Found Deceased IA - Mollie Tibbetts, 20, Poweshiek County, 19 Jul 2018 #10

[lotsoftacos94]

Could the red shirt be a red herring? From what I saw, it just said that "an employee at the daycare confirmed that the workers wear red". Could this have been placed there to throw off LE?

 

[Sanz]

A lot of young adults just take their driver's license and debit card and put it in their phone case or in a case on their lanyard. She might have had a key or work i.d. lanyard she could have stuck license in. I'm not too concerned about the left behind wallet/purse. Kids don't seem to carry them much anymore.

Very true. I am not a young kid by any means. However I use my Apple Wallet on my IPhone to pay for anything I purchase. I also keep my airplane tickets/boarding passes. And all my gift cards to different restaurants and stores in it. The only thing I would not have would be my ID

 

[Scepter]

Lots of "could haves" as I find out above with the "wild animals".

 

[Consultant]

Complete speculation but…
The reporter could have ambushed WC intentionally by the request of LE. Not so much has a breaking story or quality interview but to get his face out to the public. Even in a small town of 1,600 not everyone knows everyone else by name. Someone may recognize a person and place him/her somewhere contradictory to what was stated in an interview.

I would be very nervous being questioned by the FBI for two hours. Most initial interviews are to lock someone into their story and whereabouts. Plaster their face across the news and someone may come forward with info that allows further questioning.

 

[Momma2cam]

She also could have lined up a (nefarious) ride to work. Have they considered coworkers at this juncture? Also, folks close to her at work may have known she was dog-sitting alone.

This is my top current theory. Moo.

 

[Scepter]

Complete speculation but…
The reporter could have ambushed WC intentionally by the request of LE. Not so much has a breaking story or quality interview but to get his face out to the public. Even in a small town of 1,600 not everyone knows everyone else by name. Someone may recognize a person and place him/her somewhere contradictory to what was stated in an interview.

I would be very nervous being questioned by the FBI for two hours. Most initial interviews are to lock someone into their story and whereabouts. Plaster their face across the news and someone may come forward with info that allows further questioning.

Yes, very much, in police state this could happen but in democracy?

 

[zencompass]

Something that comes to mind...with absolutely no insight as to who took her, it really comes to down to (if she was abducted - and sadly I believe she was) what kind of perp we are dealing with, and just how smart they are. Of course there are many kinds of criminals, but I feel that often we have two very broad categories, types: the kind who are cunning, smart, following the investigation and may have insight into law/LEO procedures etc., and the sort that is rather quite inept and gets, well....lucky. Not to say those who are not in the cunning BTK category wouldn’t follow the investigation closely as well, but they may not have, for lack of a better term, the deductive reasoning to think “hey, I should put this shirt somewhere that has already been searched” or near to a person that would be a reasonable patsy (in regards to the red shirt. If they have placed it, we can narrow this down more to someone more local...which I think is quite feasible. I haven’t been able to come to a conclusion on the sort we are dealing with due to the real lack of evidence we are aware of, but I’m very curious about what an FBI profiler would say at this point. And I think that could really play into what is/has/will be found...if anything.

ETA: deductive reasoning, not seductive. Autocorrect, you trollop.

Yes. As in when the F.B.I. describes an offender as "organized" or "disorganized".

Excerpt from F.B.I. bulletin: (link is below the excerpt)

"The organized offender... may report an angry state of mind prior to the murder and admit to being calm and relaxed after the crime."

" The crime scene of the organized murderer shows a semblance of order before, during, and after the offense."

"The victim frequently is a stranger and may be targeted because he or she is in a particular location or has certain characteristics. "

"In contrast, the disorganized offender is... in a confused and distressed state of mind at the time of the murder, is socially inadequate, and sexually incompetent. "

NCJRS Abstract - National Criminal Justice Reference Service

 

[mountainguy777]

Just a day ago this was seeming to be a strange case with so many possibilities and maybe a bizarre outcome. Today it’s feeling like the “usual” abduction, probably sex assault, and kill. IMO

 

[GMG1999]

Yes, could. I think I will wait and see if shirt is hers before I picture anything.

If this LE group has been keeping stuff close to the vest, I have doubts they will tell us one way or the other anytime soon at this point.

 

[Madison418]

She also could have lined up a (nefarious) ride to work. Have they considered coworkers at this juncture? Also, folks close to her at work may have known she was dog-sitting alone.

Definitely also a scenario. My only problem with having lined up a ride is that at this point LE would know that and likely have a suspect or POI based on her cell/laptop data.

