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

[LadyL]

Yes, and I've stated that I've felt this way all along. I know this trail and lake so well, I'm on it 2-3 times/week with my kids, sometimes more. That spot is spooky, and I don't care what you come across, I've never met someone comfortable with stopping in that spot. I've read other locals posts on here where they feel the same - we actually pick up our pace there and hustle through that tight little area of the trail. And that is during daytime. I've been thru there with my kids at dusk and after dark, and it is downright scary. I'm a grown man, 230 lbs, capable of handling myself, and I don't linger there. Partly out of fear of a biker careening around that corner and having literally nowhere to swerve, and partly out of concern that it is just so out of sight, and with the highway buzzing by, out of earshot as well, even though you know there are roads and homes just a stone's throw away, if someone was waiting to ambush you, it is a perfect location.

I suppose, now that I type that, it makes it a perfect spot to attempt an abduction, but, as noted, in order to be on the trail, you'd need to be almost a block from your vehicle, leaving it 30 yards up the trail and parked on a grassy spot where a vehicle would be incredibly suspicious, or 15 yards up the trail and then through a thickly wooded area, or across that lawn on the road, where you'd be clearly visible from almost all directions for the length of a city block. All along, however, is the feeling that, literally at any second, a biker/jogger will suddenly appear around the blind corners from either direction. During the day, the trail is just busy enough that this is rather expected. I pass someone on that trail nearly every time I use it, sometimes many people.

[bbm]

what do you mean by spooky? what about it after dark is downright scary? and why do people still go there if they find it creepy? I find this very intriguing ...

 

[princesspjs]

Had issues with my first attempt, followed the "Quick Links" to try to create an album. After selecting the photos and waiting for them to upload, there was something about a "security token."

I'll try again in a bit...got quite a few photos.

If you had to register for the website to upload the pics, did you need to check your email for a link to finalize the set up process?

 

[Ollipop]

Got my pics uploaded to min.us...cool, easy site.

There is one shot that shows Lederman's, with the Collins' home in the background. I'm wondering if that is appropriate to post. It is quite a ways back, but still, pics of someone's home on the internet w/o their permission? I dunno.

 

[Soulmagent]

Got my pics uploaded to min.us...cool, easy site.

There is one shot that shows Lederman's, with the Collins' home in the background. I'm wondering if that is appropriate to post. It is quite a ways back, but still, pics of someone's home on the internet w/o their permission? I dunno.

It is already on google earth. You can legally post it ,if thats what you meant.


\http://www.publicdomainsherpa.com/rights-of-publicity-and-privacy.html

 

[StacyMarie83]

as long as you don't say it's the collins house?!?! It is on google earth w/ the address ;-)

 

[StacyMarie83]

It is already on google earth.

great minds think alike haha :rocker:

 

[GrainneDhu]

So what about the man the Aunt approached at the lake that said he saw them riding their bikes heading east (from the park/dock area) at 2:30? Is it credible? If the bike rider saw the bikes at 12:27, but not the girls - both sightings don't seem possible.

I tend to believe the girls left Gram's at 11:30 - the biker saw the bikes on the lake path at 12:27 - Aunt (Tammy) and Gram came to lake at 2:45 looking for them. They said LE swarmed the place at 3. Bikes found about 4. See I don't think it would take an hour for LE to find their bikes on the trail. How long does it take to walk around the lake?

I think the witness who said he saw them at 2:30 pm was mistaken as well.

Elizabeth and Lyric are both cute girls but they look like hundreds of other girls in the area.

 

[EXIA15145]

You asked why drop the bikes? Does that area have snakes? Or other creatures? Would the girls have dropped the bikes to get away from something in the path?

i agree.. the purse with the game phone inside it was thrown over the fence as we understand it, right?

that means.. that someone just didn't drop it and run off to catch a crawdad.. that means from where the bikes were found and the purse was found the girls maybe didn't likely have time to move the bikes off the trail but just stopped. so what could have stopped them? why in that area? not a good area to de-bike and walk around if you are just cruising.

someone was in the path directing them to something else most likely.. either that or they stopped and were just taken advantage of for stopping in that area by someone preying upon it.

