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

[dlharris2712]

Without victim blaming when I read the article and "hear" the tone the loved ones express, I question how they could respond in such a context. What are they thinking and how could they say that? They are going to make her "relive what they are going through". In their most loving & joking way they hold her some part responsible.

^^^^^^^^^^^
I am so happy someone else thought the comments from her brothers was odd...if not, downright mean. jmo

 

[liz b.]

I just don't know anymore! I sadly think she may be dead just because the sheer time that has passed.



Same here...the odds are against her.

With the manpower behind it, it makes me think not suicide, not a prank gone bad, not someone who isnt dangerous taking her.

I also wonder if the father is trying to trick the perp into relaxing a bit.

Why do they so strongly think she is alive? Her Fitbit? I mean really, anyone could be wearing it.

Have never heard a missing person's family say that they are fairly certain she/he is deceased, not this early. jmo

 

[mom2tee]

What if she were approached by a man ... and a woman. I hate to say it and I think I am pretty street smart, but somehow a woman involved makes me lower my guard a bit. For instance I don't make eye contact if I am walking in our neighborhood and pass a man by himself. But if a man and a woman pass, I often find myself speaking to them.

 

[OldCop]

We really have no new info so we keep going round and round until we drive ourselves crazy. Every little gesture or twitch, every little statement by anyone connected to the case, every rumor, is minutely dissected. We can speculate until the cows come home about what happened, but until we know what we don’t know, it’s all guesswork. That being said, it makes the most sense to base our theories on what we have been told by LE as more or less fact and by family and eyewitness statements and mainstream media reports.
This would put her missing between about 7:30 pm Wednesday when witnesses reported seeing her “walking nonchalantly” or jogging and 8:00 am the next morning when she didn’t show up for work.
To narrow it further, it appears she was wearing her jogging clothes, Fitbit, earphones, and cellphone because they were not found at her bfs house. She wasn’t known to jog before work so it is likely she was on a jog on the evening she went missing. Until we know when/if she was on the computer doing homework “later in the evening”, we don’t know if she returned home from her 7:30 pm jog. Maybe she did return home, did some homework, and planned to go by Mom’s later to grab a bite and pick up the car. That might be why she remained in her jogging clothes; she was going to make the 1 mile jog/walk to Mom’s. If she headed out a second time at the later hour, it would be darker and there would be less people who noticed her jogging and less people to eyewitness an abduction or to see her hop into a car with someone she knew.
What we do know is that she never did go to her mother’s that night.

 

[coffeeandacig]

There are so many pages to catch up on. So, if this is redundant, please excuse.
Mollie's father said her "room is messy, she can't drive" when describing his daughter. Did anyone find out if Mollie Tibbett's actually had a valid driver's license?

 

[Jealoushe]

I don't know why - and this is in NO way meant to disparage Mollie - but I can't get it out of my mind that perhaps she was being woo'd by someone else that she may have just met, didn't know very well, or hasn't seen in a long time - either online or elsewhere (work, school), and could've let her relationship guard down and her curiosity get the best of her. I mean, she is 20 years old and in a stable, long-term (for 20) relationship. Speaking from experience when I was 20 - hell even at 45 - sometimes the grass can (briefly) look greener.

I should add that I am not implying that she is missing voluntarily.

I thought this too. When LE kept saying "technology and social media" instead of zoning in on one made me think she had a dating app....met someone, and they came to give her a ride but instead it turned deadly.

 

[buggiegirl]

I have a problem with Wayne Cheney (pig farmer) ...not taking a polygraph. Plus..Remember..the police are being tight lipped about the results of the fitbit info...I think this is all very significant

Never consent to a polygraph. They are junk science and no good will come of it.

 

[liz b.]

If she went missing early that morning, I have a hard time reconciling how it could be a random crime of opportunity. Seems to me that it would be more along the lines of a scheduled ride to work from a coworker - or if raining hard and walking to get the car - an impromptu ride to mom's from someone she knew.

I still think the theory that she went missing the night before while on her run makes more sense, particularly in the way LE is behaving.

JMO.

I think someone(s) she knew. And it could have started in the house. Also, not sure how the dogs would still have had plenty of food and water when her BF went into the house ? Unless someone else had been in the house before he got there ?

