Getty Mollie Tibbetts update: A mysterious SUV was seen in her neighborhood, a neighbor says.
Another possible clue has emerged in the disappearance of college student Mollie Tibbetts: A neighbor says she saw a mysterious black SUV in Mollie’s neighborhood the night that Tibbetts was last seen.
Mollie Tibbetts’ body has now been found and she is dead, according to Fox News. You can read about that report here.
In the latest Mollie Tibbetts update, the neighbor, who was not named, revealed the detail to Fox News on August 5, 2018 as efforts to find Tibbetts continued in full force in Brooklyn, Iowa, and the surrounding area. The report of the SUV comes after authorities said a female body they found in Lee County, Iowa, was not Mollie Tibbetts.
Here’s what you need to know:
The Neighbor Says the Black SUV Was ‘Circling’ Tibbetts’ Neighborhood
FacebookMollie Tibbetts.
Mollie Tibbetts was last seen on July 18, 2018 when she went for a jog. However, as she later sent a Snapchat to her boyfriend, Dalton Jack, and may have been working on homework, it’s believed she might have vanished that evening or even the next morning.
Fox News reported that the neighbor says a “black SUV was seen circling the Iowa neighborhood where Mollie Tibbetts was staying.” The neighbor lives only a block away from the home where Tibbetts was dog sitting alone, according to Fox, which alleged the SUV “went very slowly around the neighborhood.” The neighbor reported the account to authorities, Fox reported, and said she spotted the SUV between 11 p.m. and 1:30 a.m. on the night in question.
Other Possible Clues Have Emerged in the Disappearance
A missing poster for Mollie Tibbetts.
Other possible clues have also emerged, although authorities have revealed very little about any evidence they might have. A red shirt was previously found by a person mowing a lawn in rural Iowa, and it’s being investigated for a possible connection to missing Iowa college student Mollie Tibbetts, Fox News also reported.
Authorities have not confirmed the account, however, and it’s not clear whether the shirt was Mollie’s. That possible clue in the case was revealed on August 3, 2018. Authorities have also not commented on or confirmed the report of the mysterious SUV.
A person mowing the lawn near the Lincoln Wildfire Reserve found a red shirt, Fox News reported. Although it’s not clear whether the shirt belonged to Mollie Tibbetts, according to Fox News, employees at the daycare center where she worked wear red shirts.
Previous reports indicated Mollie’s red work shirt might have been missing, leading some to theorize she was taken in the morning not at night. However, Kevin Winkler of the Iowa Department of Public Safety, said at a press conference that he was unable to confirm any items of Mollie’s had been found and her mother told UK Daily Mail that she found two of Mollie’s red work shirts in her house but is not sure if there ever was a third.
According to Who Radio, authorities have taken a general stance of declining to release any evidence they might have, with Winkler saying, “We recognize that it’s frustrating for everyone involved, but we believe it gives us the best opportunity to resolve this investigation.” The radio station said Winkler simply wouldn’t confirm or deny the report about the red shirt.
The shirt was found near a pig farm authorities had already searched, and they reignited the search in the area around the farm after the shirt’s discovery, Fox reported.
A Local Pig Farmer, Wayne Cheney, Has Been Questioned by Authorities
Wayne Cheney, an Iowa man with a history of stalking and harassment arrests, has told the news media that authorities interviewed him about missing college student Mollie Tibbetts. News reports indicated he may have been interviewed more than once.
Cheney lives in walking distance of pig farms searched by authorities in the disappearance of Tibbetts.
FacebookMollie Tibbetts.
Cheney told WHO-TV that he was questioned for two hours and didn’t remember what he was asked.
“I just thought it was a waste of time but oh well,” he told the television station, adding, “I don’t know who those two were but they took me down to the fire station Tuesday and questioned me for two hours. I don`t remember what they asked me.”
According to Crime Online, Cheney denied knowing Mollie or having anything to do with her disappearance.
Authorities have not called Wayne Cheney a suspect. However, his past criminal history may have helped draw their attention to him.
According to WHO-TV’s exclusive by reporter Justin Surrency, Cheney pleaded guilty in two previous stalking cases. The cases were from 2009 and 2014 and span two counties – Poweshiek and Marion, the television station reported.
One of those cases resulted in a protective order being filed against Cheney, Crime Online reported.
Cheney lives in Deep River, Iowa. He has declined to take a polygraph, Fox News also reported.
You can read more about Wayne Cheney below, including his previous criminal history:
A Previous Sighting in Missouri Was Ruled Out & Authorities Were Searching in Poweshiek County, Iowa
Mollie Tibbetts.
KCRG-TV reports that there was a large police search occurring for Mollie between Guernsey and Deep River in Poweshiek County on August 3, 2018. That’s a location in Iowa.
Authorities had said previously that they were scouring Mollie’s digital devices and social media presence – including her ever-present fitbit – for clues.
Those hoping to find Mollie alive had their hopes raised when it was reported that a person claimed to have seen a woman resembling Tibbetts in a Kearney, Missouri truck stop.
However, it was later revealed that authorities had ruled that sighting out and say the woman in the truck stop was not Mollie Tibbetts.