Mollie Tibbetts, the missing 20-year-old college student whose case has gripped the nation, was found dead, according to a report on Aug. 21.
Other details about the finding are not clear.
Tibbetts vanished more than one month ago, and a $366,000 reward is being offered for her return.
Mollie was last seen in Brooklyn, Iowa, after going for a jog. She had been dogsitting for her boyfriend, Dalton Jack, who has been ruled out as a suspect in her disappearance.
“I still feel that way, we all feel that way, that’s why it’s difficult for me knowing there’s a good chance that we’re going to bring her home,” said Rob Tibbetts about returning home. “I want to be there when she arrives.”
Meeting with Pence
Last week, on Aug. 15, Vice President Mike Pence said he met with the family of Tibbetts, according to the Des Moines Register. “I just want Mollie’s family to know: You’re on the hearts of every American,” he said, “and we will continue to work and we will continue to pray for Mollie’s safe return.”“I got the sense that it was not a politician at all, it was just another father that was just hurt and bewildered by Mollie’s story just like everybody else in America,” Tibbetts added.
The father added that he thinks “that ordinary quality of Mollie that people can identify with and that makes this story, this whole episode all the more frightening” is why people, including the vice president, can relate to the case.
In an Aug. 13 report, the Register said that investigators have carried out more than 500 interviews.
Mitch Mortvedt, assistant director of the Iowa Division of Criminal Investigation, said that her disappearance is “completely out of character” for Tibbetts.
“It is possible that Mollie came into contact with someone who has caused her harm,” Mortvedt said at the time. “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,” he said.