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

[Hucklepie]

Right but for whose benefit was it important to have him at the top of the "best friends" list?

Was she worried he would freak out if he was the type to look at her phone?

Can other snapchat users see other peoples "best friend" lists?

Maybe she believed that he should be showing at the top because he is her boyfriend? Like it would look odd if he was not her main Snapchat contact? Idk just speculating.

No one else can see your Snapchat contact list - if someone is on my "best friends" list, that doesn't mean I'm on theirs, and vice versa. And if he wasn't into social media, as has been stated, I'm guessing he didn't care that much about his Snapchat list and its rankings. Based on her Twitter, Instagram, and VSCO, it's clear that Mollie was an active social media user, so I have no problem believing that she was communicating with more people on Snapchat than he was and/or might care more about her Snapchat list than he did.

 

[Mica]

I9: Former FBI agent discusses search for Mollie Tibbetts

I9 spoke with ABC news Crime and Terrorism Analyst Brad Garrett. Garrett believes the FBI brings a lot to the table that will help local authorities. That includes manpower, technology, and expertise.

>>snip

Garrett says investigators are also closely looking into the possibility that someone Tibbetts knew may have harmed them. He adds the chances of a stranger having been involved in Tibbetts disappearance is statistically slim but remains something that the FBI will likely also consider as they look into this case.

 

[mbison]

If this was a random abduction and the police were thinking it was a random abduction- wouldn't they have reminded/let everyone know to be concerned- lock your door, be aware of your surroundings, etc?

I kinda think they would. Do you?

If they thought it was someone she knew, which no threat to the public, then there is no need to alert the public. They haven't alerted the public.

Aside from that, as the former FBI agent said, it's just statistically way less likely a stranger was involved. Random abductions are headline-grabbers for sure, but they don't happen too often as a percentage of cases. Far more likely it was somebody who knew her well (or else she left voluntarily).

 

[Ilovemy3boys]

I agree, seems like the simplest explanation is usually the answer in cases like this about 90 percent of the time. Of course we hear more about the random abductions bc they are so rare, but many times it is somebody that is close to the victim. I am dreading that this won't have good outcome. It definately isn't an abduction of a young woman out for a jog like we were originally lead to believe. I'm also wondering who led people to believe that her jogging was her last known werabouts when certain people knew that they had communicated with her after?

I’m guessing it was because the last known person to physically see her was the one that saw her jogging. The neighbor

 

[sewwhat]

I need to take a break from this thread because the speculation is getting to be a bit much for me on this case for some reason. Just hoping and praying Mollie is found safe, even though my gut instincts say that's very unlikely. Hoping, hoping, hoping.

Speculation of what sort? Grim business, this, I agree, and hope is not easily found. But I do think there's a better than average chance she left of her own accord.

 

[monster12]

Yk what else is bugging me? That her bf doesn't remember what the caption was...on the SC she sent him- the one he opened at 10 pm. I wonder if it was something about her being upset or him being upset, etc. Maybe it was simply good night but if it was...wouldn't he remember that and say it in interviews- instead of "I don't remember what the caption was". Dude, it was the last time you heard from your girlfriend. You can't remember?

My friends and cousins send me Snapchats a lot and then it turns into a conversation about something. I rarely remember what they said to me when we try to talk about it at another time, especially if it is awhile before one of us responds. We will often move to texting so we can go back and reread if we need to! haha.

I also think that the fact he didn't hear from her the next day and wasn't alarmed is being taken too far. When my boyfriend would go out of town for work, we rarely talked. If one of us texted, the other probably took awhile to respond because we knew we were both busy with work and other things. It wouldn't cause an alarm unless it was a full day or days with no response. Some people talk nonstop to their signif others through text, while others don't. We don't know what they did and don't think he is necessarily guilty of anything just because he can't remember a Snapchat caption or a text.

 

[Hatfield]

If this was a random abduction and the police were thinking it was a random abduction- wouldn't they have reminded/let everyone know to be concerned- lock your door, be aware of your surroundings, etc?

I kinda think they would. Do you?

If they thought it was someone she knew, which no threat to the public, then there is no need to alert the public. They haven't alerted the public.

JMO
I agree it is likely they would have said something to the public about being aware of your surroundings or locking your doors if they either had no clue or thought it was a random abduction.

I think this is another hint that they are heading in a specific direction.

 

[MimosaMornings]

She would need a good bit of money for an apartment (rent, security deposit, utilities, furniture, etc) plus a job to pay the ongoing expense. I sure as heck couldn’t afford for mine to do that. Maybe BF was moving in with her and could afford it.

 

[MargeGunderson]

Boy. He may say he's holding out hope but his use of past tense indicates otherwise.

It makes me feel again that the family suspects or knows more than we do and it's not great. Hope I'm wrong.

It sounds like something they know is making them believe she’s dead.

 

[Poppyflower]

I'm pretty sure she knows the person. I mentioned yesterday...could be someone close to her or an acquaintance that somehow knew where she was and that she was alone. Someone at work or school or someone in the community- like working at a place she frequents. Not necessarily someone she has direct contact with but can hear her talking to others about what is going on in her life...like where she was staying and that she was alone.

 

[Poppyflower]

I need to take a break from this thread because the speculation is getting to be a bit much for me on this case for some reason. Just hoping and praying Mollie is found safe, even though my gut instincts say that's very unlikely. Hoping, hoping, hoping.

I'm sorry. I've felt that way before in other cases. You have provided a lot of good information and I hope you'll come back soon.

