Found Deceased IA - Mollie Tibbetts, 20, Poweshiek County, 19 Jul 2018 #18

[Kapua]

In order to ask the tech companies to co-operate, you would need to know which apps someone had on the phone, so you would have to go to apple first and I would assume they would be able to produce a list of apps that someone had downloaded from the app store, and it wouldn't be unusual for someone to have 50-100 apps all of which might provide clues.

You would then need to go to each of these companies and ask for help, and as a lot of people don't use their real names when using on-line services, just identifying which account you need the data for, could be hard, as an example snapchat has about 200 million users....

You would end up with a large amount of data, and you are looking for the proverbial needle in a haystack....

I'm thinking that a cell tower dump might be useful, particularly in such a small town. LE could get the phone numbers of all the devices that pinged the cell towers in Brooklyn that night. It's a small town, roughly 1,400 people.

Mollie Tibbetts' disappearance thrusts Brooklyn, Iowa into spotlight

 

[RavenCC2020]

Mollie Tibbetts Case: Missing Woman's Dad, Boyfriend Urge Witnesses to Come Forward

This just makes me feel that they don't have any specific poi in mind. I think this is dad attempting to face reality that they might not get her back alive or not. Very heart breaking and I feel so terrible about what they are going through and will continue to go through

In the Peterson case the cops though SP was guilty almost from the start but did not divulge that info to her mom and dad. They stood by him firmly until the cops brought the pictures to them of SP and AF. Irrefutiable proof he was living a double life. I am not saying that is what is going on here with her boyfriend. I just wanted to point out that the parents are being told nothing by LE so they are now desperate for witnesses to come forward to get this moving. I don't think there are any witness' to be honest. I think it was as simple as wrong place wrong time and she was totally alone and he knew it.

I have a daughter who is 20 and this thought makes me crazy and sick to my stomach. I too warn my daughter not to jog alone (which she insists on doing down secluded dirt roads by our house) without our dog who is older and doesn't like running. I have finally gotten her to agree to have a friend come up and jog with her. Young people are just stubborn and they truly think nothing will happen to them. UGH! We have all been there. Until you find yourself repeating the words of warning to your kids that your parents gave to you, you just do not get it.

 

[Gunslinging Granny]

there are grants for mental health. I know someone that was missing for greater than 30 days. they were in a mental health hospital out of state. local places were looked at but not out of state. their insurance did not reflect any thing had been filed. police was involved fingers were being pointed at spouse and they were found re entering the state with car they were in being pulled over for speeding.

again, not saying that is where she is, but in consideration of her major and future professional plans it would only be smart to not let anyone know IF you did go for mental health treatment.

https://www.aha.org/system/files/2018-03/guidelinesreleasinginfo.pdf
If she were in a hospital, they could tell this to LE. LE could then tell her parents she is safe, but couldn't disclose her location.

 

[ChuckMaureen]

At the beginning of such a case, LE observes the evidence (missing person, out-of-character change in routine, expected mental condition, last known location, surroundings) and decides an action plan based on known issues, executes that plan and prepares next-steps, such as, the more information they gather the more they determine a most-likely scenario and adjust the plan accordingly.

In this case, we've seen LE execute interviews and searches right off the mark. As time progressed LE presented with a presser that left us believing LE believed MT may still be alive, probably because they did not locate a body and the family followed suit with their own media interviews.

Then, we witnessed the "Mollie may be alive" commentary all but disappear for a bit, with that replaced with conjecture by a member of the family that "Mollie was abducted by someone she knows". No body, so she must have been abducted and maybe being kept alive. Is that realistic? Not with a positive outcome.

Beyond simply holding out hope, the family needs some method of attempting to keep this case stirring in news cycles and in public discourse. If LE and the family related they expect MT to be deceased at this point any garnered attention will dissipate faster than vaporous creek mist on a hot summer morning.

What we have. No MT. No body. No witnesses to the event to date AFAWK.

That's where we are.

The odds are against a positive outcome. If FBI begins to pull resources then we may assume it's definitely a waiting game until harvest time, if they're lucky. Many such victims are discovered relatively close to where they were last seen or expected to have been.

Beyond against all odds of finding MT alive, all many can hope for is LE recovers MT sooner rather than later, despite there being hundreds and hundreds of acres of corn fields....

 

[gregjrichards]

So has boyfriends family been cleared in all of this?

We can’t sleuth them or discuss this as the thread will get locked due to Websleuths rules. There are currently no publicly known suspects or persons of interest. We only know WC has been spoken to a few times.

 

[Stippling]

Also a robbery in Grinnell on the 17th. Suspect escaped.

Police search for robbery suspect

 

[Michael Collins]

We can’t sleuth them or discuss this as the thread will get locked due to Websleuths rules. There are currently no publicly known suspects or persons of interest. We only know WC has been spoken to a few times.

Who can I pm a link I found then. Admin?

 

[Crystal Regan]

Questions for LE types... Is it more difficult to get digital companies to comply with search warrants when the missing person is an adult vs a minor? Also, I would imagine also that it is easier for a parent to get information from companies directly when the missing person is a child rather than an adult, which of course Mollie is.

First thing parents need to do when sending children off to college: Power of Attorney. We did it. Costs about a hundred bucks. Also, seems like mom or dad, would be paying for phone plan if it’s the phone company that’s giving them a time.