 

[Mr. Obvious]

I don't know. If that were true I don't think hundreds of FBI agents would be involved in this case nor would there be non-stop searches of fields, confines, farms, ravines, and waterways.

In the immortal words of Clara Peller: "where's the Beef"???

If a crime has been committed - how would the public know without the evidence being shared by LE?

 

[kodiakcurls129]

Frankly, looking at this case, I think the most likely scenario is one of either someone she knew grabbed her at home while she was alone, or a serial killer on the I-80 saw her and snatched her. I don't think either of those possibilities makes the likely hood of her still being alive very plausible. It would be amazing if they found her alive. However the cases of women being found after weeks, months, or years are the exception that proves the rule. I think the serial killer angle is a little less likely, simply because why grab a young attractive women who will be missed very quickly, when there is a huge amount of people along the freeways and truck stops that would not be reported missing very quickly or at all. I think someone she is familiar with has information about her whereabouts. I don't see this case having a happy ending. That being said, I am very jaded when it comes to missing persons being found alive, too many of the cases that I follow ended up being a homicide during the early days or even hours that someone was missing.

 

[Mr. Obvious]

I just think if somebody abducted her while jogging somebody would get out and grab her. Which I dont think she got abucted while jogging but thats the way it would happen

A van drives by - two people in it - one of them jumps out - grabs MT - throws her in the van; door is sliding shut as the van is driving away.

15 seconds elapsed time????

 

[Madison418]

WHY DOES NOTHING MAKE SENSE IN THIS CASE???? Okay sorry, needed to get that out.

In any event, I have to wonder if the significant LE presence is because this fits the MO of a known serial killer they've been looking for. Perhaps it is more similar to other cases (A&L, L&E, etc...) than we know?

My other inclination is that they really don't have much to go on. They have fitbit and cellphone data up to a point and then nothing. The house at which she was staying was undisturbed and they found nothing there. No one saw her or anything suspicious after 1 neighbor saw her jogging/walking. It's like she just disappeared into thin air. (All IMO)

But I agree with what some other posters have said that this just seems too perfect to not have been planned ahead of time.

I believe fully in Occam's razor so what do you all think based on what we have learned so far is the simplest explanation?

 

[JudgeJudi]

I would agree, except that she worked on her homework first. Honestly, if I were a student and I was going to commit suicide, I would have totally left the homework. That, and I wouldn’t have taken my fitbit or my phone.

Family members told KCCI on Saturday that evidence shows she was doing homework on her computer late in the evening on July 18. Authorities declined to release a specific time, saying it could hinder the investigation.

New details provide insight into night Mollie Tibbetts was last seen

As previously stated, the Investigators will not confirm or deny anything to do with the investigation.

 

[cluciano63]

JMO, as far as LE, their words and actions do not match. They have said things that seem like Mollie may have left (asking public “why” Mollie is gone, who is she etc) but search pond and fields. So do they know anything yet??

 

[white rabbit]

@ liz b long time no see!!! hi!!! it's me the pesky wabbit!

i agree with mr obvious. and fwiw, whatever "strategy" LE is employing it quite frankly isn't working.

also perhaps the presser was moved simply due to re-shuffling of power between winker and rahm...having nothing to do with the case itself...maybe...JMO...

 

[Davia18]

We really have no new info so we keep going round and round until we drive ourselves crazy. Every little gesture or twitch, every little statement by anyone connected to the case, every rumor, is minutely dissected. We can speculate until the cows come home about what happened, but until we know what we don’t know, it’s all guesswork. That being said, it makes the most sense to base our theories on what we have been told by LE as more or less fact and by family and eyewitness statements and mainstream media reports.
This would put her missing between about 7:30 pm Wednesday when witnesses reported seeing her “walking nonchalantly” or jogging and 8:00 am the next morning when she didn’t show up for work.
To narrow it further, it appears she was wearing her jogging clothes, Fitbit, earphones, and cellphone because they were not found at her bfs house. She wasn’t known to jog before work so it is likely she was on a jog on the evening she went missing. Until we know when/if she was on the computer doing homework “later in the evening”, we don’t know if she returned home from her 7:30 pm jog. Maybe she did return home, did some homework, and planned to go by Mom’s later to grab a bite and pick up the car. That might be why she remained in her jogging clothes; she was going to make the 1 mile jog/walk to Mom’s. If she headed out a second time at the later hour, it would be darker and there would be less people who noticed her jogging and less people to eyewitness an abduction or to see her hop into a car with someone she knew.
What we do know is that she never did go to her mother’s that night.

