Missing Iowa Girls Lyric and Elizabeth: New Evidence Found, Lake Cleared, Dad Dan Morrissey Is Suspect. Is A Jailbreak Connected?
Evansdale, Iowa- Lyric Morrissey and Elizabeth Collins have been missing from what their Grandmother Wylma Cook described as “within her view from the home” for over one week. Myers Lake, approximately a 27 acre body of water surrounded by a Nature bike trail which yielded the tweens bikes and purse, has been cleared after consultation with the Elite FBI CSI dive team.
Courtesy WH8T
On July 12th, the day before the girls disappeared, Daniel Morrissey was due to enter a guilty plea in a pending Federal drug arrest. Instead, he requested the matter be scheduled/reset for trial. In response, prosecutors swiftly requested the court place Morrissey under appropriate pre-trial supervision for his alleged crimes.
On Thursday, prosecutors with the Black Hawk County Attorney’s Office asked a judge to review Morrissey’s release, pointing out that Iowa Code state people charged with conspiracy to manufacture meth being a second offender — one of the charges Morrissey is facing — shall be under supervision as a condition of their release.
Occurring almost simultaneously to Morrissey’s plea filing which he did not attend personally, a Black Hawk county prisoner broke out of jail, robbed a pharmacy and was on the lam for over 18 hours.
Jeremy Alan Mask, fond of controlled substances which led to his arrests is now in custody and additional charges related to the escape were filed against Mask the following day. Mask was sentenced to a residential treatment center following a burglary of a Walgreens last April.
Are the incidents connected? Investigators are not talking. Except to say they now have video footage of the girls at about the time they were both seen. No mention as to whether or not the girls were on their bikes.
Investigators may be tight lipped- But they ARE acting.
Yesterday Black Hawk County detectives revised a no contact order barring Dan Morrissey from being near his wife Misty- although they have appeared together and have been living together for weeks- following a domestic violence assault which landed both Dan and Misty back in prison last August.
As reported exclusively last week on www.blinkoncrime.com, Dan Morrissey for the assault and Misty Cook-Morrissey for extensive probation/parole violations.
The pair are now permitted to be in each other’s company, provided LE agents are as well.
Misty Cook Morrissey’s sister Tammy Brossueau has confirmed that detectives have directly confronted Dan Morrissey with information they developed pointing to him as a suspect and as a result the estranged couple have refused to cooperate further in the investigation to locate their daughter and her cousin Elizabeth.
Black Hawk County Sheriff’s Office Captain Rick Abben officially declared the case an abduction at a 4 PM press conference yesterday afternoon.
Abben also announced a $50,000 reward is being offered leading to the person or persons responsible for the disappearance of the girls. He confirmed said evidence has been seized in the investigation and sent to the Iowa Division of Criminal Investigation crime lab in Des Moines. While he would not comment on the evidence specifically, sources inside the investigation speaking on the condition of anonymity to www.blinkoncrime.com have confirmed that items from the home including a computer and other electronic devices are among the listed property inventory.
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…..sorry, i meant the new email is legit. XO
Sorry, I guess the girl I was referring to was in trouble Dec ’10. Never the less it amazes me that they are all so open about meth.
oh, wait…is it because the kids could have testified to the drug activity they had seen from the parents? All this time I have been thinking that the kids went missing to delay the trial, but maybe the kids went missing so that the trial could go on without them. Am I way off? Or Stating the already obvious?
Perhaps the girls are alive pending Dan’s testimony in his trial….?
My opinion is by grandma “narc-ing” out Dan she was trying to throw attention from her own family directly onto Dan, i.e. Misty and maybe even more so, Jeremiah. Just guessing that the drug connections run deep in both families. I think LE subpoened the KWWL video of Misty and WC to study these two a little more closely. Of note, Aunt Tammy and WC were on Judge Jeanine Pirro last night. WC said the girls were never allowed to go as far as the lake. Aunt Tammy says “Lizzie” had gone to the lake before with 3 other girls. Whether they rode there on the bikes or were taken by car, was not revealed.
