Lyric Cook and Elizbeth Collins Are Missing...

Lyric Cook, 10, and her cousin Elizabeth Collins, 8, are both missing. The Iowa girls were last seen by their grandmother more than a week ago when they left on a bike ride. While in a typical case one may suspect that the girl have been killed, the FBI has an opinion to the contrary. "We believe these girls are alive and we are not discouraged by the passage of time since their disappearance," said FBI spokeswoman Sandy Breault. Breault declined to add what makes her think the children are still alive.

In the interim law enforcement has suggested that there has been a lack of cooperation from a few family members and a couple of close friends. The girls' bicycles and a purse were found near Meyers Lake hours after they were reported missing July 13. A search of the 25-acre lake failed to turn up any clues. (The girls are both good swimmers and their shoes weren't found.) Black Hawk County Waste Disposal, which handles trash collection in the local area, was requested to dump trash from Evansdale homes and businesses in a separate area of the county landfill.  The landfill had been searched but apparently no evidence was found.


Authorities are calling the children's disappearance an abduction. 

A $50,000 reward is being offered for information leading to the successful recovery of the girls.