Two Iowa girls missing since Friday — no leads, say police

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Elizabeth Collins, 8, and her cousin, Lyric Cook, 10, went for a bike ride in Evansdale, Iowa on Friday at around noon. They haven’t been seen since.

The girls were reported missing when they failed to come back from their bike ride after three hours. Police found the girls’ bikes and a purse they had with them containing a cell phone later that day near Meyers Lake. Both the 5-acre lake and surrounding woods have been searched without success.

Police have no clues regarding what might have happened to them. ”Every hour, you know, it makes it that much worse. The first 24 hours of course are very critical. We’ve obviously surpassed that now by quite a bit,” said Captain Rick Abben of the Black Hawk County Sheriff’s Office. Authorities say there are no signs of an abduction, and the family has been cooperative. Abben said they are “grasping for straws.”

Lyric’s Aunt, Tammy Brousseau, said Lyric had been taught what to do if someone tried to abduct her. ”I taught her myself if they got a hold of your arm, drop to the ground, kick, bite, scream, do everything you can,” said Brousseau.

Lyric’s mother is trying to stay hopeful during the continued search for her daughter. ”Today I’m feeling pretty good,” Misty Cook-Morrissey said Sunday. “Sometimes, when you think about it, you wonder if they’re dead somewhere, but you try to push those thoughts out of your mind,” she said. She also said that her daughter may have tried to swim in the lake, but is a capable swimmer. Heather Collins, the mother of the younger girl, Elizabeth, says that her daughter rarely ventured far but may have followed the lead of her older cousin.

More than 900 volunteers have been helping look for Elizabeth and Lyric. Authorities resumed the search Monday, though volunteers efforts have been suspended. An anonymous offer of $5000 for information leading to the girls’ whereabouts has been made.

Sources: Good Morning America, ABC News, KCRG, USA Today, CNN