 

[MargeGunderson]

She would need a good bit of money for an apartment (rent, security deposit, utilities, furniture, etc) plus a job to pay the ongoing expense. I sure as heck couldn’t afford for mine to do that. Unless he was moving in with her and could afford it.

The majority of college kids live in off campus housing after their 1st or 2nd year these days. Usually the cost is less than dorms so if she was already paying for on campus housing which I’m sure she was since UOI isn’t close enough to commute she probably wouldn’t be spending more to move off campus.

 

[WideOpen]

Phew! Finally caught up!

I was hoping she was found safe and sound.

I still have my same theories and unfortunately, they have sad endings. I hope I'm wrong.

I have been loosely following this case since Mollie went missing and have kept an open mind while waiting for more information. I am glad to see more details surfacing here and in the news articles. Sadly though, I don't like where this is heading. I'm definitely with you Poppy as far as getting some hinky vines from the boyfriend. They look like such a sweet couple that I don't even want to think that!

However, I have a daughter Mollies age and she has been home over the summer from her first year of college. There are many adjustments and her friends (band, personal, work) have gone in many differing directions but many are home now too so my daughter has been seeing friends randomly. SO, I think there could be plenty of other friends or acquaintances who Mollie may have just happened to get together with while on break over summer, innocently enough.

Im going to hold out hope! JMO

 

[Hucklepie]

I thought caption was usually short. Can you send a long message in a caption? I mean, caption means brief explanation or a title...So when I think of him saying "I can't remember the caption", then it wasn't a simple Good night...bc that would be easy to remember so why say you can't remember? Is it something he doesn't want to share, so he says he can't remember?

If your friend sc you last night "good night" wouldn't that be simple enough to remember today?

You can send a few sentences as a caption. With the way people are dissecting his words in every interview, I can see him not wanting to say, "Here is EXACTLY what she said" in case he can't remember it word-for-word. My friend and I were Snapchatting about stickers last night. I can say with confidence that the last message I got from them was about a sticker, but I wouldn't swear that it was "you need that sticker" or "this is my favorite sticker so far" because I don't remember exactly what she said. For me, "it was a good night Snapchat," without quoting her word-for-word, is specific enough. I think focusing on the exact details of what Mollie's Snapchat to him did or didn't say is not important in the grand scheme of this investigation.

 

[monster12]

She would need a good bit of money for an apartment (rent, security deposit, utilities, furniture, etc) plus a job to pay the ongoing expense. I sure as heck couldn’t afford for mine to do that. Maybe BF was moving in with her and could afford it.

When I was in college and living in an apartment, I used student loans to pay for it.

 

[Knox]

The frustrating part for Calderwood is that agents are telling her they have few clues.

“A DCI agent told us she had been in this 23 years and this is the only case where there was nothing to go on,” Calderwood said.

“Just vanished,” added Mollie’s father, Rob Tibbetts, who flew in from his home in Fresno, California.

“It’s like a fog,” Calderwood said. “You have so many people coming at you so quickly. It all gets muddied together.”

She took a call from an agent who was trying to determine if Mollie was in a home at 9:45 p.m., “and that was with my morning coffee.”

Calderwood said the news media is “making us lose our focus,” with a national tabloid show truck parked outside on Monday, and major networks erroneously reporting that Mollie was “running through a cornfield.”

“There is a balance between exploiting the story and reporting the story,” she said.
'She hated to be sad and hated others to be sad': Brotherly love for missing sister

 

[Knox]

I need to take a break from this thread because the speculation is getting to be a bit much for me on this case for some reason. Just hoping and praying Mollie is found safe, even though my gut instincts say that's very unlikely. Hoping, hoping, hoping.

This is the point where I usually do the same. Until there is new information released and a direction to dig into, it get's really repetitive. We can only delve so far into snapchat ...

 

[gitana1]

I thought caption was usually short. Can you send a long message in a caption? I mean, caption means brief explanation or a title...So when I think of him saying "I can't remember the caption", then it wasn't a simple Good night...bc that would be easy to remember so why say you can't remember? Is it something he doesn't want to share, so he says he can't remember?

If your friend sc you last night "good night" wouldn't that be simple enough to remember today?

I don't know. Do young men that age remember anything like that?

 

[gitana1]

I thought caption was usually short. Can you send a long message in a caption? I mean, caption means brief explanation or a title...So when I think of him saying "I can't remember the caption", then it wasn't a simple Good night...bc that would be easy to remember so why say you can't remember? Is it something he doesn't want to share, so he says he can't remember?

If your friend sc you last night "good night" wouldn't that be simple enough to remember today?

I don't know. Do young men that age remember anything like that?

 

[Hwood2010]

"Garrett says investigators are also closely looking into the possibility that someone Tibbetts knew may have harmed them."

I know the reporting in this case has been absurd and probably the worst I've ever seen, but is it bugging anyone else that the FBI agent in the I9 article said "them" and not her??? Could he mean the dogs? I find it so off that they were asking for leads in Utah but haven't said what state the dogs were in (left with extra water, more food, inside, outside, subdued as if hurt, actually hurt, etc???) If she was supposedly home alone, could them mean the dogs?

Between this and Mollie's brother talking about her in past tense.... they definitely know more than they are telling the public IMO


Also I think everyone is looking too much into the snapchat and the comments from the boyfriend about not remembering what it said. I often send a snapchat and someone will comment on it to me in a personal message and I will have no idea what I sent/ said in the snap only hours ago... they are easy to forget. Imagine someone asking exactly what a text message said 12 hours ago if you couldn't go back and look at it
... I doubt most people could answer that.

If he is innocent and thought there was nothing to hide I can 100% believe he doesnt remember exactly what the snapchat comment said.