Found Deceased IA - Mollie Tibbetts, 20, Poweshiek County, 19 Jul 2018 #22

[RavenCC2020]

Hi,
I am new here. I am a technology professional and a bit of a hacker and technology forensic as well.
My thoughts are:
If they have MT's laptop and her phone was synced to a Google or an iCloud account (which nearly all phones are these days) then LE should have to all of the location information they would need to track MTs location up to the time she disappeared, especially if she was taking her phone on her runs, as many witnesses have claimed. Moreover, the back up of the phone should include all of the data files LE would need to read all of the messages that were on the phone when it was last backed up. That said, it seems that LE may be wasting time trying to obtain the Fitbit information via warrants when that same information is probably within an apple or Google account.

Browser and application use history would also be useful information to have. This would be useful in understanding MT's state of mind before the disappearance. I can't imagine she would have disappeared willingly without looking up something related to the topic of doing so.

I also wonder if they have checked the router logs from her boyfriend's house. At the very least that would give them an idea of the last time one of her devices was connected to the wifi network within the house and would, therefore, give them an idea of whether she was taken from the house or whether she disappeared during the run. Under ideal circumstances, the router data could give them browser history, password hashes, etc.

Correct me if I am wrong, but we don't know for sure that the last ping came from near WCs pig farm. That is speculation, correct?
Even if we were 100% certain of the last tower the phone pinged that doesn't necessarily give a highly accurate representation of her location, especially if we don't know the locations of other cell towers in the area.

Assuming:
-that the FBI has someone who is better at this stuff than me, and knowing that if I had MTs laptop, I would have been able to gather and analyze all of the aforementioned data within a timeframe of 1-5 days
- that RTs messaging to the public about "someone she knew took her" is strategic;
- that anyone who loves their dogs enough to hire a dogsitter for them wouldn't normally be keeping them in the basement with plenty of food and water. ( I feed my dog two times a day a rationed portion of food, because if I let him have access to unlimited amounts of food, he would eat himself into a gluttonous diabetic coma)
- that if she left her boyfriend's house after her run to walk to her mom's, she would have communicated that to her mom in some fashion.

My conclusion is that she was likely taken by someone who knew her from her bfs house and who she had interacted with at least a few times. This person likely knew her well enough to know that she would feel better about leaving the house if she knew the dogs would be fed if she did not return. He knew her well enough to know her routine and when she would be most vulnerable. I imagine this person stalked her, which means he would have had to possess the time to do so. I would guess that he is likely a divorced father, a college student, unemployed, disabled, retired, and/or someone whose profession it is to sit around in a car and wait for something to happen (LE) (no offense).
The absence of a crime scene tells me that his attack was planned out, and that this person is meticulous and organized, and would also lead me to believe that it is probable that he older than college age.
He probably owns a gun.
I believe he probably was knocked on the door while she was doing homework. He lied and said there was something he needed help with (ie. Flat tire). She let him in for a minute. He pulled a gun. She said, ok dont shoot, let me feed the dogs and I will go with you. He follows her downstairs. She feeds dogs. He tells her to get her phone. She gets phone. They get in his vehicle, he tells her to power off the phone, and they leave.

Hopefully she is being held somewhere and she is not dead. If I was LE, I would be looking at divorced dad's who occasionally picked their kids up from daycare, who own guns, and who have large properties with multiple structures on site or second properties where they could hold someone hostage without being discovered.

I have to admit I found your synopsis very interesting. I have to ask though what leads you to your conclusion of where it happened and by what type of person.

 

[SharonNeedles]

My feeling, unequivocally, is that Mollie was not snatched off the streets of Brooklyn. Not during her run, not after, not at all.

Meaning?

Meaning if she was snatched at all, the only place that looks even remotely possible is in her own driveway. Up for debate if that's plausible or not, but that's really the weakest point.

If she got into a car anywhere along that route I believe she had to have done so willingly.

 

[who knew?]

If Molly were missing voluntarily, certainly she must now know that tons of people are looking for her and are devastated, including multiple law enforcement. I can't imagine, from what we have been told, that she could be that cruel and without conscience. Who could do that? I know I couldn't even be gone a short time without checking in with someone in my family, because I know they worry about me, and I am a grown woman. I cannot even begin to fathom that she left voluntarily and continues to be gone without contact. However, I like everyone, can't come up with a reasonable idea of what happened and why no one can locate her. MOO. Thanks, Katt

Not gone voluntarily! We are saying she may have gotten into a car voluntarily, but then was taken away. She didn’t want to go and had no intention of not coming back within minutes or an hour or so. I don’t think she was pregnant, a bad girl, or dating a married man. She may have been nice to someone who had issues and that person decided she belonged to him. Or some guy flirted with her, and she innocently flirted back (since we hear she was fun-loving), but someone took it too far. IDK, but going missing voluntarily is way different than voluntarily accepting a ride, or whatever.