Meth – the devil drug. The scope of what can be done under the influence or in the manufacture of it is infinite.
I wonder if the girls aren’t be kept by a partner of one of the people Daniel “narced” on as a kind of “threat.” I have no doubt he values his own tail more than his child’s.
I guess there’s nothing like looking for the proverbial silver lining, in the crap cloud that seems to be this families life….
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“Interestingly, Jeremiah Cook’s Mom thinks the drug overdose may have saved her son from a serious heart attack. His mother told KWWL that doctors treating him for the drug overdose also found one of his arteries to be 95-per cent blocked, which could have led to a massive heart in the near future.”
Won’t post-add http in link front.
://www.kwwl.com/story/19127066/uncle-of-missing-girls-hospitalized-apparent-drug-overdose
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The girls may still be alive but I can’t imagine a senario where they make it back home. Unless whoever took them wore a mask, and kept them blinddfolded the entire time.. too risky.. IDK IMO
If family members are involved, I could see them being okay January. I think one thing we can probably count on is that whoever is involved is as stupid as a rock. Logic isn’t going to factor into this much IMO.
http://www.foxnews.com/us/2012/07/31/police-investigate-shooting-deaths-mother-2-children-inside-affluent-st-louis/
This one doesn’t pass the smell test. Plus, she was a nurse. I can’t imagine a nurse using a gun to kill her kids and herself. No. Not buying it.
zeus says:
July 29, 2012 at 10:36 pm
I guess there’s nothing like looking for the proverbial silver lining, in the crap cloud that seems to be this families life….
Zeus,yopu hit the nail on the head. I think that crap cloud is the reality of alot of homes in America, with the freedoms and the liberties we have as a nation by constitutional rights..people are exploiting those freedoms and liberties as they see fit…..and with today’s society standards…those crap clouds are mushrooming into atomic bombs effecting family and communities and putting them in a crisis. JUst think about this- if you start out in a mess of a family, there isnt much outside of that realm that isnt going to happen…all kinds of evils and misdoings. they are born in it, then live in it and become to know it. it is the form of life for some folks…they make a living out of it. eat, sleep, SH*t, breath and pass it down to their next generation. we have colonies of these misfits. It’s ashame, it is saddening, but a reality.
Zeus…..Then again some folks like that “preverbial” find, to take the focus off and make things a little hazy for the real task at hand. (our child is missing oh but uncle is doing so much better, we are thankful for that!) now they can justify their emotions and uneasiness. i pray real prayers for these girls, i hope this family is on their knees praying too…they need to quit the antics.
I aint cutting these folks any slack!
I came across this article citing examples of drug related kidnappings that have occurred over recent years.
In my opinion- there are three possible scenarios–
1. Either Daniel or Misty or both did something to piss someone off and the girls were kidnapped in retaliation.
2. Either Daniel or Misty or both had something to do with the kidnapping in attempts to delay hearing/trial or something stupid
3. They were abducted by a stranger (unlikely if you ask me)
Could it be that LE has received ransom demands with a proof of life that they are not releasing publicly?
AJMO
Praying for these girls safety and swift return home.
link:
http://voices.yahoo.com/missing-iowa-girls-possibly-latest-drug-dealer-11623436.html?cat=17
Missing Iowa Girls Possibly the Latest Drug Dealer Kidnap
Victims
Wylma Cook, grandmother of missing Iowa cousins Lyric Cook-Morrissey and Elizabeth Collins, said Friday drug lords may be responsible for the girls’ abduction. The Daily Mail explained Lyric’s father, Dan Morrissey, had “narc’d” on several dealers and users to reduce his own potential sentence on drug manufacturing and trafficking charges.
Black Hawk County Sheriff Tony Thompson declined to say whether investigators share Cook’s views. The FBI has publicly declared they believe the two girls are alive but they have not shared the evidence supporting that belief, the Daily Mail noted.
