Found Deceased IA - Mollie Tibbetts, 20, Poweshiek County, 19 Jul 2018 #31

[Kapua]

First time poster...been following along for a long time and am blown away by you guys! This case is just driving me bonkers and breaking my heart, my "theory" changes every time I check in with the threads here. But this seems like a really great point to me. I am almost certain she was taken on her run...but then I think the fact that she was alone at the house is just too much of a coincidence for it to have been a random crime of opportunity...but the fact that the phone seems to have left a trail....my brain has bounced back and forth on this three times just while I have been writing this post. Ugh. Really hoping some more information is revealed soon...

Welcome! I have been here for weeks and I still have several theories. I try to divide them into more likely and less likely and not rule too many out. In terms of randomness, I don't imagine that a lot of out-of-towners would be in Brooklyn after 5 on a weekday night. That's one reason that I feel that Mollie was likely abducted by a local. It's an unusual case, and LE has been tight-lipped. Hoping for a break soon.

 

[Madison418]

For those of you who use fitbit or similar technology, do you shut it off when you are done your run? Could Mollie have been walking and looking at her phone because she was shutting down the fitbit or putting in some info that the run is over?

I have the fitbit versa and I can turn on the GPS run feature during a run and shut that feature off when finished. However, I do not turn off the fitbit so it would still be tracking my steps, heartrate etc

 

[Deleted member 155000]

For those of you who use fitbit or similar technology, do you shut it off when you are done your run? Could Mollie have been walking and looking at her phone because she was shutting down the fitbit or putting in some info that the run is over?

I am a runner who uses apps. I would not shut off my FitBit bc there is benefit to wearing it around the clock. But I would be likely to check my Running app (there are many) to see what my time was etc.

 

[Schmitz5100]

One thing that really sticks out to me is LE’s comment about this might be someone who has familiarity with Brooklyn but not from Brooklyn. I keep going back the the electric coop next door. The coop pulls from many counties. Some people refuse to pay their bills online because of hackers...or could be someone who likes the drive and is looking for trouble.

 

[Deleted member 155000]

One thing that really sticks out to me is LE’s comment about this might be someone who has familiarity with Brooklyn but not from Brooklyn. I keep going back the the electric coop next door. The coop pulls from many counties. Some people refuse to pay their bills online because of hackers...or could be someone who likes the drive and is looking for trouble.

That makes me think of someone who grew up there but moved away but still returns bc they have family in town.

 

[flashy09]

Right. And my father (a police officer of over 40 years) indicated that if you give out too much info on an investigation then you cannot distinguish between false confessors (why in the world someone would do that I don't know) and the real perp

Yes and also I would think they would want to leave some things unknown to help with a search warrant? Like if a pair of glasses were left at a scene they could look for a matching brand glasses case at the house and not have it thrown out beforehand.

 

[Kapua]

For those of you who use fitbit or similar technology, do you shut it off when you are done your run? Could Mollie have been walking and looking at her phone because she was shutting down the fitbit or putting in some info that the run is over?

My Fitbit doesn't shut off. I wear it day and night to track all of my activities and sleep. I take it off to shower, but accidentally showered with it twice when I first got it, and it was OK. I was charging it once every 3 days, but I did two experiments since following Mollie's case and determined that my Fitbit battery can go more than 5 full days without charging. ETA: I don't close the Fitbit app, either.

 

[gillglock]

That fact that MT disappeared when nobody was home could be telling of two things.
1. Someone used this as an opportunity to take her knowing that they would have spare time before it was known she was missing.
2. MT could have used this large amount of private free time to do something on her own that might be out of character for her. Something she may have wanted to keep secret from her friends or family. This ultimately could have led to her disappearance.
In my opinion, both of these are more likely than a random abduction of opportunity.

 

[claire_parker]

Now there's something I hadn't considered. Cool down. Maybe she was walking and looking at her phone because she was cooling down. Good point!

Maybe then that's when the witness saw her walking nonchalantly

 

[duster1979]

I wonder if she was pulled into a nearby cornfield near DJ's house where she was assaulted and perhaps
killed. No car seen and no evidence left behind.

If someone drove a car into a cornfield there would be plenty of evidence left behind.

 

[claire_parker]

That makes me think of someone who grew up there but moved away but still returns bc they have family in town.

Like maybe a guy whose mother lives in town?

