Dad of Missing Iowa Cousin Postpones Drugs and Battery Trial

July 27, 2012 — -- The father of 10-year-old Lyric Cook, who disappeared while riding bikes with her cousin in Iowa earlier this month, will not be put on trial for separate drug or domestic abuse charges until August, an Iowa judge said today.

Daniel Morrissey, 36, appeared in a Waterloo, Iowa, court today in relation to four cases in which he is charged with assaulting his estranged wife and Lyric's mother Misty Morrissey, and possessing, making and dealing methamphetamines.

A judge in Iowa's Black Hawk agreed to delay the trial, according to the Des Moines Register.

Daniel Morrissey had previously reached a plea deal in relation to the case, The Associated Press reported, but had backed out at a July 12 hearing because he was not prepared to go to jail.

Investigators say Lyric Cook and her cousin Elizabeth Collins left their home to ride their bikes shortly after noon July 13. Their bicycles were later recovered on a trail by nearby Meyers Lake in Evansdale, Iowa. Both of their bicycles were recovered on a trial near the lake about four hours after they were reported missing.

Last week the case was reclassified as an abduction.

Misty Morrissey and her husband Dan, the separated parents of Lyric, had stopped answering investigators' questions on the advice of their attorney late last week, although Misty submitted to a second polygraph test Tuesday.

Earlier this week authorities in Iowa investigating the disappearance of the girls obtained new video of the missing girls from the day they vanished. Although the footage of the two girls lasts only seconds, investigators say they now are analyzing it for any clues that could lead to information about the girls

FBI spokeswoman Sandy Breault said Monday that investigators believe the two girls are alive, although she would not offer any details to explain their confidence.

A $50,000 reward is now being offered for information that would lead to their being found.