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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256 Comments

  1. raceyrin says:

    makes me want to invent some kind of anti-kidnapping and tracking device like a hidden panic alarm that sends a signal and location to police.

  2. January says:

    raceyrin says: August 16, 2012 at 10:25 pm

    ++++

    Good Idea! Maybe something similar to the necklace old folks can wear around their neck.. if they fall down, they just push a button on it, and it alerts the medics…

    lol
    B

  3. deb says:

    With their scent at the waters edge’ could they or would they get in a boat?. Seems with 50 grand reward..the druggies would be talking?

  4. January says:

    Has anyone heard about this? Is this information true?

    “Missing Iowa girls Lyric Cook and Elizabeth Collins aren’t the only members of the family to disappear, it seems. A family member of the two girls spoke exclusively for a Gather News article in an informal interview about the abduction of two other kids in the family. The children, who are named Shelby and Doug (ages 2 and 4), were allegedly abducted by their father Mark during a dispute between him and the children’s mother. It’s strange that this occurred in the very same family just this year, right before the two cousins vanished a month ago.”

    http://news.gather.com/viewArticle.action?articleId=281474981546919

  5. January says:

    January says: August 18, 2012 at 1:45 am

    Blink says: lol B

    =========

    Glad I could bring a little smile your way xo

  6. raceyrin says:

    Hahahaha! January , yes like the old peeps necklace only with tracking …cause when youve fallen and you cant get up well they know where to find ya!
    so something of a ankle bracelet for inmates and a medic alert hybrid , made for kids.

  7. Dr. Pepper says:

    Have ya’ll heard about this?

    Missing Child Smartphone App

    (PENSACOLA, Fla.) A new tool was unveiled today to put instant power into parents’ hands.

    Its a smart phone app called “Polly’s Guardian Angel.” The new app was introduced in Pensacola but it was an Alabama family that needed the most help fast.
    Volunteers with the Klass Kids Foundation not only came to launch a new app, they came to lend a helping hand.

    “Yeah my hope has grown because I really really needed help. I didn’t know we didn’t know how to do this, ” said Chessie Wood the mother of 19 year old Brittney Wood who went missing last Wednesday and was last seen in Baldwin County.

    “We’ll be scouting out the search areas starting tomorrow also trying to identify locations were we can set up a search center so the community can come out and actually assist Brittney’s family, ” said Brad Dennis with the Klaas Kids Foundation.

    Brittney’s story is heart breaking. So is the 1993 disappearance and murder of Polly Klass who the Klass Kids Foundation is named after.

    Her father Marc Klass was at the app launch to talk about the latest missing child alert system. He says it’s an app designed to save lives.

    “You can download this application into your smart phone you register, you fill out your parent information, you fill out your child’s information including a picture.

    All of that information is proprietary. It goes nowhere else at all. It stays on your smart phone until you need to activate an alert, ” said Klaas. The new app is available for free for a limited time.

    For more information about the Polly’s Guardian Angel’s smartphone app and how you can download it, click here.
    http://www.local15tv.com/news/local/story/Missing-Child-Smartphone-App/SKnU2gWpaUSe6FVJsZyKGQ.cspx

  8. wpg says:

    Thinking about the timeline for a few weeks . . . the timeline is wacky, imo.

    TedG the cyclist estimates seeing the bikes at 12:20pm when he allegedly had to swerve to avoid the laid down bikes, basing the time on a 12:27pm phone call he made to his daughter when he was at the restrooms located at the lake’s parking lot area – - north of the lake.
    The girls’ bikes were found on the trail south of the lake.

    JoeP the manager at the auction house says the video surveillance clock shows 12:11pm when 2 bikes ride westbound by the back lot (the lot faces the Collins’ house where grandma was) BUT SAYS IT IS 8 MINUTES SLOW when compared to the clock on his US Cellular phone.
    So he is saying that the bikes “actually” rode by at 12:19pm?

    fwiw, neither guy made direct contact with LE until Monday, July 16.

    July 26 article with video:

    “Wednesday 10PM Update: Surveillance Video May Be Last Known Sighting of Missing Girls”
    http://www.kcrg.com/news/local/Surveillance-Video-May-Be-Last-Known-Sighting-of-Missing-Girls-163897346.html

    July 25 article:

    “Surveillence video of missing Iowa girls found:
    http://articles.nydailynews.com/2012-07-25/news/32853107_1_surveillance-cameras-new-video-cousins

    IDK . . . just don’t get this part of the timeline.

