Found Deceased IA - Mollie Tibbetts, 20, Poweshiek County, 19 Jul 2018 #15

[PommyMommy]

it is likely most retail places in town have cctv, even the funeral home. the systems are now fairly low cost. I hope they have saved cctv footage from time in question. even if cctv didn't see her it could have seen something that might seem nothing but put together with info that may come in future could be useful.

It has been reported several times that LE has obtained video footage. Here are a couple of articles which mention it:

Timeline of the disappearance of University of Iowa student Mollie Tibbetts Meanwhile, Iowa authorities were analyzing surveillance video from businesses in Brooklyn that are along the route Tibbetts usually jogs.

There's an audio clip of Casey's store manager here (scroll down, I think it is the last one) where she says she thinks LE took about 12 hours of video.
Mollie Tibbetts' family, friends and community speak about the on-going search
LM is the store manager at Casey's General Store and talked about sharing video with authorities and what she remembers from those nights and the rescue efforts. Dalton also worked for Linda.

 

[mrsu]

New thoughts...I wasn’t able to read thru everything yesterday so I apologize if this was discussed.

Is it possible that Mollie went out twice that evening? In some of the initial comments on her missing posts on FB, at least 2 people were very confident that they saw her running around 5:30pm. And then we have the whole pink vs black top. Is it possible that she left to go running shortly after her brother dropped her off? Her mom has said that she normally ran for about 45min. If so, that would put her back home around 6pm. The earliest sightings have her in a pink sports bra. Maybe she did some homework after her run and then left to walk to mom’s for supper around 7:30? There are 2 more people who reported seeing her casually walking & texting around 7:30 but the location of where she was sighted wasn’t the start of her run, she wasn’t going back home towards Dalton’s, and they didn’t live right next to each other.

 

[Mdawg008]

I am leaning away from stranger abduction because of the statement made by LE that there fairly certain there is no threat to the public.

I interpreted that two different ways: the first is just like you said that it wasn't a stranger abduction. The second is that it was a stranger abduction but the suspect is already under surveillance while they gather evidence for an arrest hence them saying "We are fairly confident in saying the community isn't in any danger" because he/she is under their watch

 

[JudgeJudi]

to all our newbies

 

[SharonNeedles]

And farmers don't tend to check their fields for people before they start harvesting

You would be surprised how different the view will be from a combine when the crops are all dried out and ready for harvest.

 

[Deleted member 227095]

IOWA - Crime Stoppers of central Iowa can no longer keep up with the number of growing phone calls on tips of Mollie Tibbetts whereabouts. They've asked people submit their tips online at:

Crime Stoppers of Central Iowa

Website for information on Mollie Tibbetts whereabouts

(so no longer anonymous?)

CS prides itself on providing platform for anonymous tips so it would be surprising that the same security is not in place on their website. I have no personal experience with crime stoppers but did visit their website and their commitment to their mission is quite clear but I have no specific information on your question. Its an interesting question though so maybe you can ask them via their website?

 

[SharonNeedles]

I really think some of you are overestimating the wherewithal of a 20 year old to voluntarily disappear without a trace. That alone is reason for me to look at any theory involving a voluntary disappearance with a great deal of skepticism. A voluntary disappearance might still be on the table if she had disappeared three days ago, but not three weeks. She still has to eat. She still has to have shelter. She would have had to get far enough away without her own vehicle. With as much media coverage as this has received there is absolutely no way someone wouldn't have seen her by now. Unless you think she found a secret cabin in the woods, stocked it with food/sleeping bag/toiletries, and managed to go there all without drawing any suspicion from family and friends -- that's pretty darn far-fetched.

Sometimes a lack of evidence is evidence. Lack of social media activity after being a pretty avid user of social media. Lack of contact with family/friends after having daily contact with many of them. Lack of a history of running away from home. Lack of reason to disappear. Lack of ability to survive living off the grid (she wasn't known as an avid hunter/fisher/camper/outdoors person from any account I have seen.) Throw all of that in with the fact that there are 30-40 Department of CRIMINAL Investigations people working on her disappearance -- I think any reasonable person would put a voluntary disappearance at the bottom of the list of possibilities if not cross it off altogether.

I don’t think I’m underestimating how easily a young attractive female might find somebody with a car willing to take her far, far away.

