IA - Mollie Tibbetts, 20, Poweshiek County, 19 Jul 2018 *Arrest* #41

[Seattle1]

I haven't read anywhere that only one person is visible on Camera. Have LE released this? I haven't.

I seriously doubt this information correct. I recall that the video only captured a dark sedan determined to be a Malibu, no occupants or license visible. However, the video is said to have captured Mollie while running alone. Perhaps that's where the "one visible" story coming from.

 

[Seattle1]

I guess I'm assuming the 1900 block refers to addresses 1900 thru 1999, so it could be anywhere from that house all the way to 200 st. Do I have that wrong? Wouldn't be the first...

I believe your assumption is correct. If CR did in fact stop/park the car, the 1900 block of 385th St. there are a couple businesses, apartments, and single family residences along this stretch where he could have parked. I don't believe he parked and jogged as he told police. MOO

 

[cluciano63]

Why would he have to reveal everything he did? Does he have to reveal the details of the crime? Couldn't he just plead guilty without anyone ever knowing the why, how, and when?

I have seen them have to give details to judge, to be sure I guess. And if he admits specific things, he would be unable to say he did not understand what pleading guily meant.

 

[pamelado2]

The entire town is no bigger than half a square mile. She could pretty much cover the entire town on a 45 minute run. I'm guessing she did go on 385th sometimes out of boredom. This was especially a boring night since there was nobody at the house with her except for the dogs.

As I look at the entire population of BGM, under 2000, I wonder how did Mollie and CR not know each other especially when CR's ex-gf knew Mollie. Surely they may have hung out together in a group at some point. And why does it seem like so few people in town knew Mollie when she had lived there for 10 years. How did her neighbors only recognize her as "some girl who runs here sometimes"? She seemed to have more friends back in CA than she did in Iowa. Only her family and a couple friends have said anything about her.

I definitely think she knew him by sight. But don't forget, his girlfriend was a grade ahead of Mollie and they broke up 2 years ago.
I compare it to my experience growing up in a small town 1/2 that size. I was in 4th grade when we moved there. I knew all the kids a couple years older than me and a couple years younger and the majority of everyone else in school (7-12 and a few from k-6). I knew the majority of my classmates parents, all the teachers and their families, all the store owners and their families (who usually worked for them) and everyone who went to my church. And let's not forget the family names - if someone was a Jahnke or Wotruba or Stumbris, etc, etc I knew someone in their family.
I will guarantee Mollie knew the majority of the people in that town either personally or through a connection to others in their family. And anyone that saw her running, who was from that town may not have known her by name, but if someone had said 'that's Laura's daughter' or 'Judy's granddaughter' or 'she's dating the youngest Jack boy' they would have had a connection.
It's very possible the family asked friends not to speak to the media and they actually listened!

 

[otto]

I definitely think she knew him by sight. But don't forget, his girlfriend was a grade ahead of Mollie and they broke up 2 years ago.
I compare it to my experience growing up in a small town 1/2 that size. I was in 4th grade when we moved there. I knew all the kids a couple years older than me and a couple years younger and the majority of everyone else in school (7-12 and a few from k-6). I knew the majority of my classmates parents, all the teachers and their families, all the store owners and their families (who usually worked for them) and everyone who went to my church. And let's not forget the family names - if someone was a Jahnke or Wotruba or Stumbris, etc, etc I knew someone in their family.
I will guarantee Mollie knew the majority of the people in that town either personally or through a connection to others in their family. And anyone that saw her running, who was from that town may not have known her by name, but if someone had said 'that's Laura's daughter' or 'Judy's granddaughter' or 'she's dating the youngest Jack boy' they would have had a connection.
It's very possible the family asked friends not to speak to the media and they actually listened!

Why would Mollie, a university student, know an illegal immigrant who worked on a dairy farm?

 

[MsBetsy]

I watched it too and I'd never heard that he was "pacing", that she had been characterized by the perp as "scared" (though it's implied), or that she was known to be abducted at a property alive, killed later and taken to the cornfield. ?

I can't see her running that far away from a more populated area with him on her heels. It doesn't make sense and I'm not sure how much of this is media being creative or if they're referring to LE statements to them.

I also still think he's lying about it all other than where she was found.

I don't believe he was " on her heels" for very long, if at all. It makes no sense. Why would he put that much distance between her and the car? He circled the area, not " paced", as the reporter stated ( this was very poor reporting so I wouldn't pay much attention to the words being said) However the video puts things in perspective. I believe after he checked out the area to make sure the coast was clear, he quickly made his move pulling up in front of her perhaps, so as to make it easier to put her in the trunk quickly. As I stated above, it's possible that at this time she began to run, it makes more sense than her being followed and trying to outrun him. She never had the chance to run to a more populated area. I really don't see them running down the road together, him following close behind. It would have to be alot quicker than that. He probably made up the story about his jogging with her to make sense of the fact that he ran after her. It probably would not take him too long to chase her down and put her in the trunk. I don't imagine her getting very far. It may have been seconds. Especially if he pulled up in front of her. She would have only been a few feet from his trunk. She had no time to run to any other location, rather, just to get away from him.

 

[gregjrichards]

Yes, a horrible feeling. Have people put flowers and things there or at the location her body was found? I hadn't heard anything about that.

There were balloons tied to the gate near where Mollie was found after her funeral service I saw a photo with a news article and shared it here.

 

[SharonNeedles]

I watched it too and I'd never heard that he was "pacing", that she had been characterized by the perp as "scared" (though it's implied), or that she was known to be abducted at a property alive, killed later and taken to the cornfield. ?