Yes this - Great Post

 

[ChuckMaureen]

Without victim blaming when I read the article and "hear" the tone the loved ones express, I question how they could respond in such a context. What are they thinking and how could they say that? They are going to make her "relive what they are going through". In their most loving & joking way they hold her some part responsible.

^^^^^^^^^^^
I am so happy someone else thought the comments from her brothers was odd...if not, downright mean. jmo

Another piece of the puzzle.

 

[buggiegirl]

I have to wonder if the significant LE presence is because this fits the MO of a known serial killer they've been looking for.

This is a good point. Why would there be such a huge reaction to an adult going missing with no real signs of foul play? I mean, the house wasn't considered a crime scene right? It's not covered in blood or have signs of a forced entry. I know that now it's been 3 weeks and it's clear something is up, but she is 20 and could conceivably be missing of her own accord. Why the FBI?

 

[MargeGunderson]

This has been asked over and over. Being tight lipped is very common these days as releasing info publicly has made it impossible to verify whether a suspect is telling the truth when they confess or if they accidentally incriminate themselves.

Everyone criticizing the lack of info assumes LE is "risking the case". I don't. I think they know much more about how to work their cases than we do.

Sometimes info is released in cases because LE believes the release is necessary to further tips. Clearly they just don't feel that's the case here.

I also think it's pretty illogical to suggest that people in this rural, small town area, obsessed with and inundated with this case, are going to ignore anything, no matter how small, that could possibly, remotely be connected to the case, that occurred between 5:30 pm the day before she went missing to the following day at 5:30 pm simply because the exact timeline has not been released.

I'm sorry. Doesn't make sense. This case is all these people are thinking about right now. And it just makes no sense.

They're receiving hundreds and hundreds of tips.

Frankly I think sometimes people feel they know better than LE and it's pretty presumptuous.

Yes, LE occasionally doesn't do what they need to do. You can sort of tell when the family begins to express frustration, or takes matters into their own hands, like in Elizabeth Smart's case.

But at this point there is nothing to suggest that people in the region are going, "Yeah, I saw a young woman struggling with a man but I don't know the timeline so it may not be relevant." Or, "Well my co-worker didn't show up the day Mollie was reported missing. He took the rest of the week off and has been acting strange lately. But without more info, I just don't see how it's important."

Or whatever.

This is all the people in that region, county and nearby counties are talking about, sadly.

I think if and when they feel information needs to be released to help the case they will release it.

I agree with all of this concerning LE. I definitely don't think people know better than LE. No one is as equipped to make decisions on how to proceed than the LE currently working the case.

The thing I've changed my mind on is what the silence means in this case. Until late last week I thought it meant some kind of resolution was imminent, either an arrest or finding Mollie or both. Obviously I still hope that is the case. But I'm losing hope in that. From what we have heard from Mollie's parents, they don't seem to agree on exactly what happened with Mollie. That's understandable. But what I am absolutely sure they agree on is that neither of them would ever do anything to get in the way of bringing Mollie home or at least get answers on what happened to her. Their interviews discussing their theories and answering questions tells me that they do not think a case resolution is imminent. I wouldn't say it means they are upset with LE. In fact LE may have told them it was ok to do the interviews. Based on what Mollie's dad said it's possible he was given input on what to say. I can see them saying 'ok if you are going to make an appeal to a potential person holding her... say it this way'. But I am very confident that if LE told her parents they really would ask them not to do interviews or at least not say anything specific about the investigation because they are on the verge of a resolution, the parents would comply. So to me the interviews mean that either they aren't on the verge of a resolution or nothing the parents say is going to affect the investigation. I am going with the former.

Does that mean I think LE is not doing a good job or that the silence is the reason for not finding Mollie? No. I wouldn't presume to say that. LE knows far better than me. I'm just interpreting their behavior in a less optimistic way.

 

[DocBrew]

A van drives by - two people in it - one of them jumps out - grabs MT - throws her in the van; door is sliding shut as the van is driving away.

15 seconds elapsed time????

Yep. Doesn't take long, even for one perp. See: Jessica Heeringa