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Mystery surrounds disappearance of two Iowa girls

UPDATED – Authorities announced in a Monday evening press conference that they have started the process to drain Myers Lake. Dragging efforts were stopped...

UPDATED - Authorities announced in a Monday evening press conference that they have started the process to drain Myers Lake.

Dragging efforts were stopped Sunday, but authorities say draining it is the only way to be sure there are no bodies in the lake.  It could take up to 3 days to fully drain the lake.

ORIGINAL STORY - Traffic roadblocks were part of the search Monday for two young girls, who've been missing for three days.

Eight-year-old Elizabeth Collins and her 10-year-old cousin, Lyric Cook, went on a bike ride Friday afternoon in Evansdale, near Waterloo, and never returned home.

"There's just nothing,” said Vicki Weikert, Lyric’s grandmother. “It's like they vanished."

"God just reminds me, he's here for us and he will be here,” said Heather Collins, Elizabeth’s mother.

She and her husband Drew say the only likely explanation is abduction.

"That's what I believe, just because of how it was,” said Collins. “I don't know that, but the water's been gone through a zillion times."

Included last weekend in the search, which was aided by a thousand volunteers, were the Cedar River and a lake right in the center of town.

The missing girls' bikes were last seen along Meyers Lake, which has since been searched. Nothing turned up.

Now, police are asking anyone who was along the Evansdale Nature Trail on Friday to contact them.

Authorities still aren't ruling out the possibility of draining the lake, which would likely take up to a week.

But, the girls' families are convinced there’s something more sinister behind the disappearance.

"The only thing that makes sense is an opportunity presented itself and somebody took advantage of it and the girls are gone," said Weikert.

On Monday, police set up road blocks, stopping drivers for information, which is so desperately needed to offer answers and relief to worried family members.

"On a Friday afternoon, in the middle of the day, most people are at work,” she said. “Evansdale, it's a small town. Nothing ever happens in Evansdale."

"We just want our children back safe and sound. That's all we want."

If you have information, contact police at (319)232-6682.

Police say no amber alert was issued because there is currently no person of interest and no vehicle associated with the disappearance.

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