1,500 gather to remember slain Iowa girl

• Cousins' bodies found last week in secluded area of park
• Elizabeth remembered as precocious girl who loved to smile
• Service for Lyric Cook-Morrissey planned for January

CEDAR FALLS, Iowa -- Five months ago, hundreds of people gathered to search for two young cousins who had disappeared while riding their bicycles in nearby Evansdale.

Thursday evening, 1,500 peoplegathered again, this time to say goodbye to Elizabeth Collins, who was 8-years-old when she disappeared on July 13. The bodies of Elizabeth and her cousin Lyric Cook-Morrissey, then 10, were found last week in a secluded parkland, about 25 miles north of where they were last reported seen.

Friends, relatives and those who knew the girls only through news reports filled Heartland Vineyard Church to celebrate the life of Elizabeth, a precocious girl who loved to smile, even when she was in trouble.

"She liked to play practical jokes and boss around her older brother and her sisters," her mother, Heather Collins, told reporters before the service.

Family members are planning a service for Lyric in January.

At Thursday's service, the church's nine-piece band performed some of Elizabeth's favorite worship songs to a packed auditorium of mourners. The guests stood and swayed, some with arms around others' waists, some with hands raised in the air. Some clapped as the band performed a half-hour set of Christian praise songs.

The set opened with "Every Move I Make in You Jesus," about which Heather Collins said, "It's not your typical funeral song. But this isn't a funeral, it's a celebration."

Associate Pastor Chris Reeves told of how Elizabeth's younger sister, Callie, 4, approached him after learning of Elizabeth's death. "She came into my arms and said, 'Elizabeth's gone.' Then she said this: 'She's with Jesus, she's in heaven,'" recalled Reeves. "And right there in that sorrow, I knew that there was hope."

In his final prayer, Reeves thanked Jesus for bringing Elizabeth home.

Prayer was a source of support for Heather and Drew Collins, Elizabeth's father, throughout the five months since Elizabeth's disappearance. It can be hard to accept, Heather Collins said, but "you guys have just got to realize that she is in a better place."

Adorning the stage in the church's worship area were several Christmas trees and large bouquets, an angel doll whose head moved to the music and a large photograph of Elizabeth. At the foot of the stage, a cage held two white doves.

Heather Collins said her daughter loved to travel, and especially loved to shop. "We had to find a mall in every state, because she needed new clothes and shoes. And so did I, too."

Prior to the service, Heather Collins said Elizabeth's sisters and brother, Kelly, 12, "deal with it the best they can," Heather Collins said.

Callie, Elizabeth's 4-year-old sister, had said she wanted to visit her sister in heaven, Heather Collins said.

"We explained, no, unless you die, you don't go visit heaven," she said.

Now, Callie just talks to Elizabeth, the girls' mother said. "She'll look up to the sky and just talk."

Seven-year-old Amber draws angels of her sister and her cousin Lyric.

All of Elizabeth's siblings have been in counseling since their sister disappeared.

Heather and Drew Collins were composed during a 20-minute news conference before the service.

Drew Collins said he doesn't know if he will ever find closure with what has happened.

Heather Collins filled three scrapbooks with photos and newspaper stories collected over the five months since the cousins disappeared. She wanted to show Elizabeth when she got home how hard everyone had searched for her.

"She did come home, even though it wasn't on Earth," Heather Collins said.

The homecoming ceremony Drew and Heather Collins had planned for their daughter turned into a memorial service, but they were quick to emphasize it was not a funeral. It was a celebration of life and love for Elizabeth, they said.

The family will hold a private burial at a later date.

"This would be the way she would want us to celebrate her life," Drew Collins said.

Guests signed a giant banner with Elizabeth June Marie Collins printed in pink letters across the top.

Elizabeth's baby book shared some of her family's earliest memories of her. She had her father's eyes. And like her mother, she didn't like things to be dirty or disorganized.

Elizabeth's hockey jersey and helmet sat on a table next to her American Girl doll and her own baby clothes.

Photos on display showed Elizabeth, Callie and Amber Collins in matching dresses. Thursday night, Callie and Amber Collins wore matching gray and purple sequined dresses. One for Elizabeth hung above a table in the receiving line.

A harpist played "Amazing Grace" and "Memory" as guests shared stories over chicken-salad sandwiches, chips and vanilla ice cream, a treat Heather and Elizabeth used to share together many nights.

It was hard for Rick Reuter to put into words his feelings when he learned that the bodies of Elizabeth and Lyric had been found.

Reuter, an Evansdale police officer, helped with the initial search for the girls on July 13 and has been involved in the case ever since.

"There have been a lot of emotions," he said. "You'll see a lot of us here to support the family."

The tragedy has resonated throughout Iowa, but Thursday's celebration comforted some of those who participated.

"This helps," said Mike King, Drew Collins' stepfather. "Finding them was a big step, and doing this memorial for them is another piece of closure."

On Monday, Elizabeth's parents will meet with Gov. Terry Branstad to talk about reinstating the death penalty in Iowa, and to seek stricter punishments for sex offenders.

Drew Collins told reporters that if there had been a death penalty, perhaps Elizabeth and Lyric's killer would have let them go.

"You get life in prison if you kidnap someone and you get life in prison if you murder someone in Iowa," Drew said. For the killer, "there was no reason to let (Elizabeth and Lyric) live."