Found Deceased IA - Mollie Tibbetts, 20, Poweshiek County, 19 Jul 2018 #21

[Momma2cam]

fwiw, my thoughts on the pink coat tweet:

regardless of this is was a real concern from a citizen or our POI looking to get closer to mollie, once the cop left, mollie probably highlighted to her bf the weirdest/funniest of his questions & approach to her, which was that someone would think she looked 10 years old. doesnt meant she wasnt asked other questions like "is there a child with you here/is it their coat, where did you get that coat etc"

now if this was our POI (which seems unlikely to me but i agree both the lack of report and coincidence she goes missing less than a year later is weird), i can see our POI trying to open a conversation about her coat - it would be something a cop may have basic questions about if they were "investigating something" and depending on how the convo went, it could naturally segue into a brief convo about clothing, etc.

however, why would he even mention a wandering/potentially missing 10 year old: it makes the convo alarming and takes focus away from him and mollie bonding. if this person was using this as an opportunity to talk to mollie AND was in uniform, there are many other ways/brief questions he could approach her about that are more light-hearted & specific to mollie, therefore yielding better results for him (not that mollie would go along with it).

so, if this was our POI i am guessing we are looking someone who is socially awkward, at least around women. or, its not our POI and he was legit asking questions about a girl in a pink coat.

do we know if this library was at university of iowa or brooklyn?

Good points. My assumption was at university of Iowa given it was on a Tuesday in November 2017. JMO.

 

[Charliegizmo49]

Thinking outside the box or going out on a limb... a different idea...

First let me tell you about Micah True, ultra-marathon runner who for years ran long distance races of 100 miles. He was out on a simple 12 mile run (alone) where it appeared he simply sat down beside a creek. He died of an undiagnosed heart problem, an irregular heartbeat during exertion.

Might this have happened to M? Being a runner and appearing physically fit does not show what's happening inside. Did she sense a problem, stop somewhere off a road, and expire? One would think buzzard would have located a body or cadaver dogs, but maybe not.

Just another idea because the others aren't working...

Very very doubtful. This will get easier when there’s anything to work with from law enforcement.

 

[shanadk]

I believe it important to remind all that day care/camps for children have some solid protocols mandating background checks for all administrators, employees, etc. including Mollie. Furthermore, any school receiving government subsidies require multi-level criminal background checks pursuant to CCDBG Act of 2014. Enough said...

Are you actually claiming that teachers and administrators NEVER get in trouble with the law?

 

[allboys]

NewYork625

I don't understand. I haven't seen the YouTube video everyone is talking about. I am just trying to figure out if she WAS wearing a red shirt (which again is all speculation) WHY she had that shirt on (or with her) AND her jogging clothes are missing too. I was thinking maybe someone from the camp (I remembered she worked at the camp) lied and said there was an emergency or something and somehow she needed her shirt (but then again WHY would she need her shirt). So I guess I am trying to grasp at straws here. There was probably never a red shirt, but I am thinking that there could be a red shirt involved and that red shirt is why the FBI got involved so soon with the investigation. But her jogging outfit is ALSO gone alone with her headphones and Fibit and I guess her phone too. I am thinking someone still asked her to meet them and she knew them and trusted them. Then things turned South for some reason. But also I am wondering WHY she would have her red shirt with her in addition to her jogging clothes. I am just speculating on people she worked with BECAUSE the red shirt is POSSIBLY involved.

Good question. Different scenario, but when new players join my sons' soccer club, we are often asked by the club or team managers if a new player can borrow a jersey for the first couple games of the season (if their jersey order has not arrived yet). Someone chime in here, but early on, I thought it was said that Mollie would be needing to wear her red shirt to work on the 19th because they were going on some kind of outing (was it the fair?) So, speculation of course, but the only scenario I can think of for her being in running clothes, but carrying red shirt, is if someone from work (either new employee or a supervisor) had asked to borrow Mollie's shirt for the following day's camp outing.

 

[Momma2cam]

I believe it important to remind all that day care/camps for children have some solid protocols mandating background checks for all administrators, employees, etc. including Mollie. Furthermore, any school receiving government subsidies require multi-level criminal background checks pursuant to CCDBG Act of 2014. Enough said...