This was most likely an impulse grab and no one saw it. I still think this may be what happened.. I think someone took the chance and ran with it.. and it may be someone off the radar. It may be hard to capture this person unless fbi puts out a profile and what they are looking for and what has happened. I hope that comes next. Yes, they are putting a lot of weight into the lake. But they have to clear it.


They have to.


So we all have to wait. As do the families of these girls. My prayers are with them. I cannot imagine what they are going thru.

 

[Soulmagent]

My opinion based on what I've read so far -

The girls had dumped their bikes and were playing on/near the dock.

There is an access trail to the dock, presumably for cars.

SOMEONE THEY KNEW drove into that access trail, and called them over, then abducted them.

:moo:

I believe this as well ,and I wonder if it was someone sent out looking for the girls prior to the 2 oclock search party. A presearch maybe?

 

[EXIA15145]

Has the man that claimed to see the girls been ruled out as a suspect in their disappearance? Is he the only one that claimed to see them there? Who is this man?

So what about the man the Aunt approached at the lake that said he saw them riding their bikes heading east (from the park/dock area) at 2:30? Is it credible? If the bike rider saw the bikes at 12:27, but not the girls - both sightings don't seem possible.

I tend to believe the girls left Gram's at 11:30 - the biker saw the bikes on the lake path at 12:27 - Aunt (Tammy) and Gram came to lake at 2:45 looking for them. They said LE swarmed the place at 3. Bikes found about 4. See I don't think it would take an hour for LE to find their bikes on the trail. How long does it take to walk around the lake?

 

[Ollipop]

But why not just dump the bikes in the tall grass? Why risk even walking anywhere with them or tossing over a fence?

[bbm]

what do you mean by spooky? what about it after dark is downright scary? and why do people still go there if they find it creepy? I find this very intriguing ...

Well, I saw the best shot of it on Nancy Grace, actually, and maybe somewhere online, with police tape blocking it, you can't get down in there to really show it.

The trail is open, spacious, picturesque, leading up to that from around the lake. The only blight is the highway ever-present, ever-roaring on your right (assuming you started at the park/beginning of trail and headed around the lake counter-clockwise, by now you'd be traveling east).

There are trees and gardens and such planted off the trail. The trail is in the middle of an well-maintained lawn, with the fence to the highway some 50ft in one direction, and the lake some 50ft in the other direction. You pass a couple benches with picturesque views. The last bench you pass before coming to this spot is what my kids call "the policeman's bench," made of marble or granite, put there as a memorial to a state trooper who died within a short time of his impending retirement, along the highway at that spot, while on duty.

Then the trail rises and bends slightly, then begins a downhill. Not incredibly steep, but enough that I'd never let go the handles of the stroller when my son was young, because I wouldn't be able to catch him as fast as the hill would get him. While dropping, the trail bends back towards the highway, and a fence begins between the trail and the lake. When you get to the lowest point, you are right on the lake, and the fences are just off the trail - maybe a foot clearance, if that, on either side.

There is the gate, and the jetty, and it is still light there but tight. A few steps later, the lake curves away from the trail, and the shoreline is wooded. The highway side also is wooded, so the trail is darkened, it bends again, so you can only see maybe 15-20 feet in either direction, and it rises in front of you as well, so you begin a light climb. The fences are both completely overgrown with vines and undergrowth - you can't quite reach both with arms outstretched but almost, trees hang over from both sides, giving it a tunnel-like feel.

You can hear the constant roar of the highway, which is at its closest point to the trail - maybe 25-30 feet away, almost straight up a steep overgrown incline on your right. You can't see the traffic, but it sounds like it is right on top of you. On your left, through the fence, is a fairly dense spot of woods, dark and quiet by comparison. Ahead of you, in about 20 steps, the fence ends, leaving nothing between you and the woods. The trail disappears ahead of you over the hill, and behind you around the bend as it curves slightly again away from the highway and further into the woods, which by the time the fence ends seem to be surrounding you.

