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

[MsBetsy]

Someone up-thread noted that the family said that when they entered the house the first time after Mollie went missing they found the dogs with food/water and maybe not making too much/any mess of the basement floor? I haven't seen that info myself but if it's accurate, that leans toward Mollie having put them in the basement more toward the morning--or those are some light-eating dogs with strong bowels/bladders.

All I remember being said was that the dogs were fine. Nothing about food or water, unless I missed something.

 

[lawandorder]

Mollie’s story reminds of Rachel Cooke who went missing many years ago while jogging in Georgetown, Texas.

 

[Dustyblue]

It would be a mistake to assume that because I took a screen shot of the highway without traffic, there is no traffic on the highway.

Do people jog in ditches next to highways in Iowa when there are perfectly safe alternate routes that are flat, safe, and don't involve highway ditches?

Yes.

 

[Falcon500]

By the language use of the family it seems that that’s what is expected or already known.

I mean in your scenario do the police know that she is dead? If they do have probable cause to believe that she is dead but don’t have a body then yes, the would charge the suspect with murder.

 

[Crystal Regan]

The employees at Mollie's work didn't have to wear the red shirts everyday. So that video may well have been taken at the day-care/kids-camp place at Grinnell Medical Center where Mollie worked.

Possibly wore them on days when they had field trips planned so children could easily identify workers.

 

[First_responder]

Are there areas around there with poor cell service? What was her provider ?

 

[thesaint]

Possibly, but I can't reconcile the family statements about her working online doing homework with the statement that she never returned. One or both of these statments is false but I'm not sure which.

If LE truly has GPS data from her fitbit, they'll know exactly when Mollie arrived home from her run (if she did) and exactly what time the fitbit pings at/near the pig farm occurred. Perhaps why the mom changed her tune a bit?

LE keeping that info from the public while they question potential poi's wouldn't be surprising.

 

[Deleted member 227095]

Does it seem realistic that Mollie would jog along a highway where the speed limit is 45 MPH and there's barely any room on the shoulder?

There are other routes for jogging between the house-sit and her mom's house that do not involve running on the narrow shoulder of a highway.

In this photo, her mom's house is the exit at the next right. It seems like it would be dangerous to run on that highway and since there are safer routes, wouldn't Mollie choose a safer route?

Agree that this road would not be safe and not offer MT a pleasant run as one truck or car passing and you would be covered in dust or dusted with stones and debris. Given the lack of shoulder its possible in the vehicle were going fast enough that you could be pushed into the ditch area.

 

[wary]

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 ..

1: Yes, earbuds seem to be part of her standard running routine, and her mother says they are missing.

2: hasn't been mentioned

3: no mention of a specific event. She competed in high school, but I think was just running for pleasure, now.

4: haven't noticed discussion of her
running routine. People in earlier threads were trying to work out her speed from her times in HS competitions. I don't remember what they came up with.

5: not as far as we know.

6: The story is that she was "a creature of habit," with three set runs that she switched off between.

7&8: haven't heard anything.

 

[otto]

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 ..

You ask some really good questions for joggers. If you could do locate any of this information, please share. At this time, nothing like this has been located or shared.

Regarding phone, going from memory, but I believe it was an iphone 7.

Regarding water use in the house, also a very good question. That would help police narrow down the timeline. However, I think police have a timeline regarding Mollie's movements based on her Fitbit, and it seems that it tracked to the Guernsey farm area as an endpoint. Police keep circling back to that location, but I think that police are deliberately led to that location by the abductor and that no evidence of Mollie will be found there. That is, I suspect that this is the location where Mollie's Fitbit and phone were un-synced one way or another.

There's no evidence that Mollie stopped to talk with someone, or hopped in a vehicle with her abductor.

 

[Texasbb252]

I find it difficult to grasp that she only had the 1 work tee shirt.. It's easy to determine if the red shirt found was the same brand/fabric as the screenprinted shirts she wore at work.

