Found Deceased IA - Mollie Tibbetts, 20, Poweshiek County, 19 Jul 2018 #16

[Mom24]

I fully believe that she is alive and well and that the authorities know where she is. They may just be working to make a safe-and-secure hand-off happen.

If they knew where she was, she'd be home. Fact is, most of these cases are solved by the public. Someone gives a tip, which is why is so vitally important if you see something to call it in. Don't worry about being wrong, or feeling foolish, just call it in. Some little thing you saw may be that one piece of the puzzle they've needed to figure out what happened. It's not usually one tip that solves a case like this, it's several tips, several people all seeing piece of what happened and saying what they saw. For us internet sleuths, if you read something online or something clicks for you, call it in.

 

[MassGuy]

I fully believe that she is alive and well and that the authorities know where she is. They may just be working to make a safe-and-secure hand-off happen.

If they knew where she was, I think we’d have some sort of indication to that effect. The odds of this having a happy ending have only decreased as the days have now turned to weeks.

 

[Veracity]

Forwarded from Thread 15

Thank you so much for saying, I don’t want to come off as out of line. I am truly a sensitive person.

I concur with Jabarn. Your question is legitimate. And sensible with the amount of time that has lapsed.

I truly believe missing person cases need to be two faceted. One deals with clearing property radiating out from where the person's last known location was. And the other deals with building a case to determine what caused the disappearance in the first place.

I am of the opinion, the second part's manpower will filter down as the work becomes more focused or conversely unable to be focused and there is less to handle or work with.

But the searching part - that is something where I believe the efforts should continue longer. Here is my thinking - if we were looking for folks who went missing and working grid searches for all, we may just be able to resolve the case which brought us to a place and/or a different one. It all depends on the tools used, the manpower used, and the cooperation and participation the communities provide.

I continue to wonder what could have been done differently for older cases like Terry and Alan Westerfield and Judy Sylvester and how we can reach a point where it is next to impossible for a person to vanish and stay missing. I believe if the person is found, part 2 has a key element and therefore deserves our very best efforts

 

[borndem]

Welcome to Websleuths,
illiniguy01
and
flowermama!!
​

 

[who knew?]

Flowermama -
I am assuming the FBI has looked into this person, but I have no way of knowing that.

 

[Mom24]

My first post! What an awesome community- so respectable and cool. Thanks for creating this space, Tricia!
I’ve been following along since the beginning of Mollie’s disappearance and have read almost every post. I’m still finishing up thread #14 and trying to catch up (because life, kids, etc.) but I just joined because I had to post about something. I don’t have anyone in my real life who’s following this case and this thought just won’t get out of my head... and there has to be someone else out there thinking this!!
My heart is breaking for Mollie and her family- and she’s been on my mind since I first saw her story. It is SO hard to not know all of the details that us “sleuth-minded” people want to know but I guess it makes sense that LE need to protect their info for Mollie’s sake and the case against the perpetrator....
So anyway... I want to express my constant thought without violating the TOS (which I very much respect and see that it keeps this community the great place that it is). A <modsnipped>friend who really had strong feelings for her... in love... but she has a boyfriend of course and would only see this person as a friend (which might be hard feelings to deal with for the friend...). Whatever occurred that night/morning, I’m thinking it was maybe planned, maybe unplanned and probably driven by obsession/unrequited love. <modsnipped>...(trying not to give direct info ...)
I sure hope someone does the right thing for sweet Mollie and gives the info that is needed to find her and bring her to her family.

You've joined a great group. Welcome! After what her father said it does make me wonder if this was someone she thought she knew.

 

[zencompass]

I fully believe that she is alive and well and that the authorities know where she is. They may just be working to make a safe-and-secure hand-off happen.

Dear Illiniguy01,

I wish with all of my heart that this is what is happening. I truly do not know, of course.

Is there a reason you feel strongly that she was alive?

Welcome to this thread, Illiniguy01 !

 

[zencompass]

Welcome Flowermama !

 

[Beth11311]

No snark, what makes you fully believe this? We all can learn a lot if people can explain their rationale.

Yes I too am curious about the reasoning. I like to hear the other side of things I haven’t thought of. I for one am going with Occam’s Razor, which at this point would suggest she is no longer with us, sadly, IMO. Gone this long, other comparative cases, just don’t turn out with happy endings most of the time. Simplest explanation.

 

[clearskies1]

Who didn't show up for work on time the morning of July 19? Who cleaned their car/truck on July 19? Tips, they need tips.

 

[gliving]

The Poweshiek County Sheriff's Office is in Montezuma. The sentence makes sense if you take that into account.

I wondered why WC was taken to the fire station to be interviewed. It was probably the closest 'government type' building.

Wayne Cheney: 5 Fast Facts You Need to Know | Heavy.com
“I just thought it was a waste of time but oh well,” he told the television station, adding, “I don’t know who those two were but they took me down to the fire station Tuesday and questioned me for two hours. I don`t remember what they asked me.”

