Mollie Tibbetts’ father leaves Iowa a month after her disappearance

The father of missing Iowa college student Mollie Tibbetts is heading back to his California home a month after his daughter vanished.

Rob Tibbetts revealed he was reluctantly going back to San Francisco for ‘a break’ as police continue to investigate the 20-year-old’s baffling disappearance from the small town of Brooklyn on July 18.

‘Very reluctantly, I’m being told I sort of need to do this,’ Tibbetts told KCRG. ‘We’ve called this sort of a half-time, a break.’

Mollie’s father said authorities had been urging him and his family to return to the daily lives and trust them with the investigation.

Mollie Tibbetts, a 20-year-old University of Iowa student, vanished from Brooklyn, Iowa while she was out jogging a month ago 

Tibbetts, his sons and Mollie’s boyfriend Dalton Jack have been helping to lead the search efforts in Brooklyn ever since the young woman disappeared a month ago.

He said it was difficult to return home without any news but said he would return the moment there is any type of development in the case.

So far, investigators have received more than 2,300 tips regarding her disappearance but nothing has led to a break in the case. 

Search crews have spent that last month scouring rural areas near where Mollie was last seen and the reward for her safe return has skyrocketed to $366,000.   

Mollie, a University of Iowa student, vanished while she was out jogging in Brooklyn on July 18.

Tips have been rolling in ever since authorities launched a website and revealed they were focusing on five locations in the town regarding her disappearance. 

Rob Tibbetts revealed he was reluctantly going back to San Francisco for ‘a break’ as police continue to investigate the 20-year-old’s baffling disappearance from Brooklyn on July 18

The search for Tibbetts has now zeroed in on five areas (above), including a truck stop and car wash, in the rural Iowa town where she vanished from a month ago 

The search for Tibbetts has now zeroed in on five areas (above), including a truck stop and car wash, in the rural Iowa town where she vanished from a month ago 

An FBI source told Radar last week that police believe Mollie is still alive and being held hostage by an abductor. The source also said the suspect is likely ‘hiding in plane sight’ and may have even assisted in the search for her.

It came as more than 200 people gathered for a candlelit vigil in Mollie’s honor, two weeks after she was last seen out jogging. 

‘There is reason to believe the person responsible for Mollie’s disappearance attended a vigil and has continued to closely follow the case,’ the source said.

They said that authorities are tightening the net around the suspect and are looking at single, divorced, and widowed men around Brooklyn. 

They are also examining Tibbetts’ ‘digital footprint’, including data from her Fitbit and cell, in a bid to try and track her down.

Mollie’s father has previously said he believes his daughter was taken by someone she knows.

‘I do believe Mollie is with someone who she knows, probably someone who cares about her,’ he said. 

Mollie was staying alone in the home she shared with her boyfriend Jack Dalton (above) in Brooklyn when she vanished. He is not a suspect in her disappearance

Mollie was staying alone in the home she shared with her boyfriend Jack Dalton (above) in Brooklyn when she vanished. He is not a suspect in her disappearance

‘But that relationship was misguided, misinterpreted and went wrong, and I think they’re in a place with Mollie and don’t know how to get themselves out of this horrible situation.’

The search for Tibbetts has now zeroed in on five areas, including a truck stop and car wash, in the rural Iowa town where she vanished from a month ago. 

Investigators searching for Mollie launched a website last week to generate even more tips from potential witnesses who were near those specific areas on the night she vanished. 

Iowa Division of Criminal Investigation assistant director Mitch Mortvedt says investigators are considering all scenarios but that it’s ‘possible that Mollie has come into contact with someone who has caused her harm’. 

He asked the public to report information about anyone who has recently displayed odd behaviors.

‘Often, someone in the community will unknowingly be associated with the offender, and may be in a position to observe behavioral changes in that person,’ he said.

‘They will recognize the change and may even question them about it, but will not relate the change to that person’s involvement in a crime.’



Read more at DailyMail.co.uk