Found Deceased IA - Mollie Tibbetts, 20, Poweshiek County, 19 Jul 2018 #29

[Deleted member 227095]

It was my understanding that her brother gave her a ride home from work, so my assumption was that someone had to have driven her to work that day and she did not have the car. So, maybe she got a ride to work that day from her brother. If she didn't get a ride to work from her brother that morning, then she might have been getting rides from other people. Maybe her brother wasn't sure if she was going to need a ride the next day because she sometimes finds rides with other people. Or maybe the brother was going to be off the next day and didn't need the car, so he was confused when she didn't come get it but assumed her plans changed. We haven't been getting any details about their carpooling arrangement. All we know is that they shared a car and that sometimes Mollie took her boyfriends truck, if I remember correctly.

I think all we know is that brother dropped her off at BF house. I don't think we know how she got from home or BF house to work and back again to BF house that day. The brother could have given her a ride from work but we don't know this. LE is keeping all details regarding the ride to and ride from work on the day or or day before disappearance unavailable as far as I can tell.

 

[MsBetsy]

The list was a collaborative effort and I'm not sure who the particular contributor was at the moment, I would have to look back to see. However IIRC, her mother (aunt?) made this statement in a video, which may be why you can't find it. Either way, it says she typically picks the car up, not that she was going to pick it up that night (although I believe she was).

Makes sense if she were planning on going for dinner. She also probably planned ( though I hate to bring this up) to pick up the shirt she would be wearing the following day to work.

 

[Confusion]

My understanding was that she normally took the car to work, but sometimes took DJ's truck (I believe her mother said this.) What her brother said, if I'm remembering correctly, was that he texted her at 7:30 am to see if she needed a ride home. At the time, I thought he meant home from work, but now I'm thinking he meant home to her mother's house to get the shirt she needed to wear (and get the car). I do think she was supposed to drive herself that day, and that's why nobody mentioned that she wasn't there to get a ride. JT probably thought she had found a different ride, but I can't remember if he ever said why he didn't think it was odd that she didn't show up or respond to his text.

 

[ZoriahNZ]

I think we need to be really careful when parsing quotes made by LE and the family or even witnesses. For some reason, there seems to be a lot of misquotes by reporters which change the implication of the data presented. Where at all possible, we should refer to any existing video footage and give that higher preference over written material by reporters who sometimes mishear or misinterpret.

For example, there's a big difference between "her world's a mess and she can't drive to save her life." and "her room's a mess and she can't drive... and, so..." There's a difference between a witness saying he saw Mollie at around 8pm and the written article saying 9pm. There's a difference between Jake saying he texted Mollie to ask if she still needed the car vs needed a ride to work vs needed a ride home.

Quite frankly I am appalled at how badly various media outlets are contradicting each other in terms of major and minor details. Especially since we already have a lack of information that LE is willing to even confirm or deny.

Let's try to refer to video sources first, when available. Quoting written text that accompanies such segments is proving to be a minefield in of itself with regard to "the facts".

 

[Deleted member 227095]

Article mentioning Mollie’s father’s comment about her driving.

For an Hour, Mollie Tibbetts' Dad Thought She'd Been Found Dead — But Still the Search Continues

I've commented on this article before as it is virtually identical to article with Dad interview in People Magazine. I previously posted People Magazine link and quote. Also refer to DM article with interview with Mom who is standing in driveway in front of car that brother and MT share. In the DM article the Mom talks about MT walking over in morning to pick up car. MT does drive. Please let's not perpetuate something untrue in this thread as it will simply confuse other people coming to read this thread and distract discussion to an issue that is frankly not an issue IMO. Let's keep it moving!

 

[Jaclin]

If you were jogging, how much distance would you cover in 45 minutes - on average?

I would cover a 5k, but I'm slow. Someone else could probably cover twice that or more. We just don't know her pace, and we can't base it on high school because she had a year off and wasn't jogging/running competitively in college.

 

[feralwriter]

Keep in mind, though, that Mollie is small and doesn't look 20. If you just saw her running by, you might think she was a much younger teenager. Possibly as young as 14 or so.

