'I Miss Them With All My Heart': Community Marks 2-Month Anniversary of Cousin's Abduction with Vigil

It's not a day any parent should have to mark.

Thursday was the two-month anniversary of the disappearance of Evansdale cousins Lyric Cook-Morrissey, 10, and Elizabeth Collins, 9. The girls went on July 13. Authorities say they were abducted.

Heather and Drew Collins, Elizabeth's parents, gathered for a candlelight vigil with other family members, friends and supporters at Countryside Vineyard Church in Evansdale Thursday night.

"Just don't give up. Just keep praying," Heather Collins said when asked if there was anything she wants the public to know. "Don't lose hope. You have to always have positive thinking. The girls will be home."

As over 100 supporters lit candles in a circle in the church parking lot, friends and family of the missing girls read Bible verses, said prayers or just offered a few words.

"I'd like to say, Heather and Drew, I love you so much," Tracy Bertch, Heather's brother, said. "I'll stand with you forever if that's what it takes."

Thursday was also the Collins' 15th wedding anniversary. A day that should have been one of celebration was another day of waiting for news of their daughter and niece.

Drew Collins emphasized the need for anyone who might have any information to speak up.

"Don't be afraid to come forward," he said.

Anyone with any information on the missing girls should email OurMissingIowaGirls@dps.state.ia.us. or call the public tip-line at (319) 232-6682. Authorities have released that could help find the girls.

Inside the church, children made cards and drew pictures for the missing girls.

"We really need them back home," one little boy, Collin Yu, said during the ceremony. "I miss them with all my heart."