 

[dub]

Mollie Tibbetts Case: Missing Woman's Dad, Boyfriend Urge Witnesses to Come Forward

This just makes me feel that they don't have any specific poi in mind. I think this is dad attempting to face reality that they might not get her back alive or not. Very heart breaking and I feel so terrible about what they are going through and will continue to go through

SBBM

I feel like it's one of two things. Either, as you said, LE absolutely no idea what happened or who might be responsible, or they basically know exactly what happened/who is responsible, but they don't have enough evidence to move forward. I don't see much middle ground, and as to which of the above scenarios is true, I'm pretty much split 50/50.

 

[ChuckMaureen]

In order to ask the tech companies to co-operate, you would need to know which apps someone had on the phone, so you would have to go to apple first and I would assume they would be able to produce a list of apps that someone had downloaded from the app store, and it wouldn't be unusual for someone to have 50-100 apps all of which might provide clues.

You would then need to go to each of these companies and ask for help, and as a lot of people don't use their real names when using on-line services, just identifying which account you need the data for, could be hard, as an example snapchat has about 200 million users....

You would end up with a large amount of data, and you are looking for the proverbial needle in a haystack....

Snap Stats: https://www.omnicoreagency.com/snapchat-statistics/

 

[Stormy21]

Actually Stockbridge is not in the Catskills which are in NY. Stockbridge is in the Berkshires and a half hour from where I live. You are absolutely right that that no, Stockbridge is NOTHING like Brooklyn, Iowa. Stockbridge is an old New England town of WEALTHY people. Yes, it is small town and cozy looking but you are not going to find quaint little farmhouses there. You are going to find larger homes that are on the National Register or the like. But because Rockwell painted small town life for the Saturday Evening Post people link Stockbridge to Rockwell because one of his most famous painting's is of the Red Lion Inn and the strip of stores adjoined to it at Christmas time with cars parked out front. I think one had a Christmas tree on the roof. Google it, I'm sure everyone has seen it before. The red truck and Christmas tree that has been popular at Christmas time the last couple of years is someone else's interpretation of Rockwell's painting. And yes, the musuem is awesome.

If anyone followed the Martha Moxley case they would know who Tommy S was. He lives in Stockbridge. Just so you understand these are wealthy people NOT your every day working class.

Yes. You are correct, the Berkshires. Duuuh me. But they are only a couple miles apart. )

But I can edit my post, and no one will suspect I am an idiot.

 

[MassGuy]

Who can I pm a link I found then. Admin?

You can message anyone you want, just don’t post it here if you have even a question about it being allowed.

 

[houndstooth]

I'm reaching here, but I wonder if they had paid for their airline tickets and hotel room, for the upcoming trip. Paid online?

I had questions along these lines, also. Like did MT have a pre-paid ticket?
What classes was she attending during the summer to have homework?
When would regular college courses resume?
Why were she and the bf living in this home when they (brother and fiancee), were going to be married soon and bought the home about six months ago?
Or was she living elsewhere and only there to dogsit?

 

[Vedder]

So has boyfriends family been cleared in all of this?

Yes.

 

[Hatfield]

I'm thinking that a cell tower dump might be useful, particularly in such a small town. LE could get the phone numbers of all the devices that pinged the cell towers in Brooklyn that night. It's a small town, roughly 1,400 people.

Mollie Tibbetts' disappearance thrusts Brooklyn, Iowa into spotlight

JMO
I totally agree and in the first couple threads we were talking about that. This sort of random data of everyone's phones pinging a certain tower around the exact time she disappeared may be the sort of data that is hard to get from a phone provider. I think with the right kind of warrant LE has been able to get this type of data in past cases so I think its doable. Unfortunately that is the sort of data that takes lots of time to analyze. But I do think the FBI has complex software already that is used to pour through the tower dump data and make sophisticated guesses of which phones were more likely to be in use near her phone at the time hers zapped out.

Its really fascinating stuff actually. Kind of wish I majored in forensic technology like that in school. Would be a fascinating career path.

And check out this tidbit of new news. Wow. That will be amazing and can save lives in the future.

"Glassberg said Apple may soon release a phone with a direct link to 9-1-1 providers that could potentially run after a battery dies because it would be based on hardware, not on radio cellular communication."

Mollie Tibbetts' dad pleads to tech companies to help him find his daughter

 

[cody22]

SBBM

I feel like it's one of two things. Either, as you said, LE absolutely no idea what happened or who might be responsible, or they basically know exactly what happened/who is responsible, but they don't have enough evidence to move forward. I don't see much middle ground, and as to which of the above scenarios is true, I'm pretty much split 50/50.

Bingo !!!

 

[WildcatRunner]

Who can I pm a link I found then. Admin?

Click "Report" on the bottom left of your own post.

 

[Jethro4WS]

I'm thinking that a cell tower dump might be useful, particularly in such a small town. LE could get the phone numbers of all the devices that pinged the cell towers in Brooklyn that night. It's a small town, roughly 1,400 people.

Mollie Tibbetts' disappearance thrusts Brooklyn, Iowa into spotlight

That would be useful. If they have done so then cell tower dumps would have been taken from several towers and likely for up to 30 days in the past and on an on-going basis for some period in the future.

 

[another-amateur]

Snap Stats: https://www.omnicoreagency.com/snapchat-statistics/

yes, 187 million people who use it every day, and 300 million who use it at least once a month, that's a lot of data to search through....

 

[MassGuy]

I had questions along these lines, also. Like did MT have a pre-paid ticket?
What classes was she attending during the summer to have homework?
When would regular college courses resume?
Why were she and the bf living in this home when they (brother and fiancee), were going to be married soon and bought the home about six months ago?
Or was she living elsewhere and only there to dogsit?

Her summer courses were mentioned somewhere. I think there were two. I imagine her regular classes would have resumed in September, like that of most college students. Mollie split her time between the house where her boyfriend was living and her mom’s house.