Officers questioning Evansdale drivers in girls' disappearance

Law enforcement officers stopped motorists Monday afternoon at a number of intersections in the city of Evansdale as an apparent part of the effort to locate two missing girls.

Lyric Cook, 10 and Elizabeth Collins, 8, disappeared sometime Friday after riding their bikes to a trail around Meyers Lake. Hundreds of searchers over the weekend did not turn up any usable evidence for authorities.

The stopping of vehicles began sometime around 12:30 p.m.. Officers are passing out fliers about the missing girls. They are also questioning some drivers and even looking in a few trunks. One officer involved in the effort would not explain the searching of some vehicles, especially trucks.

Rick Abben, chief deputy for the Black Hawk County Sheriff's Office, briefed the media about the latest efforts late Monday morning. Abben said investigators had no new leads in the case. The calls for volunteer searchers that brought out nearly a thousand people both Saturday and Sunday were not repeated Monday.

Drew and Heather Collins, parents of Elizabeth Collins, also spoke briefly with reporters. The mother and father of one missing girl said they are trying to keep the faith that all the efforts will have a happy ending.

The Collins' specifically thanked all the searchers who

turned out for the massive effort over the weekend. Earlier on Monday, uniformed officers were also seen walking ditches apparently searching for evidence.