  9. wpg says:

    Just for the heck of it, did up a couple of maps.

    The first one has a possible route the girls may have taken from the Collins’ house, past Lederman’s, Cornbelt auction house surveillance camera, the bar . . . then looping up north, then heading east past the front of the establishments . . . past the bank where I read somewhere LE was obtaining video from . . . heading south to include the Lake Avenue home of the man who said he saw the 2 girls riding by sometime between 12 and 3pm when he was watering his lawn.

    At the end of Lake Avenue the girls could have taken a few options to proceed to the lake, including straight south, cutting through the forested area on the road just before Arbutus Avenue . . . or turning onto Arbutus which takes them onto the Evansdale Nature Trail Nature Trail and has them entering onto the Meyers Lake trail from the south-east. The bikes were found a short distance from the entry point, slightly west of the forested area, along the south of Lake Meyers. The south trail is visible from I-390.

    MAP #1

    http://maps.google.com/maps?saddr=166+Brovan+Blvd,+Evansdale,+IA+50707,+USA&daddr=Cornbelt+Auctions,+Lafayette+Road,+Evansdale,+IA,+United+States+to:River+Forest+Rd+to:First+Security+State+Bank,+3600+Lafayette+Road,+Evansdale,+IA+50707,+United+States+to:South+Evans+Road,+Evansdale,+IA,+United+States+to:Gilbert+Dr+to:Lake+Avenue,+Evansdale,+IA,+United+States&hl=en&sll=42.47599,-92.294855&sspn=0.011237,0.017574&geocode=FaYjiAIdmMR_-ilvzGwBkU3lhzFFC9FBQIDgrA%3BFQ8niAIdzsJ_-iH_Ew1X3teBqCmBx8FZkE3lhzH_Ew1X3teBqA%3BFe8qiAIdmrt_-g%3BFe0kiAIdnM1_-iEf-2eOhLr5LCl3X3jVlk3lhzEf-2eOhLr5LA%3BFRgHiAIdC81_-ik1Q7ZM603lhzERehEUk4dpog%3BFSL0hwIdwNJ_-g%3BFWvqhwId_tJ_-ikzRlsU6U3lhzGk9jZlJKbdPQ&oq=River+Forest&t=h&mra=dme&mrsp=2&sz=16&z=15

    ****

    The second map shoes the relation of the Collins’ home,
    the auction house,

    the Casey’s store from where LE wanted to speak to the man driving a white Astro van as per linked article:
    http://www.kwwl.com/story/19174082/authorities-look-for-white-astro-van-in-missing-girls-investigation
    “UPDATE: Man driving white van is not a suspect in Evansdale abduction”
    Posted: Aug 01, 2012 9:04 PM CDT Updated: Aug 02, 2012 12:54 AM CDT

    and the route to Cedar Rapids where there was an attempted abduction of a little boy by 3 people in a white Astro van on Tuesday, July 31:
    http://www.kwwl.com/story/19168951/cedar-rapids-father-says-pair-tried-to-abduct-his-son
    “Cedar Rapids father says pair tried to abduct his son”
    Posted: Aug 01, 2012 11:16 AM CDT

    MAP #2

    http://maps.google.com/maps?saddr=Cedar+Rapids,+IA,+USA&daddr=Meyers+Lake,+Evansdale,+IA,+United+States+to:Casey%27s+General+Store,+1038+River+Forest+Road,+Evansdale,+IA,+United+States+to:42.47333,-92.293318+to:Cornbelt+Auctions,+Lafayette+Road,+Evansdale,+IA,+United+States+to:166+Brovan+Blvd++Evansdale,+IA+50707-1002&hl=en&ll=42.467982,-92.285714&spn=0.022476,0.035148&sll=42.470261,-92.290735&sspn=0.022475,0.035148&geocode=FRiIgAIdKUuJ-ilRQi-gel_khzHA3eYsQ2DuVQ%3BFZHohwIdGMZ_-in_GOca703lhzFwP6ZzdZpJlg%3BFajxhwIdCaR_-iGYFAnG_hnjaSkpKjql9k3lhzGYFAnG_hnjaQ%3BFXIXiAIdOrd_-infFzHvjU3lhzFWw-O3h1oqlg%3BFQ8niAIdzsJ_-iH_Ew1X3teBqCmBx8FZkE3lhzH_Ew1X3teBqA%3BFaYjiAIdmMR_-ilvzGwBkU3lhzFFC9FBQIDgrA&t=h&mra=dpe&mrsp=3&sz=15&via=3&z=15

  10. Ode says:

    http://thegazette.com/2012/08/21/mother-of-missing-girl-hospitalized/
    Well, well now why is Misty in the hospital. Another drug overdose for the family?

