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

[margarita25]

No, IMO, it's not far-fetched -- that's what I've been thinking as well. A trucker could pull into a parking lot or on a roadside to get a nap or a snack, etc., and he noticed her jogging or entering the house. Then he gets into action. He possibly could have followed her and taken her as she was about to go into the house. A knife or gun, or a threat of one, would be all it might take to keep her quiet.

Honestly LE’s approach reminiscent of Abby’s and Libby’s case. Tightlipped. I have no doubt though if they need something from the public (ID on surveillance, for example) they will ask.

 

[MassGuy]

Honestly LE’s approach reminiscent of Abby’s and Libby’s case. Tightlipped. I have no doubt though if they need something from the public (ID on surveillance, for example) they will ask.

Exactly. They said as much in the press conference yesterday. In general terms, the less that LE asks from the public, the less they actually need. I have a lot of confidence that they are on the right track, especially with MT's digital footprint and other available technology based leads.

 

[Vail]

Here is what I find most interesting. 1) The dogs were still in the basement which is where she would put them when she left the house. If she was randomly abducted while at home, they would have been up and about. 2) It sounded like she probably intended to go to her Moms for dinner but never made it or called for a ride.

BBM This is an assumption.

Let me circle back to the mystery of the dogs. Why were those dogs in the basement if Mollie was home? How can this be reconciled with the info that the dogs get free rein of the house if Mollie is home?

RSBM. Do we actually know that the dogs were in the basement? I feel like this is something we keep revisiting but a Google search shows me no MSM with this info except mercurynews.com (who says I have reached my article limit, so I can't even read the actual story). Anyone have confirmation on this? TIA!

Mollie Tibbetts searchers get Fitbit information

Her phone and the Fitbit were not in the home, but her wallet, identification, laptop, glasses and contact lenses were. The dogs were in the basement, where they were kept when nobody was home.

Consider for a moment a scenario in which a perp removes Mollie from the house. An experienced burglar or individual with a pre-meditated plan is going to need to control the dogs or keep them from barking or being underfoot, and the garage or basement is an easy way to do that.

Another scenario is Mollie putting the dogs in the basement because of the numerous tornado warnings and the impending torrential rainstorm that hit around midnight.

I am not sure why there is so much discussion about her contact lenses (which will not tell you anything about where she is or what happened to her) and not the weather, which could have everything to do with why she is missing if she happened to get caught up in the storm. One tornado touched down in Le Grand which is only a half hour or so north-west of Brooklyn, with high winds and storms covering Brooklyn.
NWSChat Local Storm Report App
This map shows every Iowa tornado report from July 19

 

[PommyMommy]

I’m so sorry if I missed this, I had asked earlier but am following many posts currently and doing my best to catch up. Are there any other females missing from the area? Tia.

Hi Margarita, I'm not sure what you consider "the area," but there are two missing from Davenport, which is approx 1 hr, 40 minutes east on I-80.

Taylor Foley
Missing Since: Jun 28, 2018
Missing From: Davenport, IA
Age: 17

Emily Tipsword
Missing Since: Jun 28, 2018
Missing From: Davenport, IA
Age: 16

 

[HoldySi]

I can hardly get on this thread today without it crashing....has this quote from this article been discussed?

Jake Tibbetts, Mollie's brother, told Fox News that "as far as what we think happened, we are really not sure."

“We know she is fighting as hard as anyone to get back home,” he said. “It’s a process and we wish it wasn’t so long, but good things take time, and getting her home will be a really good thing.”

Mollie Tibbetts' boyfriend, brothers, father urge witnesses to 'come forward' in exclusive interviews

 

[jkloc420]

Hi Margarita, I'm not sure what you consider "the area," but there are two missing from Davenport, which is approx 1 hr, 40 minutes east on I-80.

Taylor Foley
Missing Since: Jun 28, 2018
Missing From: Davenport, IA
Age: 17

Emily Tipsword
Missing Since: Jun 28, 2018
Missing From: Davenport, IA
Age: 16

seems those two might have taking off together

 

[Deleted member 227095]

Any truck stops close by?

Pilot Travel Center #495

• 4126 Highway 21
• Brooklyn, IA 52211
• Get Directions

• Phone: (319) 685-4221
• Fax: (319) 685-4575
• Interstate: I-80 Exit 201
• Coordinates: 41.69844600 -92.35902600

Got this from the Pilot website....Pilot has a solid footprint of locations all up and down I-80.

