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

[cluciano63]

Kidnapping is not far off murder, as far as sentencing goes. Not at all in non-death penalty states, as a rule. As much as a parent may want to offer “immunity” I do not see that as a real option.

 

[Veracity]

Moved from THREAD 15 -

TPeeFritz wrote " ...If Mollie is still alive at this point, she is in a relatively low risk situation, ...

I asked how you reached that conclusion.

TPeeFritz replied "Simply comparative to other, more potentially urgent needs. Haven’t gotten there by anything other than assuming that if she is still alive, almost three weeks after the fact she is already in way less danger than many others at this very moment. I’m going on statistics. I believe that that is the most common way of deciding how to split resources when they are limited."

OK - am I following your train of thought right -

The "LOW RISK" was more directed at you believing LE's inability to find her by now means she should be considered a LOWER priority for LE? Because there are new cases and LE should move their resources there?

I have another question based on your reply post -

You said you were going on stats - I would love to take a look at them.

Because honestly I have no reason to believe there are proper stats for the USA when it comes to MISSING PERSONS. There is no standards which require any case to make it to NCIC. Right now we have some places with missing person cases and other places we have found remains who are yet to be identified.

Common sense tells me if we were doing things right this would not be reality.

There is clearly communication breakdown at some point. It could include folks not being allowed to submit a missing person report, a report being forced to be placed far from the last known location, reports being improperly classified as a runaway or voluntary with little to no work before being closed.

That last one is precisely why the FBI created the RUNAWAY category - but we never made it mandatory for every single case to be submitted. So the numbers are skewed which means the stats are wrong.

I would really like to take a look at what you are using as reference work.

 

[GhostGhost]

Secure handoff?

I don’t see it.

LE works 24 hrs. They don’t have Federal resources to coordinate handoffs. In what case has this been done?

Further, watch any Press Conference after someone is located, there is no shortage of people taking credit and Publicized Congratulations. It’s part and parcel.

.

 

[borndem]

Still waiting and hoping each morning when I open the WS thread for Mollie, that I will see that "Found" word.
(I reduced the font size of that word so as not to excite anyone.)
<sigh>
Hoping that it will be soon and with good news.

 

[MassGuy]

I think I’ve said this several times by now but I’ll repeat here. The family is absolutely compelled to believe that their daughter is still alive. They know she didn’t run away, so their only hope is that she is being held by an acquaintance, “who is over his head.” The only other viable option is that she was kidnapped and murdered, and they do not want to believe that. Hence all these optimistic public statements, likely based on hope and not evidence.

 

[Veracity]

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.”

Was it the Brooklyn Fire Station? If yes, local news said the FBI was using the Fire Station.

 

[Safeguard]

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

I concur, this person was likely checked out, but I do think Flowermama is correct in her line of thinking.
I feel that this is likely a sexually motivated crime, but I have though about jealousy/revenge as instigating factors. Not that Mollie herself, would have acquired enemies, but that someone in her life may have. I am thinking this perp is an older man, an authority figure of some kind, teacher, coach, spiritual adviser, LE... I do feel she is being held somewhere, and is still alive. If this is, as I suspect, motivated by revenge, this perp is likely wanting to savor it some, and a quick kill is not what he's after. I don't think she has a long time to remain alive however. but where there is life, there is hope.

 

[MesquiteO21]

I think I’ve said this several times by now but I’ll repeat here. The family is absolutely compelled to believe that their daughter is still alive. They know she didn’t run away, so their only hope is that she is being held by an acquaintance, “who is over his head.” The only other viable option is that she was kidnapped and murdered, and they do not want to believe that. Hence all these optimistic public statements, likely based on hope and not evidence.

this is what i was thinking. we shouldn't read too far into any statements, interviews, etc. i take it more as the dad being hopeful that she is alive somewhere not that he knows she is. i can't remember who it was but i remember years ago in some missing person's case the mom saying "she's gonna be in so much trouble when she comes home" figuring her daughter had just run off. but it turned out that she had been murdered.

 

[Safeguard]

I think I’ve said this several times by now but I’ll repeat here. The family is absolutely compelled to believe that their daughter is still alive. They know she didn’t run away, so their only hope is that she is being held by an acquaintance, “who is over his head.” The only other viable option is that she was kidnapped and murdered, and they do not want to believe that. Hence all these optimistic public statements, likely based on hope and not evidence.

In addition to blind hope, they do have the fact, that there is NO trace of a violent crime having taken place. not so much as a single broken branch or drop of blood. I also feel she is alive, as of now, and I have no dog in the fight, so to speak, just going by lack of any evidence that she was killed.

