Found Deceased IA - Mollie Tibbetts, 20, Poweshiek County, 19 Jul 2018 #9

[ptandj]

Wonder why he didnt think it was strange but now he says it was totally out of character.

RSBM. Hindsight. There's lots of stuff that I wouldn't notice at first but in retrospect I should have paid closer attention to.

This is new to me as I thought the brother texted later in the morning/afternoon to see if she wanted the car to come home with after work. This was before work & IIRC she started work at 7:30 am. This would certainly tighten the timeline if he texted say at 6 or so AM & she's not responding.

"Jake said on July 19, the day Mollie was reported missing to police, he had texted her in the morning to see if she wanted to borrow a car they shared so she could go to work at the Grinnell Regional Medical Center.

She didn't respond."

BBM - I don't believe we know what time she started work, but the text has always been reported to have been around 7:30am from what I've seen.

This is certainly more specific phrasing than I've seen but who knows how significant it is at this point...

 

[PommyMommy]

I feel Molly was taken unexpectedly and quickly from her home. My hunch would be in the very early morning— when she didn’t have time to grab her glasses. Maybe was ordered to get up, do not scream, follow me... hence her lack of glassses. Perhaps she was able to grab her phone if it was near to her body, or she had already grabbed it when she heard someone walk into the house at night out of fear.

That theory doesn’t explain the missing work-shirt. Unless she slept in it. It would explain why she wasn’t wearing contacts/glasses, and why her wallet was left behind.

Perhaps she knew the person— & the person knew her and the people that lived in the house. If they let Molly put the dogs for safekeeping in the basement before taking her, it seems like they have some sort sympathy towards the home owners or dogs. (The dogs in the basement though seem to be a gray area — no confirmation)

Or it would make perfect sense if she was getting ready for work and had already put the dogs downstairs. But I’m confused why she wasn’t wearing glasses or contacts, especially if she was ready enough for work to be in uniform.

Someone had stalked her, and I’m sure they were aware her housemates were out of town. I’m not convinced she didn’t lock the door... we don’t lock our door often enough, but if I’m here alone, I absolutely lock the house up.

I don’t think the kidnapper is a stranger to her, unless a serial-criminal got really lucky having her housemates out of town.

All MOO.

BBM: I think your theory could explain the work shirt if the perp said, "Get up and get dressed..."

 

[liz b.]

I haven't seen any photos or mention of crime scene tape around the home. Anyone?

Far as I know LE has no crime scene. I was fervently hoping that this would not end up like Jennifer Kesse's disappearance. But, it now looks like M. is gone without a trace,just like Jennifer. I have some hopes about a possible cell phone tower info dump, but as a poster just commented, it would not help at all if the perp had left his cell phone at home...

 

[PaulR]

I wonder what facts could possibly make this OK, unless the women's account was heavily embellished. Considering she almost instantly deleted the FB post once it gained traction and they didn't mention an arrest this may be the case.

The police are telling people not to judge the person until they have all the facts, and are referring to it as an "incident" not a crime? There is no way the woman told us the whole truth. Her post was likely deleted after her lawyer told her what the consequences would be if she left it up. Otherwise it doesn't make any sense.

 

[Purplepixii]

2 weeks later: Reward jumps to $30K for safe return of Mollie Tibbetts

A $30,000 reward is now being offered for the safe return of a missing 20-year-old Iowa college student who vanished two weeks ago.

Hi, is there any more info apart from what is posted above please? Can't access the site from the UK (really need to get a VPN!)

 

[Christineisfab]

IMO I would not discount a theory based on this missing red shirt. The fact that in the presser LE specifically mentioned 7/18 evening (as opposed to the morning, where she would theoretically be wearing said shirt) and that we haven't heard anything about that piece of clothing since the very beginning might mean that it isn't key to the investigation. Also worth noting that we have received very little update on any info given out, so for all we know the shirt could have been found somewhere after all.

 

[ACG2x]

Good afternoon all. First time poster here. Have lurked a bit before but this case and a few others have drawn me in to join. First, it's great to see a community of people who care so much about finding the truth regarding missing people, cold cases, etc. I'm a lot like that but will spare you the rest of the details and go into my general thoughts.

Agree with most of the thought that LE knows a lot more than they've let on. Winker's answers to some of the press conference questions gave it away to me. I think he said a ton without saying much in that 15 min. If you read between the lines, there are very subtle clues - most notably when the reporter said "Do you have a POI?", Winker gave a non-answer and reporter said "that's not a no". His facial expression almost changed to a sly smirk as if to say "Figure it out".

Agreed as well with the above that it's pretty safe to say MT made it home on 07/18. However, another Winker clue is that he and the Sheriff kept referring to the events on the 18th. It sounded clear to me that they believe she went missing on the night of the 18th and not the morning of the 19th. This also tells me that they have some kind of evidence that proves this but haven't released it.

