Found Deceased IA - Mollie Tibbetts, 20, Poweshiek County, 19 Jul 2018 #27

[Falcon500]

As a Guardian ad litem (child advocate), I can pull a background check on anyone I want through our state law enforcement division for $25. Just need a name, birthdate, state/s of residence, SS# if I have it (the more info, the better)... And that's not because I'm a GAL--anyone can pull one if you pay for it.

What you are getting for $25 is a criminal history check. A background investigation involves weeks or months of interviews, credit checks, traffic tickets, and other revealing information.

 

[cluciano63]

It sounds like there wasn’t really a plan for Mollie to get to work. She must have assumed she would get the car later when she went to eat at Mom’s but never had the chance to go there. And everyone else assumed she had a ride I guess. A lot of assumptions lol when texting is so prevalent. But who knows...

 

[NineMilly]

When I watched Dad/BF interview, it sounded as if this was her first time ever staying at the house to dog sit. She had taken care of the dogs in the past, but never stayed overnight. Something about this arrangement seems too coincidental. The odds of this happening on the very first overnight must be astronomical? Granted, she might not have made it home which may make this a somewhat moot point.

 

[Jazzy5980]

Not in Iowa. All DMV offices (which are the country treasurer and car dealerships) have plates on hand, you get a real plate as soon as you register the car.

Yes, however, when a car is driven off a lot it has a temporary sticker before it is registered with the county.

 

[Periwinkl3]

This line of discussion started because someone opined that the perp might have pulled in to town for gas/food/restroom break/whatever and happened to see her running. There's nothing in town for that but Casey's and a grocery store, so the perspective is why would he drive all the way in town to get something he could get at the truck stop right next to the highway. Some suggested that it might be because some people are afraid of truck stops.

In other words, we were talking about him going to the truck stop BEFORE the abduction, not after.

Missed that. Thank you, and apologies!

 

[Al Hoffman]

Maybe I am missing something, but I do not think someone who would abduct someone would be afraid to stop at a truck stop.

I did not think that I was talking about a stalker when I answered, as the comments were running in a different vein (my bad?). But, since you mention it, let me ask you this: Why would a predator hunt where the big tough dogs eat, when he can go down the road to the pond where the easy prey drinks?

Also, aside from the fact that truck stop folks can be tougher and tighter than carnies, at a truck stop there are many eyes and many cameras. State and County LE like to cruise through them looking for perps (lot lizards and cargo theives amount others). In a little town like Brooklyn, not so much. So, yeah, a stalker might avoid high traffic areas like truck stops.

 

[Sunny123]

Thank you KCCI! (They’re better at it than I am!)

You did a great job, thank you for taking the time to share your local knowledge and videos for us to gain a better understanding of area.

 

[Nah]

When I watched Dad/BF interview, it sounded as if this was her first time ever staying at the house to dog sit. She had taken care of the dogs in the past, but never stayed overnight. Something about this arrangement seems too coincidental. The odds of this happening on the very first overnight must be astronomical? Granted, she might not have made it home which may make this a somewhat moot point.

I thought she lived there part time. The boyfriend had mentioned in the past that the dogs slept in her bed with her. So while it may have been the first time she was completely alone in the house, it wasn’t the first time she stayed in the house, by far. Still, you make a good point if this was the first time she had ever been completely alone.

If that is a significant point, then that would tend to make us suspect someone who has already been cleared, which we aren’t allowed to do here, so....

 

[CaptainSmoke]

If only the cameras were working next door at the rural power company.......this thing might have been solved already........

 

[i'm someone]

Not even her family can say what she would do in an abduction. They do not know the threat posed to her, or how she perceived that threat, or the extent to which she was caught off guard, off balance, couldn't fully see depending on the time of day, or whether or not she was incapacitated immediately, if even just enough to gain initial control of her.

Ambushed from behind, hand over your mouth, gun pointed at your head, knife to your throat or being brandished, verbally given instructions in a manner and context that failing to comply is perceived to place you in even more danger, and the run/hide/yell/fight plan is swiftly just a theory. It's similar to asymmetry in warfare, with 911 as an example. We were locked, loaded, armed to the teeth with the most powerful military in the world and we lost that day - to some lunatics armed with plane tickets and box cutters.

