Found Deceased IA - Mollie Tibbetts, 20, Poweshiek County, 19 Jul 2018 #25

[Onescout]

I agree, this 5pm start in the time line is interesting...it is the start of something in motion as far as investigators are concerned or they wouldn’t be mentioning it. Whether it’s determining someone unfamiliar to local’s movements or actually confirming someone’s “alibi”.

 

[str8nightowl]

The phone carrier (LE by proxy) has the ability to determine if the phone was intentionally powered down, the battery gradually went dead, or was suddenly disabled. My guess is that LE knows what cell tower pinged before this event. That is most likely all they have.

gillglock, I agree.

 

[dlharris2712]

So...I have been "scrolling and rolling" through a couple of the MT boards on FB. I have to say - although some of those people are ruthless on calling out POI's...some of their information seems reasonable. Never thought I would say that about info from FB...lol! Also - SharonNeedles: your videos have been shared to Reddit - and are also now on FB. Hoping today is the day they find Mollie! Much love to her family.

 

[Cardinal47]

i was leaning towards acquaintance or someone known to her in some way but to be honest just the way the press conference was worded made me think stranger.

On that note have they ever cleared anybody other than DJ and Mollie's two brothers?

I could not hear most of what was said at the PC and I wondered if reporters might have asked that question.

 

[cody22]

My feeling is that by soliciting information about changes in behavior and such they do not have a POI in mind. It could still be someone known to her in some way but maybe they tracked down everyone they could possibly find with a link to her and got nowhere.

Opinion - as lateott posted, I too believe they are gathering enough tips that pertain to a perp/perps in order to have probable cause, to obtain search warrants, find more evidence, and arrest the perp, whom I believe they have identified from nearly the beginning. I believe the perp/perps are being watched right now.

 

[feralwriter]

Let’s check it! Do you know where to find the log?

FWIW, the Iowa City Police Call Log for the days she went missing will be available online for another 2 to 3 days, if anyone wants a screen shot.

 

[str8nightowl]

In many rural Iowa communities, people have burn barrels which look like large trash cans, but are heavy, thick metal. You can burn trash in them at any time, no permit needed.

Yes exactly Homeschool Mom. I live in a small town and my dad had a burn barrel. He was always burning in it (trash). He would bury garbage in a pit he dug, but he would burn trash in the burn barrel. But he would burn trash at all times in the day. Normal in a small town and since it happens all the time it is really not suspicious (or pretty much small town people are used to it). He never had to have a permit either Veracity. Not sure if all towns are the same though.

I know this town of Brooklyn looks really small compared to the town I live in and the town I live in is pretty small. We are considered a small hick town. Usually if you live on the outskirts of town you can pretty much do anything on your property (burn, operate machinery late at night, etc.) without anyone fussing.

 

[MsBetsy]

Remember when the mom said LE asked her if Mollie was in a house at 9:45p.m? I've always thought there was some form of communication at that time. I can't find the link to that anywhere anymore tho.

I always wondered if that was the time the Snapchat was sent, although we have no confirmation.

 

[ACG2x]

So...I have been "scrolling and rolling" through a couple of the MT boards on FB. I have to say - although some of those people are ruthless on calling out POI's...some of their information seems reasonable. Never thought I would say that about info from FB...lol! Also - SharonNeedles: your videos have been shared to Reddit - and are also now on FB. Hoping today is the day they find Mollie! Much love to her family.

LOL I've given up on those. I lump all of them in together as the "scary boards". I've never seen so many people who "KNOW FOR SURE WHO DID IT" after watching a two minute edited news clip with an interview. Happens all the time in cases that are prominent in the media though.

In the early days of her disappearance, so many "knew" that DJ did it and were mapping out how he could've driven from Dubuque to Brooklyn, killed MT and gotten back. It was like watching someone write a script for a made-for-TV movie. Then everyone "knew" that MT was having an affair and left with Mystery Guy A who killed her. We then went to people "certain" that she was taken in the morning because 'OMG DAT RED SHIRT'. After that we go to WC who of course 'has to have done it' since he's the local creepy guy.

Thankfully, most on WS are much more sensible and logical than that. I started surfing those places early on but have stuck solely to WS lately. I can't wait though to hear what everyone elsewhere will "know" tomorrow.

