After her body was found six months ago, Elizabeth Collins has now been laid to rest.
WHO reports that the 8-year-old girl’s burial was Saturday, May 4, 2013. Her parents held a public burial at Waterloo Memorial Park Cemetery.
According to a report by KCRG, roughly 200 people were in attendance of the young girl's funeral.
Collins' parents, Drew and Heather Collins said this day was more of a closure for their daughters, Elizabeth's siblings.
“I think this is important for them, this is more for closure for them. For us, I don’t think there will be closure until the person is found, really,” Heather said after the service.
By the end of the service, the sun appeared, just before mourners released pink and purple balloons into the sky.
Collins and her 10-year-old cousin Lyric Cook went missing after the two left to go on a bike ride in July of 2012 in Evansdale. The girls’ bodies were found last December in Bremer County, Iowa.
Cook was laid to rest at a private burial last month.
As they work to seek justice for their daughter, Drew and Heather Collins are fighting to prevent similar future tragedies.
“For us, we’re just going to continue to make things better for children and other families. We’re going to work on the Amber Alert to change that in Iowa,” Heather Collins said. “We’re just trying to make things better for other people.”
The investigation to find the culprit is still ongoing.