 

[guestwriter]

The news conference said there were two things they were asking the public ..1. if they had any info as to the WHEREABOUTS of Mollie ....or if they know WHY she disappeared to call them .....there was something strange to me about that news conference. It seemed like they were guarding information. If folks knew where she was or why she disappeared, then we wouldn't need LE's help. Usually LE holds some info from the public to see if a POI may slip and give them more detail then they can connect the dots. I feel they know who is responsible they are waiting for that person to break...I hope she is still alive..Logic tells me its doubtful. Hopefully someone will tell soon....

 

[Millhouse]

Snipped by me

Another scenario is Mollie putting the dogs in the basement because of the numerous tornado warnings and the impending torrential rainstorm that hit around midnight.

I am not sure why there is so much discussion about her contact lenses (which will not tell you anything about where she is or what happened to her) and not the weather, which could have everything to do with why she is missing if she happened to get caught up in the storm. One tornado touched down in Le Grand which is only a half hour or so north-west of Brooklyn, with high winds and storms covering Brooklyn.
NWSChat Local Storm Report App
This map shows every Iowa tornado report from July 19

SBM

The police were insinuating something happened to her the evening of July 18, and these tornadoes appear to be on the afternoon of 19th. What role do you think they played in her disappearance? (Sorry, I do not mean that to be as snarky as it sounds, but i cant find a better way to rephrase ).

It's interesting to think what kind of effect it would have on potential evidence left behind.

 

[seeker179]

Hi all! Lurker-turned-newbie here. I live in the slightly-more-populated Brooklyn, New York : )
I have been following the MT threads and all news reports.

I don't believe MT would have left of her own accord in this manner. If you want to run away from an environment like Mollie's, you leave a note and/or call a few days later to say you're OK, precisely because you don't want your family, the FBI, and thousands of Americans hunting you down.

I'm currently inclined to the theory that Mollie decided, after finishing her homework for the night, to make the fairly quick walk/jog to her mom's house to grab the car, so she could drive it back to her BF's house and have it there in the morning to get to work. A walk she's likely done countless times before, day or night.

MT is known to be a friendly type, so I could imagine a car pulling up beside her to "ask for directions", or something like that. A car could even have been already pulled over on the side of the road with a door open while she walks by, and is stopped. After seeing CCTV footage of the jogger in Massachusetts who was nearly snatched into an SUV in broad daylight in the suburbs....I shudder to think of the same move being pulled on MT.

Mollie doesn't fit the profile of an especially vulnerable trafficking victim, IMO... she has a nice life she (presumably) isn't looking to escape from. She has people who will be looking for her when she's gone. She's petite and 20, but she is not as helpless as a child. From what I've read, most adult or teen Americans who are abducted for trafficking reasons are coerced into it rather than abducted and held captive. I can't imagine traffickers want to be in possession of a high-profile victim who is the subject of a nationwide search. But this is JUST speculation.

I think it's more likely to be a random sicko stranger. Not that this even remotely helps solve the mystery. I just wonder why LE seems to emphasize they believe she is alive. Are there clues coming from her electronic devices?......

(Here is the video of the Massachusetts jogger who escaped her attacker, in case you haven't seen it:
Video: Jogger Murder Suspect Arrested, Charged. )

 

[KaaBoom]

Exactly. They said as much in the press conference yesterday. In general terms, the less that LE asks from the public, the less they actually need. I have a lot of confidence that they are on the right track, especially with MT's digital footprint and other available technology based leads.

But they are asking. Even to the point of having a press conference and providing zero information except to ask the public for tips. If they didn't need the public's help, I don't know why they would have a press conference with no information to release.

This case certainly doesn't seem unsolvable to me, but I don't know what to make out of how it is being handled.

 

[borndem]

Welcome to Websleuths, LarryLujack
and
seeker179!!​

 

[BRRI]

This probably refers to public scrutiny. A lot of the SM public comments are knee jerk reactions like "the BF and his brother did it" or "they better check the BF's brother" because people are generally stupid and don't bother with facts or analysis before opening their mouths (or fingers as it were). This community is WAY different. LOL.

That’s not really stupid. Statistically speaking, this was likely done by someone she is close with. It’s more likely than not, so it’s not necessarily knee jerk reactions.

 

[MassGuy]

But they are asking. Even to the point of having a press conference and providing zero information except to ask the public for tips.

This case certainly doesn't seem unsolvable to me, but I don't know what to make out of how it is being handled.

One purpose of a press conference is to keep Mollie’s case in the public eye. The more publicity, the more likely it is that they will have someone come forward. Having a press conference is still important, even if you share next to no information.

 

[YiYa]

Hi there. I’m a newbie and I hope I don’t mess this up. These are my two conflicting theories:

1) If MT wears daily contacts, and she was wearing a pair and had another pair for the morning, she could have decided to walk over to her mom’s house the evening before (or early morning even with the red shirt on) to get the car. Looking at the map, I would put money on her having a set route/shortcut that involved cutting though that high school field or parking lot. I’m from a small town, and that seems quite likely as we small town kids always have shortcuts everywhere. I wonder if LE has any security camera footage from the high school. She could have been taken then.

