IA IA - Elizabeth Collins, 8, & Lyric Cook, 10, Evansdale, 13 July 2012 - #1

[nikkiw319]

Is there any way to watch headline news online?

 

[Jules71]

To the locals:
Is there anyway to walk or ride a bike thru the wooded area where S Evans Rd meets Arbutus Ave to get to the lake path (circled in red)?

 

[nursebeeme]

that last article (AP report) that I posted quoted an fbi agent saying they were "working" on getting special scent dogs there to go over the area the girls went missing from.

I hope they have them on the express flight! (the dogs that is)... They were there in a day or so in the isabel celis case (fbi dogs)

wondering if they are the special scent discrimination dogs? (although that may be an exercise in futility with all the people that have been around the area that the bikes were found)...

either way.. hope the doggies are on the fast track to get there asap!

 

[mrsu]

If the girls where exploring, I wonder if there are any kind of holes they could have fallen into? Strange I know, but I keep remembering something from when I was younger of a child falling into a hole that went really deep down.

Baby Jessica. right?

 

[BelieveinUFO]

12:27pm is unconfirmed report and gossip.


Please if you are talking about this time, please provide sources. They only found about the bikes on the trail near the lake around 3pm.

 

[roseofsharon]

Any idea how far apart the bikes were found? From the pics it looks like they were a pretty good distance apart (when you take into consideration if they were riding together and voluntarily dropped their bikes, the bikes would be next to each other). Also if they were going for a swim, I would imagine that the purse/bag with the cell phone in it would have been found next to the lake. I can't figure a good reason why a they would toss the phone over the fence (presumbly to keep it with them) but not pick it back up on the other side.

I read through the posts and didn't see if any locals can give the estimated time it would take someone to ride a bike from the Big and Tall store to the area where the bikes were found. Is it possible to get to the lake on a bike in 12 minutes?

I think the bikes were far apart as there may be two people involved. This may mean that one of the girls tried to get away to get help to no avail.

 

[mrsu]

12:27pm is unconfirmed report and gossip.


Please if you are talking about this time, please provide sources. They only found about the bikes on the trail near the lake around 3pm.

If I recall correctly, the bikes were located at either 3:30pm or closer to 4pm according to some reports. They were reported missing at 3pm after gma had searched for an hour.

 

[lishac23]

IMO I don't see the 12:15 and 12:27 timeline completely impossible for a timeline (unless the distance between the two is impossible). The kidnap and murder of Amber Hagerman which started the whole Amber Alert systems, was snatched off her bike and into a pick up truck and was gone in less than a minute. Not saying this what happened, just a theory. If it was an abduction I would venture to guess there's at least two of them and they would likely be driving a pick up truck or a van. Someone was driving while the other person was tossing the bikes (could explain the distance) and the purse. The purse made it over the fence being that it was lighter in weight and can be tossed further. The bikes being heavier wouldn't have made it much further than the side of the road.

All is just a possible theory. Praying for the girls safe return!

 

[mrsu]

I think the bikes were far apart as there may be two people involved. This may mean that one of the girls tried to get away to get help to no avail.

I don't think it's been said if they were found together or apart, just the SE corner of the lake. Would be good to know.

 

[iowagirl319]

The girls might have become victims of a sex offender who hasn't been caught yet/isn't on the SO Registry. Or an RSO who works in Evansdale, but doesn't live there.

Agreed, liltexans. Evansdale is a suburb of Waterloo, and the towns are literally right next to each other. Elk Run Heights is another suburb of Waterloo (or a suburb of Evansdale, depending who you talk to). Waterloo comprises the zip codes of 50701, 50702, 50703, 50704 (which is largely PO Boxes). The number of RSO in these areas is frankly quite scary.

Another thought... during Sunday's volunteer search, the team leaders were requesting a pickup of volunteers in the 5000 block of Gilbertville Road. This area is very close to the community of Gilbertville (only 1 RSO there, I believe). Why stop just before the Gilbertville city limits? :waitasec:

 

[brighidin]

Wonder if LE has checked the tipster?

