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

[Twinny]

I am convinced she was taken during her run.

It all comes back to the Fitbit...

- When Tibbetts' Fitbit pinged at a hog farm about 10 miles southeast of the house in Brooklyn, IA, where she was last seen, police searched the area but found nothing, Mortved(Mitch Mortvedt, spokesperson for the Iowa Division of Criminal Investigation) said. Source: https://www.refinery29.com/2018/07/205956/mollie-tibbetts-missing-university-of-iowa-student

So they got a Fitbit "ping" at the hog farm. In order for the Fitbit to "ping", it was using GPS via her phone. In normal mode, Fitbits do not use GPS. The only way for it to get and use GPS information is for it to be put into an activity mode (running, biking swimming, etc). Mollie's Fitbit's (Alta HR) only activity mode is called MobileRun, which is activated through the Fitbit app on her phone. MobileRun is how one tracks their run, by providing heart rate, distance, and time overlayed on the GPS route data. When one finishes their run, they stop MobileRun(through the Fitbit app on the phone), which then shows the results and allows one to compare previous runs. So Mollie's Fitbit was using MobileRun when it "pinged" at or near the hog farm.

Putting all this together... Mollie activated MobileRun at the beginning of her run but never stopped MobileRun. Combine this with her missing workout outfit, missing headphones, dogs in the basement, and an undisturbed house. I think it is almost certain Mollie was taken on her run. It also explains how LE is confident in their timeline.




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Totally agree it all fits!! And her not calling her mum to say she wouldnt be there for dinner.

 

[Love Never Fails]

Mary Ellen O’Toole, a former FBI profiler and director of the forensic sciences program at George Mason University

Mollie Tibbetts likely went off in car with someone she knew, says FBI ex-profiler

Ms. O'Toole said this was based on reports. What reports? We haven't heard of any.
I am skeptical of talking heads on television, even someone with her credentials.
And whether Mollie casually knew her abductor or if the person was someone she had never seen, I do believe this was a SK. Maybe even someone who lived in plain sight of everyone.

If, however, the perp is someone who was stalking her and wants her kept alive for his own use (ugh...hate that thought!), she may not be found for a long period of time.

I pray the FBI and detectives are far ahead of us and will rescue her and bring her home.

 

[dub]

So where did she encounter this known person? If the theory is in a small town people see everything, they see known people as well as strangers interacting with or near someone who has now been missing for three weeks. Notice no one is reporting 'Ya, I saw her chatting with a guy in a baseball hat at Casey's', or whatever.

I don't think the theory exactly is "people see everything in small towns". (Or maybe it is, but that's not the way I took it, or the way I see it myself).

More specifically, it's that people in small towns have a better pulse on the things that they DO see, but not necessarily that they "see" anymore.

For example, if I went for a jog (or drive, whatever) around Mollie's neighborhood, someone might see me, might not. But if someone DID see me, they would be very likely to know that I wasn't a local/that my car wasn't local.

Whereas if I went for a jog around my apartment complex, again, someone might or might not see me, but if they did, 95% of the people would have no idea as to whether I lived here or not.

 

[Emilyf886]

Apologies for the slight OT tangent here, but my family grows corn in Kansas and I am all too familiar. As a 4-5 year old toddler, I once wandered out into a corn field adjacent to our house and got stuck in deep mud from irrigation runoff for several hours. Our Doberman Pinscher stayed by my side the entire time and eventually dragged me out by my shirt...no kidding.

In my opinion, you could definitely dispose of a body in a corn field if you were so inclined...of course, whatever's left would be found in October. As for some guy hiding on the edge of a corn field and jumping out or something...that seems decidedly less likely.

Wonder if she ran from someone into the corn fields and got herself stuck (i am just channeling LE in the LISK regarding Ms. Gilbert)

 

[jillycat]

I am convinced she was taken during her run.

It all comes back to the Fitbit...

