Hunters Find Two Bodies; Missing Iowa Girls Identified

Hunters in Iowa made a gruesome discovery when they found bodies of two young girls hidden in the woods. The bodies were found on Dec. 5 and were later confirmed to be a pair of cousins missing since July.

The news shocked the small town of Evansdale who searched for the missing girls.

On July 13, 9-year-old Elizabeth Collins and 11-year-old Lyric Cook-Morrissey disappeared without a trace near a popular local recreational lake.

Authorities have released little details on the discovery, but the bodies were identified by the girls' respective mothers.

Heather Collins took to Facebook to inform her friends and family that her daughter was found.

"We have been so blessed by ... all the prayers and support tonight with the gut wrenching news that my beautiful daughter and niece's bodies were found by hunters today ... Lord we know that you have them in your loving arms and we are so blessed for that."

A prayer vigil was held Wednesday night at the lake where they reportedly vanished.

"These were just innocent children," said Barb Collins, a machinist who grew up in Evansdale and helped lead the prayer vigil, as reported by Yahoo. "These girls should have been left alone. They should be home safe in their beds, and it's only a coward who would have done something like this."

Capt. Rick Abben from the Black Hawk County Sheriff's Office said the bodies were transported Wednesday evening to the Iowa State Medical Examiner's Office in Ankeny.

"It's definitely not the outcome we wanted," Capt. Abben said, as reported by the Quad City Times. "Numerous officers from many, many jurisdictions have worked on this case around the clock since the 13th of July ... This is a difficult thing for us to go through. It's a difficult thing for the people in the community, not just the community of Evansdale. The whole community came together to show their support for the family."

The bodies were reportedly discovered in a heavily forested area and forensic evidence at the scene is being scrutinized to find any further information.

Abben declined to state if there were any suspects in the cousins' disappearance.