 

[Katharine]

I was not even familiar with fitbits until this case. My daughter jogs but she uses a phone app that counts her steps etc but not sure what it is and how she accesses it. It really is good to learn these things but honestly, most of the stuff marketed to younger people I would have no practical use for. My kids are always telling me to download this or that app to do this or that and it is basically all white noise to me. I make jewelry so if there is no app to help me make jewelry, it doesn't pertain to me ROFL

I have heard of fitbits from another case but cannot recall which one. It simply sounds like an amazing device as I learn more and more about them from this case.

It is hard to believe the apps out there and I am usually leery since not being tech savvy of what all is okay to download on a phone.

This was so interesting and I am sure there are many more. My brother's van with over 400,000 miles speedometer broke down a few weeks ago. He down loaded a speedometer app and used it for his van. Wow!!!! This is even without entering make and model of van. them

I do wish so desperately that this techy device, the fitbit, would provide the much needed clue to locate dear sweet Mollie.

Thank you BTW for your awesome posts with your open relationship with your children and their friends. It is so important to constantly try to keep everyone safe.

 

[gforce]

Difficult to speculate, without checking in with a manager. But, Caseys has fresh coffee and donuts, pizza by the slice (or by the box for carryout), snacks and other junk food, in addition to gas. So, it’s more than possible.

When LE requested video I don’t know if that just means video from inside the store or if there is also a camera that is outside that might cover part of the car traffic that passes.

 

[Momma2cam]

I started following around thread 8 (I believe). I tried to skim the earlier articles so forgive me if this is repetitive. I know there were various initial reports of her clothing, with the first being jean shorts and a red shirt. Then a black sports bra and running shoes. Then a pink sports bra and black shorts. Then a pink sports bra and black khakis/yoga pants.

I'm curious if the witness reports of her running that night are inaccurate (perhaps unintentionally) given she ran regularly and it may be easy to forget day to day when/if someone saw her. One may even assume they saw her because most nights they did.

Video footage from Casey's would confirm this for LE but of course we do not have that info right now.

What if the video does not show Mollie at all? What if her fit bit corroborates this. What if LE know she was not running at all that night? Maybe she actually met foul play immediately after leaving work/getting home. Maybe she was still wearing her red shirt and jean shorts from work, as originally reported. Maybe the perp took her running shorts, shoes, sports bra as a diversion as they know she typically runs.

Maybe LE is keeping all of this, the timeline, close to the vest for obvious reasons that the perp would be the only one to know she never went jogging. Maybe she was not the one to text her mom about dinner.

Maybe I missed something big that would make this completely impossible.

MOO.

 

[SharonNeedles]

That's interesting. Not snatched at all would mean that she is voluntarily missing.

No, I don't think she's voluntarily missing at this point. Possible I guess, but that's a hard sell for me now.

 

[feralwriter]

Difficult to speculate, without checking in with a manager. But, Caseys has fresh coffee and donuts, pizza by the slice (or by the box for carryout), snacks and other junk food, in addition to gas. So, it’s more than possible.

Casey's 2017 Annual Report is online, with the # of Iowa stores in total. Might have individual store stats? My local Iowa City Casey's are/were very crowded, if even just for the bathroom opportunities, lol. A far smaller town like Brooklyn could see a Casey's there take on a more familiar, local hangout type vibe.

 

[who knew?]

I’m calling it a night. I sure hope something breaks tomorrow.

 

[JudgeJudi]

Always nice to have eyewitness testimony to put a perp on the crime scene at least.

Digital technology is far superior. Eyewitness testimony can be totally unreliable. Just because someone says something confidently doesn't mean it's true. Some 75% of the wrongful convictions for rape and murder, including a number that led to people being scheduled for execution, were based on eyewitness testimony.

http://www.sciencemag.org/news/2014/10/how-reliable-eyewitness-testimony-scientists-weigh

 

[wary]

For instance, it wouldn't lead searchers right to her if it had died, was ditched, or destroyed.

If it were true that the ping last sent a signal 10+ miles away on the highway, it would only mean the phone was there at the point when one of those events occurred.