These are some of the drug-related kidnappings that have occurred in the United States and Canada.
* In 2007, the Daily American said only a few cases of drug dealers abducting kids are reported each year. But the paper noted that police think the true numbers are higher, with some kidnappings not reported due to fears of drawing attention to the parents’ illegal drug activity.
* In the 2007 Philadelphia case reported by the Daily American, dealers had kidnapped a 7-year-old in hopes of securing a $250,000 ransom. Police said at that time the amount of drug money on the streets enables drug gangs who kidnap rivals or those close to them to demand huge ransoms.
* Reputed Mexican drug dealers kidnapped 6-year-old Cole Puffinburger in 2008. The little boy was later found safe, the Associated Press reported. Police believed the drug dealers kidnapped Cole to send a message to his grandfather, Clemens Tinnemeyer. An indictment in the case outlines how Tinnemeyer allegedly stole $4.5 million in drug money he found concealed in a motor home he was driving as part of a conspiracy to transport drug money and cocaine.
* When Briant Rodriguez was kidnapped from his home in 2009, police also suspected a drug connection. The 3-year-old was found in Mexico, wandering the street alone two weeks later and reunited with his family, according to the AP. When warrants were issued for the suspects’ arrest, police were still considering a link with drugs.
* Carl Simpson was snatched from a Detroit diner in 1998 after his uncle reportedly stole a machine gun belonging to drug dealers. The Detroit Free Press said the 17-year-old was tortured, beaten and starved. The drug dealers were arrested but Simpson’s body was not found, the report said.
* An Ontario drug dealer was sentenced to 10 months in prison for threatening to kidnap a woman’s child in order to force her to continue selling drugs, the Toronto Sun reported in April.
Bumble says:
July 29, 2012 at 1:22 am
Sorry, I guess the girl I was referring to was in trouble Dec ’10. Never the less it amazes me that they are all so open about meth.
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And oddly enough, she is in trouble again, although I don’t know how serious this charge is.
http://www.kwwl.com/story/19157663/cousin-of-missing-evansdale-girls-arrested-on-drug-charges
http://www.kwwl.com/story/19157663/cousin-of-missing-evansdale-girls-arrested-on-drug-charges?clienttype=printable
More drug problems for this family. What is up with these folks? Is this just normal for them to have this much drama. You would think with the family in the spotlight they would clean up their act a bit.
http://m.omaha.com/om/pm_27428/contentdetail.htm?contentguid=ojhVJGKz
Great story about the volunteers helping celebrate Elizabeth’s birthday… And nary a glimpse or whisper of the Morrisseys. I think Elizabeth’s parents are hip to the game here… Even if they aren’t directly responsible for the disappearance of these girls, they’re culpable. They’re involved. I’m convinced. Meth addicts are no joke and they can be downright mean.
I hope you’re working on an update for us, Blink. I don’t hear anyone talking about these babies anymore and they NEED to be found. I hate to think they’ll become just another cold case of missing children.
“Investigators have physical evidence that the girls are still alive.”
Evidence.
Could they have found something else (evidence) near the bikes? I could understand them finding something that might lead them to a suspect, but something that would make them say that they strongly believe the girls are alive? A note?
http://video.today.msnbc.msn.com/today/48275049#48275049
Blink, hope all is okay on the homefront with your mother.
twink: I am sorry, took me some time to be able to respond, thank you for asking.
http://blinkoncrime.com/2012/08/02/saying-goodbye-for-now-lung-cancer-ends-moms-valiant-fight-at-63/
B
The cousin had two Xanax on her. Hmmmm…. not likely a dog can smell those little pills. Looks like the cops are looking for any and every reason to put the heat on the family. Must be a good reason for that…
Person of interest being questioned, “not as a witness, but as someone who may have information”
http://wcfcourier.com/news/evansdale_search/fbi-interview-person-of-interest-in-missing-girls-case/article_d2012198-dc4e-11e1-83a3-0019bb2963f4.html
Snipped:
“Agents said they interviewed the man and later released him. Officials said the man is not considered a suspect.”