Perhaps, but that assumes he didn't target her beforehand. I now believe he knew exactly who she was, her age, what she was in school for, etc. --It took a month to come to this conclusion for me, but I'm there now. Agreed, however, to someone unfamiliar with her she could appear younger.

 

[MsBetsy]

I think all we know is that brother dropped her off at BF house. I don't think we know how she got from home or BF house to work and back again to BF house that day. The brother could have given her a ride from work but we don't know this. LE is keeping all details regarding the ride to and ride from work on the day or or day before disappearance unavailable as far as I can tell.

Since the earliest reports state he dropped her off at 5:30, we can assume that he picked her up from her job and drove her home. We don't know how she got to work that morning but we do know how she got home.

 

[Confusion]

IMO no. No SK is stupid enough to do anything in the same location so soon. Or they feel they will catch him before he strikes again.

They were just over 6 years apart. I've heard of SKs who killed in the same location in a much shorter period of time. MOO

 

[Deleted member 227095]

I think we need to be really careful when parsing quotes made by LE and the family or even witnesses. For some reason, there seems to be a lot of misquotes by reporters which change the implication of the data presented. Where at all possible, we should refer to any existing video footage and give that higher preference over written material by reporters who sometimes mishear or misinterpret.

For example, there's a big difference between "her world's a mess and she can't drive to save her life." and "her room's a mess and she can't drive... and, so..." There's a difference between a witness saying he saw Mollie at around 8pm and the written article saying 9pm. There's a difference between Jake saying he texted Mollie to ask if she still needed the car vs needed a ride to work vs needed a ride home.

Quite frankly I am appalled at how badly various media outlets are contradicting each other in terms of major and minor details. Especially since we already have a lack of information that LE is willing to even confirm or deny.

Let's try to refer to video sources first, when available. Quoting written text that accompanies such segments is proving to be a minefield in of itself with regard to "the facts".

Bravo/Brava! We have so few 'facts' in this case so lets protect them the best that we can!

 

[feralwriter]

I've commented on this article before as it is virtually identical to article with Dad interview in People Magazine. I previously posted People Magazine link and quote. Also refer to DM article with interview with Mom who is standing in driveway in front of car that brother and MT share. In the DM article the Mom talks about MT walking over in morning to pick up car. MT does drive. Please let's not perpetuate something untrue in this thread as it will simply confuse other people coming to read this thread and distract discussion to an issue that is frankly not an issue IMO. Let's keep it moving!

So no more rabid killer raccoon theories? Shucks. JoJoJo with a clear-headed post, thank you. Keeping it to the known facts, always.

 

[chihuahua]

They were just over 6 years apart. I've heard of SKs who killed in the same location in a much shorter period of time. MOO

So true and statistics prove it.
They often accelerate and then go thru a cooling-off period.
When it comes to real SKs no one can really say. IMHO

 

[Vedder]

I've commented on this article before as it is virtually identical to article with Dad interview in People Magazine. I previously posted People Magazine link and quote. Also refer to DM article with interview with Mom who is standing in driveway in front of car that brother and MT share. In the DM article the Mom talks about MT walking over in morning to pick up car. MT does drive. Please let's not perpetuate something untrue in this thread as it will simply confuse other people coming to read this thread and distract discussion to an issue that is frankly not an issue IMO. Let's keep it moving!

Right. My friends would say about me "she can't park". I park. My car may be crooked, but I park it.

Moooo

 

[mtnlites]

Any idea how many agents? I am guessing by huge you mean analogous to the # of FBI in her case.

Another aspect I find strange is we were told the number of agents who were brought in. Maybe this is SOP & many of us questioning it simply don't know this is SOP.

OR perhaps because this was garnering so much media attention nationwide, LE brought in more than usual. Even if this amount, this fast, is SOP, I still feel it's hinky.