10-15 steps later, you've crested the hill, can see the "grassy parking area" (ftr, before this incident, I've never seen a vehicle parked anywhere on that grass) which is just like an undeveloped city block, with a lone garage in the middle. By now there is enough woods between the highway and the trail to muffle the sound, and off to your left is a wide-open space, bordered by a street (Arbutus) with houses along it. For the most part it is pleasant and a beautiful area, but for those 35 steps or so, the trail suddenly feels secluded, dark, claustrophobic, and sounds are drowned out by the interstate that feels almost overhead.

 

[Ollipop]

If you had to register for the website to upload the pics, did you need to check your email for a link to finalize the set up process?

Nope...giving an email addy was optional.

 

[EXIA15145]

Sounds like a plausable theory to me.

My opinion based on what I've read so far -

The girls had dumped their bikes and were playing on/near the dock.

There is an access trail to the dock, presumably for cars.

SOMEONE THEY KNEW drove into that access trail, and called them over, then abducted them.

:moo:

 

[Jules71]

Excellent description Ollipop. It feels like I am practically there just reading your post.

Did you link us to your photos? Can't wait to see them. Thanks again!

 

[EXIA15145]

I have tried to keep up with the threads on this case, but some of you are amazing. I might be able to do this if I didn't require sleep. So, I have a few questions.
Have the police checked any computers the girls might have had access to in case there's some online element involved? Do these girls go to the library or anywhere else in case there are computers available to them other than at home? Did someone rule computer usage out?
Regarding possibilities of what may have happened to the girls. Has anything or anyone been ruled out, or is there any speculation on a particular person as they say 'a person of interest'?
Don't be too hasty to rule anyone out. Like, oh, he would never do that. Oh, she couldn't possible have anything to do with this.........
Site a source or say IMO, well. My memory doesn't come with a bibliography, and there are lots of times I'd like to either know more or less than what I do. Suffice it to say, I can most likely site the source if you give me more time. This was ages ago, but some little old lady, I believe it was in California, was arrested for operating a very large ring. She was a grandmother. She was some sweet little old lady to most people that knew her. She was also raking in a bundle. I do remember other details, but those I'm going to use to search so I can be like Paul Harvey and tell you the rest of the story.
I'm praying for these girls. They could very well be alive. Keep on sleuthing..........

 

[Ollipop]

I am in the parking lot at Lederman's. The lot is all paved, one block long, and there is another block of parking to my left. We are standing, presumably, about where the girls were last seen, looking towards where the grandmother was.

 

[Ollipop]

uh-oh...margin issues, lol...how do i fix that?

 

[bessie]

uh-oh...margin issues, lol...how do i fix that?

LOL That's a BIG picture.

It's best to keep images under 800px, but 640px works best for all screen resolutions. Larger images have to be uploaded as attachments. Click the little paper clip icon in the edit box. The image will appear as a thumbnail below your post, and when clicked, it will open in a separate window or tab.

 

[Ollipop]

Turning east from the last pic. The closed post office is next door, behind another giant parking lot. The stop sign in the distance is what most ppl would call the center of town, the intersection of Lafayette and Evans. Diagonally across that intersection is a Casey's General Store (one of about 4 billion in Iowa), although I believe the one where Lyric's mother works is another 2-3 miles down Lafayette in this direction (in Elk Run). I do not know for sure, however, this is based on what a clerk at a Casey's near my house told me in passing. Another hundred yards past that stop sign is where the trail that leads to the lake crosses/ends at Lafayette.

 

[Ollipop]

LOL That's a BIG picture.

It's best to keep images under 800px, but 640px works best for all screen resolutions. Larger images have to be uploaded as attachments. Click the little paper clip icon in the edit box. The image will appear as a thumbnail below your post, and when clicked, it will open in a separate window or tab.

Yeah, whoops. I dunno, just snapped em with my wifes camera, plugged it into the laptop, and uploaded to min.us. I bet they're all that big. Uh-oh.