- When Tibbetts' Fitbit pinged at a hog farm about 10 miles southeast of the house in Brooklyn, IA, where she was last seen, police searched the area but found nothing, Mortved(Mitch Mortvedt, spokesperson for the Iowa Division of Criminal Investigation) said. Source: https://www.refinery29.com/2018/07/205956/mollie-tibbetts-missing-university-of-iowa-student

So they got a Fitbit "ping" at the hog farm. In order for the Fitbit to "ping", it was using GPS via her phone. In normal mode, Fitbits do not use GPS. The only way for it to get and use GPS information is for it to be put into an activity mode (running, biking swimming, etc). Mollie's Fitbit's (Alta HR) only activity mode is called MobileRun, which is activated through the Fitbit app on her phone. MobileRun is how one tracks their run, by providing heart rate, distance, and time overlayed on the GPS route data. When one finishes their run, they stop MobileRun(through the Fitbit app on the phone), which then shows the results and allows one to compare previous runs. So Mollie's Fitbit was using MobileRun when it "pinged" at or near the hog farm.

Putting all this together... Mollie activated MobileRun at the beginning of her run but never stopped MobileRun. Combine this with her missing workout outfit, missing headphones, dogs in the basement, and an undisturbed house. I think it is almost certain Mollie was taken on her run. It also explains how LE is confident in their timeline.
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I agree with you and have a question. In what scenario if she was no longer jogging or already deceased, being taken by car to that area, or left there, or the FitBit was tossed there, would the FitBit yield information?

 

[Twinny]

Winner, winner, chicken dinner !

That stetch of road past the highschool going to her mums is very isolated

 

[Mom24]

I'm still on the fence on where everything happened, but I do believe if it didn't happen during her run, it happened as she got home. The house is set back from the road, plenty of time after she left for someone to get ready to grab her. I don't believe her neighbor would have seen a car in her driveway. It may have been someone she knew, he was waiting for her, she walked over to the car and got in to chat.

 

[mnnative]

A few other people have said that cornfields are so thick you could easily hide something in them. I don't know about hiding a person in them, but I know they are thick. I took a close look at the cornfield around me driving home last night. Where I live the corn is so closely planted that there aren't even rows to walk between actually. It looks like just a couple inches between rows. It is packed so close that even a small dog couldn't walk through the field here in IL. lol

That is because you're looking at the outer rows which are running parallel to the road. If you step in and look down the rows you'll see that there is plenty of room between the bases of the plants. There has to be in order to harvest it with a combine.

 

[Q.E.D.]

lateott's theory:

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

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

Mary Ellen O’Toole, a former FBI profiler and director of the forensic sciences program at George Mason University

Mollie Tibbetts likely went off in car with someone she knew, says FBI ex-profiler

It seems that lateott's theory could be in the wheelhouse of what O'Toole suggests. While we can't say if the person lateott suggests was in anyway involved in this case or accuse the person of any kind of crime at all for that matter, the theory is compelling enough (given what the profiler said) that it would seem prudent that it was given to the tipline to let LE sort out. They may have already looked into it, and probably already dismissed it, but it would seem smart to have all the bases covered.

 

[Doghairrules]

Nah, you're nowhere near crazy. I've had almost the exact same scenario play out in my own mind and I'm definitely NOT crazy (wink wink).

O/T: yep. The first sign of being NOT crazy is assuring yourself and your friends that you’re not. Lol

 

[Vedder]

Jumping in late here but it stands to reason that if she did not take her wallet, she was not heading to pick up the car for work, willingly leaving with someone she knew, etc. This, in addition to the fact that she did not show up for dinner at her mother’s would point toward her disappearing on her r
A person that would be capable of engaging in a one-sided obsessive "relationship" might very well have trouble making, or chooses to avoid having close friends.

BBM - I don't think it's unusual that she didn't take her wallet. If I were taking a run to my mom's a mile away, all I'd take is my phone & keys (because I lock my doors). Honestly I wouldn't worry about not having my license on me on the drive back to the bf's house.

Moooo

 

[gliving]

3 motives for murder - sex, money and revenge

 

[bestill]

If LE is confident in their timeline than why don't they release when they feel she was taken? It just seems that may trigger new tips, imo.

 

[MisterMayor]

I mentioned this in a longer post (which most probably did not read!) but I think this simple fact is worth throwing out there for some to work into their theories on what happened:

As far we know, Mollie's mom was not so alarmed that Mollie did not show up for dinner, despite their text exchange, for her to call the police or start looking for her until the next morning at the earliest. This just indicates to me that her failure to show up at mom's, alone, is not enough to prove that she went missing on her jog.

