Song and Prayer Marks One-Month Anniversary of Missing Evansdale Girls

As the one-month anniversary since two Evansdale girls went missing passes, people continue to remember them with prayers, pink ribbons and pleas for their safe return.

Monday marked one month since Lyric Cook-Morrissey, 10, and Elizabeth Collins, 9, . At on Monday, about 30 people gathered to raise hands, voices and prayers, calling for the return of one of their own.

"Rescue those two little girls, God," one man said at the service. "That is our prayer. Bring them home."

Officials are calling the case an abduction. It has rattled the community, sparked a statewide search and generated concern nationally. Since the girls went missing on July 13, authorities have fielded and an apparently fabricated attempted kidnapping report in Indianola last week.

A few days before the church vigil, on Friday, more than 150 people had gathered at Meyers Lake, where the cousins' bikes were found.

Monday's ceremony was at the church attended by Heather and Drew Collins, Elizabeth's parents. It was quieter, smaller and more intimate. For an hour, congregants mostly sang, with a few pauses for prayer.

Several people wore pink shirts. Pink has become the color of support throughout the search for the cousins. Pink ribbons are tied around trees throughout Evansdale, Waterloo and Cedar Falls. Thousands of pink wristbands, T-shirts and signs have been distributed.

At the end of the night, the worshipers gathered around the Collins family. Laying hands on them, they simply, silently offered their support.

Anyone with any information about the cousins should call the tip-line at (319) 232-6682.