Found Deceased IA - Mollie Tibbetts, 20, Poweshiek County, 19 Jul 2018 #12

[Amonet]

I really feel she went missing on her run. That's why it was only 15 minutes long (if that indeed a fact).

All her jogging gear was missing and she's not going to sleep in it.

I think the wording of Mollie going out for the jog between 7.30pm and 7.45pm led to uncertainty over whether it was a 15-minute jog during those times or if she left the house at some point during those times to go for a jog, and the time the jog ended has not been made public. I think it might be the latter explanation.

Mollie's mom said in the early days that she and Mollie were texting about dinner around 7.30, and in the recent ABC video interview with DJ he said that he and Mollie were snapchatting up to around 7.30 before she Mollie went for her jog (I'm paraphrasing but that's what I recall the essence being).

So if Mollie's chatting until approx 7.30pm, then she might have had to go get changed into her jogging gear before leaving, which would put her leaving to go jogging somewhere in the 15 minutes just after 7.30pm approx.

One of the articles said that Mollie's jogs were usually about 30-45 mins? I don't know where they got that estimate from, though. So that would mean the jog would probably last from around 7.30-8.15 or even.

I do agree about not sleeping in the jogging clothes, unless she got back and fell asleep on the sofa? But I'd think even if that happened she'd wake up in an hour or so and later get a shower and go to bed properly.

 

[Gumbeaux]

I'm confused. Why would Mollies Mom and DJ tell the DailyMall reporter all those things in the interview? The details they gave were things Winkler refused to answer today at the presser. Are the cracks starting to develop?

Perhaps a good old fashioned power struggle in the divorced parents. Her father has seemed more the go to spokesman for the family. Still, it does seem investigators will have issued clear instructions on keeping mum.

 

[Emerald1328]

I live in the Des Moines area and was watching the local news on WHOtv this morning. In regard to the reward of $220,000, they said that amount was raised entirely by donations of 54 people. That’s an average of approximately $4,000 per person - I would have thought it would have been a lot more people than that. Now granted, there may have been a few people that contributed very large sums of money (if Mollie’s mom was paid for the interview with the Daily Mail as some have speculated, she may have been able to contribute a significant amount). Also, I have a grandma who is very wealthy and I think if this happened to me, she wouldn’t hesitate to contribute $100k or more to get me back, so maybe there is someone wealthy in her life that was able to do the same.

Not really a significant detail in the grand scheme of things, just interesting to me.

 

[Deleted member 155000]

As I mentioned above, I think Mollie left with a familiar acquaintance...either through abduction or manipulation.

While I think she may have accepted a ride from an acquaintance on her jog, I leave room for the possibility that isn't be talked about much: that when Mollie was studying, she and her computer were at another location (not her bf's wifi) and she may have even sent the Snap from the same location.

It could be that when Mollie went to leave that location to go home later on, someone surprised her and prevented her from doing so..

In my mind, this sort of theory, may help explain the way the police and family are withholding and sometimes seemingly purposefully obscuring information (or at least presenting contradictory ideas at times).

I think it’s possible that even if the police and family don’t know EXACTLY who is responsible for Mollie’s disappearance, they probably have a short list of candidates who are more likely than others.

This short list of candidates could include known teenaged acquaintances who had fixations on Mollie growing up. They could include childhood friends who’ve now developed some type of deviant or criminal record, mental illness, or addiction that might explain unusual or obsessive behavior. It could include people who the community has submitted to tip lines as a result of bizarre, inappropriate, or suspicious behavior. And it could even include former or current close/family friends or distant relatives (like, say, purely theoretically - an ex-step cousin or third cousin) of Mollie who has less than an airtight alibi and perhaps a desire to get attention, low self esteem, or a record of unsuccessful relationships with females.

I get the impression when the family took the stage at PCs so far, and even when LE did, that they were trying not to overly vilify or threaten any party who may be responsible. I think they are trying to avoid scaring the person or propelling them to become hardened and go to further extremes (killing her). They know there's a big chance Mollie is dead, but until they know for sure, they are trying everything within their power to connect to anyone who might be able to influence the situation.

