Authorities searching for two missing Iowa cousins have information that leads them to believe both girls are still alive, an FBI spokeswoman said Saturday.

FBI spokeswoman Sandy Breault said authorities “feel strongly” that 10-year-old Lyric Cook-Morrissey and 8-year-old Elizabeth Collins have not been killed. She refused to say what led authorities to that conclusion, but urged anyone with information about their disappearance to contact law enforcement.

“We believe these girls are alive, and we are not discouraged by the passage of time since their disappearance,” Breault said.