Read more: http://www.kcci.com/news/central-iowa/FBI-questions-man-in-Evansdale-abduction/-/9357080/15935448/-/1lvdjpz/-/index.html#ixzz22MQ5nw83
Today, Friday, Aug. 4, 12, the wooded area next to Meyers Lake was searched again with “no positive results.”
http://wcfcourier.com/news/evansdale_search/fbi-returns-to-meyers-lake-in-search-for-missing-girls/article_9b33f71a-dd95-11e1-86a6-001a4bcf887a.html
fyi
http://urbandale.patch.com/articles/iowa-girls-disappearance-salts-johnny-gosch-s-mom-s-30-year-wound
That Gosch article is moving. I often see people bemoaning the fact that it is so much more dangerous out there today than it was when they grew up. It was dangerous back then too. We just didn’t know about it. No one reported the child abductions and the police just treated them as runaways until they found a body. It’s like bike helmets. None of us wore them, but bikes were no less dangerous. We just know more now.
I’m behind on reading all your posts but is it possible these two girls went to meet someone they had met previously? Older boys? I’m sure they probably already checked their FB & MYSpace stuff already, but maybe they met someone at a party or some other event previously. If they were a little older, I’d think this was a possibility for sure, but 10 & 8, IDK.
Just thinking about the mom saying they wouldn’t ordinarily be riding where they were, so why were they?
http://nbcsports.msnbc.com/id/48475792/ns/sports-motor_sports/
- Two young Iowa cousins missing for nearly three weeks have gotten the attention of two NASCAR Sprint Cup drivers.
Cars driven by BK Racing teammates Landon Cassill and Travis Kvapil will feature photos of the girls at the Pennsylvania 400 at Pocono Raceway on Sunday. The decals also will include a phone number for the National Missing Children hotline.
************
I think this is a great idea. I mean….why not? Maybe it will catch on and NASCAR will feature photos of a few missing children at each NASCAR event. In fact, why can’t every national sport event do the same?
Rose says:
August 5, 2012 at 5:07 pm
fyi
http://urbandale.patch.com/articles/iowa-girls-disappearance-salts-johnny-gosch-s-mom-s-30-year-wound
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Thanks, Rose, for this link. I was up waaaaaaaaaay past my bedtime reading about that most bizarre case. Very weird and interesting. I’d love to hear Blink’s take on it. But without a doubt, it reveals so much about how things can be mishandled.
I don’t see any reason to assume they really rode their bikes to the lake. They may have, but, at this point, I don’t think we know where they were when they were taken.
redly says:
August 7, 2012 at 9:51 am
I don’t see any reason to assume they really rode their bikes to the lake. They may have, but, at this point, I don’t think we know where they were when they were taken.
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I agree. they MAY have gone to the lake, but the video shows them riding away from it. It is possible, I think, that the bikes were dumped to mislead people to think they had drowned. But maybe that is too simplistic. Sigh….
Not simplistic at all Redly. I agree that the bikes were likely dumped there to mislead people. But what audacity… to steal the kids, then dump the bikes, all in broad daylight. Two chances to get caught. That is my only issue with the bike dumping theory.
I think since the dogs alerted their scent they were either lured their or it was planned ahead: it lyrics had run away prior maybe she was promised a better life? What about the island at that lake full of trees has it been searched?
Curious about any finger prints or DNA found on the bikes.
twinkletoes says:
August 8, 2012 at 2:56 pm
Not simplistic at all Redly. I agree that the bikes were likely dumped there to mislead people. But what audacity… to steal the kids, then dump the bikes, all in broad daylight. Two chances to get caught. That is my only issue with the bike dumping theory.