They may know some boys who wish they could heroically sweep Mollie away from her troubles, but still care for Mollie enough (in a dysfunctional way) or have enough stake in the community, that they could possibly be swayed by familiar faces pleading with them to bring her back. We understand you wanted to spend time with her. All we want is for you to come back safely with her...

 

[chihuahua]

https://www.cnn.com/2018/08/03/us/mollie-tibbetts-missing-iowa-student-news-conference/index.html "Tibbetts, a sophomore, was studying psychology and wanted to earn a doctorate and write books, her father said." Could it be she was intentionally in contact with someone with psychological issues?

This^^^^^ because I always am in what I do----it comes with the territory in suicide prevention, etc etc etc.
We are vulnerable for many reasons but the difference is probably that I am old enough to realize it. (streetwise on top of book-learning)
jmo

 

[YiYa]

I'm not aware of any neighbor saying anything about her being on her computer. Are you sure that didn't get mixed up with what family members have said? (And they attributed their information to LE.)

Here is one article that quotes the neighbor. This was how I first learned of speculation that she made it home. LE didn’t confirm.

'Everybody wants to find Mollie': After tracking more than 200 leads, Iowa investigators remain unsure why Mollie Tibbetts vanished

“Neighbor Dave Collum, a retired maintenance director for the Brooklyn-Guernsey-Malcom school district, told The Associated Press that he was interviewed by investigators who told him that data from Tibbetts' Fitbit showed she jogged past his home that evening and made it home from the run safely. He said investigators told him she was doing homework on her computer later that evening.”

 

[wary]

It was the neighbor in an interview. He said that LE told him that. I’ll go look for the article and post it.

You're right! Sorry about that--I remember now.

 

[DeadCat]

I think she was abducted somewhere at the end of Pershing, maybe around Green St.

There’s a sex offender listed in the Powesheick County Registry with a Pershing address.

 

[TPeeFitz]

It’s hard to imagine that LE would be putting so much time/money/presence into this case if they had even an inkling that MT left of her own accord. I feel like that must have already been ruled out or at least highly unlikely as a possibility. I can’t think of any similar cases that I have followed that have resulted in a runaway situation.

 

[Deleted member 155000]

Here is one article that quotes the neighbor. This was how I first learned of speculation that she made it home. LE didn’t confirm.

'Everybody wants to find Mollie': After tracking more than 200 leads, Iowa investigators remain unsure why Mollie Tibbetts vanished

“Neighbor Dave Collum, a retired maintenance director for the Brooklyn-Guernsey-Malcom school district, told The Associated Press that he was interviewed by investigators who told him that data from Tibbetts' Fitbit showed she jogged past his home that evening and made it home from the run safely. He said investigators told him she was doing homework on her computer later that evening.”

I don't know how often this happens, but I think there's a chance investigators feed a theory to some people (as if it is true) to see how they will react. So they say something like "we know she came back home safely" to see how the person they're talking to will react. Will the person start throwing out theories, insisting they don't think she did get back safely? Will the person add more info they didn't yet share? Will they claim it's impossible she was on her computer at home because they would've seen her return as they were sitting in their front yard?

I don't know whether police are doing this or not, but they may be just trying to get a read on anyone who may have seen or had access to Mollie that night to see who gets nervous.

 

[ptandj]

While I think she may have accepted a ride from an acquaintance on her jog, I leave room for the possibility that isn't be talked about much: that when Mollie was studying, she and her computer were at another location (not her bf's wifi) and she may have even sent the Snap from the same location.

It could be that when Mollie went to leave that location to go home later on, someone surprised her and prevented her from doing so.

RSBM. The problem with this theory is that the computer was found at the boyfriend's house. There's been speculation maybe she used a different computer, but all the quotes about homework have said that it was on her computer.

 

[taximama24]

There is so much discussion here about whodunit and how. While we don't know who the perp is, the lack of information given at the press conferences along with the themes that have been repeated over and over by LE regarding Mollie, indicate to me that they do know who is responsible. If they had no clue whether she was kidnapped by a stranger during a jog or ran off willingly to Mexico with an unknown boyfriend, they'd be divulging everything they do know and begging the public for help IMO.