  11. Liz NY says:

    Misty was taken to the hospital because she was unresponsive after being heavily medicated and drinking alcohol:

    http://thegazette.com/2012/08/21/mother-of-missing-girl-hospitalized/

    Also, Dan’s trial is comping up on the 28th:
    http://thegazette.com/2012/07/27/trial-postponed-for-missing-girls-father/

    Maybe there will be some movement in the case this week….hopefully.

  12. January says:

    http://www.gather.com/viewArticle.action?articleId=281474981569610

    The way I read this Misty was hospitalized earlier in the day and then released. After this she drank and took perscription pills and was taken to the hospital a second time… family says she is a danger to herself.

  13. January says:

    http://www.gather.com/viewArticle.action?articleId=281474981571062

    “Several sheriff’s office squad cars surrounded the property with both uniformed and non-uniformed officials “taking position” around the premises.”

    Evidently, nothing came from this… I wonder if LE still believes that the girls are alive?

  14. LaurieO says:

    January says:
    August 22, 2012 at 3:42 pm
    http://www.gather.com/viewArticle.action?articleId=281474981569610

    The way I read this Misty was hospitalized earlier in the day and then released. After this she drank and took perscription pills and was taken to the hospital a second time… family says she is a danger to herself.
    ——————————————————————–
    That’s how I read it, too, January. She might be grieving or she just can’t take the stress anymore. Or she’s just stupid. I hate to even say that because I know her daughter is missing, but there are plenty of people in the world with no common sense.

    If it was a suicide attempt, then she must know something. why else would you want to take your own life, knowing that your daughter MAY come home one day and find you dead and then be even more in crisis? If you don’t really know anything, you’d want to stay alive to know what happened-or maybe that’s just me. JMO

  15. January says:

    LaurieO says: August 22, 2012 at 11:15 pm

    “If it was a suicide attempt, then she must know something. why else would you want to take your own life, knowing that your daughter MAY come home one day and find you dead and then be even more in crisis? If you don’t really know anything, you’d want to stay alive to know what happened-or maybe that’s just me. JMO”

    ——

    My thoughts exactly!

  16. wpg says:

    Another wacky, makes-no-sense thing is that one of the early questions from LE to the family when they were all first gathered at Meyers Lake, would be (or should have been)

    “When and where did you see the girls last?”

    Grandma’s answer: (paraphrasing) behind the Big’n'Tall at 12:15.

    So WHY THE HECK didn’t LE go to that area of buildings right away and SPOT THE SURVEILLANCE CAMERA attached to the OUTSIDE WALL of the Auction House ? Isn’t that like Investigation-101 ?

    Girls disappear FRIDAY the 13th and the auction manager contacts LE MONDAY the 16th? Seriously?

  17. wpg says:

    Oh yeah, something else.

    I posted up above 2 article links regarding the surveillance videothat are dated July 25 and 26.

    BUT – - there is this earlier article dated Friday, July 20 :

    (snipped)

    “In this exclusive video watch as two bicycles pass through the frame. KGAN/KFXA has learned from a source that FBI investigators obtained this video and have been holding on to it for at least the past 5 days.”

    http://www.cbs2iowa.com/shared/newsroom/top_stories/videos/kgan_vid_12072.shtml

    Okay, so who is the source?
    Someone from LE?
    The manager or someone from Cornbelt Auction House?

  18. Liz NY says:

    According to the examiner, a property was ‘swarmed’ this week regarding and is related to this case. Can anyone find out whose house it was? I don’t always trust everything I read on examiner.com

    http://www.examiner.com/article/missing-iowa-girls-update-leads-still-investigated-by-officials

  19. Liz NY says:

    This father makes me sick. He got his trial delayed another 30 days. Good for him. I was really hoping that the trial would proceed and it would somehow help the girls to be found.

    http://www.kwwl.com/story/19370410/morrissey-appears-in-court-trial-gets-continued

    Waiting and waiting for an update in this case. I have a feeling the girls being held until the trial, and getting the girls back safe is dependant on how the trial goes and how people testify.