 

[zecats]

How likely does everyone think it is that the perp cleaned his vehicle on the 19th, specifically the interior and/or the trunk? I think vehicle was cleaned immediately, but I think perp most likely cleaned it himself vs. going to a car wash.

Do most car washes have cameras? Assuming they do, I hope LE is reviewing 07/19 footage from all car washes within X miles to see who spent an inordinate amount of time vacuuming/scrubbing their interior/trunk.

There was a posted shot earlier from someone of this carwash with cameras, at least 4 different ones. Operational? Who knows, but possibility exists that these cameras spotted Mollie jogging as this location is just a bit west of last known/reported sighting of her jogging. I assume truck stop would have cameras as well. Cell phone and Fitbit input combined with camera input equals "be on the lookout" LE statements. jmo

 

[CuriousCricket]

I’ve given my two cents a couple of times one here about her leaving with someone she knows. But this morning I am set that she was trafficked. It hurts my heart but I think right now with literally no updates or anything being let it about what investigators are leaning towards and the recent update that they are looking into truck stops and car washes on the outskirts, that’s the only thing logical right now to me.

I think LE is very conscious of that. If my memory is correct, the LE spokesman hesitated and carefully considered his usage of the word "abroad." At first, I thought he was just blank and searching for a word and took "abroad" to mean inside the county and beyond. But he also discussed trafficking. Hours after the PC, I started wondering about a facial recognition search for passengers on planes leaving the US and on some landing in areas known to be trafficking hot spots.

purely speculation, of course. But with all the media attention to trafficking now, I'm sure they're considering all the possibilities.

 

[Cardinal47]

Her brother Jake was going to go there to give her the car that night and I believe he texted her. Did he ever go there even tho he never heard back from her. Also wouldn't he have wondered why she didn't call in the morning to get the car?? Why would they have found out she was missing when she didn't show up for work. I would think the mother and brother would have known that when she never got in touch to get the car for work.

I thought I read that sometimes she got other rides to work so that might have been something that made them mad she didn't let them know but not something to be alarmed about. Just a 'how inconsiderate' kind of thing.
I was a bit concerned that the workplace didn't have a contact person for when Mollie didn't show up. Where I work you show up or call in or your are called to find out why you aren't there. Especially with a camp day with travel planned and I'm sure they needed the help.
I'm thinking somebody must have been a bit worried because they let DJ know she didn't show up and he started the ball rolling to find out where was Mollie.

 

[Tinselfoil]

To my knowledge DJ and his brother and Mollies two brothers have been cleared. I am unaware of anyone else being cleared publicly thru LE.

Congrats on 5555 posts!

 

[kotis]

Be that as it may, if she doesn't show for the dinner she arranged to come for, or the car she needs, or answers any of your texts and she's by herself, and she is an asthmatic runner, at what point do you at least try to call to check up on her?
I personally find the lack of concern...concerning.

it is certainly not how I interact with my kids....or anyone really. The safest thing to do is always follow up with someone you expect to hear from, even if you think the follow up may not be especially welcome.

But that's why I'm hoping they had some reason not to be concerned, and have been able to give that that reason to LE.

 

[cheko1]

Be that as it may, if she doesn't show for the dinner she arranged to come for, or the car she needs, or answers any of your texts and she's by herself, and she is an asthmatic runner, at what point do you at least try to call to check up on her?
I personally find the lack of concern...concerning.

I AGREE!

 

[jillycat]

I think the purpose of the presser was simply to generate more leads and to hopefully draw out some specific information associated with a vehicle, or someone who seemed out of place, or her jogging route and any possible associated activity by a third party. If they could tie her FitBit to the hog farm, obviously they could figure out where she was in town on their timeline. So the map may not be a single big deal. It's a visual aid for the public.

I don't read any 'code' or secret strategy into the LE remarks or website. I also think the 5:00 time is perhaps just a two hour window on the front end of when she was last seen or heard from. I suppose it could be connected to a piece of info about a third party sighting that they're hoping to tie to other pieces of something. But I don't see the timeline they provided as a revelation.

