Missing Student Mollie Tibbetts ‘Found Dead’

Mollie Tibbetts/Facebook

Missing Iowa student Mollie Tibbetts has been found dead, according to multiple reports, five weeks after her disappearance.

Mollie’s body was found in Iowa on Tuesday (August 21), however police are yet to give further details. Authorities have not yet said how Mollie died.

The 20-year-old disappeared from the rural town Brooklyn, Iowa, on 18 July. She’d been staying overnight by herself at her long-term boyfriend’s home on the night of her disappearance.

Mollie was last seen jogging at approximately 8pm in an area located nearly 70 miles east of the state capital, Des Moines. She had been wearing shorts, trainers and a black sports bra. Mollie’s Fitbit and cellphone – which she usually took while out jogging – were nowhere to be found.

Mollie’s family reported her missing the next day after she failed to turn up for her job at a children’s day camp. It is unclear whether or not she returned to the home, where she had been dog-sitting while her boyfriend was out of town.

The week before her body was discovered, officials stated they had narrowed their search down to five locations in and around Brooklyn: a car wash, two local farms, a truck stop, and her boyfriend’s apartment.

At the time of writing, nobody has been arrested in connection with Mollie’s death. Although police have interviewed hundreds of people during the investigation, no suspects have been identified publicly.

Greg Willey, the vice president of Crime Stoppers of Central Iowa, told the Associated Press a body had been found and is believed to be Mollie. No information has been released about where the body was found.

Mr Willey said a nearly $400,000 reward fund for her discovery would become a reward for information leading to the capture of any possible suspects, once the news is officially released.

Mr Willey said:

Once they catch their breath, this will turn into a weapon going the other direction to catch the person who did it.

The Iowa Division of Criminal Investigation have stated a press conference will take place at 5pm local time (22:00 GMT) at the sheriff’s office in Montezuma regarding the investigation.

A psychology major, Mollie had dreamt about one day completing her doctorate and writing books, according to her father Robert.

Known to be a voracious reader with a love of poetry, Mollie also excelled in areas such as speech, theatre and cross country running.

Mollie was known to those around her as a strong and caring person who wanted to use her knowledge of psychology to help others.

According to the Des Moines Register, Mollie’s close friend Kayleigh Holland said:

She’s already everybody’s counselor.

Any problem that they had, you knew Mollie would help you fix it.

Our thoughts are with the family and friends of Mollie Tibbetts at this difficult time.

If you have experienced a bereavement and would like to speak with someone in confidence contact Cruse Bereavement Care via their national helpline on 0808 808 1677.

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Julia Banim

Jules studied English Literature with Creative Writing at Lancaster University before earning her masters in International Relations at Leiden University in The Netherlands (Hoi!). She then trained as a journalist through News Associates in Manchester. Jules has previously worked as a mental health blogger, copywriter and freelancer for various publications.