 

[Parks]

For those of you who haven’t had the opportunity to read the play by play. This is a pretty good article.
Mollie Tibbetts Case: What to Know About the Iowa College Student Missing for Nearly 5 Weeks

 

[sallye818]

This thread has been moving at lightning speed, but wanted to check in and say I'm following and have been from the beginning. When I think of Mollie's boyfriend and parents, my heart and stomach ache. I'm praying LE will crack this case and bring this young lady home to her family.

 

[DizzyB]

I certainly hope the police aren't going to consider each of the thousands of people who drove on I-80 past the truck stop as suspects unless they report in with LE.

True that, but honestly, if I drove past the truck stop that evening, I might consider making the call just in case. Err on the side of caution. Son of Sam was a traffic ticket, so hey, you never know.

 

[flashy09]

IMO, the pinned tweet is a red herring. Mollie's sense of humor on SM seems very dry, and I think this whole incident in the pinned tweet is likely at the very least embellished for comedic effect, and I think it was something that was not really a big deal (like just a kid momentarily lost from her mother). Of course, everything should be investigated, but I really doubt anything will come of that.

I haven't actually been on her twitter to see her personality, but to pin a tweet seems too "much" for just a silly encounter. To tweet about it sure, but to pin it and make it such a big part of her twitter? It must have unnerved her. When did she pin it? I assume not the night of her disappearance.

 

[chihuahua]

If you know anything and you are just reading along, please do the right thing now. It is not too late. You are smarter than that, right?
This is going to escalate. It will. Look at the massive media coverage.
I as a rule do not hate anyone, no matter what I hate that they may do.
This applies to whomever has MT or may have done something to or with her.
I don't hate you.
I want you to stand up and make a call, drop an anonymous note somewhere it can be found, send a clue. Somehow. Some way.
I know you can do this and I know personally what fear is.
Stop. Think. Act.
If the worst has happened, then Mollie's family needs to know where to find that answer also.
I am depending on the good that has to be in there. There is good in every soul. I have found some in every one, (in every town), that I have ever met.
Chi

 

[PaulR]

I appreciate this pushback and I do agree that the FitBit point is the most debatable of those above (several can be debated). But let’s keep in mind that FitBits can be synced with more than 1 device. So disabling someone’s phone would not prevent that FitBit data from being accessed by MT’s computer or tablet if she had it linked there as well. So if someone was aware that FitBits sync, or had prior convos with Mollie about how she uses her FitBit, they may have been more likely to dispose of it.

I don't think that's relevant. Those devices would have been at her home, and Bluetooth has a relatively small range. If she was abducted while jogging, she wouldn't come near those other devices (unless the perp then took her to her home, but that begs the question - why would they do this?) If she was abducted while at home, her FitBit would quickly go out of range of her laptop.

That's assuming that people sync FitBits to multiple devices. I know it is possible but I do not because there is no reason to, unless you don't own a smartphone.

 

[MAGNUM PI1]

I'm afraid this might happen a lot more than we would think, especially in a larger population area.. not necessarily Brooklyn. So LE tells the public very little so someone that wants to be suspected... would be asked to give the details.. so that when questioned by LE, they can quickly be ruled in or out based on what they know all along.

Exactly. It is standard procedure, for LE to with hold key details, that ONLY the perp could possibly know. With the amount of the reward money offered,
LE must be underseige with tips being submitted.

 

[CheetosDust]

Anyone else thinking that its highly probable that MT was abducted either on the stone road near her house or from DJ residence? Im thinking this bc of the lack of a witness seeing her be abducted. Seems to me that if she was taken against her will in town, somebody would have heard or seen something. Just trying to narrow down possibilitiesno clueI'm still leaning towards somebody she knew and trusted totally betrayed her. But I also do realize that evil montsters roam among us every day and we have no clue. At work, at the grocery, post office, gas station etc etc

I heard it somewhere that we each pass ten serial killers in our lives. Not sure what "pass" means. I mean, do you have to see the whites of their eyes, bump their elbow, or see their car passing on the other side of a divided highway? Still, it's scary to think about.

 

[wary]

I haven't actually been on her twitter to see her personality, but to pin a tweet seems too "much" for just a silly encounter. To tweet about it sure, but to pin it and make it such a big part of her twitter? It must have unnerved her. When did she pin it? I assume not the night of her disappearance.

No, I believe it was November, 2017.