“The bottom line is somebody knows something,” said Rob Tibbetts, Mollie's father.
Those close to Mollie Tibbetts are urging anyone who may have seen or know anything about the Iowa college student’s disappearance to come forward.
“The bottom line is somebody knows something,” Rob Tibbetts, Mollie's father, told Fox News Channel Wednesday.
She was last seen Wednesday, July 18, after going for a jog in Brooklyn, located about 60 miles east of Des Moines. The 20-year-old was staying in the small city to dog-sit at her boyfriend’s home, which she may have left unlocked.
“It’s more than likely because nobody ever thought there was a reason to [lock the doors],” Tibbetts’ boyfriend, Dalton Jack told the news station. “It’s Brooklyn; nothing ever happens in Brooklyn. That’s why it’s just a blindsided situation.”
Jack had been out of town for work and last saw Tibbetts the day before when he left about 5 a.m. on Tuesday, July 17, he said. He reportedly received a photo from her on Snapchat Wednesday, but it was not immediately clear when the picture was sent.
Jack is not considered a suspect in Tibbetts’ disappearance.
“Everybody has their own theories [about what happened], but I’m just leaving it up to law enforcement trying to find that out,” he said. "I don’t want to go racking through my brain what happened, what happened, what happened, just driving myself insane."
Jack said he returned home when he found out she was missing Thursday, continuously calling Tibbetts’ phone in hopes someone would pick up.
"It just went straight to voicemail,” he said.
It’s not like Tibbetts to leave her phone unattended, her father said.
"Like every other young person her age, she is constantly online," Rob Tibbetts said, noting that the device has not yet been tracked down and is not currently turned on.
He urged anyone with information to come forward, saying: "There is no information too trivial."
“You can’t do anything there without someone seeing it,” he said of the Iowa city from which his daughter vanished.
Investigators have followed up on more than 200 leads since Tibbetts disappeared.
“We are pursuing every lead that is made available to us,” Kevin Winker of the Iowa Department of Public Safety told reporters Tuesday, noting tips are continuing to flow in and be worked on.
“Everybody wants to find Mollie,” he said. “At this point, we’re doing everything we can to make that happen."
Investigators have conducted numerous searches for Tibbetts, including in bodies of water and on properties like a hog farm.
Officials have not announced any suspects in Tibbetts’ case, but said her disappearance was not “consistent” with her past.
Tibbetts, a psychology student at the University of Iowa, was mature beyond her years and was "genuinely interested in other people," her father said.
"I’ve been telling people the genius of Mollie was her ability to make everything about other people,” he said.
"Just come home, Pie," Rob Tibbetts said as he addressed his daughter directly. "We’re looking — we’ll find you. She’s a brave girl. She’ll be fine, just hang in there."
Officials urged anyone with information to contact law enforcement at 800-452-1111, 515-223-1400 or tips@poweshiekcosheriff.com.
Crime Stoppers of Central Iowa has offered a $1,000 reward for information leading to an arrest in the case or Tibbetts' discovery. The TIP Rural Electric Cooperative in Brooklyn has agreed to match that reward, for a total of $2,000.
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