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Very true. Broad daylight. but let’s face it-if a drug dealer was involved, they may not have been thinking clearly if high. but they sure seemed to pull this off.
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raceyrin says:
August 8, 2012 at 9:17 pm
Curious about any finger prints or DNA found on the bikes.
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Never thought of that. Excellent point.
My thought process on the bikes is that they were left right where the girls got off them and that one of the girls threw the purse over the fence intending on going over herself as they tried to get away. If they were lured and abducted elsewhere and the abductor took the bikes to mask the crime, they would not drive to somewhere nearby to dispose of them.All just my opinion of course.
Blink, I hope you get this message. It’s been a long time since I’ve tried to post here. First, I have the utmost respect for what you do. I love your blog; I’ve worked as a paralegal for 35 years and am intrigued with crime cases, solving & justice. Second, my deepest sympathies on your mother’s death. She must have been an amazing woman, and you do her proud.
The reason I’m writing today is to share some information I found on a new case. A few days ago, Dr. Melvin Morse was arrested in Delaware for waterboarding & physically abusing his 11 year old step daughter. His med license has been suspended. He is a pediatrician and “expert” in the field of near death experiences of children. What a perfect storm for his evil deeds. I did a little reading at delawareonline.com and found a few interesting articles. Check out the good doctor’s blog at http://www.spiritualscientific.com Also, delawareonline has an article about him from 2010 where he claims he reported a Dr. Bradley (pediatrician) to the Delaware officials for passing off saline injections to Bradley’s patients as vaccinations. Dr. Bradley was apparently convicted of molesting and recording sexual abuse of over 100 of his patients. Odd that those two would find each other. Morse moved to Delaware after a long career in Seattle in 2007. Why? I don’t know if this is a case you’re going to get into, but his blog entries were so odd and startling I felt like I needed to share them with you. The wife, Pauline Morse, is also implicated in allowing the waterboarding of the 11 year old. The two of them come across as very strange in his web page. Pauline’s father reports they are estranged & he has never met the 11 & 6 year old kids, but is relieved they are now safe. There is a lot more to this story, I believe. Print whatever you wish, or not. I just felt like I had to tell someone important!! Too much evil in the world – needs exposure & light to kill it. Best wishes.
Thank you kindly first wife. I am aware of Dr. Morse and will keep an eye on it.
B
This case has become so quiet
I hoped that when LE said that they had evidence the girls were still alive, they might be getting close to finding them… It seems like things are getting chilly. Gosh, I sure hope they are ok.
January says:
August 11, 2012 at 2:40 am
This case has become so quiet I hoped that when LE said that they had evidence the girls were still alive, they might be getting close to finding them… It seems like things are getting chilly. Gosh, I sure hope they are ok.
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I was just thinking the very thing. I know they had that booth at the state fair on the 9th. Wonder if it brought in any information…
Judi says: August 12, 2012 at 9:41 am
I know they had that booth at the state fair on the 9th. Wonder if it brought in any information…
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I read that they were going to have a box for anonymous tips at the booth. At first I thought it was a good idea, but then wondered about its effectiveness. I can’t imagine someone having useful information putting a note in a tip box with others standing right there watching. I doubt it will happen, but will be interesting find out.
Re#39 I too seriously doubt someone would stuff a tip in a box at a state fair in view of so many? Anyway, after so much time has passed, I’m curious if Blink/LE think Lyric and Elizabeth are still among the living.
I honestly do not know what I think at this point.
