Found Deceased IA - Mollie Tibbetts, 20, Poweshiek County, 19 Jul 2018 #12

[Emilyf886]

I have been following for several day but this is my first post. With so many unknowns there are so many possibilities.

I assume since Fitbit has the ability to track things like heart rate and steps that the info is logged on a server somewhere for a short time even if its not sync'd to a device. I'm curious if LE saw data from one or more of these stats that would leave them to believe MT was alive at least for some time outside of the window that we knew she went missing. Of course once the devices died you would stop seeing this but would explain why they have confirmed gathering Fitbit data but nothing else and also why they have been talking in terms that seem like they have hope MT is alive.

Unless she has access to charge it, that thing had probably run out of battery by now.

 

[DocBrew]

Perhaps I missed it as I am not entirely up to speed on facts, but did LE state or give any indication that things at the house were undisturbed and/or that nothing appeared unusual or out of sorts?

 

[Gussified]

It also may not be that important to the case beyond providing information to construct a more detailed timeline. Only LE would know for sure, and I do hope they examined her Snapchat account and everyone who she is "friends" with or has been receiving or exchanging messages with. I also wanted to explain Snapchat because I saw some theories that linked Mollie's disappearance with the Delphi murders, which involved one of the girls posting on Snapchat, as if there could be a potential serial killer who stakes out victims on Snapchat. While not impossible, the application is extremely popular, especially among young people, and the privacy settings that I explained earlier would usually prevent some total unknown from stalking people through Snapchat. But, who knows?

My personal take on this case is that Mollie was abducted by a stranger, who may live near Brooklyn or may not. Did Mollie walk to work? Like many others here, I do think that she went missing in the morning before work, but perhaps she was walking and a neighbor from town who she knew of offered to give her a lift. It's also possible that she was just taken forcefully as well.

My own theory is that she connected on SC with someone she knew, not a close friend, but someone from her past. They exchanged a few SCs, s/he invited Mollie to hang out, and she went voluntarily, thinking s/he was harmless. (all the night of 7/18) Hoping LE has identified this person, interviewed them, and is keeping them under surveillance, hoping s/he’ll lead them to Mollie.

side note: Is that too many pronouns? Can’t tell if my words are accurately expressing what’s in my head.

 

[MalloryPike]

Of course I understand, your site your rules. But in your example you used Mollie's brother but what about Wayne Cheney, its ok to suspect him because he hasnt been cleared by LE? Not trying to be combative, just trying to understand if its a family thing or a being cleared thing.

From page 1 of this thread, regarding WC:

You may discuss the contents of this article but you may not trash him or accuse him of being guilty. Only the content of the article and his statements can be discussed. No additional sleuthing of his background beyond what is in the article. He is not a suspect or a POI but because he is interviewed in MSM we are allowing limited discussion.

Iowan With Multiple Stalking Charges Admits To Police Questioning in Search For Mollie Tibbetts

 

[cluciano63]

Really wish I could believe they have a POI...but in so many cases, LE finds some reason to haul them in on some other charge or at least be questioning someone. Hard to believe this is a leak-proof LEA when so much gets out, as a rule.

 

[DancingMuse]

LE has such a daunting task on their hands with respect to searches. They are questioning people and then have to make the decision to go through the courts for a warrant. The process must be laborious and painstaking.

Many W-Sleuthers have suggested she might have been abducted by a (possibly) local person between 5:30 am and 6:00 am while on the walk to her mother's home to retrieve the car.

If Molly was walking/running at 5:45 let's say, and a severe thunderstorm came through, many WS-er's have posited that a known individual might have offered her a ride. She was wet, 10 minutes into her walk, in a hurry, etc. And she trusted this person. It's understandable she didn't want to be rude, and would get in the car, thinking, for example, something like:

"Oh of course, this is the guy whom my mom knows from the church picnic three weeks ago."
(or)
"Yeah, this guy worked at my middle school years ago; ..."

(or)
"No problem. This person is part of a large extended farming family in these parts... ...."

With LE ALREADY searching hog farms in the area, it could be that there is
(a) phoned-in tips
(b) cell phone/fit-bit pings, or trace
(c) combo of both
(d) some other info leading them to search several pig farms

How does LE get all those warrants to search completely? It must clog the courts for days? The searches must be exhausting and inconclusive.