I can't see her running that far away from a more populated area with him on her heels. It doesn't make sense and I'm not sure how much of this is media being creative or if they're referring to LE statements to them.

I also still think he's lying about it all other than where she was found.

Des Moines Register has a reputation for playing fast and loose with facts.

 

[MsBetsy]

Why would Mollie, a university student, know an illegal immigrant who worked on a dairy farm?

I knew that was you, otto, before I even scrolled up and saw the name.

 

[MsBetsy]

There were balloons tied to the gate near where Mollie was found after her funeral service I saw a photo with a news article and shared it here.

Yes, now I remember. You can also see them deflated in the video from the register. I would just imagine there would be lots of balloons, flowers, and other things.

 

[otto]

I knew that was you, otto, before I even scrolled up and saw the name.

There's so much speculation in the discussion that I don't know what to make of it. Police have said that there is no known connection between Mollie and the suspect. I've posted the link several times and don't want to look for it again.

We can take it as a fact that police cannot find any connection between the two. When you think about it, why would Mollie know an illegal farm hand who dropped out of school in the 7th grade? Still, there's speculation that Mollie did know the suspect, which presumably means that police are too dumb to find the connection.

 

[Sanz]

I know, but that's what he said. Take it as an euphinisim for that was the last geolocation point taken from the FitBit Cloud data (or other digital data) One of the few pieces of info LE has let out is that it was a digital signal that sent them to the area of the pig farm. Take it for what it is worth.

Did he happen to be the same deputy that was on the video link in an interview with the press? And that last 45 seconds was a shocker? JMO

 

[MsBetsy]

I seriously doubt this information correct. I recall that the video only captured a dark sedan determined to be a Malibu, no occupants or license visible. However, the video is said to have captured Mollie while running alone. Perhaps that's where the "one visible" story coming from.

Actually it came from a poster who mistakenly thought one individual was seen in the car.

 

[MyBelle]

There's so much speculation in the discussion that I don't know what to make of it. Police have said that there is no known connection between Mollie and the suspect. I've posted the link several times and don't want to look for it again.

We can take it as a fact that police cannot find any connection between the two. When you think about it, why would Mollie know an illegal farm hand who dropped out of school in the 7th grade? Still, there's speculation that Mollie did know the suspect, which presumably means that police are too dumb to find the connection.

I think Mollie may have known who he was because there was a baby born to one of her FB friends and the father's name is usually common knowledge in a small town. Especially when the mother is a popular cheerleader. We don't know that the mother was aware CR had an illegal status.

 

[MsBetsy]

There's so much speculation in the discussion that I don't know what to make of it. Police have said that there is no known connection between Mollie and the suspect. I've posted the link several times and don't want to look for it again.

We can take it as a fact that police cannot find any connection between the two. When you think about it, why would Mollie know an illegal farm hand who dropped out of school in the 7th grade? Still, there's speculation that Mollie did know the suspect, which presumably means that police are too dumb to find the connection.

Right. I think maybe some people try too hard to make sense of things. Or over- analyze. Or something. I didn't even know we were back to that subject until I noticed your post.

 

[otto]

Actually it came from a poster who mistakenly thought one individual was seen in the car.

We know that no one was seen in the car. Police had CCTV footage that was taken at a bad angle and captured some part of the area around Boundary and Middle Str. The angle was so bad, they were unable to obtain a license plate, but they did identify the vehicle type and noticed some unique features on the vehicle.

Police were driving in the rural areas around Brooklyn looking for a similar vehicle when an office spotted the car. They then determined who was driving the car.

 

[otto]

I think Mollie may have known who he was because there was a baby born to one of her FB friends and the father's name is usually common knowledge in a small town. Especially when the mother is a popular cheerleader. We don't know that the mother was aware CR had an illegal status.

We know that Mollie and the suspect's ex-girlfriend attended the same school. Police have said that there is no connection between Mollie and the suspect.

Apparently, attending the same school as the suspect's ex-girlfriend does not mean that she knew the suspect.

 

[MsBetsy]

I think Mollie may have known who he was because there was a baby born to one of her FB friends and the father's name is usually common knowledge in a small town. Especially when the mother is a popular cheerleader. We don't know that the mother was aware CR had an illegal status.

The only known connection between Mollie and Rivera is that they may have had mutual FB friends, and even that is not verified. Whether or not his girlfriend knew of his legal status has no relevance, although I'm sure she did.

 

[Gardenista]

I hadn't noticed before, but watching the video where they think the abduction might have occurred, it struck me the bend in the road would conceal a stopped vehicle waiting ahead for a jogger. She had a clear view of the road ahead for most of the jog, except for that curve at 385th. If he had been tailing her and he knew the road, he could speed up past her, pull over after the curve and wait for her to pass by. If the corn was high enough too, he could possible have pulled into a dirt driveway between cornrows and waited for her.

Also, man its stupid ballsy because of it being broad daylight and there being a houses around.

JMOO, the pic is just something I threw together. It could have even been a bit further along the road where it was more deserted.

I'm not sure if I've got the right spot, but at the end of the video you can see a home in the process of being built. I read on FB last week the home on the map at 1900 385th was a tear down and rebuild, so that's one less occupied house in the abduction area.

 

[MsBetsy]

We know that no one was seen in the car. Police had CCTV footage that was taken at a bad angle and captured some part of the area around Boundary and Middle Str. The angle was so bad, they were unable to obtain a license plate, but they did identify the vehicle type and noticed some unique features on the vehicle.

Police were driving in the rural areas around Brooklyn looking for a similar vehicle when an office spotted the car. They then determined who was driving the car.

That just about covers every detail.