Bremer County Wildlife Area Now Focus In Evansdale Cousins Case

Investigators working to solve the abduction and murders of two young Iowa cousins in 2012, are now focusing on the rural wildlife area where their bodies were discovered.

Eight-year-old Elizabeth Collins and 10-year-old Lyric Cook-Morrissey disappeared while riding their bicycles in Evansdale on July 13, 2012. Five months later, hunters found their bodies in a secluded area at the Seven Bridges Recreation Area in Bremer County.

Evansdale Police Chief Kent Smock held a news conference this morning (Tuesday, February 3, 2015) to once again ask for the public's help in solving the case. Smock wants anyone who is familiar with the wildlife area to come forward and talk with investigators.

"Seven Bridges is an extremely remote area and in order to get there, you have to know of its whereabouts," Smock said. "We have no doubt the person or persons responsible for this crime are familiar and very comfortable with the Seven Bridges area."

Smock and an agent with the Iowa Division of Criminal Investigation just returned from a meeting they had with a panel of experts at the National Center For Missing and Exploited Children in Alexandria, Virginia. According to Smock, the group was impressed with the investigation efforts of local authorites and they were in agreement that the Seven Bridges area was an important part of the case.

"I know I'm asking a lot of you to call in about a person you may know," Smock said today. "We will leave no stone unturned in eliminating those who are NOT responsible. We will be diligent to make sure we don't falsely accuse anyone related to this (case).

Seven Bridges is located about 22 miles away from Meyers Lake in Evansdale, where the girls' bicycles were found. The wildlife area is a former county park that's located at the end of a gravel road between the cities of Denver, Readlyn and Fairbank. There are very few signs telling the public of its location, but it's a popular spot where many locals hunt, fish, camp and party.

Smock wouldn't release any details on the investigation, but authorities do believe the person or persons who committed the crime know the area.

"Whoever took the girls to that area -- whether it be one or multiple people -- was comfortable with that environment and knew of that environment," Smock explained. "We don't think it was a haphazard chance that somebody just happened to go to Seven Bridges. It was something that was deliberate."

According to Smock, the case has generated tens of thousands of documents related to tips in the investigation. The chief remains confident the case will be solved.

"We're just waiting for one piece of information," Smock said. "This is a plea to get the community to call us and perhaps give us that one stick of information that will help us build this house."

Anyone with information on the Seven Bridge Wildlife Area in Bremer County is encouraged to call the Evansdale police tip line at 319-232-6682. All information will remain confidential, Smock said.

There is over $170,000 available for anyone who supplies a tip that leads to an arrest and conviction in the case.