Right--but I was responding to a theory that she might have gone into the corn voluntarily, and had an incapacitating asthma attack there. For theories of that sort, we have to believe that her phone died enough earlier that it wouldn't help searchers find her, and that the ping ten miles away was just a rumor, and false. (But that raises the question of what made LE search so long there.)

 

[Q.E.D.]

I started following around thread 8 (I believe). I tried to skim the earlier articles so forgive me if this is repetitive. I know there were various initial reports of her clothing, with the first being jean shorts and a red shirt. Then a black sports bra and running shoes. Then a pink sports bra and black shorts. Then a pink sports bra and black khakis/yoga pants.

I'm curious if the witness reports of her running that night are inaccurate (perhaps unintentionally) given she ran regularly and it may be easy to forget day to day when/if someone saw her. One may even assume they saw her because most nights they did.

Video footage from Casey's would confirm this for LE but of course we do not have that info right now.

What if the video does not show Mollie at all? What if her fit bit corroborates this. What if LE know she was not running at all that night? Maybe she actually met foul play immediately after leaving work/getting home. Maybe she was still wearing her red shirt and jean shorts from work, as originally reported. Maybe the perp took her running shorts, shoes, sports bra as a diversion as they know she typically runs.

Maybe LE is keeping all of this, the timeline, close to the vest for obvious reasons that the perp would be the only know to know she never went jogging. Maybe she was not the one to text her mom about dinner.

Maybe I missed something big that would make this completely impossible.

MOO.

Whoa. Creepy. I'm sure stranger things have happened though!

 

[otto]

Meaning if she was snatched at all, the only place that looks even remotely possible is in her own driveway. Up for debate if that's plausible or not, but that's really the weakest point.

If she got into a car anywhere along that route I believe she had to have done so willingly.

What would induce her to get into someone's car when her habits are to have a run, make arrangements for the car, eat, do homework, prepare for the field trip, and sleep at either her mom's or her boyfriend's house?

What would cause her to break that routine?

 

[SharonNeedles]

We dont know that she was jogging to her moms house at all.

I'd be really interested now in knowing if jogging or walking to her mom's house was something she even does. Most of what I saw on the South side of town and especially the SE seemed like excellent routes to run. Getting up to her mom's place on the NE side of town just seems awkward.

 

[MesquiteO21]

Sigh..mollie where are you?
I feel like a hamster going around on a wheel. Trying so hard but not getting anywhere. I'm losing my sanity. Goodnight all, I'll probably be back Monday for the presser. Let's hope Mollie comes home before then.

 

[jmk59]

Meaning if she was snatched at all, the only place that looks even remotely possible is in her own driveway. Up for debate if that's plausible or not, but that's really the weakest point.

If she got into a car anywhere along that route I believe she had to have done so willingly.

Good stuff Needles. How about any of the in-town streets west of Jackson that could be part of her loop. Street lights working or not, remote locations like Boundary St., things like this. Also, is Jackson St. near the HS still without sidewalks?

 

[SharonNeedles]

Is the question:
Would 138 people in a town of 1500, plus surrounding farm population, visit a store like Caseys each day?

Due to Casey's location I wouldn't be surprised. I figure I probably drove past it 8 times today.

 

[Marie224]

Hypothetical...

It was raining (fact)... MT woke up and decided to walk/jog to her mom's house to get the car she shares with her brother then drive to work. She leaves BF house with an umbrella and starts walking... a familiar person sees MT walking in the rain and offers her a ride, she accepts, get in and the rest is history...

How would Fitbit track in this situation? LE would be able to see what time she woke up and took her first step on this day until she got into the car and sat down. For this scenario, let's say MT was sitting still and going along for the ride, even though the car was moving, it wouldn't track any distance/steps on the Fitbit App unless she was talking with her hands/moving her wrist while in the car, but we are assuming MT wasn't. An example would be... BF house to getting into the car is logged in at 500 total steps....then zero to little movements in the car for 20 + miles... MT gets out of the car alive, at an unknown location, and starts walking.. steps would then pick back up and be shown on the app as steps # 501,2,3,4 etc...it would NOT show her location or direction traveled. Hope this helps.