 

[cp0510]

I wondered why WC was taken to the fire station to be interviewed. It was probably the closest 'government type' building.

Wayne Cheney: 5 Fast Facts You Need to Know | Heavy.com
“I just thought it was a waste of time but oh well,” he told the television station, adding, “I don’t know who those two were but they took me down to the fire station Tuesday and questioned me for two hours. I don`t remember what they asked me.”

Random question - did WC say “she isn’t here” or that “she was never here”? May be a distinction without a difference but the thought occurred to me.

 

[MassGuy]

I’m firmly of the opinion that Mollie was abducted. The scenario that she ran away, simply doesn’t hold water based on what we know about her, and the circumstances of her disappearance. If she was abducted, the most plausible scenario is that it was sexually motivated. If this is what in fact happened, then we know that generally, victims don’t live long beyond the initial abduction and subsequent assault. There are many plausible scenarios here, but I find this to simply be the most likely, and as such, it is unlikely to end well.

 

[Seattle1]

From prior thread #16:
@Consultant
Is this a typo? Has this been posted already?

“Mollie Tibbetts was reported missing to the Poweshiek County SO, in Montezuma on Jul 18, 2018”
Missing Persons
******************************
After reviewing the Clearinghouse site, it appears the dates posted are the "last contact" date so July 18 would be correct.

I think he/she was referring to the Montezuma portion.

I did ask about that and someone told me the date is based on the last positive sighting and when they believe she disappeared.

Seattle1, Montezuma is the county seat of Poweshiek county. It's where the sheriff's department is located. I think it's a grammar thingy. Meaning reported to the Sheriff, who is located in Montezuma.

All - the link in the OP quote refers you to "MISSING PERSON INFORMATION CLEARINGHOUSE" Iowa Dept of Public Safety. FYI, each entry also lists the Agency where victim was reported missing. In MT case, it was reported to the Poweshiek County SO, in Montezuma, and Jul 18, 2018 is correct for the "last contact" date.

EDIT TO ADD LINK:
Missing Persons

 

[Jon Glass]

That interview with dad today was really huge... I'm not leaning in any direction right now, but that interview really caused me to raise an eyebrow. I am not, repeat NOT, casting aspersions, but... Small town girl goes off to school, probably exposed to far more freedom than at any point in her life... Those things can change people. <modsnipped- unfounded speculation> Again, only floating thoughts...
Next... <modsnipped - baiting>

 

[Ezekiel2517]

I'm wondering, with many people including MT's family thinking she could've been taken by a known acquaintance, who may be regretful or feeling "in over their head" and unsure what to do, that maybe a different approach would help. In addition to the missing posters and billboards with the big reward and pictures of MT, which are more directed at everbody but the perp, hoping someone will see her and call the police. How about some posters and billboards directed at the perp. Maybe some law firms that would specifically run radio, tv, newspaper and facebook ads that say something like "If you have MT, we can help", "this doesn't have to go any farther", "we'll be there with you every step of the way".

Has anything like this been done before?

I would think they would be more inclined to talk to and turn themselves in with a lawyer than to do it without one.

 

[who knew?]

Yes I too am curious about the reasoning. I like to hear the other side of things I haven’t thought of. I for one am going with Occam’s Razor, which at this point would suggest she is no longer with us, sadly, IMO. Gone this long, other comparative cases, just don’t turn out with happy endings most of the time. Simplest explanation.

For me, it's just a feeling that she is (or at least was for a time) alive. Maybe because of her dad's statements?
When I think about all we have learned about Mollie and how well-loved she was by (apparently) most everyone, I don't see how she could have been involuntarily taken while jogging. I think she would have fought like a wild woman, and made enough noise that someone would have heard. That leaves the probability that she knew her abductor, but did not realize his feelings were stronger (or just different) than hers. I think she willingly got in the car, and was taken away. I don't know if it was someone who asked her to grab a bite to eat, or go for a drink, or can you help me with my online class, etc. But she took the bait and who knows what happened after that. Normally I would think she was deceased, but for reasons I can't explain, I'm not sure she is.
That's my reasoning FWIW

 

[cluciano63]

I don’t think lots of effort would be spent searching for phone and Fit Bit as the data can generally be retrieved with far less manpower Imo...and less danger to searchers, etc...

 

[MesquiteO21]

Re: the cornfields from the previous thread. Didn't LE search from the air using that heat sensory thingy that can tell if a body is there? of course the cornfields cover a crazy amount of land so it's possible they didn't look over every single square inch, but I don't think we should assume that they only went so far into the fields because I'm pretty sure the search was not only done on foot.

 

[runfar262]

Who didn't show up for work on time the morning of July 19? Who cleaned their car/truck on July 19? Tips, they need tips.

This! Who had scratches, bruises or other injuries on July 19 and claimed they got into a fight or got mugged?