Sorry, I have to disagree. We can be prepared. We can have airplane aft doors secure without having D.B. Cooper jump out of them to give us a reason. We can have communication between LE departments without having to have a Ted Bundy to make us aware of patterns. The example you give is not actually a good comparison, because 911 had nothing to do with military might. Some of the people on board one of the flights did fight. A lot of people were probably saved by that. It's our social norms that prevent us from surviving sometimes. We are taught to be nice, to smile, to be attractive, to be "cool" or not basic or whatever the terms are these days. Kids are not taught basic self preservation, instead self expression and freedom is encouraged. And then something bad happens because someone doesn't follow any of the social norms. And we are reminded to be aware. For a while everyone is. Then it goes back to the demand for personal freedoms. And people forget. And predators, bullies, the psychologically ill and the bad intentioned are always there and looking for an opportunity.

 

[prblythe]

Been watching and reading and there has been many good points made. If TA and the car wash are POI with a sizable reward sounds like an attempt to flush which makes me think they have a suspect n someone else involved. I understand the rules and wont speak any further. I am not thinking SK.

Question... is the home she was watching within eyeshot of the car wash?

 

[NineMilly]

I thought she lived there part time. The boyfriend had mentioned in the past that the dogs slept in her bed with her. So while it may have been the first time she was completely alone in the house, it wasn’t the first time she stayed in the house, by far. Still, you make a good point if this was the first time she had ever been completely alone.

If that is a significant point, then that would tend to make us suspect someone who has already been cleared, which we aren’t allowed to do here, so....

You're correct, thank you for pointing out just the first time actually staying alone. I'd imagine the number of individuals privy to such information would be extremely limited.

 

[SteveP]

If only the cameras were working next door at the rural power company.......this thing might have been solved already........

If only the cameras were working next door at the rural power company...nothing bad may have happened to Mollie.

 

[cluciano63]

LE probably tried to get as complete a list as possible as who would know she was staying there alone. Not just her housemates, but their co-workers, some friends etc...was anyone missing from their job where any of them work on Thursday morning?

But if she had been attacked in the home...something would have been amiss, most likely. And it must be a pretty small number of people who she would leave willingly with, at night, when she had homework, and had to be up early. So...IF she was taken from home/convinced to leave...it has to be a tiny-ish suspect list. In which case, I do not think we would see a website, points of interest etc...
So I still have to go with LE thinking she was taken on her run.

 

[Nah]

If only the cameras were working next door at the rural power company.......this thing might have been solved already........

Has anyone actually said how long those cameras had not been working for? Because if they recently broke, that would seem really suspicious.

 

[Mr. Obvious]

Been watching and reading and there has been many good points made. If TA and the car wash are POI with a sizable reward sounds like an attempt to flush which makes me think they have a suspect n someone else involved. I understand the rules and wont speak any further. I am not thinking SK.

Question... is the home she was watching within eyeshot of the car wash?

No - maybe a mile or more between house and car wash.

 

[Dudda]

My thought is if she was taken right by the house she was staying, the perp would not likely want to drive through town with her, so he took 170, which is directly by the house, and head north. If he had a location in mind to take her along V21 to the south, he could have taken HWY 6 west, then turned south on V21, which takes you past the northern location, and kept going south on V21 past the next dot.

Yes this but change the start to this: go from mollies bf house east on Des Moines/385 and follow that all the way to V21 then go south V21. I think the truck stop and car wash are on there for their cameras.

He might have seen her jogging through town then followed her to the house or close to it. Was driving east on Des Moines and snatches her then instead of turning the car around and back tracking which I think most people would not do they continue east until reaching V21

 

[Jaclin]

I disagree 100%

I also think an abductor could guard her for more than 2 days without being Hannibal Lechter because it's been done before. Heck, he could have drugged her and put her in a shipping container. Maybe there is a slot by the floor for food and water to be passed in, but there isn't enough room to get out. Maybe you are somewhere where screams won't be heard. Not saying it is likely, though.

 

[Nah]

LE probably tried to get as complete a list as possible as who would know she was staying there alone. Not just her housemates, but their co-workers, some friends etc...was anyone missing from their job where any of them work on Thursday morning?

But if she had been attacked in the home...something would have been amiss, most likely. And it must be a pretty small number of people who she would leave willingly with, at night, when she had homework, and had to be up early. So...IF she was taken from home/convinced to leave...it has to be a tiny-ish suspect list. In which case, I do not think we would see a website, points of interest etc...
So I still have to go with LE thinking she was taken on her run.

I still agree she was taken on the run. But it might have been helpful for the perp to know she had nobody waiting for her that night. Gave him extra time to do what he wanted to do without someone sending out an alarm right away.

Or it could have just been a terrible coincidence.

 

[TL4S]

Has anyone actually said how long those cameras had not been working for? Because if they recently broke, that would seem really suspicious.

Agreed