B
sorry in advance for the long comment but i been debating all of this in my mind over and over…so please forgive me, this is all of what i have it is real and raw and unedited…i dunno all the facts to consider in this case but offer this suggestion…What if they had the girls walk the bikes down to the water with them using the girls as the trasporters of the bikes to not look suspicious (with full intent of taking them when nobody was looking)and the girls were following along side this person… or behind or in front of..kind alike baiting them sort of speak…..or to meet this person down there…if the girl was walking with a person and it was casual or done with conversation and they didnt seem threatened, it is less likely anyone would suspect anything or even remember it. if it was premeditated by a family member as it has been suggested by media, maybe this family member had a change of clothes and had them change their appearance to alter the memories of unassuming witnesses …people may in fact not realize what they have seen— People may have simply not seen anything or enough to remember, that may be why there isnt possible witnesses..there may in fact be witnesses but those witnesses may in fact think they dont know anything of significance.. I know when I do not see people interacting with great attention drawn to them…I dont remember as much of a scenerio, or items carried or items misplaced or who was all in a particular party of what was said or done during the process……but if I hear kids screaming or crying or loud noises during a situation or unusual circumstances it triggers my mind to take “mile markers” if you will let me use that term…it is like my mind starts taking pictures and i can play back the specific pictures in my mind as i retell a story. photographic memory is what my grandmother use to always call it. My grandmother use to always tell me too ..knowing this about myself and over the years…I have zero-ed in on the in between picture times and have really honed in on my listening sklills and my specific attention to detail…I am very good with details.. OCD to the extreme… My grandmother use to tell me not to act up in public because it draws on negative attention for people to snatch children .. however if someone tries to ever take you, they will befriend you and be nice until they get you in a dressing room or a confined area consealed then they medicate you and can stuff you anywhere.. body bags, duffle bags, what ever they can conceal you in….and walk right out a store or area…so you never go alone or even with another child with a stranger….strangers do drastic things to take children. so as a child i grew up remembering things about my suroundings, smells…and people.
SHe made me realize -If someone starts talking to you in public…you be loud, answer loudly talk where everyone can hear you, so you leave an impression with others around you…it will trigger their mind to remember…there should never be any secrets between children and adults,especially strangers. Unless that adult is your own parent and then of course discretion is used.. for security safety and privacy reasons..parents are suppose to protect their kids not put them in harms way. We as a society have children conditioned to speak softly with their voices and to be nice to strangers, “not to be rude”…Just what is rude for a child? I hate this comment when parents make it. “Don’t act like that, quit being so rude!” Really?? They are kids, how are they suppose to act? Unles syou have taught them to be respectful, then they are going to act just like what they are suppose to act like. UNTRAINED KIDS!! Not rude not bad kids. But Untrained children! SO what is a rude child? Now granted i know what arude kid is, it is a child that calls people names, spits and does rude things.. but a kid acting like a kid isnt a rude kid….there is a big difference. Children are often awkwards in society anyways…clumpsy, outward with their emotions when they dont get what they want and unassuming to anyone that will listen or give them attention..(these are not rude kids though) and that attention is unwanted attention…this is where danger comes in, and enter our lives if we let it….. (i tell my kids they dont owe anyone anything other than common courtesy)(other than that my kids may come off a bit obnoxious , me as well)…i let my kids bounce around , yell, scream and act how kids are suppose to act…I do not let them be submissive in any kind of form…EVER. I was almost snatched 2 times in my lifetime….maybe more but two incidence stand out so chillingly—-Scary to this day.
About my memory– I know this about myself and so I try to retain as much info manually between memory pictures so i can piece together everything… thus being–I am very attentive to detail and am very articulate when verbally and orally communicating with someone… But yet i get so excited when i am typing, i cant type worth a crap .. type in all lower case and never consistant..I absolutely hate texting…. and sometimes can be misconstude as rambling when typing like such as this…but it’s not. LOL
sorry to ramble and then just abruptly stop…i am so busy, sorry i hit the send button like that.. forgive me. i really have prayed they find these girls alive…breaks my heart…these kids are innocent and full of life.. vibrant and beautiful. Lord keep these girls safe. AMEN.
Jane,
You are right to wonder. I’ve never seen anything like this. It takes a lot to get me to change my mind and I almost was believing the FBI that the girls were alive.
At this point I’ve returned to my orginal view that they are no longer with us in body, but very much in spirit.