I wonder too. Particularly since neither this tip, nor the time of 12:27, has been mentioned anywhere else besides a FB post. At least, from what I can see, it hasn't been mentioned anywhere else.

If the girls where exploring, I wonder if there are any kind of holes they could have fallen into? Strange I know, but I keep remembering something from when I was younger of a child falling into a hole that went really deep down.

Maybe. But, wouldn't it make sense that if one girl fell in a hole, the other girl would go for help. Unless we are talking about a really big hole. I pictured a thin well type hole when I read your post.

12:27pm is unconfirmed report and gossip.


Please if you are talking about this time, please provide sources. They only found about the bikes on the trail near the lake around 3pm.

Thank you. Respectfully, I'm not sure why some are questioning the grandma's time recollection, but not a post by someone who heard something from someone else and put it on a FB page.

Speaking of the FB page, I went back through the posts hoping to find the post in question. I spent about 15 minutes scrolling through older posts and could not find it. Perhaps someone with better techie skills can point us to it. TIA!

 

[iowagirl319]

And it concerns me that LE said they would do home searches of the southern 2/3 of the town. I think they need to check near the Collin's home as well!

Assuming that the girls did ride their bikes to the lake (which IMHO, I don't believe that), we don't know which route was taken-- Riverforest Road or Evans Road. Since the Collins home is in the northern 1/3 of the town, why not search these areas for clues?

 

[palaminodee]

per KWWL...vigil tonight in Cedar Falls...Heartland Vineyard Church
https://twitter.com/KWW

 

[trigger]

On HLN they said LE is following up on a new lead.

raying:

 

[liz b.]

much more at link

The Chief Deputy is quoted in this article as saying that :

" This is still considered as a missing persons investigation. There is nothing to suggest that they have left Evansdale, or have been abducted "....

I wonder,given this statement, where he thinks these two little girls are ?

 

[Darcyline]

Has to be a good reason for the 12 :15p.m. last time they were seen being stated. GM has not wavered,has not said anything else. Presumably she has told LE and the FBI that she last saw them then. And,for sure, they would have asked her.And re-asked her. It looks to be firm...MOO

There may very well be a firm reason for it being 1215, but people have also definitely been "sure" and "firm" about stuff and been wrong before. Either glanced at a clock incorrectly or the clock was off or maybe she was basing it off a television show, but for some reason the television show came on earlier that day or whatever else. I have definitely personally done that before and been "proven" wrong after some sort of actual evidence is presented to me and literally been shocked because I was absolutely certain my initial response was correct. In fact, I really worry about anyone going missing on my watch. I never have any real idea what my nephews are wearing. They have about 300 million outfits and they all look the same to me.


Of course, the 12:27 time (which I am only giving some credence to because of locals who claim to know the man and the full story) could be off somehow as well or even, for some reason, some elaborate lie. I think even a 10 minute movement either way could make a difference though.

 

[StacyMarie83]

I've never been so excited to watch JVM

 

[Wondergirl]

I just don't see anyone - child or adult - choosing to stop at that spot for leisure. I have always felt, though, that if someone had mind to prey upon a trail-user, that spot, right where the inside (lake-side) fence stops, would be the most-likely.

No, there isn't a lot of traffic in this town. Lederman's is in a block-long strip mall, set back off of and separated by Lafayette Ave by a huge parking lot that is also one block long. Lafayette is probably the busiest road in town, passes through what most would call "downtown" Evansdale - although there really isn't such a thing in this particular town. The Collins' live directly behind it, can probably see most of the parking lot from their yard, can see Lafayette from their yard, etc. Lafeyette runs basically E-W on the north edge of town, two busy-ish roads run N-S: River Forest, which terminates at Lafayette and runs along the dike along the river, and Evans, which crosses Lafayette at a spot most would call the center of town and runs south to Gilbert. The police/fire station is on the corner of Gilbert and Evans. The trail crosses Gilbert perhaps half-mile East of the station, and runs roughly parallel to Evans.

I believe he known locally, and has posted on FB confirming he was the tipster. Many locals use this trail daily, for jogging, biking, walking. If you came across bikes at the spot he did, and you were biking, you would remember needing to swerve and also not hit the fence, as like I said, its a blind-corner area, with chain-link on both sides of the trail, which is maybe 8ft wide.