While this is true, many offenders are never convicted and thus do not show up on background checks. I don't think we can rule out a co-worker but would never go so far as to name anyone. I'm confident LE has interviewed her coworkers as a standard part of the investigation. Moo.

 

[lemmon714]

What is the ONE question you would ask LE about this case if you knew they would give you an answer?

We should get three questions so we could triangulate. Will shift MG7s's question to this one:

If you had three questions about this case for LE, what would those three questions be?

 

[MrsWatson]

Are you actually claiming that teachers and administrators NEVER get in trouble with the law?

That actually seems to happen AFTER the deep background checks.

 

[geevee]

It's been bothering me, too. I am a Fitbit wearer. People seem to think the Fitbit is going to provide the answers, but IMHO, the phone will be far more useful in that regard. And some think that a perpetrator would have immediately disabled the phone, but I disagree. She had it in her armband. If someone got her in a vehicle, or she entered the vehicle voluntarily, that person might not have been able to remove her phone from its armband right away. I followed the Charli Scott case very closely and the perp in that case drove her all the way down to the crime scene with her phone active the entire way. That's what let LE to what little they found of her.

I followed that case closely as well (and the endless trial) and have been reminded of the phone, esp. when all we hear about is the FitBit, like it's a distraction from the info gained from the phone.

 

[WildcatRunner]

I think if you tried to jog on the rural highways running between cornfields in farm country, you'd have to with deal with locals slowing down and asking if ya needed a ride. And people fly on those rural 2 lane roads between towns. 55 MPH speed limit but when you're the only car in sight people drive 70+ MPH. I wouldn't trust someone not to glance down at their phone and veer off the road.

I grew up jogging rural roads, and never once did anyone offer me a ride. If I were walking, and not in jogging attire, that would be different, but in jogging gear people just smile and wave.

ETA: I never had a scary encounter with a bad driver, but I had a sibling and a cousin who both were nearly hit (on separate occasions), by drivers who weren't paying attention. They both had to jump into the overgrown dry culverts off the road side to save themselves.

 

[Mom24]

I speculate Mollie had a friend from college she would occasionally have sex with, who took the relationship far more seriously than Mollie did, who would not take too kindly to her ending it or finding out that she has a boyfriend...

I speculate she was picked up after her run by said friend, she breaks up with him or tells him she's in a relationship, and he responds with violence, killing her by accident in a fit of rage. Maybe he punches her in the face and she falls and hits her head? He freaks out and hides her body.

It would explain why the dad might think shes alive: he may of known of this relationship and, probably in denial, assumed her daughter ran off with him. That super long phone call she had with her dad before she went missing might have been about the trickiness and regret of being unfaithful to her boyfriend.

It's something that could have happened, but I think it's unlikely. The UofI was just a short skip down the road from her hometown, it's not like she was going away to college in another state. Her friends and his friends were there with her as well. If she had been going to school farther away without friends and family close by and the ability to see her boyfriend every day, I'd think your scenario was more plausible.

 

[MrsWatson]

I am certain the FBI and LE has every wee nugget of info on her phone and I agree the Fitbit is something of a distraction.

 

[Seattle1]

While this is true, many offenders are never convicted and thus do not show up on background checks. I don't think we can rule out a co-worker but would never go so far as to name anyone. I'm confident LE has interviewed her coworkers as a standard part of the investigation. Moo.

Exactly. <modsnip: unnecessary>

 

[shanadk]

This could be anyone.
In fact, statistics show that psychopaths often assume jobs of authority.

 

[borndem]

Happens all the time. Well, often.

There was a bad outcome like that in Waterloo a few years ago. A Texas physician with a wife and 4 kids started hitting on a 20ish lab tech. He was in state for a 'locum tenums'. Resulted in a nasty murder suicide.

I guess the doc thought being there temporarily would be a perfect set-up after he noticed the lab tech. Meet her, woo her, go back home. Didn't work out that well.

But someone working in Brooklyn or the area for a summer job -- it's possible. Doesn't rule out a night gone wrong with an acquaintance nor does it rule out a SK -- if she is deceased.

 

[carbuff]

It’s a possibility. It however, doesn’t change the fact that I’ve spent hours this morning attempting to find ANY mention of a missing child on that date, and have come up with nil. It doesn’t mean it didn’t happen, but if it was legit, I cannot find mention of it anywhere.

