Community Remembers 'Our Girls' Lyric and Elizabeth at Evansdale Vigil

Dozens gathered in Evansdale Thursday night, lighting candles in the cold, to remember the lives of Lyric Cook-Morrissey and her cousin Elizabeth Collins.

The two girls from Evansdale went missing July 13. On Thursday, authorities announced they were "confident" two bodies found in a wilderness area in Bremer County on Wednesday were the girls. Authorities are awaiting official forensic identification from the Office of the Medical Examiner in Ankeny.

The news was devastating for a community that has held out hope for almost five months that "their girls" would return home safely. Pink ribbons of support adorn trees and light poles across the Cedar Valley, and pictures of the girls are everywhere.

Christi Peterson, of Waterloo, attended Thursday's vigil with her husband.

“We went and helped look for them,” she said. “I bought a candle the day they went missing. It has the prayer of St. Jude on it. I said that prayer every day for weeks. I just hoped they would be found.”

The vigil was held on the front lawn of Tammy and Randy Marvets, across the street from the Evansdale Police Department. Supporters placed pink ornaments on two Christmas trees set up in honor of the girls.

The Marvets put up the first tree just a few days ago, when the cousins' fate was still a mystery, and they invited the community to decorate it. They added a second tree Thursday after the first tree filled.

“We put them up in hopes the girls could come home and see them,” Tammy Marvets said. “Now we’re keeping them up as memory trees.”

She said the ornaments will be delivered to the families after the holidays as a reminder of the community’s support. Much of that support comes from complete strangers - including the Marvets.

“The girls are our girls. That’s what I call them,” she said, though she never met Lyric and Elizabeth. “I think of them as my own kids.”

Elizabeth Collins, 9, and Lyric Cook-Morrissey, 11, went missing on July 13 near Meyers Lake. The case is being treated as an abduction, and authorities are leaning towards a homicide, but they will wait for information from the state medical examiner to make that determination.

Family friend Sarah Curl helped organize the vigil. She said the efforts that went into the search for the cousins cannot stop; instead, they must be transformed.

"We have to keep doing what we can to raise awareness," she said. "This isn't the only family this has happened to. This family just touched our hearts."

A $150,000 reward is being offered for information leading to the capture and conviction of those responsible in the Evansdale case. Anyone with any information should call the public tip-line at (319) 232-6682 or email OurMissingIowaGirls@dps.state.ia.us. They can also contact these tip lines: Crime Stoppers Hotline at (855) 300-8477, FBI tipline at (402) 493-8688, DCI tipline at (515) 725-6010.

More coverage:

Bodies Discovered by Hunters May be Linked to Missing Evansdale Girls

Mother Confirms Missing Evansdale Girls Have Died

Sheriff: Bodies Linked to Evansdale Search Were Found in Bremer County Park

Missing Evansdale Girls: Authorities 'Confident' Bodies Are Lyric and Elizabeth