Tibbetts family thinks search is narrowing for Mollie
Mollie's father Rob Tibbetts and her boyfriend Dalton Jack believe she is still alive nearly a month after her disappearance.
It’s been nearly one month since University of Iowa student Mollie Tibbetts inexplicably vanished from her hometown of Brooklyn, Iowa — and despite repeated requests for any new information, investigators remain tight-lipped about what they know regarding her disappearance.
“Understandably this is a stressful time for the community and those who love her,” Mitch Mortvedt, assistant director of the Iowa Division of Criminal Investigation, which is leading the probe, said at the most recent press conference. “We ask that you remain patient and vigilant.”
The state agency, which has partnered with the FBI and local law enforcement officials, has insisted that releasing details to the public could compromise its investigation.
“We are taking this case very seriously and every avenue of the investigation is being pursued,” Mortvedt said. “Investigators are conducting searches, canvassing the local area and following up on all reported information. But, we are reluctant to discuss all the investigative leads and details of this case as well as the methods. We will utilize every technology and all available resources in this investigation.”
The IDCI said it has a timeline from the day that Tibbetts, 20, went missing that it’s “confident with” but won’t release it to the public. A federal investigator involved in the Tibbetts case told Fox News that authorities have interviewed nearly “everyone in the county” and are taking every tip seriously.
Police have revealed only that Tibbetts was last spotted in Brooklyn on July 18 at about 7 p.m. wearing a pink sports top and black shorts.
Adding to the public’s frustration over the lack of information: the IDCI abruptly canceled two scheduled press conferences last week. On Monday, it finally held a press conference, but failed to reveal any new details in the case other than to announce the launch of a new website, findingmollie.iowa.gov.
The website gives possible eyewitnesses and the public much more information about Tibbetts, the search area, and also tips on how to spot someone who might be connected to her disappearance— such as sudden changes in appearance like hair color, unexplained car damage, injuries, anxiety and stress or not showing up to school or work.
The Tibbetts family and those close to her told Fox News that she might have been abducted by someone she knows or someone from the community that made a horrible mistake and is keeping her captive.
“Somebody knows something. In Brooklyn everyone talks to everyone,” said Rob Tibbetts, her father. “We need to get those persons to come forward with that information. If people don’t have anything to hide, they don’t have anything to fear.”
All parties involved, including law enforcement, acknowledge that Brooklyn’s proximity to Interstate 80 and Route 6 raises the possibility that a stranger got off one of those busy roadways and made their way into town. There’s even a busy truck stop at the Brooklyn exit off I-80 that investigators have identified as a place of interest.
On the night of July 18, Mollie Tibbetts was staying at her boyfriend’s house, just a few blocks from Brooklyn’s quaint downtown corridor.
The house sits on a corner lot in a tree-lined residential area that’s on the edge of sprawling, mid-summer Iowa corn fields that surround the small, picturesque town.
Family, friends and neighbors told Fox News that Tibbetts was an “avid” runner who competed in cross country races and jogged nearly every day.
A neighbor told Fox News he saw her running on his street, headed in the direction of a carwash and the main street section of town at about 8:30 p.m. That neighbor could be the last person who saw her before she disappeared.
Tibbetts' younger brothers say it was not unusual for his sister to run almost every day by herself with music in her headphones, her means of “escape.”
What is unusual, police are now stressing, is her sudden disappearance.
Her family reported her missing on July 19 after she didn’t show up to work at a daycare and did not respond to texts.
It’s been nearly one month since University of Iowa student Mollie Tibbetts inexplicably vanished from her hometown of Brooklyn, Iowa — and despite repeated requests for any new information, investigators remain tight-lipped about what they know regarding her disappearance.
Because of the police silence, it’s unclear whether investigators have made any breakthrough in the case or are still in the dark about what happened to her.
The media has zeroed in on farmer who lives roughly 13 miles away in Deep River, Iowa. He made headlines when he was questioned by investigators on his rural property.
Fox News spoke to the farmer several times and he acknowledged the FBI had questioned him, but he insists he has nothing to do with Tibbetts’ disappearance.