  20. wpg says:

    Liz NY,

    I have a hard time with this “Daddy” because “Daddy”, is charged with displaying a weapon and smashing his daughter’s mother’s face into the ground.

    Yeah, it’s hard to ignore the timing of July 12th court to July 13th disappearance.

    Don’t know how far in advance one would know what the offer of the plea deal was. Would think the expectation was to serve NO jail time at all.

    Don’t know if why Grandma said is true, that he “narced” people out, but if he did, the “death penalty” could mean sending him to jail, where he may be in jeopardy.

    IDK, just don’t know.

    Don’t know either how the domestic violence charge factors in to the plea deal . . . how or if MCM would be involved in that.

    He did say in one of the early pressers that the girls’ disappearance has reunited the family. Was that a sincere mention or a suspicious one . . . IDK.

    Not making any accusations, just some observations.

    There are A LOT of bad people out there, and the area of Meyers Lake by the trail and wooded area is so secluded. Frightening and sad.

    jmo’s

    this trial was continued again because Mommy is hospitalized and cannot appear to testify.

    Are we seeing a pattern here?

    B

  21. wpg says:

    Eh. Will a Polly Purebread yelp help at all?

    All good wpg :)

    B

  22. wpg says:

    So, PollyP sounded familiar . . . OMGosh!!!!
    UNDERDOG!!!!

    Spent almost 2 hours on a visual, Saturday mornings memory lane trip!

    Thanks for that, Blink!

    xoxo’s

  23. Word Girl says:

    “Sweet Polly Purebred is a female anthropomorphic dog news reporter who is Underdog’s love interest, and she often serves as the damsel-in-distress of most episodes”

    http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_Underdog_characters

    YouTube has Underdog vids.

  24. wpg says:

    Is there an episode where Polly phones the Dog merely days apart with a (coincidentally) similar yelp for his help ?

    Last week :)

    B

  25. January says:

    Crazy how silent this case is now. Has it gone cold?

  26. kimberly says:

    couple of things bothering me about this case, first, (Polly), Wow, just Wow. these two are really good at deception, the time they must spend construing and planning,,,,, my oh my.

    2nd, WTH does someone need over 4 different facebook pages?

    3rd, WTH would a mother refer to herself as a “demon”

  27. january says:

    I don’t get the Poly dog thing.. wish I did because when kimberly said: “couple of things bothering me about this case, first, (Polly), Wow, just Wow.” I Can’t help that I’m really missing something!!

    Help??

  28. kimberly says:

    @january,

    I think WPG defined it best,

    *******************
    25. Word Girl says:
    August 28, 2012 at 6:04 pm
    “Sweet Polly Purebred is a female anthropomorphic dog news reporter who is Underdog’s love interest, and she often serves as the damsel-in-distress of most episodes”

    http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_Underdog_characters

    YouTube has Underdog vids.

  29. kimberly says:

    whoops,

    meant Word Girl,,,,
    sorry WPG and Word Girl

  30. kimberly says:

    anybody know if this is related or one of the other attempted abductions that occured around there also?

    BUNKER,JUSTIN LLOYD 8/15/2012 11:07 AM ENTICING AWAY A MINOR, ATTEMP ENTICE A MINOR, SEXUAL ABUSE IN THE 3RD DEGREE $85,000.00

    http://www.bhcso.org/WhosInJail.aspx

  31. wpg says:

    MISSING GIRLS: POLICE NAME SPECIFIC STREETS IN INVESTIGATION

    2:16 PM CDT Sep 13, 2012

    (snipped)

    “Police said they have “information that the girls were seen approximately 12:23 p.m. on Brovan Blvd. and between 12:30 p.m. and 1:00 p.m. on Gilbert Dr. in the area of Meyers Lake in Evansdale.”

