Found Deceased IA - Mollie Tibbetts, 20, Poweshiek County, 19 Jul 2018 #13

[SuperTmo]

I’m skeptical because authorities were able to determine the victim’s age to be within such a small window (early to mid 20s). I think that would be unlikely in the case of Mollie, who would likely be in an advanced state of decomposition by now.

Agreed. LE has already said they have no reason to believe this is Mollie.

Body discovered in rural Iowa

 

[gitana1]

Yeah. There’s a couple of ways to read that quote. Either they are indicating that they don’t believe it to be her, or they are saying we don’t currently have a reason to believe it is her. It’s been so long that I would expect decomposition to be quite extensive. And the fact that they were able to apparently determine her age within such a small window of years, leads me to believe this body is not badly decomposed, and likely not Mollie.

Oh good catch. Yeah. I hadn't thought of decomp related to identification. So it's highly unlikely to be her?

How long does it take to determine the age of bones?

 

[Cardinal47]

So question - on the link for missing persons, under incident type, there are three that stuck out to me: (1) Endangered/Physical; (2) Other adult missing; and (3) Involuntary Disappearance. Any idea why MT is listed as #2 "Other adult missing"?

Well that's interesting. What could that status mean. Other adult missing...I'm guessing since they don't have anything to go on like somebody seeing her taken or threats made to her life or a lifestyle choice and no goodby letter or reason to think she left that's the only choice.

 

[SuperTmo]

So question - on the link for missing persons, under incident type, there are three that stuck out to me: (1) Endangered/Physical; (2) Other adult missing; and (3) Involuntary Disappearance. Any idea why MT is listed as #2 "Other adult missing"?

Probably because there is no evidence of a crime and they can’t rule out that she left on her own.

 

[TravelingBug]

why are there 2 open line, hangup calls from 1223 Forest home road in montezuma the evening of the 18th and then again on the 19th? this property is owned by a cell phone company and appears to be a commercial building with a pond behind. who would be calling 911 and the sheriff from this location? could it have been Mollie? was this checked out?

Open line / hang up calls from closed businesses are shockingly common, just as they are from vacant/unoccupied residences.

Fax lines fritzing out (fax lines are still more common than I think most think also), business phone lines that do weird things in response to incoming calls when they are closed, etc. are just some of the reasons I've heard behind them. And sometimes it's just a fluke issue with how phones get set at night, etc.

I hear many dozens dispatched a night in my larger city, and because PD has to respond to hang up 911 calls it can become a huge issue when you have "repeat offender" businesses - just like alarm calls that are known false alarm frequent fliers also (we had a Rubios and a Costco that would go off sometimes 6+ times a night!)

Sometimes they are known places that a Sgt or supervisor will allow them to "clear" without responding because they've documented such an egregious chain of incidents in a small window, but 95% of the time at least especially in our city, a sarge will say they have to respond to the first 2-5 (varying by business and length of history of the issue) a night and then they'll just 10-22 the rest of the calls there if resources are tied up elsewhere.

We get "This is the 20-3o something-th call of this nature to this business in the past ___ days" more than you'd think - and that's excluding the ones that are 'just' numbers along those lines in a matter of months...

All that to say, unfortunately I don't find that unusual or very noteworthy having regularly listened to scanner traffic in multiple cities (beyond just my own) of varying sizes/compositions from about 7 pm - 5 am overnight for years and years now.

 

[chihuahua]

Could this be related as in the same perp? None of us can tell right now.
Or just what? Not knowing the state of the body, it could be a sad "red herring" or a copycat or an acceleration on the part of a brazen killer.

 

[Rossymom]

If this isn't Mollie, it is someone's daughter. Heart is breaking.

That was my thought too.

 

[chihuahua]

Just because Mollie has been missing for several weeks doesn’t mean her body would be decomposed beyond recognition if she hasn’t been in the elements the whole time she’s been missing... hoping it’s not her but it’s someone’s daughter and very sad regardless.

^^^This^^^

 

[Cardinal47]

When I heard about the body being found my thoughts immediately went to Mollie's mom and dad.

