Family members of two missing Iowa girls are struggling with the unknowns while law enforcement continues searching for the young cousins.
Life is far from normal for the families of 8-year-old Elizabeth Collins and 10-year-old Lyric Cook-Morrissey. The girls were last seen taking a bike ride in Evansdale on July 13th.
Marsha Gilmer-Tullis with the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children says the uncertainty about what happened to a missing child can be unbearable for families. Most of the 800,000 U.S. children reported missing each year are found quickly.
Elizabeth's mother Heather Collins says she sits up at night hoping a police car will drive up with her daughter. Dan Morrissey, father of Lyric, says he struggles with the unknowns.
Among law enforcement and others seeking the girls is another group hoping to provide information, those claiming to be psychic.
About 80 self-proclaimed psychics have contacted the Black Hawk County Sheriff's Department regarding Lyric and Elizabeth. An extensive search involving local, state and federal investigators has failed to find them.
Possibly more surprising than the number of psychics offering their help is that officials are listening to them. Sheriff Tony Thompson said he doesn't claim to be a believer in psychic abilities, but in the absence of any hard leads, "We will listen to anybody right now."