 

[NewYork625]

Hi,
I am new here. I am a technology professional and a bit of a hacker and technology forensic as well.
My thoughts are:
If they have MT's laptop and her phone was synced to a Google or an iCloud account (which nearly all phones are these days) then LE should have to all of the location information they would need to track MTs location up to the time she disappeared, especially if she was taking her phone on her runs, as many witnesses have claimed. Moreover, the back up of the phone should include all of the data files LE would need to read all of the messages that were on the phone when it was last backed up. That said, it seems that LE may be wasting time trying to obtain the Fitbit information via warrants when that same information is probably within an apple or Google account.

Browser and application use history would also be useful information to have. This would be useful in understanding MT's state of mind before the disappearance. I can't imagine she would have disappeared willingly without looking up something related to the topic of doing so.

I also wonder if they have checked the router logs from her boyfriend's house. At the very least that would give them an idea of the last time one of her devices was connected to the wifi network within the house and would, therefore, give them an idea of whether she was taken from the house or whether she disappeared during the run. Under ideal circumstances, the router data could give them browser history, password hashes, etc.

Correct me if I am wrong, but we don't know for sure that the last ping came from near WCs pig farm. That is speculation, correct?
Even if we were 100% certain of the last tower the phone pinged that doesn't necessarily give a highly accurate representation of her location, especially if we don't know the locations of other cell towers in the area.

Assuming:
-that the FBI has someone who is better at this stuff than me, and knowing that if I had MTs laptop, I would have been able to gather and analyze all of the aforementioned data within a timeframe of 1-5 days
- that RTs messaging to the public about "someone she knew took her" is strategic;
- that anyone who loves their dogs enough to hire a dogsitter for them wouldn't normally be keeping them in the basement with plenty of food and water. ( I feed my dog two times a day a rationed portion of food, because if I let him have access to unlimited amounts of food, he would eat himself into a gluttonous diabetic coma)
- that if she left her boyfriend's house after her run to walk to her mom's, she would have communicated that to her mom in some fashion.

My conclusion is that she was likely taken by someone who knew her from her bfs house and who she had interacted with at least a few times. This person likely knew her well enough to know that she would feel better about leaving the house if she knew the dogs would be fed if she did not return. He knew her well enough to know her routine and when she would be most vulnerable. I imagine this person stalked her, which means he would have had to possess the time to do so. I would guess that he is likely a divorced father, a college student, unemployed, disabled, retired, and/or someone whose profession it is to sit around in a car and wait for something to happen (LE) (no offense).
The absence of a crime scene tells me that his attack was planned out, and that this person is meticulous and organized, and would also lead me to believe that it is probable that he older than college age.
He probably owns a gun.
I believe he probably was knocked on the door while she was doing homework. He lied and said there was something he needed help with (ie. Flat tire). She let him in for a minute. He pulled a gun. She said, ok dont shoot, let me feed the dogs and I will go with you. He follows her downstairs. She feeds dogs. He tells her to get her phone. She gets phone. They get in his vehicle, he tells her to power off the phone, and they leave.

Hopefully she is being held somewhere and she is not dead. If I was LE, I would be looking at divorced dad's who occasionally picked their kids up from daycare, who own guns, and who have large properties with multiple structures on site or second properties where they could hold someone hostage without being discovered.

Welcome! Thank you for the information on the accuracy of the location of the phone ping. I was just trying to look up that information.
I agree completely with your theory. Thank you for your technical expertise and for taking the time to share your thoughts on what might have happened to MT.

ETA The dogs were allowed to sleep in the bed with the homeowners at night. They were apparently kept in the basement when nobody was home because it kept them more calm.
I do have food out at all times for my dogs, but they seem to know how to pace themselves and fortunately neither has gone into a diabetic coma yet.

 

[Stephen Smith]

Well, I think there is a reason that law enforcement stated that she returned home after her run. They probably found that information in browser history, and like I stated I don't believe she would have walked somewhere late at night or planned to go to her mother's home without her mom knowing in advance that she was coming over.
Re: type of person.
If it happened at home which I highly suspect it did, this person must have known she would be at that house, at that time, and alone. That means, he must have stalked her to some degree. To be able to stalk someone, one must have the environmental conditions in their life to be able to do so. For instance, they must have a great deal of alone time, during which they have nothing else to do and no one expecting them to be somewhere (ie. No kids, or have kids part time, and No wife). I would say that it's likely this person has a lot of extra time on their hands. If they have a job, it is likely requires minimum time requirements and they don't have a whole lot going on outside of work. I think that the fact it was so cleans says a lot about how the individual's brain works. Organized and efficient. College kids brains' frontal lobes are not fully developed. They don't have the executive functioning (ie. ability to plan, organize) that someone over the age of thirty does.