    Officials said “anyone that was in the Arbutus Ave. or Gilbert Dr. and Elmer Ave. areas or anywhere in Evansdale on that day that may have seen the girls” should contact them.”

    http://www.kcci.com/news/central-iowa/Missing-girls-Police-name-specific-streets-in-investigation/-/9357080/16587274/-/item/0/-/bl9d17/-/index.html

  32. wpg says:

    So the end of Elmer Avenue becomes the north entrance into the parking lot at Meyers Lake (girls bikes were found on the trail south of lake)

    Meyers Lake with Elmer Ave, Gilbert Dr and Artubus Ave area:

    http://maps.google.com/maps?q=Meyers+Lake,+Evansdale,+IA,+United+States&hl=en&ll=42.462465,-92.288729&spn=0.005865,0.009871&sll=37.0625,-95.677068&sspn=49.71116,68.642578&oq=Meyers&t=h&hnear=Meyers+Lake&z=17

  33. wpg says:

    IDK . . . are the police trying to figure out which access to the Lake the girls took:

    - – the north entrance via Elmer Avenue,

    - – or via Artubus which could mean take a south on Maiden Lane through the wooded area,
    or a little further east to the grassy area and ride south,
    or a bit more east to the Evansdale Trail and ride south.

    Or are they trying to figure out if the girls ever made it to the Lake at all and their bikes were maybe “planted” where they were eventually found by a volunteer firefighter?

    Jeepers.

    So whose bikes did the cyclist see lying across the trail with the time approx based on the 12:27 call to his daughter?

    Did the volunteer firefighter find the girls’ bikes laying down or leaning up against the fence (only one of the bikes had a kickstand) . . . Black Hawk’s police Information Officer Abben said the bikes were upright when he arrived on scene later on. If the bikes were laying down I hope the scene was processed BEFORE they were moved . . .

    Hmmmm as usual.

  34. Essay Kaye says:

    Happy Birthday, dear Lyric. We wish with all our hearts you and your cousin are still with us and will be found soon.

    http://www.whbf.com/story/19704416/11th-birthday-party-set-for-missing-iowa-girl

  35. January says:

    @ Essay Kaye says: October 2, 2012 at 7:20 pm
    ________

    Checking in today to wish Lyric a happy birthday too. I remember thinking when LE said they had found evidence the girls were still alive, that the parents may have them stashed somewhere. Maybe to avoid court or whatever. Now, months have passed, and I can hardly find an article to read about them anymore. Where are these little girls? Happy Birthday Lyric, with all my heart I hope you find your way home.

  36. Dr. Pepper says:

    this breaks my heart

  37. Jack says:

    Blink – are you aware of any updates in this case? Does the FBI still believe the girls are alive somewhere?

    I don’t unfortunately.

    B

  38. January says:

    Wow, did this case ever go from 1,000 to Zero in record speed!

    Gee Whiz!

  39. Donnie says:

    http://blogs.desmoinesregister.com/dmr/index.php/2012/09/25/judge-denies-dan-morrisseys-request-for-a-change-of-venue-in-upcoming-trial

    Daniel Morrissey’s trial is scheduled to begin Nov. 13th. Hopefully it will shed some light on this case.

  40. Liz NY says:

    Daniel Morrissey’s trial has been delayed again, no suprise. New date is December 11th:

    http://www.seattlepi.com/news/crime/article/Drug-trial-delayed-for-father-of-missing-Iowa-girl-4024599.php

    Also, the mother has been living in a halfway house since she was hospitalized in August. She’s also due in court for violations to her supervised release:

    http://www.kcrg.com/news/local/Mother-of-Missing-Girl-to-Appear-in-Court–178940741.html

    Where are the updates on the missing girls? Have heard nothing for months…

  41. Ode says:

    Oh dear God they have probably found these dear girls deceased today. I am so so sad for them. What happened. I am heartbroken.

  42. lizzy says:

    We know bad news is coming eventually in these cases, but that headline from Evansdale was still a punch in the gut. Found by hunters.

  43. Concerned Citizen says:

    I’m not sure which page for the girls is the most recent. Posting this here. So very sad:

    http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/12/05/lyric-cook-elizabeth-collins-found_n_2247615.html

    These little ladies are at rest, which means we mobilize.

    Hurts my heart.

    B

  44. tea2 says:

    is it true that hunters may have found the misssing girls bodies???

    They did, God hold these baby girls.
    B

    http://blinkoncrime.com/2012/12/06/missing-iowa-cousins-lyric-cooke-morrisey-and-elizabeth-collins-found-deceased/

  45. Cindy says:

    http://xfinity.comcast.net/articles/news-national/20121205/US.Missing.Cousins.Iowa/

    My heart weeps for these two these girls. My justice be swift to their killer and hope that he is found soon.

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