Police appear to be honing in on five select locations in their ongoing search for missing 20-year-old Mollie Tibbetts following a recent website launch dedicated to the case, announced Aug. 13.
University of Iowa student Mollie Tibbetts was last seen on July 18 jogging in Brooklyn, Iowa. She had been staying at her boyfriend’s house to watch his dogs. The boyfriend Dalton Jack and her family reported Tibbetts missing on July 19 when she didn’t show up for work.
Police say “there have been no credible sightings of, or communications with, Mollie since that time.” Those in the Brooklyn area have been urged to submit any information that might have been overlooked in the search for Tibbetts.
“Law enforcement is currently seeking additional witnesses and wants to speak to anyone who was in the areas indicated below on July 18, 2018, between the hours of 5 p.m. and 10 p.m.,” the website findingmollie.iowa.gov reads.
There are five highlighted areas on the map featured on the website. The locations include a D&M carwash near Brooklyn’s main commercial area, and a TA truck stop just off the Interstate-80.
Another location of interest, 385th Ave, is in the vicinity of Jack’s house. The other two highlighted areas are those of buildings on farmland that are only accessible only by dirt road. One area is near Big Bear Creek.
Police have not disclosed why the locations were of interest in the search.
A Sensitive, Respectful Young Lady
At a press conference on Aug. 13 at the Poweshiek County Sheriff’s Office in Montezuma, investigators announced that they had launched the website findingmollie.iowa.gov.
After more than 500 interviews and 1,500 tips in a city that has a population of just over 1,400, alongside an award of more than $366,000 from more than 200 donors, police on Aug. 13 urged people in the Brooklyn area to submit any more information they may about Tibbett prior to her disappearance.
“Mollie is a sensitive, respectful young lady. She’s an outstanding student who is well-liked by her professors and classmates. Her disappearance is completely out of character for her,” Mitch Mortvedt, Assistant Director of the Iowa Division of Criminal Investigation (DCI), said at the press conference.
“We are considering all potential scenarios. It is possible Mollie came into contact with someone who caused her harm,” he said. “This person may not necessarily be a member of our community but likely has some familiarity with the area.”
Since July 24, the Iowa Division of Criminal Investigation had been working alongside the Poweshiek County Sheriff’s Office and the FBI in the search for Tibbetts.
“Individuals who commit violent crimes often display behavior that is recognized by those with whom they live, work, attend school or are in otherwise close relationships with,” Mortvedt told reporters. “Often there are individuals who are unknowingly associated with the offender of a crime and may be in a position to observe behavioural changes in that person.”
Mortvedt said that as there could be a delay in people’s behavioural changes, he was again reaching out to the public for further information.
Anyone with information about Tibbetts’s disappearance should call 800-452-1111 or 641-623-5679 or send an email to [email protected]. You can also submit information to findingmollie.iowa.gov.