 

[Love Never Fails]

Whoever took her I don't believe she knew him that well because if she did, someone (a friend, family member) would know about him and would be her "enabler." A girl like her who seems smart would not be meeting someone without letting at least 1 person know about what's going on. She'd likely confide to a college friend, someone with no ties to her boyfriend or family. She may have even known this person through a friend. But there's been no information about that. So if this guy was barely known to her, I doubt she would feel comfortable meeting him in jogging attire. She'd at least get dolled up, even to meet a newish friend who's just a friend. And if this was an awkward guy type, I also don't think she'd be meeting him in just shorts and a sports bra. She'd only be comfortable enough to meet a longtime friend in these sweaty clothes, but that someone many people would already know about. And the fact that her bf didn't know she was meeting anyone, if she did arrange to meet someone it would be someone she felt romantic about so again she wouldn't be meeting him in sweaty clothes.

Some stranger grabbed her off the street? Seems a bit unlikely, I think she would have at least screamed so someone would have heard.
Maybe it was someone she knew who appeared out of the blue and offered her a ride. Why did her watch die at the pig farm? Did he take her out there and smash the watch himself? No way does it just die on the way to wherever while she's in the car. And if it died while laying on the ground for hours I'm sure they would've found it by now. Or did she happen to turn it off as they drove by the farm? Maybe the guy told her to.
Since there may be evidence she returned to her bf's house, he could've come into the house first and prepared a chloroform rag which would be why there's no sign of struggle. But the only evidence is her doing homework on the laptop, but how did they realize that? A file timestamp? Maybe that was just autosaved. I find it odd that she would go straight to her hw without showering or at least doing anything else that would have disturbed the home (at least take off her shoes?).

Agree with what you said except about a stranger grabbing her off the street. I live in a rural community also with homes closer than the maps show in her community. These days, with windows closed, air conditioners and televisions on, you cannot hear anyone screaming outside. So I doubt anyone would have heard.

 

[Hypothetical]

Forgive me if this has already been covered, but how far is it from Casey's down 398 to her Mom's house? And do we know if she was heading toward Casey's when she passed DR's house or away?

Possible scenario is she passed DR's house and turned on 398 to head to Mom's for dinner. My gut (which means absolutely nothing) says snatch and grab in plain site somewhere on 398 between Casey's and Mom's

 

[bestill]

3 motives for murder - sex, money and revenge

I don't think it's money in this case.

 

[sripey]

I agree with you and have a question. In what scenario if she was no longer jogging or already deceased, being taken by car to that area, or left there, or the FitBit was tossed there, would the FitBit yield information?

The Fitbit app syncs to her Fitbit account. The only way her Fitbit "pinged" near the hog farm was because it was still in SmartRun and that information was synced to her Fitbit account.

edited to add...this only means that her Fitbit was there at some point. For whatever reason(phone turned off/destroyed, Fitbit destroyed, phone no longer in proximity to the Fitbit, either phone or Fitbit discarded) the hog farm is where the Fitbit last "contacted home"

 

[MisterMayor]

BBM - I don't think it's unusual that she didn't take her wallet. If I were taking a run to my mom's a mile away, all I'd take is my phone & keys (because I lock my doors). Honestly I wouldn't worry about not having my license on me on the drive back to the bf's house.

Moooo

Agreed, I was thinking more like it would rule out her getting picked up on the way to get the car for work in the morning. In that case, I would think she would take her wallet. However, she may have left in the morning with the intention to get the car, come back home, get ready and go to work etc.

 

[NewYork625]

So many times something like this has to do with an intimate relationship. We know her bf was out of town and is cleared. We wonder if she willingly went with someone. Who could that be? Is this person married? (if this is the case)
A random kidnapping is well, random so I put that pretty far down on the totem pole. I'm still thinking whoever she went with is someone local. Did this person tell her there was an emergency he needed help with?
Also, the company next door to the house. Security cameras went out that night? Isn't that odd for it to be that night and then this circumstance?

Since the security camera was out, if there is a connection, someone didn't want to be seen taking Mollie from either in or near the house, or visiting her and talking her into going for a ride. Since there were sightings of her jogging, perhaps that someone had become acquainted with her routine and took her or convinced her to go for a ride as she returned from her jog?
The timing of the camera going out might be of interest. If it is true (I don't know that it is) that it was thought to be due to something natural like lightning, maybe instead the reason for it going out is because someone was clever enough to make look like it going out was a natural occurrence?