I went back several months, figuring that it could be an older case, but nada.

 

[Jon Glass]

If we were all to be logical... LE knows far more than we do, and I'm sure they have working groups dedicated to all of the most promising leads. They know if her digital footprint ended before she went for her run, or if she made it back home. Also, if she did, they know the timeframe of when that went cold the following morning.
I'm assuming all of the home searched relating to the people who possibly saw her on her run were just the due diligence that goes with the territory of professional LE. Those searches were probably far more related to t crossing than they were to the actual belief that those people were suspected in any way.
WC... I honestly believe this dude, no matter how unsavory we all find his previous actions, has nothing to do with her abduction. I do believe that something digitally pointed LE to the area around his home, but I feel that that is the end of his involvement.
So, where does that leave things..? The remarks by MT's dad are extraordinary... "Don't know how to get out from under"... An amazing thing to say. A misjudged relationship... Another big thing. Whoever is involved, including MT if she were involved willingly, has got to know that this isn't just going to be viewed as something minor. FBI involvement is a major thing. And, if it was something that MT willingly went along with, she would have an incredible amount of responsibility to live up to. All of those faces from her hometown, basically the entire state of Iowa... Most kids are horrible at admitting minor mistakes, this would go far beyond.
So, I sit here now, knowing that I don't know much. We all want MT to be safe. We also want to close the loop on this because we want to know what we don't know... Even if LE gave us all they have, this will remain a mystery until MT resurfaces. In my opinion, if there was something that "they" don't know how to get out from under, this could drag on for a long time.

 

[MsBetsy]

I've read through almost the entire 21 threads about MT. There are a few things that seem to be perpetuated through the postings that I question as I haven't seen press releases with these facts Forgive me if I've missed it, but I'm going to ask. I ask as a runner and someone with experiences with cases in NY, PA, and FL.

1. Was MT actually known to run with earbuds in?

2. Was she a member of RunnersWorld where running routes, times, and distances are posted?

3. Was she training for a specific running event as she was an "avid runner"?

4. What did her weekly running routine look like? Was it composed of a long run and shorter daily runs? What was her average running speed?

5. Was her FitBit linked to mapmyrun?

6. Was she known to stick to road running or maybe take a trail if one became available along the way?

7. If she was a "friend" on Facebook, we're her workout posts detailed?

8. Has Google been contacted to see if her boyfriends address was search for Maps locally? They have the ability to see this information and also the ESN of any cell phone in the area to cross reference.

She seems serious about her running as in someone who jogs in place at a red light, so I don't think she would stop in the middle of a workout to "chat". If it were me and someone had to talk or needed guidance, I would tell them to meet me at X in Xminutes when I'm done with my run...
No change of clothes, wouldn't need to go back to the BF house and if she did it might just be to grab a drink and walk outside to meet the person ...
It would be dark at this time so walking and talking and the POI takes her to where his car is and offers her a ride home since it's dark and she's a lone female... After a talk like that one would be comfortable taking a short ride in most cases...

Just my thoughts ..

Apparently there were 3 different routes she always took on her jogs. She wasn't a serious runner. She ran track in high school but her brother stated she decided she wasn't as talented at long distance running and focused her talents on theatre and speech writing. So I hope that answers that part of your question, I think she jogged for enjoyment and exercise

 

[First_responder]

<modsnipped>

I think she was just maturing... The freshman 15 also.... She's only 5'2". Most runners, even those running marathons, don't LOOK like professional runners. The high intensity, short interval training she did in track wouldn't be the same in her own and I would assume she stuck to longer, even paced runs.

 

[Fascinated1]

She mentioned lit homework and the date is smack dap in the semester, so Iowa city and IU is where I was searching for info from.

it

IMO—she looked young. She got off a bus. Someone (adult) saw her, mistook her for a very young person, and was worried that a child might be alone/lost/other situation. I don’t think they were looking for a missing child as a result of a report of a missing child....does that make sense? I think LE MISCHARACTERIZED it to her but not for anything else than following up with why a young girl got off a bus alone.

 

[jman07]

I think some of these theories are getting pretty elaborate and unrealistic. Even though everyone, including LE, has found this case to be very complex and frustrating, Mollie is still missing. Just because the case of finding her is so complex doesn't mean that what happened to her is equally as complex.