Plus, all the vanished women who never became a huge headline like Mollie. I get it her family is moneyed, & fit certain other demographics. They know how to navigate systems. But hey, if those of us second-guessing this aspect of the case are wrong, I hope so. I hope this is solely about one twenty year old female.

There were 15 agents called in for one and they stayed for about a month. I don't see anything unusual about the FBI presence.

The media coverage is always interesting. When our 14 year old local girl was attacked on a hiking trail and beheaded, there was zero national coverage (hardly any state coverage). When the 18 year old in my signature disappeared, many of the big TV shows of the time contacted those close to the case and tried to get them to appear on the talk shows and crime shows and their offers were declined.

 

[MsBetsy]

Any idea how many agents? I am guessing by huge you mean analogous to the # of FBI in her case.

Another aspect I find strange is we were told the number of agents who were brought in. Maybe this is SOP & many of us questioning it simply don't know this is SOP.

OR perhaps because this was garnering so much media attention nationwide, LE brought in more than usual. Even if this amount, this fast, is SOP, I still feel it's hinky.

Plus, all the vanished women who never became a huge headline like Mollie. I get it her family is moneyed, & fit certain other demographics. They know how to navigate systems. But hey, if those of us second-guessing this aspect of the case are wrong, I hope so. I hope this is solely about one twenty year old female.

Me too. And it was her mom who told a reporter initially there were 15 FBI and more on the way, and then LE who stated 40 investigators all together.

 

[MassGuy]

Thanks, I will dig up my media sources and try to clarify a bit more accurately then.
jmo

Mollie Tibbetts' Fitbit being used in search for her - CNN
This is an older article but its says as many as 15 FBI agents. During one of the pressers, the number of investigators working the investigation was put at 35-40 per day. So we're not talking about 40 FBI agents.

 

[DocBrew]

Presently, I am not leaning in a "serial killer" direction. No evidence of that and LE aren't indicating that one may on the loose. In fact, the opposite. They said they feel the public is not in any immediate danger.

To me, "serial killer" means much the same as "sex trafficking" when it comes to theorizing about what happened to a missing person. They're the ol' go to when information is lacking and brains have been stormed out. The chances of her meeting either fate are about the same (infinitesimal).

JMO.

 

[feralwriter]

There were 15 agents called in for one and they stayed for about a month. I don't see anything unusual about the FBI presence.

The media coverage is always interesting. When our 14 year old local girl was attacked on a hiking trail and beheaded, there was zero national coverage (hardly any state coverage). When the 18 year old in my signature disappeared, many of the big TV shows of the time contacted those close to the case and tried to get them to appear on the talk shows and crime shows and their offers were declined.

Thanks. That is so interesting how the mass media works... or doesn't. Beheaded, wow. Okay, looks like this FBI with MT is normal.

 

[Deleted member 227095]

So no more rabid killer raccoon theories? Shucks. JoJoJo with a clear-headed post, thank you. Keeping it to the known facts, always.

Thank you. We know so little in the case sadly but we do know that MT drives (supposedly not well but she gets by).....

 

[MsBetsy]

There were 15 agents called in for one and they stayed for about a month. I don't see anything unusual about the FBI presence.

The media coverage is always interesting. When our 14 year old local girl was attacked on a hiking trail and beheaded, there was zero national coverage (hardly any state coverage). When the 18 year old in my signature disappeared, many of the big TV shows of the time contacted those close to the case and tried to get them to appear on the talk shows and crime shows and their offers were declined.

Although I do find it interesting that others are pointing out the possibility of a SK, and perhaps one that is involved in another case. I find their reasoning very compelling and I think I agree with them. The case I detailed above about Nathaniel White didn't even have nearly that many FBI , and he killed seven women!! So actually, the more I think about it, the surer I am that it is NOT usual.

 

[feralwriter]

Mollie Tibbetts' Fitbit being used in search for her - CNN
This is an older article but its says as many as 15 FBI agents. During one of the pressers, the number of investigators working the investigation was put at 35-40 per day. So we're not talking about 40 FBI agents.

"As many as" can mean considerably less, as well as UP to fifteen. Thanks