IA IA - Elizabeth Collins, 8, & Lyric Cook, 10, Evansdale, 13 July 2012 - #3

[nikb]

I was thinking a similar scenario. Man says he was walking his dog and it got away. They go to help him look. Wasn't that how Somer got lured into that house, wanting to see a puppy?

Come to think of it my dog got out a couple of years ago and as I was walking around with his leash calling him, I had a bunch of of kids ranging from about ages 4-10 follow me to "help" me find him. I didn't know them and they maybe recognized me as a neighbor but I'd never talked to them. I didn't even ask them to help and in fact was afraid the big group of kids would scare my dog off. I was actually trying really hard to get the kids to go home but they were with me for about 20-30 minutes and several blocks. It was starting to freak me out trying to find my dog plus feeling responsible for all these kids all of a sudden. Granted I'm female and I don't think I look very threatening but I think these kids would've gone with anyone looking for a dog. They were bored, they like animals, and it was a fun 'adventure' for them.

Super long winded way of saying yeah, unfortunately IMO it would be pretty easy to get a couple of girls to go with someone.

 

[Morethenrubies]

Ollipop

Are people scared and keeping their children close or is it business as usual in little town america. I would think people would be really worried and watching their children very closely.

I imagine it being very nerve wracking! I am 45 minutes away and my kids have not left my sight! Couple that with this heat and I wonder if you even see many outside!

 

[nikkiw319]

Evansdale has a homeless shelter.
http://www.homelessshelterdirectory.org/cgi-bin/id/city.cgi?city=Evansdale&state=IA
How large is the homeless population there? Is the shelter near the park?
(Twenty-five percent of the adult homeless population suffers from some form of severe mental illness)

All of those homeless shelters are located in Waterloo, ia. It sits very close to evansdale. Waterloo, then evansdale, then elk run heights all run together for the. It's part. Think of it like suburbs of larger cities.

 

[sweetpea33]

Exactly. A man said that he veered around a bike on the path at 12:27. If he veered around the bike and didn't touch it, then there's a good chance the bike did not belong to one of the girls. The girls bikes wear found leaning against the fence. We didn't hear about the color of the bike or any other details from the man that veered around a bike. He didn't say that he moved it and no one else has said the same thing.

Based on that, I think we can eliminate the 12:27 tip from the timeline ... unless ... the man came along the path after one bike had been left on the trail and the other was being retrieved from a vehicle. That is the only explanation I can come up with if the tip is credible, the man only saw one bike, he knew the color of the bike and it was on the path but later moved.

however, if someone came along after the man at 12:27 and saw the bike on the path it would have been common bike path curteousy in this area to pick the bike up and lean it against the fence to clear the path...frankly, I am surprised the 12:27 man didn't do that (or maybe he did, it just wasn't shared, and that is the discrepency of the bike in the path vs. leaning against the fence)

 

[Melanie]

Sadly I don't think it will end well either. Like I said, I am trying to be hopeful but most of the time feel gut wrenching despair.

Me too. My heart hurts for these two girls. I pray for a positive outcome, but have been around long enough to know the odds are against me.

But I won't give up praying!

Hugs,

Mel

 

[Ollipop]

Well good lord! No wonder these people are none stop talking about religion and God and their faith! IMHOO they're trying to cover up their own bad actions. Sorry but according to this article and according to JVM's coverage tonight, these children were in drug filled/drug making, possibly violent homes.... :banghead:

This is an unfair and untrue interpretation. I cannot speak for Dan and Misti, I don't know them, and I only barely know Drew, have never met Heather that I can recall (although she looks so familiar to me). AFAIK, Drew and Heather have always been active in church. To hear them referencing their faith is nothing new, and from what I've seen/heard the same goes for their children. Dan and Misti, as I understand it, have been more than forthcoming with the problems in their past, recent and distant, and ALL members of both families, by accounts of LE and reporters, has been of cooperation. The only anomaly is when Dan grew tired of being accused and left an interview, from what I understand.

I hate what I've seen meth do to this state. I've been personally affected, with close family and friends having gotten caught in meth's grip. There surely are drug-filled and violent homes in the area, but we read about them, we know about them. You simply cannot keep secrets like that for too long in a town this size, even in Waterloo. I've seen children who've grown up in violent, drug-filled homes, and neither Elizabeth nor Lyric - or any of the other children in the families - displays evidence of such.

 

[sweetpea33]

All of those homeless shelters are located in Waterloo, ia. It sits very close to evansdale. Waterloo, then evansdale, then elk run heights all run together for the. It's part. Think of it like suburbs of larger cities.

yes they do all run together. especially with the warmer weather you will see them alot outside. not panhandling...sitting on benches in parks etc. sitting outside then at night they sleep under bridges, viaducts, in woods. i think some prefer to sleep out side in warmer months, but when colder weather comes the will move to the shelters. but there is not always enough room in the shelter either. most are drunks/drug addicts.

 

[Wishbone]

I imagine it being very nerve wracking! I am 45 minutes away and my kids have not left my sight! Couple that with this heat and I wonder if you even see many outside!

I wonder if LE has issued any advisories in relation to keeping a close eye on your children. Or are they just going on as business as usual like there aren't two young girls missing......

 

[sweetpea33]

I wonder if LE has issued any advisories in relation to keeping a close eye on your children. Or are they just going on as business as usual like there aren't two young girls missing......

I have not heard of any advisories, I think it is just a natural parental reaction. it is very disconcerting and frightening to have something like this hit so close to home.

