New Information Emerges in Case of Missing University of Iowa Student as Reward Raised

Published: 7/30/2018, 10:59:07 AM EDT

New Information Emerges in Case of Missing University of Iowa Student as Reward Raised — (Finding Mollie Tibbetts/Facebook)

New information in the case of missing University of Iowa student Mollie Tibbetts indicates that she may have returned home the evening she vanished.

Tibbetts went for a jog in Brooklyn on July 18, and authorities have been working to piece together what she did after the jog and where she was when she disappeared.

Family members told KCCI that evidence has emerged showing Tibbetts, 20, was doing homework on her computer after her jog, although they and authorities didn't disclose a specific time, citing the ongoing investigation.

Tibbetts was dogsitting at her boyfriend's house when she vanished. The new information indicates she may have returned to the house before vanishing, family members said.

The boyfriend, Dalton Jack, is not a suspect in the case, according to officials, who have also ruled out Tibbetts's brothers.

Jack received a Snapchat on July 18 that he opened around 10 p.m., authorities said. The Snap taken by Tibbetts appeared to be indoors, though the caption and time were unclear.

Investigators have searched a number of nearby areas looking for Tibbetts, including a pig farm and cornfields, but have uncovered no signs of her.

Other investigators have been piecing together a timeline of what she was doing prior to her disappearance, using digital data from her Fitbit, social media accounts, and cellphone.

Meanwhile, the reward for information leading to an arrest or conviction related to Tibbetts's disappearance has been doubled from $1,000 to $2,000, reported the Des Moines Register.

Crimes Stoppers of Central Iowa had been offering a reward of $1,000, which was recently matched by the T.I.P. Rural Electric Cooperative, which is based in Brooklyn.

Investigators have said they believe Tibbetts could have been abducted.

“We’re still asking for the public’s help. … We’d like to get any information we can. The more eyes and ears we have, the better,” Mitch Mortvedt, a spokesman from the Iowa Division of Criminal Investigation, told Fox News.

Mortvedt added that officials are “leaning more and more toward something happening to her against her will.”

Rob Tibbetts, Mollie's father, told ABC that he believes the community holds the key to finding his daughter.

“What we need is for people to tell their friends and neighbors that if they saw anything that seemed even remotely out of the ordinary to call the authorities and they will run that down,” Tibbetts said. “The authorities have told us again and again and again that all the similar cases like this are always solved by some tip.”

While Tibbetts said the community near Brooklyn has been helpful, he believes there's somebody with information who hasn't come forward that could help locate Mollie Tibbets.

“It doesn’t matter what we’re going through, we just need people to think—because somebody knows something and they don’t even know it’s important,” Rob Tibbetts said. “We can get Mollie back we just have to have somebody call [the tip line]."

Anyone with information is urged to call the hotline, 800-452-1111.