Update 12-12-12: DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) — A new reward fund was established Friday to help police make an arrest in the case of two eastern Iowa cousins whose bodies were found earlier this month.

A month long fund drive organized by the Cedar Valley Crime Stoppers raised $20,500 through public donations and various fundraisers, including bake sales.

The money is available to anyone who wishes to remain anonymous but provides information that leads to an arrest in the case of cousins Elizabeth Collins and Lyric Cook. The girls, 8-year-old Elizabeth and 10-year-old Lyric, went for a bike ride July 13 in Evansdale and didn’t return. Hunters found their bodies Dec. 5 in the Seven Bridges Wildlife Area, about 25 miles from where the girls were last seen.

Update 12-6-12: Authorities said they believed that two bodies found Wednesday in a Bremer County park were those of Lyric and Elizabeth based on evidence at the scene. The park is about 25 miles northeast of Evansdale, where the girls were last seen alive, riding their bicycles.

CrimePAY$      $20,500  Reward       TipLine 1-888-755-TIPS (8477)

Evansdale, Iowa. – The mothers of two missing northeast Iowa girls say they are trying to stay strong as the search for their daughters enters its third day.

“Today I’m feeling pretty good,” Misty Cook-Morrissey said as search crews assembled to look for her daughter, Lyric, 10, and her niece, Elizabeth Collins, 8.

“Sometimes when you think about it, you wonder if they’re dead somewhere but you try to push those thoughts out of your mind,” Cook-Morrissey said.

Authorities say 8-year-old Elizabeth Collins and 10-year-old Lyric Cook-Morrissey were last  seen at about 12:15 p.m. Friday, July 13,2012 by their grandmother as they were leaving for a bike ride. Law enforcement officials and more than 400 volunteers searched for the girls on Saturday. No new clues or information surfaced overnight about the disappearance, officials said this morning during a press conference.

Misty Cook-Morrissey said the outpouring of support from community members has been appreciated, not only for their search efforts, but for the distraction try provide.

“It’s been good talking to people,” she said. “It keeps your mind off of what’s happening.”

The girls’ bikes were located at nearby Meyers Lake a few hours after the youngsters were reported missing. No other traces of the girls have been found, Black Hawk Sheriff’s deputy Rick Abben said at a press conference this morning. It’s like the they just vanished, he added.

Though swimming is prohibited at the lake, Misty Cook-Morrissey said her daughter might have tried to anyway.

Cook-Morrisey said the family swims at another nearby lake regularly. Lyric is a good swimmer, her mother said.

Elizabeth Collins’ mother, Heather, said it’s rare for her daughter to venture too far from home, but she may have been persuaded by her older cousin.

“We’ve talked about that before,” Collins said “We’ve told them they’re too young to go far.”

Misty Cook-Morrissey and Heather Collins are sisters.

More than 350 volunteers showed up early this morning to help continue the search for the two girls. Officials expect up to 1,000 people to volunteer throughout the day.

Officials have drug about 40 percent of the lake in their search for the girls. It could take into Monday to complete the search.

Meyers Lake is about 20 yards from Interstate Highway 380, providing easy access to the lake and bike trail, Abben said at the press conference.

Law enforcement officials are interviewing family and friends as well as registered sex offenders who live in the area.

Officials said that on Saturday about 40 percent of Meyers Lake was dragged and searched. It could take through part of Monday for the entire lake to be completely searched.

Today’s ground search will be expanded and the door-to-door search will intensify, Abben said.

Officials hope to cover as much area as possible today, because they expect the number of volunteers to drop on Monday as people return to work.

Law enforcement officials are still following up on tips, and a $5,000 reward is being offered for information.

CrimePAY$    $20,500 Reward       TipLine 1-888-755-TIPS (8477)

This entry was posted on Sunday, July 15th, 2012 at 12:51 pm and is filed under $10,000+, Iowa, Unsolved Murder. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.