Still think she was abducted and it pains me to say and I'm praying to be wrong but think this doesn't end well for anyone involved but I am going with it was someone she knows. Whether or not it's someone that WE know she knows is a different story. Random abductions by strangers happen but are much more rare. This goes back to the fact that I believe LE has a ton more info and likely have a POI right now and have a pretty good idea what happened to her. For me, in order of likeliness:

1) - Abducted by someone she knew
2) - Left voluntarily/ran away
3) - Random abduction
4) - Human trafficking situation
5) - Anything else

Hope I didn't rehash too much but it's my first post - glad to be a part of this community.

 

[ptandj]

BBM: I think your theory could explain the work shirt if the perp said, "Get up and get dressed..."

Well that's scary to think about...

Regarding the humanizing her in the press conference, and also the stuff about working in "Mollie's best interest" or "the best interest of Mollie" (I can't remember exactly which it was), I can totally see how that would be playing into knowing the perp was watching/ listening and knowing it's someone who might be able to be manipulated to show concern for her by reaching out to LE or letting her go...

 

[margarita25]

I am very curious as to if any veterans here suspect a random abduction? And if so, why? Tia.

 

[tokyorose]

The other thing I want to know is if the dogs normally spend the night in the basement or if they are given free reign of the home at night. I'm sure LE knows this as well, it would really help to tighten the timeline. If dogs were found in the basement and that is where they are put in the morning, then that would mean Mollie would be awake and would have already taken the dogs out and put them away for the day.and that whomever took Molly would have known it too... probably because they saw her do it.

 

[PommyMommy]

Hi, is there any more info apart from what is posted above please? Can't access the site from the UK (really need to get a VPN!)

Yes, this is a newer article: Reward for finding Mollie Tibbetts safe jumps to $30K

KCRG-TV9's coverage partner KCCI says the reward for the safe return of Mollie Tibbetts has increased to $30,000.

Donations for the reward are being accepted at First State Bank, 104 Jackson St, P.O. Box 532, Brooklyn, IA, 52211.

Crimestoppers also has an online form for donation: http://www.crimestoppersweb.com/772/Pictures/DonationAgreementForm-V2-3-1.docx555.pdf

 

[JC40]

Is there a divide opening up between Mollies family and LE?

It's seems all the information is filtering through her family.

 

[WildcatRunner]

For those who wear contacts, do you also have a pair of glasses? If so, when do you prefer contacts and when do you prefer to wear your glasses?

My vision isn't terrible, and I almost exclusively wear my contacts. I keep a pair of glasses by my bed so if I decide to watch TV at night, and the show has captions (I like crime documentaries, and interviews of people often have captions) I can read them. If I watch a sitcom or read a book, my vision is clear enough without glasses or contacts to use nothing. I guess if I had to leave the house very urgently, I'd put on glasses because driving I cannot read street signs clearly without glasses or contacts.

 

[ACG2x]

Is there a divide opening up between Mollies family and LE?

It's seems all the information is filtering through her family.

I am guessing the family is getting frustrated with what they may perceive as a lack of progress. It seems that LE has given them more than they've given general public but still not a ton. I put myself in their shoes and I'd probably have moments where I'd be yelling "just find her!" and forget that something like this is a marathon, not a sprint.

 

[Jealoushe]

Are there actual reports about this red shirt? It was said early on but I never actually saw any proof.

 

[toevlugsoord]

I am very curious as to if any veterans here suspect a random abduction? And if so, why? Tia.

I think it could happen. Unfortunately there are opportunistic predators who are primed and ready to attack. I've seen countless cases like this. One that comes to mind was a little girl who was abducted off the street in Colorado.

Perhaps someone driving saw her jogging and followed her home and then waited. Maybe pretending they needed help or to use a phone.

 

[HoldySi]

Is there a divide opening up between Mollies family and LE?

It's seems all the information is filtering through her family.

I think her family might be just as frustrated with yesterday's PC as the rest of us...

 

[Bravo]

Welcome all newbies!

 

[Purplepixii]

Well that's scary to think about...

Regarding the humanizing her in the press conference, and also the stuff about working in "Mollie's best interest" or "the best interest of Mollie" (I can't remember exactly which it was), I can totally see how that would be playing into knowing the perp was watching/ listening and knowing it's someone who might be able to be manipulated to show concern for her by reaching out to LE or letting her go...

Yes, I meant to mention the humanising aspect last night after the presser but was tired and it slipped my mind. The whole thing screamed to me "we know who you are, you have Mollie who is a human being, we're experienced at what we do" over and over and over. It reminded me of cases where victims have escaped/escaped serious harm by their captor by using their name and making the captor realise that they are another human being - not just an object.

P.S. Welcome to WS @ACG2x

 

[Deleted member 227095]

Comments on social media, at the end of articles etc are considered rumor. You can bring attention to a certain comment but it can not be expanded on or discussed here. The contents of the comment cannot be discussed.

I believe they have a POI but no evidence and need someone in the town to speak up. It seems like a close knit town and everyone is covering for everyone, no one wants to believe their friend/neighbour/family etc would be capable.

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Totally agree. The pleas from the father and LE for tips and help lead me to believe there is a someone that LE knows has critical information but that the person for whatever reason is choosing not to speak. Small town dynamics can be very very challenging to LE and investigations of this sort. I wonder how forthcoming the good citizens of Brooklyn and surrounding area have been to LE?