I think this could be a person she was known to via her jogging presence prior to that day, or the day/evening it happened, but don't think the connection goes much beyond that. I continue to believe it could also have been a total stranger who on another day perhaps would not have even encountered her and not had any repeat presence in the area. Or it could have been another girl on a different day. Or in a different town. There are just too many cases where predators decide in that moment, "that's the girl". Because that's the nature of predators.

I'm not a basher of law enforcement, but neither do I think they're above criticism, and I definitely don't think civilians are simpletons who watch too much TV and can't possibly have meaningful questions about law enforcement decisions or behavior. So I think the criticism and concerns about how long it took to have this type of presser, and appeal to the public, and set up a website with some basic info, has merit. I just do not see that anything they said or did yesterday could not have been said and done sooner, and potentially yielded useful or even critical information.

 

[otto]

Thoughtful post, @otto . Do you see this predator being somewhat local to this area? I have wondered about Evansdale from the start.

Thank you. Morgan Harrington's mother clearly stated that another family had to lose a daughter before she would have more information about Morgan's killer. Five years later, it happened. Similarly, another girl had to lose her life for Natalee Holloway's killer to be arrested.

Morgan Harrington October 17, 2009
Hannah Graham September 13, 2014

Natalee Holloway May 30, 2005
Stephany Flores May 30, 2010

When the Evansdale cousins' murders became a cold case, I was waiting for it to happen again.

Elizabeth Collins, Lyric Cooke July 13, 2012
Mollie Tibbetts July 18, 2018

I think there's a strong possibility that the same predator is responsible for the Iowa abductions/murders, but I'm not convinced that an arrest doesn't require another victim. I do expect that the abductor lives somewhere in the rural area not far from Evansdale and Brooklyn. This is a map I put together last weekend. The fact that evidence or bodies are left outside of the radius (see illustration) suggests to me that the abductor wants to push that evidence as far away from home as possible.

 

[Quill]

For my part, any time you'd run you'd be asking for an asthma attack. A need for inhaler and to sit down.
I noticed her run times were slow and now I know why. But, it also makes me think that there was some other lure to "running" other the dubious "joy" of it when getting overheated triggers attacks as well as being subjected to a ton of allergens along the way.
Maybe she liked a guy on the track team or the coach or an excuse to "run" by his home to see and be seen.

But, as I stated earlier, if your mom's house having hot bedrooms (probably upstairs), triggers it, then FOR SURE, running outside in the summer time will. There must have been some heavy draw for this.

As a long time runner, I would like to note that slow running times only indicate that she is not a fast runner. That is all it indicates. Runners come in all body types and paces. Many runners I know manage asthma just fine. She may be an interval runner, or possibly just enjoys a nice leisurely pace. Just dropping my two cents here since I belong to a community of runners where you will find all ages, types, paces and walks of life. It is a misconception that runners are all long, lean and fast.
The things that draw most of us out in the heat to run are enjoyment, training for a specific race,stress relief, fitness maintenance or weight loss. Maybe she was just seeking self improvement or stress relief?
Hope this helps clear that up.

 

[SoccerMotha]

I wanted to make an observation and get some feedback.
DJ noted when he returned to the home at whatever time that was on the timeline, that the dogs had plenty of food and water.
Up thread, people had noted that labs and most dogs will eat constantly if food is available.
So, for an evening, a night, a morning, and up until he arrived, there was still plenty of food left? How darn much did she leave, and why? Is this an indication that she was leaving for a prolonged period of time, thereby indicating prior intent?

Or have I missed this being discussed in previous threads?

I keep seeing that the dogs had plenty of food and water.....I've had 2 poms and 1 lab in my life and none of them would eat when we are all gone. Granted, I've never left my animals for long periods of time, but have overnight and even then they didn't eat or drink until we were home. So them having plenty of food and water, to me anyway, really doesn't help with a timeline regarding how long she had been gone. Obviously, all dogs are different and MOO and all that.

 

[who knew?]

Thanks—I found it also. What do the Open Line/hangups mean? There are lots of them. Has anyone tried to map these 911 calls? Are any near Mollie’s jogging route or other important places?

I don’t know if it applies in this case, but when I worked, in order to fax a document, we had to dial a 9 for an outside line, then a 1 for long distance. Many times, the fax (who knows why) would dial 911 over and over. We were directly across the street from the police station, and they would have someone walk over and tell us to check our fax machines.