I think it is clear from what has been posited by investigators that the perp is somebody well known to Mollie and either one of the people that we are not allowed to discuss on this forum or somebody she was having a fling/affair with. Possibly met at college or online dating site. In this case, LE are likely aware of this person after searching her SM and computer.

I could see a case where she went to meet with this romantic interest while her BF and roommates were out of town. She wouldn't want this person picking her up in the driveway because the neighbors might see, so she went for a jog to meet with him someplace away from prying eyes. This person might be jealous of her upcoming trip to the Dominican Republic with her boyfriend and so he decides to not let that happen.

This. I completely agree with everything you said but especially the bolded. I think LE's comments in the first PC offer good support for that as well. She was presumably going to be getting engaged a few weeks after this happened, maybe there were some thoughts and feelings she needed closure on before that came to be. They do seem very much in love and have been together for 3 years but still, she's 20 and was still in high school when they started dating so not really unheard of that she might be questioning things in the 11th hour.

 

[GussiedCanoodler]

Hey everyone! This is my first post, so please bear with me and let me know if I need to change something/I posted something that violates the rules (even though I read the rules and hopefully nothing does!)/this has already been posted.
My first thoughts when originally reading about this case two weeks ago was that something happened to her en route to work, given she did not have a car. Now I know she was (probably) supposed to walk to her moms house in the morning and get the car from her brother after her brother dropped her off at night. I also know it was raining a lot during that time, making visibility difficult. Does anyone know if they looked into her potentially ordering an Uber or something similar? I know she was an avid jogger, but I know I personally would not want to walk a mile in the rain early in the morning. If not, I also vaguely remember reading something about tire marks, but I can not remember what exactly it was. I'm sure the LEO have already been over every possible explanation, but does anyone know if the road itself has been looked at for abnormal tire marks such as sudden braking or something? In such a sparsely populated town, it would not seem that many people would drive down that way, and any abnormal tire marks could be a potential clue.
I am mostly wondering this info because I have a degree in criminology, and had to read about and analyze many, many, police investigations and I was just wondering if this came into play in this investigation. Basically, it could potentially give the police some hints if a car accident was involved (though it does not seem likely given the searches the LE/FBI are performing).

Also, with all these questions, I have one more general question for those who have been around longer than I have. In my classes, I do not remember reading about a case with so little details/no motive/no suspect/no clues, nothing. However, these cases happened in the past so it is easy to make it seem that way. Obviously LE are keeping details private due to the ongoing nature of the investigation, but does anyone have any experience with such a tight-lipped case or insight/guesses why it is this way? I know of some cases with little info given to the public, but I really feel like this case seems to live up to the phrase "vanished without a trace".

With all that being said, my heart goes out to Mollie, her family, her friends, and all those looking for her. I hope for Mollie's safe return!

 

[Emerald1328]

if it helps your brainstorming, if this wasnt a girl jealous about mollies bf, my alternative scenario is a girl that liked a guy but this guy liked/flirted w mollie instead.

could be in town or on the college campus. this girl maybe was even a bit shy/felt she wasnt noticed in social circles. mollie seems pretty committed to her bf from what we know, so she prob had ZERO feelings back for this guy, which could infuriate this girl more. and maybe mollie did flirt w him - at that age just bc you have bf doesnt mean you dont like the harmless flattery.

This thought had crossed my mind too, but in regard to her place of work. Possibly a co-worker within the daycare, an employee at the hospital not in the daycare, or even a parent of one of the kids. Or a combination of the two.

 

[Deleted member 155000]

RSBM. The problem with this theory is that the computer was found at the boyfriend's house. There's been speculation maybe she used a different computer, but all the quotes about homework have said that it was on her computer.

I agree it's not likely. I just leave room for the possibility. She could've used another computer (and that detail about it being her computer is incorrect) or she could've used it at someone else's house and then brought it home (either to go to bed or to drop it off and get clothes to then get a ride with a friend to her moms, etc.).

