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'''Mollie Cecilia Tibbetts''' (May 8, 1998 – <!-- Unknown month of death - do not add month until confirmed --> 2018) was an [[United States|American]] college student who disappeared while jogging in Iowa on July 18, 2018, and was found dead a month later.<ref name="CBS1">{{cite news |title=Mollie Tibbetts, missing Iowa college student, found dead |url=https://www.cbsnews.com/news/mollie-tibbetts-iowa-missing-girl-found-dead-today-2018-08-21/ |accessdate=2018-08-21 |publisher=CBS News |date=2018-08-21}}</ref><ref name="Fox News">{{cite news |last1=Lam |first1=Katherine |title=Mollie Tibbetts, missing Iowa student, found dead, her father says |url=http://www.foxnews.com/us/2018/08/21/mollie-tibbetts-missing-iowa-student-found-dead-sources-say.html |accessdate=2018-08-21 |publisher=Fox News |date=2018-08-21}}</ref><ref name="WashPo"/> She was born in [[San Francisco, California|San Francisco]] and moved to [[Iowa]] during her second grade year. She attended the [[University of Iowa]] and was preparing for her sophomore year at the time of her disappearance. A body that matched Tibbetts' description was found on August 21, which was later identified and confirmed to be hers. Cristhian Bahena Rivera, a 24-year-old <!-- see section in talk page before changing immigration verbiage -->[[undocumented immigrant]],<ref name="WashPo">{{cite web|url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/true-crime/wp/2018/08/21/mollie-tibbetts-has-been-found-dead-a-month-after-she-vanished-authorities-say/|title=Mollie Tibbetts has been found dead a month after she vanished, authorities say|publisher=The Washington Post|date=22 August 2018|access-date=22 August 2018}}</ref> faces first-degree murder charges.
'''Mollie Cecilia Tibbetts''' (May 8, 1998 – <!-- Unknown month of death - do not add month until confirmed --> 2018) was an [[United States|American]] college student who disappeared while jogging in Iowa on July 18, 2018, and was found dead a month later.<ref name="CBS1">{{cite news |title=Mollie Tibbetts, missing Iowa college student, found dead |url=https://www.cbsnews.com/news/mollie-tibbetts-iowa-missing-girl-found-dead-today-2018-08-21/ |accessdate=2018-08-21 |publisher=CBS News |date=2018-08-21}}</ref><ref name="Fox News">{{cite news |last1=Lam |first1=Katherine |title=Mollie Tibbetts, missing Iowa student, found dead, her father says |url=http://www.foxnews.com/us/2018/08/21/mollie-tibbetts-missing-iowa-student-found-dead-sources-say.html |accessdate=2018-08-21 |publisher=Fox News |date=2018-08-21}}</ref><ref name="WashPo"/> She was born in [[San Francisco, California|San Francisco]] and moved to [[Iowa]] during her second grade year. She attended the [[University of Iowa]] and was preparing for her sophomore year at the time of her disappearance. A body that matched Tibbetts' description was found on August 21, which was later identified and confirmed to be hers. Cristhian Bahena Rivera, a 24-year-old illegal immigrant faces first-degree murder charges.


==Background==
==Background==

Revision as of 17:17, 22 August 2018

Mollie Tibbetts
Born
Mollie Cecilia Tibbetts

(1998-05-08)May 8, 1998
San Francisco, California, U.S.
DisappearedJuly 18, 2018
Brooklyn, Iowa, U.S.
StatusFound dead August 21, 2018
(aged 20)[1]
Body discoveredPoweshiek County, Iowa
CitizenshipAmerican
EducationUniversity of Iowa
OccupationCollege student

Mollie Cecilia Tibbetts (May 8, 1998 – 2018) was an American college student who disappeared while jogging in Iowa on July 18, 2018, and was found dead a month later.[1][2][3] She was born in San Francisco and moved to Iowa during her second grade year. She attended the University of Iowa and was preparing for her sophomore year at the time of her disappearance. A body that matched Tibbetts' description was found on August 21, which was later identified and confirmed to be hers. Cristhian Bahena Rivera, a 24-year-old illegal immigrant faces first-degree murder charges.

Background

Born in San Francisco, Tibbetts moved to Iowa with her mother during her 2nd grade year.[4] At the time of her disappearance, she was a resident of Brooklyn, Iowa, a small town about 70 miles (110 km) east of Des Moines, and a student at the University of Iowa.[5] Tibbetts was preparing for her sophomore[4] year in college when she disappeared.

On July 18, 2018, Tibbetts, a former cross country runner,[4] left the home of her boyfriend's brother[5] in Brooklyn for her evening jog. She was last seen at approximately 7:30 pm CDT and was reported missing by her family when she did not show up for work the following day.[6] According to police, Tibbetts' last confirmed communication was with her boyfriend of three years,[4] Dalton Jack, who was out of town for work in Dubuque, Iowa, over 130 miles (210 km) away,[7] shortly before leaving for her jog, although Jack told investigators that he received a Snapchat message from Tibbetts later in the evening that appeared to show her being indoors.[5]

Investigation

Over the next several weeks, law enforcement in multiple states investigated hundreds of leads in the case,[8] including an unconfirmed sighting at a truck stop in Kearney, Missouri[6] (later confirmed to have been false),[8] but were not able to locate Tibbetts. Police received over 2,300 tips[9] and conducted over 500 interviews during the course of the investigation.[10] As she was known to "never take off" her Fitbit activity tracker, authorities attempted to use data from the device to help find Tibbetts.[11] It is not known if such information ultimately helped locate her body.

