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

[Goe]

New theory in search for missing college student Mollie Tibbetts

 

[SharonNeedles]

Sharon, are you still doing your " walk around" today? Sorry if you already discussed it I am desperately trying to catch up. I really wanted to know your findings!

I’m putting it off until tomorrow, we both need big time naps!

 

[i'm someone]

I have long thought that Tricia should separate actual sleuthing threads from those who wish to empathize with victims, victims families, etc... These cases are heartbreaking and a lot of people can relate in one way or another. There should be separate place for all of that energy.

For me, one of the issues has been that there is a lot of "no sleuthing!" warnings, then some people don't want personal experience or certain theories mentioned, then we're reminded to stay OT. I think the problem is there has been no development in her case, and nothing is being shared by authorities. All we are left with is conjecture and discussing what might have happened.

 

[Whiteorchids]

over 1 million and you probably will have most PI's and bounty hunters in the country on this case, at least to some degree. Where is Elon Musk?

My point is maybe someone does know something to lead LE to Mollie but thinks hey this is going up higher on a daily basis I might as well wait until the golden pot gets huge and be rich.

 

[margarita25]

Elizabeth smart. Sherri papini .

Jaycee Dugard. AH. Castro’s victims.

 

[Electric Sheep]

The dogs were typically left in the basement when residents were not home, and Mollie would have brought them upstairs if she was home, and also to sleep with her.

I keep wishing she took the dogs with her for the run.

 

[Mom24]

I posted this earlier today......

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: Everything We Know About The Disappearance Of University Of Iowa Student Mollie Tibbetts

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.

Ok, I'll admit I've tried to understand the whole fitbit thing and read the posts, but I'm a total idiot who should probably not even be allowed to use a mouse. So bear with me, when someone starts a run or an activity they start the MobileRun, but they have to manually stop it? So if someone stops moving or sits for a period of time, it doesn't stop on its own?

 

[VeryVeritas]

I posted this earlier today......

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: Everything We Know About The Disappearance Of University Of Iowa Student Mollie Tibbetts

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.

If this is in fact true, it explains the searches at the hog farm. Because it pinged there, doesn't mean that she met her end there(although that is certainly possible). She and/or the fitbit may have been in a vehicle that passed down that road. The hog farm is on the other side of I-80 by quite a distance and so that was not part of her run path. I agree she likely was taken during the end of her run, or very shortly after her run. It seems very likely as the FBI profiler said that she probably got in willingly. The fitbit may have been tossed out the window of a vehicle there... it may have been tossed into the back of a truck... or maybe she was forced to throw it out herself. The phone may have followed a similar pattern. Who could have got her to get into a vehicle voluntarily?

 

[jman07]

They need to cap the reward and make the terms indicate for arrest/conviction as well as safe return.

I hope L.e would not see her father out there at the fair begging for help if they are steps away from an arrest. They could let the family know that much, without naming anyone.

Totally agree. It needs to be capped. The reward money structure has been interesting to me from the beginning.

 

[Deleted member 227095]

El Mago Post: Maybe, just maybe, she made it home after the run then walked towards mom's house where "something" happened.

- So are you saying Des Moines to Jackson, south to Pershing, east on Pershing to Mills? Because NH said he saw her jogging on Pershing but Jackson and Pershing is four blocks from his house. We could speculate she ran west on Pershing on her way home, but my second point confuses that because both can't be true.
- There are also comments floating around WS about her running 'towards the funeral home' on Pershing, so that wouldn't fit that. However, I cannot substantiate that comment through any video or article means at this time and would LOVE to see where that came from.

From DM Register:
Neighbor: Investigators checked running path
Neighbor Dave Collum, a retired maintenance director for the Brooklyn-Guernsey-Malcom school district, told The Associated Press that he was interviewed by investigators who told him that data from Tibbetts' Fitbit showed she jogged past his home that evening and made it home from the run safely. He said investigators told him she was doing homework on her computer later that evening.