 

[Hatfield]

I'd be very careful about assuming location = perp at this point. The timing is a huge red flag as too coincidental, WC's on the spot interview hits the internet yesterday (or day before, can't remember) enlightening everyone to his past, if I'm the perp and have been looking for a way to deflect suspicion away from myself, I couldn't have been handed a better one on a silver platter. So what do I do, of course I go and plant the red shirt everyone has been talking about near there...<mod changed to initials>

The Morgan Harrington case had a similar situation where the perp planted a concert Tshirt in a bush near a frat house in town which was nowhere close to where her body was located. Many think he did that on purpose to throw off the investigation or just threw it out of his cab while in town. Ironically it was a Pantera concert Tshirt and the concert the night she went missing was a Metallica concert so it became more unique in that way.

 

[Beth11311]

Perps often have pay as you go phones so if LE does not have the #, they might track their car if they had a suspect.

But searching fields, and ponds? Does not sound promising.

They can also do a cell dump for a particular area and see which phones were in the area at the time and try to narrow it down...but I don’t know the ins and outs of how long that takes, what’s involved legally etc.

 

[SharonNeedles]

LE previously said a fitbit ping led them to the hog farm. Imo, it was tossed out a car window and they are working hard to find it.

Could somebody please confirm this is correct?

 

[GMG1999]

Looks like LE has an idea of where she is. Trying to narrow down area in the woods.

If it's in a wooded area, I don't like the sounds of it.

 

[Deleted member 227095]

Can anyone give me a quick update? I'm working a deadline and have little time for more breaks but I see there's action.

Highlights of the day:
Day started (930 am local) with family/boyfriend/crimestoppers PC to announce increase in reward to $172,000 for the safe return of MT. The public is now able to contribute to the MT fund via crimestoppers website.
While the PC was happening it appears LE started a search around 8 am local at a farm property about 1 mile from the farm that was previously searched. The search wrapped up later in the day (double check this for local time as newscaster was unclear exactly when the team left but it looked to be between 4-5 local time). LE present at the site based on video footage looked to be local, fire and rescue, and FBI. Unconfirmed LE reports that a red shirt had been found on the side of the road at the property earlier in the day by a worker that was cutting grass alongside the road.
Local news was on location across the street from the property that was searched earlier today and explained that a canine unit had entered a wooded area around 6 pm and was searching the area. Newscaster also explained that a local farmer in the area had told her that divers had searched a pond (unclear which property it was located on) yesterday. IDK when the canine team left the property.
Multiple interviews with various stations and local press during the day of MT mother, father, BF and crimestoppers.

Hope this helps! Lots of media reporting today.

 

[zencompass]

Beth11311 said:
"They can also do a cell dump for a particular area and see which phones were in the area at the time and try to narrow it down...but I don’t know the ins and outs of how long that takes, what’s involved legally etc."

Great thought, Beth11311 !

 

[SecretGarden]

Complete speculation but…
The reporter could have ambushed WC intentionally by the request of LE. Not so much has a breaking story or quality interview but to get his face out to the public. Even in a small town of 1,600 not everyone knows everyone else by name. Someone may recognize a person and place him/her somewhere contradictory to what was stated in an interview.

I would be very nervous being questioned by the FBI for two hours. Most initial interviews are to lock someone into their story and whereabouts. Plaster their face across the news and someone may come forward with info that allows further questioning.

Agreed, I find this concerning.

I’m also surprised that area (a ditch?) wasn’t searched earlier. I know the grass was probably longer, but red is a contrast to green grass. I’m just surprised it wasn’t found sooner... making me question how long it’s been there.

I’m also prone to overthinking, and in these cases overthinking doesn’t help, because the crimes are committed in very simple and straightforward means. People are usually not far from home, or the roadside.

This pig farm stuff is what horror films are made of and I’m disgusted it’s even a possibility that she was.. I pray it’s not the case. The found shirt doesn’t help my faith, but I won’t lose all hope until she’s found.

 

[Subiechik21]

Sunset in Brooklyn is 8:26 PM CDT

How much daylight is left today?

 

[renarde]

I don't think it was a ride to work that she had arranged ahead of time. Just because she might've told someone about it, something like, "hey, I won't need the car tomorrow, X from work is giving me a ride in the morning." So, too risky for whomever might've offered her a ride ahead of time. I hope that makes sense.

 

[Momma2cam]

Could somebody please confirm this is correct?

There are reports of this. Other reports just refer to tips leading there.