A Summer Bike Ride That Ended in One of Iowa’s Most Haunting Unsolved Crimes

A Normal Summer Day

July 13, 2012, was supposed to be an ordinary summer afternoon in the small town of Evansdale, Iowa. School was out, the weather was warm, and cousins Lyric Cook and Elizabeth Collins did what kids had done for generations they went for a bike ride.

It was a simple plan. A ride near home. A little freedom. Then back for dinner. They never came back. By nightfall, the town was holding its breath.

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Who Lyric Cook Was

Lyric Cook was 10 years old energetic, kind, and full of personality. She loved animals, music, and spending time with her family. Those who knew her described her as protective of her younger cousin Elizabeth, always watching out for her.

Elizabeth Collins, just 8 years old, was quieter but curious and affectionate. The two were inseparable that summer.

Their bond is an important part of this story because whatever happened to one, happened to both.

That afternoon, Lyric and Elizabeth were last seen riding their bikes near Meyers Lake, a popular recreational area with walking trails, trees, and nearby residential streets. When they failed to return home, concern quickly turned into panic.

A search began almost immediately. Within hours:

• Police flooded the area
• Helicopters scanned from above
• K-9 units followed scent trails
• Hundreds of volunteers joined in

Late that night, the girls’ bicycles were found abandoned near a wooded trail. The discovery sent a chilling message: this was no accident.

Evansdale is a small town and the kind of place where neighbors know one another and kids ride bikes without fear. The disappearance shattered that sense of safety overnight.

Search efforts expanded statewide. The FBI joined the investigation. Posters went up across Iowa and neighboring states. Tips poured in, but none led to the girls.

Days turned into weeks. Weeks turned into months. And then came the call no one wanted.

On December 5, 2012, hunters discovered skeletal remains in the Seven Bridges Wildlife Area, a remote wooded location about 20 miles from Evansdale.

Dental records later confirmed what everyone feared: the remains were Lyric Cook and Elizabeth Collins.

Authorities revealed that the girls had been abducted and murdered, but they withheld specific details about the cause of death to protect the integrity of the investigation.

The case shifted from a search for missing children to a double homicide and one with almost no physical answers.

The Investigation: Leads Without Arrests

Despite national attention, the case has remained stubbornly unsolved.

Investigators examined:

• Known sex offenders in the region
• Vehicles reported near the trail
• Tips involving suspicious individuals
• Possible connections to other child abduction cases

Multiple persons of interest were interviewed. None were charged.

The lack of publicly released evidence has been both strategic and frustrating meant to protect the case, but leaving the public with little understanding of what investigators know.

Theories That Continue to Surface

A Crime of Opportunity

Many believe the girls were targeted because they were in a vulnerable location a wooded trail with limited visibility. Someone familiar with the area may have been watching.

Abduction by Vehicle

The speed with which the girls vanished suggests a quick, controlled abduction possibly involving a vehicle parked nearby.

Someone Who Blended In

In small towns, predators don’t always look like strangers. Investigators have never ruled out the possibility that the killer was someone who appeared normaleven trusted. What’s missing in every theory is the same thing: evidence strong enough to bring charges.

Lingering Questions

• Why were the bikes left behind but no other belongings found?
• How were the girls transported without being seen?
• Why has no witness come forward with definitive information?
• Does someone know more than they’ve ever said?

In a case this personal, silence can be just as haunting as violence.

The murders of Lyric Cook and Elizabeth Collins changed Iowa.

Parents stopped letting kids ride alone. Trails emptied. Community innocence was replaced with vigilance. Memorials now stand where laughter once echoed.

Their families continue to push for answers not just justice, but truth.

Lyric Cook didn’t disappear because she took a risk.

She disappeared because someone saw an opportunity and acted.

This case endures not because of shocking twists, but because of its quiet cruelty: two children doing something ordinary, taken in broad daylight, and never given the chance to grow up