Winker declined to confirm that claim at the news conference. The director of investigations described himself as confident in the timeline the investigative team had constructed, but he declined to tell reporters if Tibbetts disappeared on her run or when she returned home.

Collum said he has known Tibbetts' family for years and often sat near them during Mass at the local Catholic church. He said she's not the type of person who would run away, and that he's worried she was the victim of a stalker or a random abduction.

For the folks that say she was grabbed on the run I keep coming back to this article which itself is strange on many levels. MT allegedly jogged by this house that evening, made it home safely and LE allegedly told this person she was doing homework on computer later that evening.

Either this info is untrue/red herring put out their by LE or it was released in error to the public and is true. I believe the family also made statements about the homework that evening.

 

[shanadk]

Elizabeth smart. Sherri papini .

LE has not shared any evidence of an abduction. Why are people making that assumption?
Remember, she had just gotten her first passport...

 

[heywaycool]

The Day before Molly's disappearance, I understand she also stayed at the house alone. Maybe I've watched too many movies, but when you had the house to yourself, that signaled a party or at least having some friends over. Basically taking away some of the boredom or loneliness of being alone. Any reports of what may have gone on the night before if anything? It wouldn't necessarily be something she would have shared with her boyfriend. Her Fitbit if she was wearing it the night b4 could have some good info on when she went to sleep (mine is pretty accurate with sleep times, deep/Rem sleep). That being said, perhaps someone who was there the night before decided to show up the next night as well.

 

[Marie224]

So for it to turn off it would have to run out of battery or be destroyed? Or just away from the phone without having built in gps. The ones that we have turn off. Different than hers though.

I don't know what model MT fitbit is. I have the Alta... It is always on, I can see when the battery is low and when it needs to be charged.. There is no on/off switch or a way for me change the settings or do anything with it.. Everything is controlled on my phone or a PC.

 

[bestill]

Totally agree. It needs to be capped. The reward money structure has been interesting to me from the beginning.

Me too, so low for several days and then the sudden increase and steady since then.

 

[FindHG]

BBM...I knew you would see it my way eventually!


Ok, thanks for the clarification. It's not my forum and if every thread is going to be filled with these personal stories, tips, etc...it may just not be the forum for me. Perhaps there is a communist missing persons forum that is a bit more compartmentalized for those who lack civility and compassion.

LOL. Good luck finding it.

What is your cold eyed theory of what happened to Mollie?

 

[sripey]

Ok, I'll admit I've tried to understand the whole fitbit thing and read the posts, but I'm a total idiot who should probably not even be allowed to use a mouse. So bear with me, when someone starts a run or an activity they start the MobileRun, but they have to manually stop it? So if someone stops moving or sits for a period of time, it doesn't stop on its own?

Correct. It must be stopped manually

 

[Michael Collins]

I posted this earlier today......

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: Everything We Know About The Disappearance Of University Of Iowa Student Mollie Tibbetts

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.

OK on this link read it, it says:

DJ Tibbetts' boyfriend of almost three years, told KCRG he was one of the first to notice that she was missing. He said that while Tibbetts was dog-sitting, he was in Dubuque, which is about two hours away, for work, while his (brothers) were in Ames. Ok is this a misprint does he have more than one brother

 

[mountainguy777]

LE has not shared any evidence of an abduction. Why are people making that assumption?
Remember, she had just gotten her first passport...

Not about abduction, but if alive or not.

 

[Mom24]

Correct. It must be stopped manually

Followup question: can other people see this information? Is there a network of "friends" or contacts you can add so others can see where you are, your route and your time?

 

[Whiteorchids]

Ok, I'll admit I've tried to understand the whole fitbit thing and read the posts, but I'm a total idiot who should probably not even be allowed to use a mouse. So bear with me, when someone starts a run or an activity they start the MobileRun, but they have to manually stop it? So if someone stops moving or sits for a period of time, it doesn't stop on its own?

Does it have to be mobilerun app only? There’s Strava, map my run, my fitnesss pal, etc. I use an Apple Watch which I like better.