Police have not named him as a suspect.
Her father told Fox News he doesn’t think that farmer is physically strong enough to abduct his daughter and said that the investigation has recently become “more focused.”
“I know people are frustrated. I know that the process is long and arduous but the law enforcement team told us it would be,” Tibbetts said. “It’s thorough, it’s comprehensive. I don’t want to miss anything.”
He said he has confidence in law enforcement and is even distancing himself from the investigation so he won’t jeopardize it.
“We’re just going to have to rely on the authorities and their investigation,” he said. “They have a terrific team and so we just have to put our faith in them."
Mollie Tibbetts’ boyfriend, Dalton Jack, and his brother Blake told Fox News that there was no apparent sign of a struggle at their house, where she was dog-sitting when she went missing. They say it was the first time she stayed at the house by herself.
Tibbetts’ iPhone, Fit Bit and the jogging band she was carrying are all missing, family members said, which might indicate that whatever happened to her occurred outside of the house while she was out on her jog.
Mollie Tibbetts' younger brothers say it was not unusual for his sister to run almost every day by herself with music in her headphones, her means of “escape.”
Apple and Fit Bit told Fox News they won’t comment on their interaction with law enforcement on the case. IDCI spokesperson Richard Rahn has insisted that investigators will use all available technical devices to try to trace Tibbetts’ digital footprint. Rahn would not confirm if Apple or FitBit turned over any information.
Jack also said he opened a Snapchat from Tibbetts around 10 p.m. on the night she went missing, which appeared to show her inside. But he said he was unsure when she actually sent the message. Snapchat also would not comment about that message and referred Fox News to investigators.
“Everyone has their theories but I’m leaving it to the authorities,” Jack told Fox News. “I don’t want to wrack my brain thinking what happened because I’d go insane. Leave it to the authorities to piece it together.”
Tibbetts’ family, including her mother Laura Calderwood and her younger brothers, Scott and Jake, have apparently cooperated with authorities and made themselves available to Fox News and other media.
Jake Tibbetts said the family is not aware of anyone who would want to harm his sister.
“She really did mean a lot to people because she could talk to anyone about anything,” he said. “That means a lot, having someone to talk to.”
Tibbetts’ boyfriend, who has also cooperated with investigators, said he was about 100 miles away working a construction job in Dubuque, Iowa when she went missing. His brother was in Ames, Iowa. Their whereabouts have not been disputed police and neither has been named as a suspect.
Her boyfriend and father have been most public in their efforts to find Tibbetts, doing press interviews all hours of the day and raising awareness for her— even passing out flyers at the Iowa State Fair in Des Moines.
Her mother is described by her sons and neighbors as the strong, “behind-the-scenes” type that is getting work done in partnership with her family and law enforcement. At a press conference, Calderwood said she is gathering strength from Tibbetts and feels her daughter “on her shoulder” — but said she has moments of “meltdown.”
Throughout his many interviews, Rob Tibbetts has remained noticeably calm and poised. But he admits there are dark moments.
“Mornings aren’t good, neither are evenings but we, you know, get in the shower, brush your teeth, and head out again and you do what you can to drive information back to the law enforcement team so they can find Mollie,” Rob said. “There’s a lot of scenarios that will bring Mollie back to us and those are the scenarios that I’m going to stay with.”
In the initial days after Tibbetts' disappearance, before the her family partnered with Crime Stoppers, the reward for her safe returned hovered around $2,000. It’s now inching closer to $400,000 and is the greatest incentive the family and police have to convince someone to come forward with information.
Crime Stoppers told Fox News it’s the largest reward ever for its organization in the state of Iowa.
“It’s the incentive that it would provide to someone who is reluctant, for whatever reason, to give us that information,” Rob Tibbets said. “But it also driving that information to authorities at a pretty astonishing rate.”
Crime Stoppers told Fox News it has sent 1,128 tips to law enforcement since July 28.
“It is working, driving hundreds of leads to the authorities,” Rob Tibbetts said. “Eventually one of those is going to be “the one.”
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