Iowa Cousins Still Missing After One Month, Leads Lend Hope

A poster with photos of Lyric Cook-Morrissey, 10, and Elizabeth Collins, 9, who disappeared in Evansdale last month, adorn a utility pole across from the entrance to Meyers Lake in Evansdale, Iowa, Monday, July 16, 2012. (AP Photo/Waterloo Courier, Brandon Pollock)

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By Rachel Begle

Story Created: Aug 13, 2012 at 5:58 AM CDT

Story Updated: Aug 13, 2012 at 6:04 AM CDT

EVANSDALE, Iowa (AP) - Two Iowa girls have been missing for a month, but the FBI says leads make investigators believe the girls are still alive.

Ten-year-old Lyric Cook and her cousin Elizabeth Collins, who has since turned 9, were reported missing July 13 from the Waterloo suburb of Evansdale. The bikes were found at a nearby lake about four hours after their grandmother had last seen them.

The Des Moines Register says FBI spokeswoman Sandy Breault would not discuss the leads nor say whether investigators believe the girls were kidnapped for ransom, abducted by a relative or abducted by a nonrelative.

The likelihood of finding abducted children alive drops as time goes on, but Breault and others say it's important for relatives and investigators to not give up hope.