A rural Iowa co-op has offered a $1,000 reward for any information leading to the whereabouts of student, Mollie Tibbetts, 20, who has been missing for more than a week
A rural Iowa co-op has offered a $1,000 reward for any information leading to the whereabouts of a 20-year-old student who has been missing for more than a week.
Mollie Tibbetts went out for a jog on July 18 and hasn’t been seen since, sparking an extensive search in the town of Brooklyn, Iowa.
Investigators revealed Friday they had searched a pig farm about 15 minutes from Mollie’s home after receiving a tip – but found no sign of the missing University of Iowa freshman.
Since then, the T.I.P Rural Electric Cooperative announced that the company added $1,000 to the existing Crimes Stoppers of Central Iowa reward of $1,000.
The $2,000 reward will be offered for information that would lead to an arrest or conviction related to Mollie’s disappearance.
Despite the latest unsuccessful search, Mollie’s mother Laura Calderwood is doing her best to stay positive.
‘If it were me that were missing, Mollie wouldn’t give up hope – that’s not even a thought,’ she told ABC News.
‘You won’t see me giving up hope. That’s not an option.’
Mollie (pictured) went out for a jog on July 18 and hasn’t been seen since, sparking an extensive search in the town of Brooklyn, Iowa
Mollie’s mother Laura Calderwood (pictured) revealed that giving up hope is ‘not an option’ in an interview with ABC News nine days after the 20-year-old’s disappearance
Calderwood said she received a phone call from her son Scott on July 18 asking if she knew Mollie hadn’t gone into work that day.
Mollie’s mother said skipping work without letting anyone know was ‘so out of character’ for her daughter, whom Calderwood described as an ‘outgoing, fun, loving life, loving person’.
‘There were alarms going off immediately,’ Calderwood said.
‘Within 15 to 20 minutes of me coming home, there were a bunch of her friends and I could see they were worried. Within 15 to 20 minutes, I called 911.’
Mollie was last seen near her boyfriend’s home in Brooklyn, where she was staying to watch his dogs while he was out of town.
Authorities said Mollie’s boyfriend has been ruled out as a suspect.
Shortly after Mollie was reported missing, a witness claimed to have spotted the 5’3″, 120lb-student jogging through corn fields wearing gym shorts, a black sports bra and running shoes.
After combing every field, barn and shed in the rural area for almost a week, local police called in for back-up from the FBI on Tuesday.
Investigators revealed Friday they had searched a pig farm about 15 minutes from Mollie’s home after receiving a tip – but found no sign of the missing University of Iowa freshman. Footage from KCRG shows hundreds of people preparing to search corn fields on foot
Since then, the T.I.P Rural Electric Cooperative announced that the company added $1,000 to the existing Crimes Stoppers of Central Iowa reward of $1,000. Mollie is pictured, left, with her grandmother Judy Calderwood and her three brothers
Federal officials announced they were zeroing in on Mollie’s internet footprint, keeping tabs on her social media accounts and analyzing activity recorded by her Fit-Bit tracker.
‘We are getting a lot of information back from that process. We are very hopeful with the electronic data we are getting back,’ said Mitch Mortvedt, assistant director of the Iowa Division of Criminal Investigation.
‘We are relying on the FBI heavily because it’s an ever-changing world in technology.’
Mortvedt said officials have little to go on, but they’re ‘leaning more and more toward something happening to her against her will’.
He added that investigators welcome the help of volunteer search parties, saying: ‘We’d like to get any information we can. The more eyes and ears we have, the better.’
Calderwood has thanked the community for coming to her family’s aid last week.
‘The community has gone above and beyond,’ she said. ‘We have had, you know, all kinds of food and water and Gatorade from family and friends, and I know that the investigators down at the police station are overwhelmed with what the community has done.’
Tibbetts, a college sophomore, is described as a 5-foot-3 woman, weighing 120 pounds