Yes me too! Even more so if the shirt wasn’t exactly the same type of work shirt I hope that they didn’t just out right say well no her shirt would have a name of the daycare on it. My sister works at a small restaurant and they have specific work shirts but are allowed to wear basic shirts that are the same color as the work shirts as well.

 

[southernmimi]

Right away, I know nothing about this case, but I don't think any LE has a clue where she is. Not saying they aren't very skilled and dedicated servants, but she's been gone over a month. If she was in danger, too much time has passed. No signs of any activity on any accounts, and no sightings of her. The reward is very high yet no one has offered any credible information.... that we know of anyway. I believe she is no longer with us. Hopefully, continued efforts will locate her or find who harmed her.

 

[First_responder]

If LE truly has GPS data from her fitbit, they'll know exactly when Mollie arrived home from her run (if she did) and exactly what time the fitbit pings at/near the pig farm occurred. Perhaps why the mom changed her tune a bit?

LE keeping that info from the public while they question potential poi's wouldn't be surprising.

They wouldn't need the fitbit, her phone would ping the GPS signal with the location turned on. The fitbit is an accessory for the phone but independently would do nothing to help unless LE was in possession of it.. And if that's the case, then MT is most likely deceased.

 

[gobble]

If LE truly has GPS data from her fitbit, they'll know exactly when Mollie arrived home from her run (if she did) and exactly what time the fitbit pings at/near the pig farm occurred. Perhaps why the mom changed her tune a bit?

LE keeping that info from the public while they question potential poi's wouldn't be surprising.

Curious what you mean by mom changing her tune? I personally find the body language and verbiage of the family members off. Why that is would be pure speculation. Maybe they’ve been instructed. Maybe they are hiding some information from each other or from LE and not just the public.

 

[human]

The what? I'm not familiar with that--is it an app?

No. Or maybe it could be. It is maybe on Facebook.

You put in your area and you can join a neighborhood group. People put things for sale, lost dogs, suspicious people, etc. Google Nextdoor and put in the area.

 

[margarita25]

I think the idea is the fitbit could be somewhere in those fields or woods, undiscovered. The perp might not have known it was going to rain and storm and go undiscovered for weeks.

This reminds me...I recall from Alexis Murphy’s case that the Virginia Dept of Corrections has a K9 team that is specifically trained to detect cellphones (contraband).

 

[MsBetsy]

If LE truly has GPS data from her fitbit, they'll know exactly when Mollie arrived home from her run (if she did) and exactly what time the fitbit pings at/near the pig farm occurred. Perhaps why the mom changed her tune a bit?

LE keeping that info from the public while they question potential poi's wouldn't be surprising.

Excellent point and it explains everything about her mom changing her mind to thinking it happened on her run

 

[1987]

not being sarcastic, really would like to know, exactly how can a dog tell if they smell someone from yesterday or today or last week? if she regularly run a route seems a dog wouldn't know when she was there. I understand at some point the scent will be gone, but if some is somewhere everyday then how to draw a line on time. how far can a scent drift? so if picked up scent 15 ft off road would that mean absolutely that is exactly where was or just somewhere near?













/

 

[cluciano63]

I mean in your scenario do the police know that she is dead? If they do have probable cause to believe that she is dead but don’t have a body then yes, the would charge the suspect with murder.

But they would need some evidence of death, other than her just not being around? Crime scene, blood, at least threats I believe. There are cases of missing people, with POI, yet no arrest for years.

 

[Texasbb252]

I wonder if they’ve checked to see if she has a “map my run” app profile (you can look people up I think) or log. Those are sometimes public and maybe hold some gps information regarding her run. There are other running apps as well.


*she does have one. But it says data not available. Either she never used it or the fbi has swiped the data from it*

 

[thesaint]

Are there areas around there with poor cell service? What was her provider ?

Generally even in small towns you'll get steady cell service that doesn't drop; as they have sufficient towers to blanket the town. Once you get outside those small towns cell towers are fewer and further in between. Be interesting to take a cell phone out by the pig farm and see how the service is. Could be a point where service drops.

and the further away from cell towers you are your battery starts to drain faster and faster, as your device will generally pump up its signal and constantly scan in an attempt to get service.