Especially if there is a FAMILY COMPOUND of a couple of properties together, (yards abutting each other) owned by several members of one family. That must be crazy-complicated for LE. A lot of times, there are paths between family member's homes that connect the properties, so people can quickly visit each other. No one knows about the paths except the family, and their employees.......... It boggles the mind how many possibilities there are for foul play to happen, and for evidence to be hidden, and also, for no one to notice the strange hours a family member/employee was keeping or what they were doing with equipment, facilities, and vehicles. (as many Websleuthers have suggested)

LE must be LOSING their collective minds, at the PACE of this investigation.

Because if they are investigating all members of the C-Family, let's say, or anybody else, and are ALSO having to view them as having properties that are basically a "C-Family-Compound", LE would then need at least three, four,......or more search warrants to effective search EVERYWHERE.

It's possible that LE would probably have to
1) interview every employee and trace their phone usage, driving patterns, delivery routes, etc.
2) THOROUGHLY examine every tool-shed, walk-in refrigerator/freezer, vehicle(recreational/farming/ATV), compost pile, basement, tornado shelter, water-well house, wine cellar, oven/fireplace/hearth, barn, field shed, boat house along a river, on-site machine shops, livestock areas (food troughs, manure troughs, etc), heavy equipment (wood chippers, harvesting combines), etc.
3) COMPLETELY follow every outdoor-path leading in, out and around these properties......

.........to gather evidence of any kind.

The search process of farmland that has been in a family for generations has to insanely extensive, often fruitless, time-consuming, and agonizing for all involved....that includes MT's family, the entire surrounding community, and LE.

 

[Emilyf886]

Most modern day Hog/Pig confinements are large barns that are built over a basement of sorts. The basement is the manure pit. Slots in the concrete flooring that the hogs stand on allows the manure to drain into the pit.

A hog manure pit would be the perfect place to dispose of a body. The smell of a decomposing body would be masked by the smell of the hog manure. A dead body weighted with sink to the bottom of the pit and likely never be found, unless the pit was pumped.

Picture of the floor being installed over the manure pit for a hog confinement.

JMO

i wonder if they thought of using sonar to search the pit. would make sense. i was watching Killing Fields and they used sonar to check beneath the mud of the bayou, i'm sure it would penetrate the surface of pig manure, correct?

 

[Emerald1328]

Not sure if this has been posted but the employees were issued two red shirts and asked to wear them to special excursions like the fair trip. Photos of the shirt in this link...Red shirt tied to missing Iowa college student, 20, found near previously searched pig farm | Daily Mail Online

Very interesting, thanks! That answers one of my questions. Though it sounds like some may have had 3 shirts:

“Day camp staff are typically supplied with two work-issue red shirts bearing the company's logo though they would occasionally ask for a third.“

And is this new info re: the time she was due at work that morning?

“Mollie's boss at the Grinnell Regional Medical Centre, Chad Nath, said she was expected to arrive for work around 8am on July 19, but she never showed up.“

 

[PommyMommy]

Perhaps I missed it as I am not entirely up to speed on facts, but did LE state or give any indication that things at the house were undisturbed and/or that nothing appeared unusual or out of sorts?

Boyfriend of missing Iowa college student cleared as suspect

"One avenue of thought is that if it wasn't a struggle, and we have found no signs of a struggle, then maybe it was someone she was familiar with," Mortvedt said. "But then the other avenue of thought is it could have been a stranger who simply overpowered her or tricked her. We just have very little to go on."

(Mitch Mortvedt is the Iowa Division of Criminal Investigation spokesman.)

 

[Paige Franklin]

Unless she has access to charge it, that thing had probably run out of battery by now.

Agreed. I think if data was reporting until it died it would lead to the thought that she may be held alive. Vs. the alternative where I would assume that data would stop reporting sooner.

 

[Abcdefgh]

One obvious point about this case if she was abducted from the house.

1) If two males normally lived at the house there would have been signs of that around the property.

2) Normally an abductor who goes after somebody like that would avoid confronting a more powerful person.

3) So the abductor, if that is the case, probably had some way of knowing that the males who left traces on that property were not present.

So, if it were done by somebody who knew the girl or her family, it seems likely he would take steps to make sure she did not have the ability to report the crime, e.g. by killing her or keeping her captive.

Even though it is an area with a lot of farmland, it seems more likely if she were killed the body would have been weighted and dropped in a creek.

Hopefully she will be found alive but it looks unlikely.

add
eta Obviously this is a case where law enforcers should be considered possible suspects too.

Ex-police officer on trial in Alaska killing

Native Lives Taken by Police

 

[Mom24]

Has anyone searched for old photos of the hog farm? Historical aerial pics? Sometimes there can be old foundations of buildings removed but still accessible in some fashion. Or old detention ponds that may be covered by trees. I'm not sure where to begin to look for something like that.

