The Disappearance and Death of Mollie Tibbetts: A Timeline
BROOKLYN, Iowa (KCRG) - On the night of Wednesday, July 18, 2018, Mollie Tibbetts, a 20-year-old student at the University of Iowa, went for a jog in her hometown of Brooklyn, Iowa and disappeared. She was later found dead. The following is the timeline of the events surrounding her disappearance and death:
July 18, 2018
On the evening of July 18, 2018, Mollie Tibbetts left her boyfriend’s brother’s home to go for a jog. Tibbetts was staying with her boyfriend for the summer. She was last seen jogging along the city streets of Brooklyn at approximately 7:30 P.M. that night.
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July 19, 2018
Tibbetts was reported missing by her family after she didn’t show up to work.
July 20, 2018
Crews begin looking for Tibbetts in Poweshiek County.
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July 24, 2018
Investigators say they are exploring the possibility that Tibbetts was abducted and are not ruling out anything as a possibility in her disappearance.
It is also revealed that the F.B.I. have joined the search.
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July 25, 2018
In an interview with ABC News, Poweshiek County Sheriff Tom Kriegel confirms Tibbetts’ brothers and boyfriend are not suspects.
July 26, 2018
The Kearney, Missouri Police Department investigates a possible sighting of Tibbetts.
July 27, 2018
The Iowa Division of Criminal Investigation (DCI) confirms that authorities searched several places, including a pig farm near Guernsey, for Tibbetts. They also say they are confident they’ve zeroed in on Tibbetts’ digital footprint.
Tibbetts’ mother, Laura Calderwood, speaks with ABC News for the first time.
July 29, 2018
Rob Tibbetts, Mollie’s father, tells Good Morning America that he believes the public may hold the key to finding his daughter.
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July 31, 2018
At a press conference, investigators reveal they have received and followed up on more than 200 leads and that searches have been conducted on the ground, from the air, and with the help of canine units.
August 1, 2018
Tibbetts’ family attends a vigil is held in Waterloo for missing children and children with unsolved deaths.
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August 2, 2018
Tibbetts’ family holds a press conference, saying they believe she is being held captive.
Investigators also announce they have concluded that a woman spotted in northwest Missouri was not Tibbetts.
August 3, 2018
Wayne Cheney, a man with a criminal past who lives in a trailer home about 500 yards from a pig farm searched by investigators, tells ABC News he was interviewed by the F.B.I. But Cheney is not named a person of interest.
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August 6, 2018
Rob Tibbetts tells ABC News’ Nightline he believes someone knows something about his daughter’s disappearance.
August 7, 2018
Wayne Cheney tells the Des Moines Register he’s taken a polygraph test.
Rob Tibbetts tells KCRG-TV9 that he is optimistic that his daughter’s disappearance will end on a happy note.
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August 8, 2018
New video surfaces showing Tibbetts goofing around with friends a day before she disappeared.
Police say a woman spotted at a gas station in Marion, that someone thought was Tibbetts, was not her.
August 9, 2018
Following an interview with ABC News, Devin Riley, a man who believes he saw Tibbetts the night she disappeared, tells KWQC that he’s had to defend himself after a barrage of negative comments and accusations on social media.
August 10, 2018
Rob Tibbetts and Mollie’s boyfriend, Dalton Jack, spend the day at the Iowa State Fair passing out flyers hoping to help spread the word on Mollie’s disappearance.
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August 15, 2018
During a visit to Des Moines, Vice President Mike Pence meets with Tibbetts’ father, brothers, and boyfriend aboard Air Force Two.
August 18, 2018
Rob Tibbetts returns home to California without any answers for his daughter’s disappearance.
August 21, 2018
Investigators announce they have discovered a body in a cornfield in rural Poweshiek County they believe is Tibbetts. 24-year-old Cristhian Bahena Rivera is arrested and charged with First-Degree Murder. Police say when they interviewed Rivera, he confessed to the killing and later led them to her body.
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August 23, 2018
The Iowa State Medical Examiner confirms that the body found in rural Poweshiek County is Mollie Tibbetts.
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