It for that spirit that I still hold hope for justice in this sad and selfish case.
Be the change, you know whats scary? I have a vivid memory of riding my bike up and down the sidewalk in front of my house, got off the bike leaned it against the porch and a car pulled up , two men in it.The passenger held out his hand and asked if I wanted candy. I can still see the image today , two anise candies in dark red wrappers.The only reason I didnt take them is because I knew I didnt like the taste of them.I thought they were friends of my babysitter so I went up the steps to get her for them and they sped away. In my 6 year old mind I thought they were nice guys just driving around handing out candy. I cant imagine what would have happened if I had liked what he was offering!
January says:
August 12, 2012 at 2:10 pm
I read that they were going to have a box for anonymous tips at the booth. At first I thought it was a good idea, but then wondered about its effectiveness. I can’t imagine someone having useful information putting a note in a tip box with others standing right there watching. I doubt it will happen, but will be interesting find out.
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I doubt anyone would either, but you never know. this may just be another way to give people a chance to give info. It can’t hurt anyway.
YEP. raceyrin—- that is the picture post card for every mother when she is training her children and telling the boogyman story of child snatching and stranger danger….and the lost puppy story,, but it is the truth! it happens just like that, but it happens alot different too. I was done the same way, riding my bike and a man drove up, said hello, are you okay little girl, want me to take you home….I said NO, I KNOW WHERE MY HOME IS AND STARTED SCREAMING and yelling BAD MAN BAD MAN YOU SHOULD KNOW BETTER THAN TO TALK TO LITTLE GIRLS….he sped off and cussed at me..i do not recommend any child doingthis, because it easily couldhave back fired, but i was scared to death…it was really happening…just like i was told it would happen.. it happened… I was a tough little girl and mean….But that kind of stuff shocked me. Another time was when my dad had a tractor run over him while he was working on it…he was laying in the hospital and i had gone down there to visit him with my grandmother (I stayed alot of time withher during the summer and while my parents worked)While my grandmother was visiting and tending him, i wanted to bounce around the hospital room and hallway and my grandmother took me down to the waiting area to get a drink…i noticed as we passed the double doors of the hospital there was a play area across the lawn for kids to play…nobody was out there, i begged her all the way to the waiting room and then back to the room to go play and i stomped around…this lady actually walked up to hospital room where my dad was staying and knocke donthe door and my grandmother came to the door and she asked to speak to her and “the little girl” (ME) she toldmy grandmother she would take me to the playgorund…i begged and begged and begged started crying and my grandmother said absolutely not. The lady even took my hand and begged my grandmother stroking my hair inthat hallway and my grandmother said NO. She then proceeded to turn and try to walk me out and assure dmy grandmother it would be okay and my grandmother snatched my hand back and told me to go sit down in the room and the answer WAS NO. i get all of this years later in a story from my grandmother, but my grandmother was working with my determination and this womens ability to try to conn her into taking me and she still stood her ground. My grandmother swore she knew that lady was trying to take me, she said the hair on the back of her neck stood up when the lady first came to the door and mentioned she needed to talk to us. My grandmother doesnt know where this women came from nor where she went, but i do recall all of this recount that she told me when we were discussing this subject a few years ago… Intuition my grandmother had it! I use to always have men drive slow and circle around the block when us kids were riding our bikes, we didnt know what they were doing bu tthe looked suspicious…we had a few women that would drive around and look and stop with men in the passenger seat……i was warned to stay away from them as all of us kids were warned…all of us kids stayed close to each other and looked out for one another.. but now days they dont…everyone is for themselves….. The candy bribe and the lost puppy sympathy story gets at poor kids hearts…and the M.O. hasnt changed one bit, unlike so many other crimes as technology advances…the more things change, the more they stay the same., They still grab kids with the candy line…only they use other means offer money and all kinds of stuff. i tell my kids all the time,real caring people have no intention of giving you candy without your parents knowing about it..if they do then they have ill intent. Snatchers are all around and among us.. they will strike when they have the chance, they are just waiting on the opportunity! Never take your safety for granted.
