The worst-case scenario has played out for the Tibbetts family on Tuesday. Media outlets are now reporting that the body of 20-year-old missing University of Iowa student Mollie Tibbetts has been found.
According to Fox News:
A law enforcement source told Fox News the body was found in Iowa, but more specific details about the location were not released. Tibbetts' father, Rob Tibbetts, confirmed the body is his daughter[...]
Greg Willey, the vice president of Crime Stoppers of Central Iowa, also told the Associated Press the body found Tuesday is believed to be Tibbetts.
No arrests have been announced in connection with the Tibbetts case. A news conference was announced for 5 p.m. local time on Tuesday.
Tibbetts was first reported missing in mid-July after not showing up for work and failing to respond to messages from loved ones. Tibbetts was said to have last been seen while jogging on July 18.
Fox News also reported that the close to $400,000 reward “ leading to information on Tibbett’s whereabouts will now become a reward for information leading to the capture of any suspects.”
CBS News reported:
While hundreds of people have been interviewed, no suspects have been publicly identified in Tibbetts' disappearance.
Last week, authorities said they were focusing their investigation on five areas in and near Tibbetts' hometown. Those locations reportedly included her boyfriend's home in Brooklyn, a car wash, a truck stop, a farm more than three miles from downtown Brooklyn, and another farm more than six miles away. Police asked anyone who was in those areas July 18 to report anything suspicious they may have seen.
Robert Tibbetts, Mollie’s father, never lost hope in trying to find his daughter alive. Until now, it never entered his mind that Mollie wouldn’t be found alive. What a tragic end to a hopeful search.
Prayers go out to the entire Tibbetts family so that they may find some kind of strength in the midst of such tragedy.