 

[SteveP]

This question is for any of the locals in that area. What is the drug situation like there? There is a nationwide opioid epidemic now, and I am sure rural areas are not immune to it. Also, in rural areas, where there are sometimes depressed economies, meth labs often pop up, and other related problems surface. I know nothing about the area other than it seems there is a more affluent side, apparently, and a less affluent. Is there a big drug culture there, and what are the odds that drugs were somehow involved here? And no, I am in no way implying or even remotely suggesting that Mollie was a drug user, but whoever took her could be, or she could have inadvertently witnessed something she should not have, etc. Just trying to think outside the box here.

 

[Jon Glass]

I think I’ve said this several times by now but I’ll repeat here. The family is absolutely compelled to believe that their daughter is still alive. They know she didn’t run away, so their only hope is that she is being held by an acquaintance, “who is over his head.” The only other viable option is that she was kidnapped and murdered, and they do not want to believe that. Hence all these optimistic public statements, likely based on hope and not evidence.

I think I’ve said this several times by now but I’ll repeat here. The family is absolutely compelled to believe that their daughter is still alive. They know she didn’t run away, so their only hope is that she is being held by an acquaintance, “who is over his head.” The only other viable option is that she was kidnapped and murdered, and they do not want to believe that. Hence all these optimistic public statements, likely based on hope and not evidence.

So, my question to you is: why..? Why make a statement like that at all..? These things are choreographed tightly, and I'm sure that LE has instructed these folks to only say something to the media that is approved. These folks simply can't go off the reservation, and jeopardize the work that is being done.

 

[Kapua]

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.

I thoroughly agree with your take on this. I will add that I think Mollie knew her abductor (not very well). Maybe he was a fellow student, someone from the college, a co-worker, or co-worker of her boyfriend - someone who knew that DJ, his brother, and his brother's fiancée were out of town. I don't think that DJ leaving town on the 17th and Mollie last being seen on the 18th is a coincidence. I think the Castro case gives people room for hope, but sadly, that is the not the usual outcome.

 

[seeker179]

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.

Not to be a downer, but.... if LE was using a heat sensor, it would probably only register live (warm) bodies, not dead bodies...right?

 

[LarryLujack]

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...

Except for the possible fingertip and dna evidence that might be on either...

 

[Seattle1]

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

If Mollie was "tricked" by alleged kidnapper known to her, I believe that after 20 days, Mollie would have convinced the abductor to alert her family that she's alive (not necessarily directly but maybe anonymous note left in public location, etc). IMO, that would be Mollie's #1 concern, and her captor would be feeling Mollie's wrath. I just don't see Mollie putting her folks through this if she has any control over the matter. Again, maybe I'm just naive...

Edit to add: taking cue from Dad that captor never set out to harm Mollie.

 

[Consultant]

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

That’s correct. Thanks

 

[gliving]

Kidnapping is not far off murder, as far as sentencing goes. Not at all in non-death penalty states, as a rule. As much as a parent may want to offer “immunity” I do not see that as a real option.

Well, Mollie could use it as a bartering tool. She could tell bad guy to let her go and she'll say she went willingly. I would if it meant I could get away.

 

[Mr. Obvious]

If Mollie was "tricked" by alleged kidnapper known to her, I believe that after 20 days, Mollie would have convinced the abductor to alert her family that she's alive (not necessarily directly but maybe anonymous note left in public location, etc). IMO, that would be Mollie's #1 concern, and her captor would be feeling Mollie's wrath. I just don't see Mollie putting her folks through this if she has any control over the matter. Again, maybe I'm just naive...

Excellent points!!!

 

[MesquiteO21]

Not to be a downer, but.... if LE was using a heat sensor, it would probably only register live (warm) bodies, not dead bodies...right?

yeah i was also wondering how exactly that works..i do think they did the search pretty quickly after she was reported missing. but i guess it would depend on what time she had been deceased and at what temperature the sensory thing measures. Fully admit I'm totally ignorant about the science behind it!

 

[MassGuy]

So, my question to you is: why..? Why make a statement like that at all..? These things are choreographed tightly, and I'm sure that LE has instructed these folks to only say something to the media that is approved. These folks simply can't go off the reservation, and jeopardize the work that is being done.

They are free to speak to the media as they please. Law enforcement would certainly have advised them however, you are right about that. In many cases like this you see these optimistic comments from the family, it’s not at all unusual.