@Bethechange, raceyrin, and others -
I had a close call when I was a kid also (back in the early 70′s.) My friend and I rode our bikes to the creek in our neighborhood. It was summer; we had both just turned 8 and the creek was a new place we were just starting to explore. It felt like freedom! I still remember the exhilaration of venturing past where we normally played. On the third day in a row of going there, we had a nervous feeling that we weren’ alone. We both had a creepy feeling that someone was watching us and heard leaves slightly rustling from time to time. We decided to cut our playtime short because of it. (Even at that young age in what was a really safe family neighborhood, our senses were alert that something might not be right.) On the way back to where we had left the bikes, we both tripped over fishing line that had been deliberately strong across the path. I was leading the way and my friend was just behind me. When we got to the clearing between the path and our bikes, there was a man holding a shovel, standing in a shallow hole that he was digging. I ran past him to get to my bike and thought he said “ya wanna see a ditch?” That made sense to my 8 year old mind. He was holding a shovel, standing in a little ditch. I shook my head and kept moving forward. My friend was two or three steps behind me. She heard him ask if we wanted to see a penis, only he used the d word. (The pervert wasn’t asking if we wanted to see a ditch.) As my friend hurried past him, he leaned and grabbed her from where he was standing in the hole. I remember looking back over my shoulder as I climbed onto my bike and seeing my friend struggle away from his grip. I don’t know if he couldn’t hold on to her from the position he was in or if it was just a halfhearted attempt, but he only had her for a second and then she was on her bike right behind me. We rode as fast as our legs could peddle. My friend was crying hysterically the whole way back. When we got home, we told all the parents. My older brothers and their friends immediately went to go check it out and found that the guy, whoever he was, had already left. No police, nothing. Just the older boys riding out to the creek to go check it out for themselves. I mean, what would they have done if he had still been there…not to mention the danger they, themselves, may have been in. Strange how naive we all were.
I think about Lyric and Elizabeth all the time…..remembering my own seemingly carefree childhood, playing outside until it got dark and then sometimes even after with games like “ghosts in the graveyard” and “flashlight tag.” As idyllic as it all seemed, the world even then wasn’t a safe place…..Maybe safer than today, but danger still lurked a bike ride away. I pray these girls are found and brought home, but my fear is that they’ve been sold into human trafficking and child pornography. The rumor about them being spotted in videos on the “dark net” has me fearing that it’s too late. I hope that it’s only that, just a rumor and that this all might still have a happy ending.
Kris
it hurt my heart to read your post because I know without reservation, that was a bad man who intended harm.
The take away for others is that YOU listened to the satellites in your mind that protected you.
That is so crtical. Kudos.
A similar situation happened to me when I was 10 years old. I was visiting my aunt and uncle in Los Angeles, CA one summer. I was riding a bike in the alleyway behind their house. A car approached, stopped, and the man inside offered me candy- he said he needed help with something. Luckily, I was directly behind my aunt’s home which had a fence (with a gate) separating their home from the alleyway. I remember looking down into the car and felt the man and the car were a bit creepy. I just said no thank you, opened the gate and went into my aunt’s yard. I told my uncle about it, he went into the alleyway, but the car was gone. Even at 10-years-old it didn’t feel right; I’ve thought about the incident many times.
So many women with similiar experiences, maybe that is what draws us here to advocate for the innocent. It is truly frightening as when I was 7 years old (this was about 47 years ago). It is as clear as day that there was a car sitting just several yards up our long driveway from where the bus dropped me off. I walked as far away from the car as I could. Then a man asked if I wanted candy. I started to go faster and he asked again only louder, and his car door opened and I ran as fast as I could to the house. My family immediately looked for him and called the sheriff, but he was long gone. From then on, I never walked that driveway alone. How sad, even back then, we weren’t really safe, just naive.