had not considered...that we have been so focused on the fact that their bodies were discovered months later and the grim scenario that poses for DNA recovery, that we forget that the scene of their abduction WAS discovered right away and could have yielded usable DNA from the perpetrator. We know that there is the strong possibility, by where the items were found, that their bikes or the toy purse carried by one victim could have been handled by the person who abducted them (the purse especially was thrown away in such a way that it's unlikely the victims did it).

 

[gregjrichards]

It is hard to believe it will be ten years next year since Elizabeth and Lyric’s murders. Their case was the first one I followed closely from the beginning when they went missing here on Websleuths. I never imagined that nobody would have been charged nearly ten years later. I can’t imagine how incredibly difficult it must be for their families that nobody has been charged and so much time has passed.

Elizabeth and Lyric should have just left high school and possibly be going to college or starting their careers, getting their driver’s licenses etc and it is desperately sad they and they families have been robbed of that. It must be so incredibly difficult for their families every day.

I continue to hope and pray that a breakthrough will be made and the monster responsible for the girl’s murders is finally charged.

 

[LaborDayRN]

It is hard to believe it will be ten years next year since Elizabeth and Lyric’s murders. Their case was the first one I followed closely from the beginning when they went missing here on Websleuths. I never imagined that nobody would have been charged nearly ten years later. I can’t imagine how incredibly difficult it must be for their families that nobody has been charged and so much time has passed.

Elizabeth and Lyric should have just left high school and possibly be going to college or starting their careers, getting their driver’s licenses etc and it is desperately sad they and they families have been robbed of that. It must be so incredibly difficult for their families every day.

I continue to hope and pray that a breakthrough will be made and the monster responsible for the girl’s murders is finally charged.

I feel the same way my friend. I think of those two beautiful young girls and their families often and wonder what they would be doing now if their lives hadn't been stolen from them in such a viscous manner.
On a lighter note, I'd like to wish you wonderful Christmas.

 

[Ommmm]

Anyone else watching the Anthony Shotts development with a great amount of interest?

IN, Peru - Kegan Anthony Kline, 27, arrested Aug 29, 2020, 30 Counts associated with CSAM

 

[otto]

Anyone else watching the Anthony Shotts development with a great amount of interest?

IN, Peru - Kegan Anthony Kline, 27, arrested Aug 29, 2020, 30 Counts associated with CSAM

I followed this discussion from the beginning. I've always held the opinion that Lyric was lured using social media to the secluded section of the lake trail and Lizzie was tagging along, similar to Libby and Abby. Police were unable to track down any suspects via social media.

There was a bridge near the location where the bodies were found, but it was washed out. There was at one time a Summer Camp at the location, but long since abandoned. It is a popular fishing and hunting spot.

The bodies were identified by footwear. They were placed roughly 20 feet apart, 20 miles from the abduction spot.

The person that abducted them must have been familiar with both abduction and body locations. The bikes were parked at the gate next to the drainage pipe - the one place where the girls could be taken through the fence (to the lake side of the fence), and then to a small forest area where a vehicle could be parked.

The body location was a former party spot for the previous generation. If Kline has family that worked or lived in the area, they would know about the party spot and the former Summer Camp.

 

[iamnotagolem]

I don’t think Kline killed Abby & Libby and certainly don’t think he’s involved with Elizabeth & Lyric.

The biggest issue with the idea of Lyric being catfished or lured is she didn’t have a phone, she was 10.

I lean more towards the bikes were dumped at the lake and purse thrown over the fence to push the idea that they’d drowned. It’s been a while, but if I remember correctly the last video of them they weren’t even riding toward the lake. You could get to the lake that way but it wasn’t the fastest way and their bikes were there only a couple minutes after being seen on video.

MOO

 

[otto]

I don’t think Kline killed Abby & Libby and certainly don’t think he’s involved with Elizabeth & Lyric.

The biggest issue with the idea of Lyric being catfished or lured is she didn’t have a phone, she was 10.

I lean more towards the bikes were dumped at the lake and purse thrown over the fence to push the idea that they’d drowned. It’s been a while, but if I remember correctly the last video of them they weren’t even riding toward the lake. You could get to the lake that way but it wasn’t the fastest way and their bikes were there only a couple minutes after being seen on video.

MOO

<modsnip - no link>

They were in the alley near the house (behind the auction company) and then near the entrance to the park. We've dissected the route and timeline to minute details and it seems that their bikes were abandoned by them at that location. A cyclist came by a few minutes later and the bikes were there, but the girls were not on the path.

 

[otto]

Dating sites don't require a phone and could be accessed in 2012 via computer. I think that a mature 10 year old with meth-head parents, who was partially raised by her grandmother, and who had an older female cousin, may have been aware of social media sites that targeted teens claiming to be 18 years of age.

Lyric had been reported missing by her parents just days before she was abducted. She and her teenaged female cousin had walked to a park where they met one or two boys around 8 PM. They arrived home safely, but police were called.

A few days later Lyric and a younger cousin disappeared after cycling to the secluded side of a nearby park around 1 PM.

 

[otto]

When they were found, 6 months later, they were described as aged 11 and 9.

"The families of 11-year-old Lyric Cook-Morrissey and 9-year-old Elizabeth Collins have been notified of the discovery, said Black Hawk County sheriff's Capt. Rick Abben said. "​

Aged 10 and 8.

Elizabeth Collins, Lyric Cook-Morrissey Update: Hunters find bodies believed to be missing Iowa cousins

 

[otto]

If I recall correctly, the cell phone was with 8 year old Lizzy's purse, and was for emergency phone calls and games - maybe there was a wifi connection on the phone when it was in Lizzy's house (where they were last seen by family). This article is from 3 days after the abduction. More information about their 'last seen' location was added later.

"Lyric Cook-Morrissey, 10, and her cousin, Elizabeth Collins, 8, were last seen riding their bikes in downtown Evansdale around 12:15 p.m. on Friday, according to the Waterloo-Cedar Falls Courier.
...

"Police discovered the girls' bikes and Collins' purse and cell phone near Meyers Lake approximately four hours later."
​

Two young girls ‘vanish’ near an Iowa lake

 

[Ommmm]

Dating sites don't require a phone and could be accessed in 2012 via computer. I think that a mature 10 year old with meth-head parents, who was partially raised by her grandmother, and who had an older female cousin, may have been aware of social media sites that targeted teens claiming to be 18 years of age.

Lyric had been reported missing by her parents just days before she was abducted. She and her teenaged female cousin had walked to a park where they met one or two boys around 8 PM. They arrived home safely, but police were called.

A few days later Lyric and a younger cousin disappeared after cycling to the secluded side of a nearby park around 1 PM.

Do we know which park Lyric went to with the teenage cousin?

 

[otto]

Do we know which park Lyric went to with the teenage cousin?

Going on memory, but I believe it was near the teenage cousin's house. Best I can remember was North end of Waterloo or Cedar Falls. Someone who was posting back then might remember.

@Considering

 

[otto]

Cedar Valley Lakes Trail - IIRC, the park that Lyric went to (with her teenage cousin) shortly before she was abducted was this trail, same trail system as Meyer's Lake trail.



https://www.cedartrailspartnership.org/2015-Trail-Map-Paved-Trails.PDF