The only reason I'm leaving it on the table as a slim possibility is that LE refused to confirm she was for sure at home, while people have at times implied she returned from her jog. There are many reasons they may be holding this close to their vest. But one small possibility is she went somewhere else and they know it.

 

[GussiedCanoodler]

Hey everyone! This is my first post, so please bear with me and let me know if I need to change something/I posted something that violates the rules (even though I read the rules and hopefully nothing does!)/this has already been posted.
My first thoughts when originally reading about this case two weeks ago was that something happened to her en route to work, given she did not have a car. Now I know she was (probably) supposed to walk to her moms house int he morning and get the car from her brother after her brother dropped her off at night. I was just I also know it was raining a lot during that time, making visibility difficult. Does anyone know if they looked into her potentially ordered an Uber or something similar? I know she was an avid jogger, but I know I personally would not want to walk a mile in the rain early in the morning. If not, I also vaguely remember reading something about tire marks, but I can not remember what exactly it was. I'm sure the LEO have already been over every possible explanation, but does anyone know if the road itself has been looked at for abnormal tire marks such as sudden braking or something? In such a sparsely populated town, it would not seem that many people would drive down that way, and any abnormal tire marks could be a potential clue.
I am mostly wondering this info because I have a degree in criminology, and had to read about and analyze many, many, police investigations and I was just wondering if this came into play in this investigation. Basically, it could potentially give the police some hints if a car accident was involved (though it does not seem likely given the searches the LE/FBI are performing).

Also, with all these questions, I have one more general question for those who have been around longer than I have. In my classes, I do not remember reading about a case with so little details/no motive/no suspect/no clues, nothing. However, these cases happened in the past so it is easy to make it seem that way. Obviously LE are keeping details private due to the ongoing nature of the investigation, but does anyone have any experience with such a tight-lipped case or insight/guesses why it is this way? I know of some cases with little info given to the public, but I really feel like this case seems to live up to the phrase "vanished without a trace".

With all that being said, my heart goes out to Mollie, her family, her friends, and all those looking for her. I hope for Mollie's safe return!

Oops, sorry for the typos at the beginning!

 

[Jon Glass]

The law enforcement thing is absolutely due diligence... They have to do exactly what they have been doing, if not, and it turned out that she has been abducted, law enforcement would be in an absolute mess.
I'm not standing firm on the theory that she left by her choice, I'm floating that it has to be taken seriously, especially with the total lack of physical evidence, or any real person of interest.

It’s hard to imagine that LE would be putting so much time/money/presence into this case if they had even an inkling that MT left of her own accord. I feel like that must have already been ruled out or at least highly unlikely as a possibility. I can’t think of any similar cases that I have followed that have resulted in a runaway situation.

 

[YiYa]

I don't know how often this happens, but I think there's a chance investigators feed a theory to some people (as if it is true) to see how they will react. So they say something like "we know she came back home safely" to see how the person they're talking to will react. Will the person start throwing out theories, insisting they don't think she did get back safely? Will the person add more info they didn't yet share? Will they claim it's impossible she was on her computer at home because they would've seen her return as they were sitting in their front yard?

I don't know whether police are doing this or not, but they may be just trying to get a read on anyone who may have seen or had access to Mollie that night to see who gets nervous.

This definitely occurred to me.

 

[Bravo]

Welcome all newbies. Glad you joined in.

 

[MntnHiker]

Because her running gear was not found at home, I really feel like she was taken while not at home. The FitBit I could write off as her always wearing. The phone, I could say many people always have it on them. The running clothes--maybe she was going to wear them until bedtime.

But the earbuds and mostly the armband make me think she was not at home when something happened. I run with an armband for my phone. It works fine but is not that comfortable. I would absolutely not do HW or just hang out at home with that thing on; in fact, it is the first thing I remove when my run is over. I have a hard time seeing her doing HW with it on or going out to meet someone with it on. This leads me to believe something happened while she was out walking/jogging. JMO