 

[Pensfan]

Meth addiction is horrific This could be related to everything that goes along with it...the addiction itself. A trial.A plea deal. Anything,anything at all could have happened to these children... MOO

You know what else is related to meth usage? Cotton mouth, lip licking, and euphoria

 

[GrainneDhu]

IMO, I don't think the bikes were staged. I think the girls put them there and were called over. Why place them like that, the way children would? The purse, to me, feels like it was throw after the fact. That item was returned, and the excuse, maybe, to scout the crime scene.

This is all my speculation, of course.

Do houses in Iowa come with basements cause of tornados?

Most Iowa houses have basements.

As someone who has lived in Iowa all my life, I would never feel comfortable living in a house without a basement. I've done it and I was never able to relax in the summer.

We get just about every type of natural disaster possible. We've even had a hurricane (the great Galveston hurricane of 1900 passed over the spot I am sitting in right now).

There are times you gotta brag or you'd just cower in fear. <LOL>

 

[mahoolin]

What I just don't get is, if a perp wanted to get rid of a cell phone/purse, why go all the way to the fence? Why not just chuck it in the lake?

Thinking about a possible crime scene contamination - was it ever released if all of the items expected to be in the purse were there? Was there some spending money missing etc... Most likely the typical little girl's purse, but grandma or mom would have known if the usual stuff was still there.

Maybe it was someone totally unrelated that picked up the purse, was walking along, and after they checked it out and didn't finding anything they could use ... just tossed it?

I still think the perp tossed the bikes purse and phone initially to avoid any connection to the girls. At a quick glance, I'm guessing you couldn't tell the phone wasn't activated - I'm sure the thoughts of pings etc would make someone get rid of that pronto~

 

[Wishbone]

I have not heard of any advisories, I think it is just a natural parental reaction. it is very disconcerting and frightening to have something like this hit so close to home.

I agree but also believe LE should have said something unless they know that there is not a threat to other children in the area.

 

[nikb]

Meth addiction is horrific This could be related to everything that goes along with it...the addiction itself.

Just curious because I don't know - would this change the results or accuracy of a lie detector test?

 

[sweetpea33]

I agree but also believe LE should have said something unless they know that there is not a threat to other children in the area.

maybe they are thinking that it woud then label it as an "ubduction" and they don't seem to be ready to do that yet....another question I would have is if DM's arrest was from a Tri-County Drug Task Force investigation...if so, their undercovers would probably have info regarding if this was something perpetrated by his drug contacts.

 

[Pacipirate]

I feel like everything that the LE is doing is just grasping at straws. :/ In all honesty, with all of the "We don't know that there is foul play, no reason to suspect danger" talk, I still am fearful. I live in a great neighborhood, we have a privacy fence and a dog that lets us know if ANYONE is within 30 feet of our house. We also have a great security system, and a camera at one end of our house. I would normally let my boys play out back with the door open while I work in the kitchen... Not anymore. It's far too close for comfort.

Also, in regards to the old computer being taken in. I believe on JVM Lyric's mother said they'd taken "old" computers. I don't know if that meant they have current computers or what, but I thought she'd mentioned in passing that they were old.

 

[GrainneDhu]

If the girls are not found in the lake, imo the perp planned this abduction very carefully, was known to Lyric, was possibly aware of the previous incident ... no signs of a struggle, the girls went away willingly and I think the abduction occurred in the post office parking lot and bikes placed in the park in the middle of the night. The abduction is far too organized to be a decision that was made spur of the moment by some pervert/predator. Perp has FBI stumped!!

IMO

In terms of age, it seems like it would make more sense for the perp to have known Lyric.

In terms of geography, Lyric does not live in Evansdale; Elizabeth does. The spot where the bikes were found seems like the sort of place only a local would know.

So it may have been someone Elizabeth knew. Not necessarily a friend of the family but someone she'd seen enough times before to feel somewhat comfortable with.

Remember that it's really, really difficult to define the term "stranger" to children under the age of around 12 (kids vary in development, of course). Under that age, if the person gives the kid some personal information such as "my dog's name is Fido and I can't find him" that person instantly stops being a stranger. That's just the way kids think.

A general observation: the most perplexing cases and the toughest to solve are ones where the perpetrator and victim(s) do not know each other.

 

[sweetdreams]

yes, parents said LCM went off to the park the week before with female cousin in Waterloo, MCM and Aunt Tammy could not find them...called LE and soon as LE came they came walking up the driveway.

They ventured off further and longer than anticipated

I have always had an issue with this. I think there is a strong possibility that MCM had an incling that her daughter might be in danger, due to her husband's meth dealings. It seems like too much of a coincidence that only days before LCM goes missing....family thinks she MIGHT be missing. Was there a possibility that a veiled threat came from the nefarious meth users/dealers that might be tied to her husband. I'm hoping that LCM and cousin are just being held for a short time, in order to secure DM's cooperation in possibly not trying to cut a deal with LE regarding info he might have on others. Hope above makes sense.:blushing:

 

[Pacipirate]

Also (I'm watching my DVRd episode of JVM right now...) JVM mentions the arrest of a man impersonating an officer "Close to" where the girls went missing. That was over 45 miles south of here, and I believe it's been said that that man was suspected on two other officer impersonation calls over the last few days in that area. So I'd say that was presumptive of her to mention that.

 

[Pensfan]

Just curious because I don't know - would this change the results or accuracy of a lie detector test?

If they were delusional from meth usage when they took the polygraph it could alter the results. One would assume that LE would be able to identify a subject on meth
(pupils severely dilated, rapid speech, euphoria/altered mood, cotton mouth, lip licking) and someone who was delusional.