 

[bizzle2]

New thoughts...I wasn’t able to read thru everything yesterday so I apologize if this was discussed.

Is it possible that Mollie went out twice that evening? In some of the initial comments on her missing posts on FB, at least 2 people were very confident that they saw her running around 5:30pm. And then we have the whole pink vs black top. Is it possible that she left to go running shortly after her brother dropped her off? Her mom has said that she normally ran for about 45min. If so, that would put her back home around 6pm. The earliest sightings have her in a pink sports bra. Maybe she did some homework after her run and then left to walk to mom’s for supper around 7:30? There are 2 more people who reported seeing her casually walking & texting around 7:30 but the location of where she was sighted wasn’t the start of her run, she wasn’t going back home towards Dalton’s, and they didn’t live right next to each other.

I think this is entirely possible if not likely. I would bet LE knows for sure.

 

[oviedo]

CS prides itself on providing platform for anonymous tips so it would be surprising that the same security is not in place on their website. I have no personal experience with crime stoppers but did visit their website and their commitment to their mission is quite clear but I have no specific information on your question. Its an interesting question though so maybe you can ask them via their website?

I wonder if this is a ploy to get the "abductor" to give a tip online? Otherwise, the phone banks for tips can always be expanded. The IP addresses can be captured I believe from each tip. Interesting they are using this now after 3 weeks.

 

[JudgeJudi]

I'm hoping that they ...

 

[curvecuti]

I interpreted that two different ways: the first is just like you said that it wasn't a stranger abduction. The second is that it was a stranger abduction but the suspect is already under surveillance while they gather evidence for an arrest hence them saying "We are fairly confident in saying the community isn't in any danger" because he/she is under their watch

IMO it would be risky to make that statement while having a suspect under surveillance. Too many chances someone else could be harmed. Much safer to say be aware of your surroundings and anything out of the ordinary. But the LE have been playing this very close to the chest.

 

[oviedo]

Taser. How simple, fast and rendering a person helpless. I hadn't thought of this. Isn't this how Jaycee Dugard was taken?

Kidnapping of Jaycee Dugard - Wikipedia
Yes, a stun gun was used

 

[ChuckMaureen]

There is some information 'out there' which offers an explanation on this black SUV sighting. Can't link sorry, but it appears this is an overzealous reporter who has unfortunately created a buzz about nothing. Keep in mind this is also the same station which keeps putting WC on blast, despite LE not naming him a POI. I know we all have differing opinions about him, but just like the rules we observe here at WS. Media needs to do the same thing ...

I expect many if not most of us realize MSM can be exploitative regarding cases like this, but it is a double-edged sword. The family prefers their story be kept in the forefront of news cycles while at the same time likely would not want to feel exploited at the expense of their family.

Websleuthers feel the pain of MSM's exploitation of cases because it makes it difficult to discern what is *new* from what is only being sold as *new* but in reality is *rehash* of old that is reported differently. A certain network loves displaying their *ALERT* tease slide on it seems a segment-to-segment basis, or when it isn't necessary to tease because public interest is so high they simply rehash old news or add insignificant or useless information to the feed.

A concern is, if MSM in general presents with more exploitative than truly informational news, the public becomes weary and switches back to watching The Walking Dead whereas, Websleuthers have to sift through the mud, break up the clumps and whisk away the leftover.

LE's PCs are intended to keep the public informed (as best as possible), political cya and to keep the story alive. The withholding of information, even though with prosecutorial purpose, maintains a level of mystery of the story much like the tactic of a good mystery novel.

We all want to know the story, the details, the wheres and whens, the whos and whys but it's ultimately the journeys to those points is what give Websleuthing its energy and passion. If LE told us everything about a case we'd all be relegated to simply being readers of a latest who-dun-it novel instead of being the street-beat detectives we strive to emulate.

 

[Twistinginthewind]

Totally agree - apathy - the byproduct of our self centered society! :-(

There are plenty of other possibilities of how Mollie was abducted if she was, besides her being on her cell phone not paying attention to her surroundings. She could have been hit by a vehicle, grabbed from behind and overpowered by a taser, or knife at her back or big strong hand over her mouth or chloroform, or jabbed with a hypodermic needle with fast-acting sedative.... SO many possibilities with no evidence publicly available.