I don't believe he knew the girls. I believe his daughter knew someone in one of the girls' family. This is a very small town, many active locals know and know of each other. Drew Collins (Elizabeth's father) owns a well-known tree service. They are active in the community and in their church, and are well-known.

Incredibly hot. I've lived in Phoenix, and that doesn't compare to this heat we're having. It was 90+ yesterday before 11am, coupled with 30%-40% humidity, making ANY outdoor activity uncomfortable during mid-day. It is 95 right now, stepping out of the AC takes your breath away. Naturally, swimming in that lake is on many non-locals' minds, but like I said, I've simply never seen anyone in the lake, rarely even a boat on it. We have a waterpark very close, another in the next town over, and a free beach nearby. Many, many homes in Evansdale have pools - mostly above-ground. Meyers Lake is used for picnics, some fishing, the park is loved by kids, but the lake itself us mostly just used as a pleasant backdrop to usage of the trail.

It wouldn't be impossible. The water fairly easily accessible from almost anywhere on the lake, save for the backyards of a few houses, and that specific part that is fenced off for trail safety. If you wanted to swim in that lake, that spot is the very last place you'd attempt it, in most peoples' minds. It would require effort, whereas almost anywhere else you could just take a few steps off the trail and be in the water (which is not deep).

He was not a father of the girls, but rather the father of someone who knows the girls that was posting on FB. He also posted, his identity is known, etc, and there was nothing suspicious about it. Rather, it was a helpful, friendly tip (one of very few, tbh).

I just thought it peculiar that the bikes would be found at the most-secluded, least-noticeable from the road spot, in a location that you and I would never think to get off our bikes. Getting the bikes there just to ditch them would also be odd, imo. That is why I was wondering if other kids didn't come across those bikes somewhere else, perhaps farther up the trail (skatepark, closed school, etc) and ride them there as a place to sort of hide while they dug through the bag/purse. After discovering nothing of value, they may have just tossed the bag over the fence, aiming for the lake but it hits a branch or something and falls short. I don't know. That spot where the fence ends at those woods is just scary, and I can't help but think that the girls may have been stopped further up the trail slightly, and their bikes were just moved a few dozen feet out of sight and closer to the water.

The timeframe is the hardest to justify. I think we can be fairly certain of when the bikes were spotted by the passerby, due to him having an accurate record of the time he placed a call shortly thereafter. The grandmother's account of seeing them at 12:15, I hope has been verified. Is it possible she never looked at a clock or never noticed the time, and only came up with that time after the fact? A half-hour either way could make a huge difference.

BBM: Thank-you for your invaluable posts, Ollipop, and thanks for joining our group. Your posts have given us ALOT of useful, local insight, regarding the trail where the bikes were found.

I can only hope that there is a local very familiar with the typical uses of the trail, working with LE/FBI.

After reading your detailed descriptions, it seems very unlikely that those bikes would have been left in that spot, but for nefarious purposes. The bikes were surely not left there, of the girls own free will.

I agree with you that it's possible that local kids etc. pilfered the purse and bikes after finding them elsewhere, but then, why go to the trouble to move the bikes from another spot at all, if they were not going to steal them?

I also agree that the timeline is very tight. Doable, but, very, very tight, and makes you wonder on the exact time of last sighting. Hopefully, Grandma's times are verifiable by video camera footage.

If there are only 3, very short locations on that trail where complete privacy can be had, then, the girls drove directly there for that reason, for a planned purpose, or something else is going on, which is very perplexing.

Thank-you for your posts.


*

 

[Caligram]

These two girls were young and innocent, making them ideal prey for a pedophile. I wonder if they even paid much attention to stranger danger warnings. Maybe they felt big and powerful as a team.

 

[StacyMarie83]

jmv "going to try and solve the issue of what they were wearing. How where the bikes left? where their kickstands, dumped, lying around" <---might be a few words off

sounds like no grandma now (they were advertising it all day)

goin to talk to lyrics mom, dad, and brother