Bodies of Evansdale Cousins Found
- Family has not seen bodies
- Hunters found them
Talked with the grandma
- She says there is no way it could be family
- She also says it isn’t drug related because of how everything was done. There was no blood, or anything to show that they’re out to get them
Anelia Video at site where the girls were found:
- Very remote area
- Hired a plane to take pictures of what it looked like from above
- In the original video, when they went to see where he shot the deer. She took out part of this because there was leftover blood from the deer but she made sure not to include this because she didn’t want any blood associated with the crime
Found on https://iowacoldcases.org/case-summaries/lyric-cook-and-elizabeth-collins/
- Elizabeth Collins, 8 & Lyric Cook, 10
- Bodies Found in Seven Bridges Wildlife Park in Bremer County: Dec. 5, 2012
- Reported missing on July 13, 2012
- Girls seen 12:23 p.m. July 13. Their bikes and Elizabeth’s purse were later found on a trail on the corner of Meyers lake where they had been spotted earlier. No clues to their whereabouts.
- They were found by a hunter at seven bridges wildlife area 25 miles ffrom where last seen.
- Cook’s dad has a charge with possession, dealing, and making methamphetamine
Guest Speaker: Drew (Elizabeth’s Dad)
- “When is the last time you talked about the girls?”
- Grandmother, “everyday”
- When the case happened in Indiana, it ramped things up again. They never know when it is going to happen.
- “How much have you stayed in touch with law enforcement?”
- A lot, he says.
- People call him with tips.. He was asked how he handled tips like that
- “I get a lot from instant messenger, or people I don’t really know. A lot of those I don’t like to listen to. We need something to bite into, so most of them are nothing leads.”
- Asks his mom how she has dealt with it
- You have to stand back and do something to help. There’s not a lot you can do, just be there
- Must ask parent or guardian if you can speak to younger children
Asked how they react to the media
- Drew states they haven’t had much trouble with the media
- A couple times they had people hiding and taking photos at their house, but other than that but the journalism if anything helped them
- Never made them feel like they were suspects
- If anything they were kind and considerate.
- The cousin Lyric’s parents are Misty and Dan Cook
- Misty and Dan were in and out of prison for meth
- They didn’t cooperate as well
- They grew up thinking the police were bad
- Drew has his own tree business, his son, kelly, does the trees and drew does the business side of it
- Has been doing it for 20 years
- Kelly was 12/13 when it happened
- There was one guy that ambushed him with a question, he didn’t like him because he had negative questions.
- Drew’s mom: says people ask why drew doesn’t get over this because it’s been 6 years.
- “It’s old news, I guess. But to us it’s not. It’s unfinished news.”
- Angels park in evansdale: it was originally for the girls but then there were a couple other families that had children die. It morphed into a park for the community. It is across where the bikes were found.
- Asked what he remembers when they went missing
- He remembers there being a storm the night before, walked out the door, went to work just like a normal day.
- He then went home and Heather said the girls went out on a bike ride and they hadn’t come back yet
- He then called the police and they later found the bikes and Elizabeth’s purse thrown over the fence
- To keep busy he worked, and did other things such as making a poster for sex offenders that haven’t registered
Drew is asked about his faith and if it was questioned or made stronger
- Wasn’t ever mad at God because God can’t stop any of this stuff from happening.
- “I don’t think at that time I was close to God.”
- His wife had a heart attack, and she had a pacemaker put in. They were trying to get her healthy while the girls went missing
- Statistically kids that are taken are killed within hours
Grandmother says she was relieved because all she could think of was her being tortured and she was almost thankful that that’s not what it was.
- She says she leans on God
What do you think should happen to someone who did this?
- Drew’s mom says she wants the courts to be the ones to decide this. “I certainly don’t think someone like that should be loose in society again.”
- Drew said “I’d like to take a blow torch and a pair of pliers to them.. That’s the truth”
- This person took by daughter and threw her outside like trash after they murdered her.”
Do you ever read bad comments online about you?
- He says he comments back
- People post negative things and one person posted a photo from years before it happened of him partying and made bad comments on him
Have you ever thought about forgiveness?
- “It’s easy to say, and it’s another thing to do.”
Grandmother:
- States Elizabeth was always hugging her family members and always glowing with happiness in photos
Drew does not speak to Lyric’s family anymore
- This is because they didn’t cooperate when they went missing and to him it meant they were selfish
How do you think this has changed you as a family?
- I remember one day there was a slow moving van out front.. It was the FBI
- His marriage fell apart
- He doesn’t do a lot anymore
- He says his family is sort of like an incomplete puzzle
Drew helps other people that are going through this
Has this changed what you allow your girls to do?
- “If I’m in the house, they don’t even go out to the car alone”
How has this impacted your relationship with your family?
- I feel like all my kids are tight
- It brought us together
- But ripped them apart because heathers mom didn’t listen well to drew
During the time before they were found did you think they were alive?
- I always had hope.
- He got a call the day they were found to go to the city hall
Just remember that these are people and they’re going through the worst time of their life
Journalism, Law, & Ethics 