2) Or, she was doing her bedtime routine, put the dogs up for the night, took out contacts etc and then she heard something. She grabbed her phone (like a security blanket) and went to investigate. She was taken then.

I think the dogs being put up makes me think that it was #1 because if I were alone in a house I would definitely sleep with the dogs! However, that’s just me. If she had only one set of contacts, #2 makes more sense. Also, I’ve been thinking about that 10:00 Snapchat... this is a terrible thought, but she might not have sent it. If her iPhone is set up to recognize fingerprints for ID, then someone else could have used her finger to access it and used a photo from her camera roll to send it. I’m not sure if this is possible because I don’t know how Snapchat works, but my fingerprint lets me into all of my apps.

These are the things I keep wondering about.

 

[ketel0ne]

One purpose of a press conference is to keep Mollie’s case in the public eye. The more publicity, the more likely it is that they will have someone come forward. Having a press conference is still important, even if you share next to no information.

Correct and think how many missing don't get press conferences at all. The police are not here to provide information for webslueths. They are here to protect the public and find Mollie and use what information they have as they see fit. Mollie's picture and the tip line is blanketed across the state and country at this point and that is more than happens in 99% of the cases. Your post is spot on.

 

[stolenmerch]

First time poster. I've poured over all 9 threads since yesterday. Here's what I see as the most plausible scenario. I really don't think I've violating TOS, but please keep me in line if so.

1) Mollie was an active social media user and had a big digital footprint.
2) LE was able to glean a lot of info from her accounts and devices and know exactly when she "went off the grid" and generally where she went.
3) They have a solid timeline of what she was doing, when she was doing it, and who she was talking to that night.
4) LE said they need to "get to know Mollie" because something out of the ordinary for her character happened.
5) They can't release that info because they are treating this as an abduction, they don't know where she is, but probably know who has her.

My speculation:

Mollie rarely wears her glasses. We have multiple photos of her running without them and it seems she only wears then occasionally. She is still probably wearing them and had a spare pair and her glasses sitting at home. That evening, she got back home from her run. Maybe walked the dogs, did a little homework, then got a message from an acquaintance that they were going out that night. She knew her boyfriends schedule of when he usually got home from work and sent him a snapchat before she left just to check in like normal. She plans to go out with this acquaintance to just have fun and relieve some stress. She's underage, so perhaps a fake ID was involved and she left her normal wallet and ID at home so it wouldn't get lost - and she wouldn't need it. She puts the dogs in the basement for the night since she'd be gone. Acquaintance pulls up in a car and she willingly leaves. They'd need to take I-80 to almost any major town (Des Moines, Iowa City, etc). There is a misunderstanding of the nature of what "going out" meant and acquaintance has a very bad reaction. He keeps driving, and driving and her phone stops tracking somewhere on I-80.

 

[Barb Wire]

Brother of missing Iowa student's boyfriend cancels his beach wedding in the Dominican Republic as search continues and slams 'hurtful' claims that his family was involved in her disappearance

• The missing Iowa student, Mollie Tibbetts, 20, was supposed to fly out Wednesday for her boyfriend's wedding in the Dominican Republic
• Blake Jack says he cancelled his wedding as the search for his brother- Dalton's girlfriend- continues
• He also says the scrutiny on his family over any involvement is unwarranted
• Meanwhile her mom reveals she sent a heart breaking text to her daughter's phone despite knowing it was off saying they will find her
• Investigators say they have conducted more than 200 interviews since the disappearance of Tibbetts, a University of Iowa student
• Tibbetts vanished without a trace on July 18 after going for a run in her town
• The young woman went for a jog around her neighborhood before returning home and sending her boyfriend, Dalton, a Snapchat, her family said
• She was reported missing on July 19 after she failed to show up for work
• Authorities are baffled by her disappearance and are asking the public for help

Link Brother of missing Iowa student's boyfriend cancels wedding & slams claims his family was involved | Daily Mail Online

 

[Bravo]

Welcome all newbies

 

[MassGuy]

Brother of missing Iowa student's boyfriend cancels his beach wedding in the Dominican Republic as search continues and slams 'hurtful' claims that his family was involved in her disappearance

Brother of missing Iowa student's boyfriend cancels wedding & slams claims his family was involved | Daily Mail Online

I’ve been scouring social media and it’s apparent that the boyfriend and his family have a point. They are getting creamed by a suspicious public. There are dozens and dozens of posts that I have come across, accusing these people. This is despite LE saying that they have ruled them out.