Vice President Mike Pence called attention to the case at the beginning of a speech in Des Moines on August 15, telling a crowd that had gathered to hear his remarks about President Donald Trump's tax policies that the government would continue to provide "any and all federal support" to the case. Pence later met with the Tibbetts family aboard Air Force Two.[12]

About a week prior to her body being found, authorities said that the search had been refocused to several specific areas in and around Brooklyn, including Jack's home, a truck stop, a car wash, and two area farms.[1] Prior to the discovery of Tibbetts' body, monetary rewards for information leading to closure in the case had reached over $385,000, surpassing the previous record reward amount raised by the local Crime Stoppers branch.[12]

On August 21, 2018, authorities in Iowa announced that a body had been found in Poweshiek County,[13] where Tibbetts' hometown of Brooklyn is located.

A charge was filed against 24-year-old Cristhian Bahena Rivera, an undocumented immigrant from Mexico, who lived in the rural Poweshiek County area where Tibbetts vanished.[14] Authorities also spelled Rivera's first name as Christian.[15] Rivera was charged with first-degree murder[16][17] with a potential penalty of life in prison.[15]

Reactions

Vice-President Mike Pence, who had visited with the family earlier, wrote on Twitter that he was heartbroken by the news and said "we will never forget Mollie Tibbetts".[18][19]

President Donald Trump said it "should never have happened".[20]

Iowa governor Kim Reynolds also issued a statement, saying, “As Iowans, we are heartbroken, and we are angry. We are angry that a broken immigration system allowed a predator like this to live in our community, and we will do all we can bring justice to Mollie’s killer.”[21]

U.S. Senators Chuck Grassley and Joni Ernst of Iowa released a joint statement, saying, "We are deeply saddened that this bright, young woman’s life was cut short. Our heart goes out to the family and friends of Mollie Tibbetts. No family should ever have to endure such a tragedy, especially one that could have been prevented."[22]

References

  1. ^ a b c "Mollie Tibbetts, missing Iowa college student, found dead". CBS News. August 21, 2018. Retrieved August 21, 2018.
  2. ^ Lam, Katherine (August 21, 2018). "Mollie Tibbetts, missing Iowa student, found dead, her father says". Fox News. Retrieved August 21, 2018.
  3. ^ Cite error: The named reference WashPo was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  4. ^ a b c d Kilen, Mike (July 24, 2018). "Mollie Tibbetts' family refuses to give up, asks for help to find her". Des Moines Register. Retrieved August 21, 2018.
  5. ^ a b c "Mollie Tibbetts: Iowa college student's body believed to be found". USA Today. August 21, 2018. Retrieved August 21, 2018.
  6. ^ a b Winsor, Morgan (August 6, 2018). "The disappearance of University of Iowa student Mollie Tibbetts: A timeline". ABC News. Retrieved August 21, 2018.
  7. ^ "Authorities believe Mollie Tibbetts' body found: Timeline of Iowa woman's disappearance". ABC 7 Chicago. Retrieved August 21, 2018.
  8. ^ a b Keneally, Meghan (July 31, 2018). "Police follow up on hundreds of leads in missing Iowa jogger case". ABC News. Retrieved August 21, 2018.
  9. ^ Navarro, Chantelle (August 18, 2018). "Rob Tibbetts goes home, Mollie's family "returning to day-to-day lives"". KCRG-TV. Retrieved August 21, 2018.
  10. ^ Crist, Carolyn (August 15, 2018). "Can Fitbit Data Really Help the Search for Missing Runner Mollie Tibbetts?". Runner's World. Retrieved August 21, 2018. {{cite web}}: Cite has empty unknown parameter: |dead-url= (help)
  11. ^ Shapiro, Emily (August 6, 2018). "Investigators examine missing Iowa jogger's Fitbit data as search for 20-year-old moves to 9th day". ABC News. Retrieved August 21, 2018.
  12. ^ a b Nozicka, Luke; Pfannenstiel, Brianne (August 15, 2018). "Mike Pence, who met with family of Mollie Tibbetts: "You're on the hearts of every American"". Des Moines Register. Retrieved August 21, 2018.
  13. ^ "Mollie Tibbetts, missing Iowa college student, found dead, reports say". Des Moines Register. August 21, 2018. Retrieved August 21, 2018.
  14. ^ News, A. B. C. (August 21, 2018). "Body found believed to be missing Iowa jogger; murder charge filed". ABC News. Retrieved August 22, 2018. {{cite web}}: |last= has generic name (help)
  15. ^ a b Eli Rosenberg, Nick Miroff, Cleve R. Wootson Jr. (August 21, 2018). "Man charged with killing Mollie Tibbetts is an undocumented immigrant, authorities say". The Washington Times. Retrieved August 22, 2018. {{cite web}}: Italic or bold markup not allowed in: |website= (help)CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)
  16. ^ Darrah, Nicole (August 21, 2018). "Mollie Tibbetts murder suspect ID'd as Cristhian Rivera,". Fox News. Retrieved August 21, 2018.
  17. ^ Perez, Chris (August 21, 2018). "Illegal immigrant charged with Mollie Tibbetts' murder". NY Post. Retrieved August 22, 2018.
  18. ^ "Vice President Mike Pence on Twitter". Retrieved August 22, 2018.
  19. ^ "Vice President Mike Pence on Twitter". Retrieved August 22, 2018.
  20. ^ "Donald Trump on Twitter". Retrieved August 22, 2018.
  21. ^ "Gov. Reynolds issues statement on Mollie Tibbetts". Retrieved August 22, 2018.
  22. ^ "Grassley, Ernst Joint Statement on Mollie Tibbetts". Senator Grassley Website. August 21, 2018. Retrieved August 22, 2018.
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