Kriti Mehrotra
It was July 13, 2012, when the whole world turned upside down for one extended family as cousins Elizabeth Collins and Lyric Cook-Morrissey vanished in Evansdale, Iowa, without a trace. What’s worse is they were found dead in Seven Bridges Wildlife Park on December 5, 2012, but their case remains unsolved to this day, as explored in HBO Max’s ‘Taken Together: Who Killed Lyric and Elizabeth?’ However, none of their loved ones have ever given up hope about finding concrete answers one day, especially the parents of 8-year-old Elizabeth June Marie Collins — Heather and Drew Collins.
Heather and Drew Collins Gave Their Kids a Great Childhood
Born on July 31, 2003, to high school sweethearts Heather Cook and Drew Collins as one of their four children, Elizabeth reportedly led a happy, fulfilled life surrounded by loved ones. That’s because she not only had her brother Kelly, her sisters Amber and Callie, as well as her adorable dog Gus by her side at every step of the way, but she also had her extended family as they all lived nearby. The truth is that hailing from a small town gave all of them a sense of comfort about their kids roaming in the area without supervision, so they didn’t mind them going out on bike rides and explorations either.
Therefore, it was perfectly normal when Elizabeth and her 10-year-old cousin Lyric were allowed to step outside with their bikes on July 13 — weeks before the former’s 11th birthday – with a plan to return soon. However, there was no sign of either girl even after hours had gone by, driving their caretaker at the time, maternal grandmother Wylma Cook of Waterloo, to immediately contact both sets of parents. Hence began an extensive search for the kids, just for the family to soon realize they’d had to call 911 because there was no way either of the bubbly, extroverted, yet unwaveringly kind girls would rebel by simply not coming back on time.
Elizabeth Collins’ Disappearance Shattered Her Parents
According to their own accounts in the documentary series, Heather and Drew processed the disappearance and death of their daughter quite differently. While the former internalized a lot of her feelings since she had three other kids as well as their entire household to look after, the latter essentially let his emotions and grief consume him. The first few days, weeks, and months were still relatively okay for him since he was focused on finding Elizabeth, but things gradually got harder for him, even though he had his job, wife, and three kids to keep him busy.
In the end, according to Heather and Drew’s own accounts, things boiled over to such an extent they used to argue constantly, and he became quite aggressive with materialistic items. Even the littlest things could set him off, he conceded, so there were times he completely thrashed their living room or went to the backyard to let out all his anger when he couldn’t sleep. He was admittedly filled with such deep despair over not having his little girl home that he couldn’t even figure out a way to cope with it in a safe manner, leading Heather to file for divorce in 2017. It was difficult for both of them, yet they were able to finalize everything amicably.
Heather and Drew Collins Continue to Keep Elizabeth’s Memories Alive
Although Heather and Drew divorced, they both knew their priorities then had to be their remaining kids, so they went on to do their best to be there for them and show up no matter what. Hence began a great co-parenting relationship between this duo, which they consciously maintain to this very day for the sake of Kelly, Callie, and Amber – they both seem close and proud of all their children today. Apart from that, from what we can tell, Kitchen Manager Heather and Skateboarding enthusiast Drew are both still single residents of Iowa, where they are doing their best to keep their late daughter’s legacy as well as case alive.
While Drew is keeping a line of communication open with law enforcement officers, he and his ex-wife have also since established the Elizabeth Collins Foundation after their daughter. Launched in 2022, he serves as the non-profit organization’s President, whereas his Heather serves as its Secretary, with their goal being to help other families of missing people by partnering with other organizations to bring awareness to cold cases in hopes of garnering new tips and leads.
“It’s the first thing you think of in the morning and the last at night. For me, it’s very fresh. Doesn’t seem like 10 years,” Drew candidly said in late 2023. “I can’t think of anything that’s been harder in my life than losing Elizabeth. You’re trying to make sense out of the something that is very senseless. I look at those little girls and I think, ‘How could any normal human being hurt those little girls?'” He and Heather have since also expressed that they won’t ever stop looking for answers because their daughter and niece deserve justice.
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