Suggesting people (including Mollie, as this thread is for Mollie being missing) are apathetic & self-centered if they wear earbuds while running seems like it's headed in the direction of victim blaming. JMO

 

[Deleted member 227095]

Has anyone seen a reward listed for other than “safe return”?

The initial $2000 reward from co-op and person that matched had a different requirement.

I wonder if this is a ploy to get the "abductor" to give a tip online? Otherwise, the phone banks for tips can always be expanded. The IP addresses can be captured I believe from each tip. Interesting they are using this now after 3 weeks.

At the PC the other day the CS rep explained that they rely on volunteers. Its a not for profit corporation so perhaps they don't have the resources to hire people to work the phones.

 

[Deleted member 227095]

To the person that asked about the wording on terms for the first reward of $2,000 here is the info from DM Register: " The $2,000 reward would be offered for information that would lead to an arrest or conviction related to Tibbetts' disappearance". This is clearly different from the crime stoppers/family fund that was set up.

 

[arabell]

something can happen in the blink of an eye in places you would never expect. people always need to be aware of their surroundings, even in places that they believe are "safe."

a couple days ago i was shopping alone at Goodwill a few towns over. i was followed throughout the store by a man. he even waited outside the fitting room while i was changing. i immediately felt strange because i've been following Mollie's case and the town i was in has had problems recently with human trafficking. i sent my friends and family my current location and proceeded to check out. the man realized i was about to leave the store so he quickly ran out the door without buying a single item. he was in the store for as long as i was, which was about an hour. i felt especially uneasy because i had to walk out to my car alone. i asked the cashier if she could walk me out to my car and explained the situation to her. she said there have been problems in this area with men following girls.

if this happened to me a year ago, i would have never even realized the man because i ALWAYS used to go to public places with my eyes glued to my phone. i never was aware of my surroundings. sadly, the rise of human trafficking has opened my eyes and i am always looking around and being cautious. and of course because of Mollie's disappearance. if i didn't ask for help i don't know what would have happened. this man could have just been a coincidentally suspicious looking customer who had no bad intentions. it's way better to be safe than sorry, IMO.

i really wish people were more educated about staying alert and speaking up in situations where they feel uneasy. i see SO many people walking alone with their phones and headphones blaring music. i run frequently around my small town, and i no longer use headphones for that reason. never thought something like that would happen to me, and i really wish people were more aware of this problem.

 

[clearskies1]

Has anyone seen a reward listed for other than “safe return”?

Yes. On July 29 this report was published about a $2,000 reward for information that leads to the discovery of Mollie's whereabouts or to an arrest and conviction in her disappearance.

Reward in case of missing Iowa student doubles to $2,000

 

[SharonNeedles]

Does anybody know what kind of location data LE could get from a cell phone ping? The reason I ask is that there is not a lot of overlapping coverage in this area. I know where the US Cellular tower is located that would provide coverage to WC’s property and that is the only tower a cell phone at that location could connect to. Is it correct to assume then that a cell phone at that location would only ping that tower? And would that provide distance from the tower? Maybe just distance and not direction with no other towers to triangulate from?

 

[zencompass]

Dear Otto,

The line in your post about the perp being knowledgeable about tech makes sense to me. It is intriguing and has me thinking about it.

If the perp has good knowledge of the latest tech, then he would know about Fitbits. It is common knowledge that many joggers wear Fitbits to track their runs.

Somehow the perp may have been able to disable Mollie's Fitbit - likely before they got too far down the road. How, though?

Telling her to give the Fitbit to him and he smashed it? Threw it out the window?

Could this be why the authorities are focusing on certain areas - because the data from the Fitbit company shows no movement after this? Does their data show that the the information on her heartbeat stops at this time - because the Fitbit has been smashed or thrown?

Could this action have resulted in Fitbit data (which the authorities received from the Fitbit company) show this area to be the last area Mollie was in?


Otto said (Post #980, Thread #14) :

"So, assuming that she was abducted during her run, probably close to her mom's house, the person that abducted her apparently took her South on Highway 21 towards Guernsey. "

The last "ping" from her Fitbit may have been at a time when her Fitbit and Cellphone were separated, or perhaps when her sim card was separated from her phone."

"What if this predator has made a point of becoming a tech specialist who can use tech as an advantage. What if this predator knows to ditch the SIM card near the home of a stalker, thereby buying loads of time between abduction and body discovery."

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