 

[allboys]

What is REALLY bugging me, is that Mollie was alone for the night. It’s rare enough for a runner to be abducted, but it does happen. But how likely is it to happen when the victim was staying in a house alone (in a temporary dog sitting scenario)? That just seems like too much of a coincidence or unfortunate timing. I buy that something could have happened during her run. But the fact that she was home alone, really makes me think whoever is involved in her disappearance knew her routine, and possibly knew she would not be immediately missed (crime of opportunity). I feel terribly for this poor young woman who seemed to have such a bright outlook and future ahead. If I were LE, I would pay particular attention to anyone who knew she was staying alone in the house, or anyone who may have noticed that the usual vehicles of other occupants were not there for an extended period of time. This is understandably a pretty wide net, but one I hope is being focused on. I just get a very “non-totally-random/stranger” vibe on this disappearance.

 

[jashrema]

FOX news has reported they have CONFIRMED that it is NOT MOLLIE...but it's somebody's daughter
Andrew on Twitter

 

[CarlosCamejo]

I have said it once and I will say it again: I believe she is alive. There is more reason than not to believe so. This one gives me hope compared to other cases.

Nevertheless, some family is getting closure now, and it's very sad.

 

[MassGuy]

Oh good catch. Yeah. I hadn't thought of decomp related to identification. So it's highly unlikely to be her?

How long does it take to determine the age of bones?

They can determine how long the body has been out based on insect activity (flies, larva, etc). Also the overall decomposition will help. A great read is “No Stone Unturned” which discusses the “Pig People,” scientists who buried pigs in order to understand the decomposition process and figure out how to determine how long a body had been dead.

 

[tokyorose]

And I think the dogs would have sensed it immediately if they were near the area, and she would have been found right away. But there is lots & lots of land and corn out there.[/QUOTE

Yikes! That’s not far at all..
It’s a sad day.

I am not yet convinced it isn't Mollie.. How many missing caucasian women in their early 20's are there missing in Iowa? Saying they have no reason to believe it is Mollie isn't quite the same thing as saying it isn't her.

 

[gitana1]

Oh good catch. Yeah. I hadn't thought of decomp related to identification. So it's highly unlikely to be her?

How long does it take to determine the age of bones?

Quoting myself. A forensic anthropologist might be able to look at a skeleton and in minutes determine the approximate age depending on the range:

https://www.google.com/amp/s/allthi...skeleton-pubic-symphyseal-surface-method/amp/

 

[SteveP]

I have said it once and I will say it again: I believe she is alive. There is more reason than not to believe so. This one gives me hope compared to other cases.

Nevertheless, some family is getting closure now, and it's very sad.

Not being snarky, and I think we all hope you are right, but, other than the fact that Mollie's body has not been found, what reason does anyone have to believe she is still alive??

 

[gitana1]

They can determine how long the body has been out based on insect activity (flies, larva, etc). Also the overall decomposition will help. A great read is “No Stone Unturned” which discusses the “Pig People,” scientists who buried pigs in order to understand the decomposition process and figure out how to determine how long a body had been dead.

I meant the age of the human at time of death. I just posted an article. I did a quick search and it could be easier and quicker than we think to determine the age of a human being by a visual inspection of their skeleton. As long as the pubic bone area is present.

 

[MillyM]

Very sad for the friends and family of whoever the poor girl found is. Mollie's family who must have been alerted prior to official statement of a body found going out, must have felt physically sick there for a time.

 

[wary]

I got this vibe too. His comment to Fox along the lines of '...some guy grabbed her...' has haunted me. Not sure why anyone would say such a thing to press. It almost seemed like he was taunting. Have other thoughts on this but probably outside of TOS.

"Some guy grabbed her" sounds to me like another way of saying "a random abduction by a stranger." It's a solid possibility--why would we think it was a strange thing to say?

 

[borndem]

This is frightening.

The discovery and eventual id of the body will be a very sad thing for some family.
Maybe the hair color or length is different, or the height, estimated time re when the body was last alive longer or shorter that Mollie, tattoos, etc., etc. But this will surely break someone's heart. I hope it will be possible to determine the cause of death. It may take a while to determine who she is. SMH.