 

[Stunned]

ok.. it was just that a news paper had a picture of her, her grandma and 3 brothers? I thought the 3rd guy could of been DJ but it didn't look like him.

I saw three brothers also.

 

[oviedo]

Very interesting, thanks! That answers one of my questions. Though it sounds like some may have had 3 shirts:

“Day camp staff are typically supplied with two work-issue red shirts bearing the company's logo though they would occasionally ask for a third.“

And is this new info re: the time she was due at work that morning?

“Mollie's boss at the Grinnell Regional Medical Centre, Chad Nath, said she was expected to arrive for work around 8am on July 19, but she never showed up.“

Just looked at the fox news report - they have drone that traveled the area - Mollie Tibbetts: Fox News takes a look at the location where the missing girl is last thought to have been

I was curious how many mile(s) there are between the two houses to see if she would have walked since she didn't respond to the text message about borrowing the car that morning (sent by her brother)

 

[DocBrew]

Boyfriend of missing Iowa college student cleared as suspect

"One avenue of thought is that if it wasn't a struggle, and we have found no signs of a struggle, then maybe it was someone she was familiar with," Mortvedt said. "But then the other avenue of thought is it could have been a stranger who simply overpowered her or tricked her. We just have very little to go on."

(Mitch Mortvedt is the Iowa Division of Criminal Investigation spokesman.)

Thank you. This makes me more inclined to believe that she left voluntarily that night either with someone she knew (most likely) or was abducted in the early AM when leaving/walking to her mom's (far less likely).

JMO.

 

[gregjrichards]

Very intriguing information about the slurry retention ponds. And may I just add, wow, YUCK.

It’s awful to think about between this and the suggestion of a wood chipper by a person online earlier I feel sick.

 

[JayBlue]

Yesterday's press conference restored some of my faith. A large reward earmarked for tips leading to Mollie's safe return. Family members spoke at length, and with hope in their eyes.

Today's press conference tore it apart. Her family looked absolutely spent. Defeated. Broken. Hopeless. They received some new information yesterday afternoon/evening for sure.

 

[Melanie1126]

4. In regard to the last seen outfit - IMO, she almost had to be wearing it when she was taken as otherwise, it would still be there right? If she got home from her run and someone came to the door, I could see her putting on a shirt over it - perhaps the red shirt? If it was just given to them that day for the trip the next day, it probably would have been close to her. If it was a uniform, she could have had it set out for the next day and was the closest shirt she could grab. I’m having a little difficulty with this theory though - if she was comfortable enough running in public with a sports bra (not that there’s anything wrong with it - if I could rock it, I totally would!), would she feel the need to cover up?

This is exactly what I think happened. That's the only way I can reconcile both her running clothes and the red shirt being gone. I think she made it home but still had her running clothes on. I read somewhere else that the red shirts had been given out to employees that day, so as you said, it was probably close by where she'd left it after bringing it home.
I don't run in a sports bra. My girls are fluffy. I'm sure everybody has their own feeling about that based on their own confidence level and how much they care about what everybody else thinks and should they even be thinking?, but we know they do. If Molly considered herself an athlete, training in the heat, the bra was the most comfortable choice, she probably was just doing her thing and comfortable, not really thinking about it. If I try to imagine that I'd just run in a sports bra, and now I'm home in my own personal space and there is a knock on the door and now I'm going to open it and be in close proximity to someone and I don't know yet who it is- I think that would feel much more personal to me and I'd probably grab a shirt to throw on. But again, everyone is going to have a different feeling about how comfortable they'd be.
* quote shortened by me for length

 

[otto]

I have been following for several day but this is my first post. With so many unknowns there are so many possibilities.

I assume since Fitbit has the ability to track things like heart rate and steps that the info is logged on a server somewhere for a short time even if its not sync'd to a device. I'm curious if LE saw data from one or more of these stats that would leave them to believe MT was alive at least for some time outside of the window that we knew she went missing. Of course once the devices died you would stop seeing this but would explain why they have confirmed gathering Fitbit data but nothing else and also why they have been talking in terms that seem like they have hope MT is alive.

That's exactly what I've been thinking. I read something early on that left me confused, something about investigators thinking that Mollie was alive because of her Fitbit. Unfortunately I was skimming and didn't get a good understanding.

Trying to make sense of it, my guess is that the Fitbit and cell phone were together for a short time after she vanished, that Fitbit data was transmitted via cell phone wifi, and police assumed that meant that Mollie was alive for several hours afterward. My guess is that the last location for the cell phone is in the area of the farm searches.

 

[Chichi baby]

Any idea what is taking place today? Where if any searches?