Tragic update on missing Iowa student Mollie Tibbetts
Mollie Tibbetts, a 20-year-old Brooklyn resident, was last seen mid-July after she went for a jog.
A nation-wide search lasted for more than a month, and new reports just in confirmed that her body had been found in Iowa earlier today.
Details about the exact location haven't been released as yet. Follow our Twitter account @amomama_usa for more updates and scroll down for the news brief.
According to Fox News, no arrests have been made and more details will be released at a news conference scheduled today at 6 pm Eastern Time.
Iowa college student Mollie Tibbetts has been found dead, just over a month after she was reported missing, CBS News has learned. The 20-year-old was last seen July 18, jogging near her home in the central Iowa town of Brooklyn https://t.co/OjIkhmjIuK pic.twitter.com/azexbX3BcZ
— CBS News (@CBSNews) August 21, 2018
Investigating officers searched several areas of interest last week, including a home in Brooklyn where her boyfriend lives, as well as a car wash and truck stop.
An eyewitness claimed to have spotted Tibbetts at the truck stop on August 6, more than three weeks after she went missing.
The truck stop's surveillance footage was analyzed but to no avail. Other areas of interest included a hog farm and corn fields.
JUST IN: Mollie Tibbetts has been found dead, nearly five weeks after the 20-year-old went missing near Brooklyn, Iowa. https://t.co/iqwyS6qPeg pic.twitter.com/dXbBOMISv0
— CBS News (@CBSNews) August 21, 2018
At the time of her disappearance, her parents suspected that she left willingly with an acquaintance. Her boyfriend's brother speculated that whoever she was with "was in over their head."
He explained:
“I think [...] there was some kind of misunderstanding about the nature of their relationship and at this point, they don't know how to get out from under this.”
#BREAKING: A body believed to be that of Mollie Tibbetts, the 20-year-old University of Iowa student who went missing July 18, has been found, according to media reports. https://t.co/jbVZcLuYYC pic.twitter.com/7WmW1LWL9H
— USA TODAY (@USATODAY) August 21, 2018
Her family was reaching out to members of the community on Facebook and through local notice boards, begging everybody to volunteer in the search or provide information.
REPORT: CBS News reports that 20-year-old Mollie Tibbetts has been found dead. https://t.co/FYZpHEUEbb pic.twitter.com/q5JZSLGEG2
— KCCI News (@KCCINews) August 21, 2018
A local print shop offered their support by printing flyers free of charge and distributing it around Brooklyn.
Officers were following up on more than 200 leads, including data from Tibbett's laptop, phone, Fitbit device, and other online activity.
RIP #MollieTibbetts I was praying for your return and it is so sad to hear about the news. Pray that the monster to be caught soon.
— Emily Chang (@totoroec) August 21, 2018
The Vice President of Crime Stoppers in Iowa, Greg Willey, said the $400,000 in the reward fund will now be made available to anyone who has more information about her death and disappearance.