Dateline NBC’s Last Day Episode 1 investigates the mysterious disappearance and murder of 20-year-old Mollie Tibbetts, a college student from Iowa. A misfortune happened to the young girl who went for her usual run late in the evening of July 18, 2018.

As reported date lineTibbetts was working as a counselor at a local children’s summer camp. Camp director Jill Sheck told Josh Mankiewicz: date line He said he was his “happy go lucky self” even on the day of the incident.

The investigation continued for a month, with one false clue leading to another, and eventually the mystery was revealed with one small clue. Episode 1 official summary Last Day reader:

“A month after Mollie Tibbetts disappeared in Iowa, investigators discovered surveillance video that captured a blurry image of Mollie running and being followed by a mysterious black car.”

Disclaimer: This article contains explanations about the murder. Please be informed.

5 harrowing details about the mysterious disappearance and murder of Mollie Tibbetts

(1) Mollie Tibbetts never returned from her usual evening jog

Mollie Cecilia Tibbetts, 20, was a student at the University of Iowa and currently lived in Brooklyn, Iowa, with her mother, Laura Tibbetts, and her two siblings. On July 18, 2018, Mollie was spending time with the kids at summer camp all day as usual. He was also his cheerful self.

Camp superintendent Jill Sheck reportedly said date line:

“She loved playing with the kids, she loved being on the playground, she loved doing crafts inside, she loved reading with them. That was her cup of tea.”

That day, Mollie completed her chores at camp, left around 5pm, and went to her boyfriend Dalton Jack’s house to babysit his dog. He even texted his mother to say he’d probably join her for dinner and went for his usual evening run. But Mollie never returned.

When Mollie didn’t show up at camp the next day and no one heard from her, people became worried. Mollie’s close cousin Collum said in a statement:

“At that moment I realized this wasn’t good.”

Later, when his relatives went to Jack’s house, they found it empty. Moreover, Mollie’s wallet and other belongings were left behind. He was eventually reported missing to the Poweshiek County Sheriff’s Office and a search party was immediately dispatched to search for him.

(2) Mollie Tibbetts was last seen at 7.45pm on the day she disappeared.

Mollie Tibbetts was reportedly last seen by Brooklyn hairstylist Kristina Steward on July 18, 2018, around 7:45 p.m. Trent Vileta of the Iowa Department of Criminal Investigation (DCI) said in a statement:

“He gave a pretty good description of what Mollie was wearing; black running shorts and a pink sports bra. He said he could see her ponytail bouncing. That was our first real definitive timestamp.”

(3) Difficult circumstances, numerous false clues and obscure witnesses kept the mystery secret for a long time

Multiple search parties were deployed to locate Mollie Tibbetts, but 10-foot-tall cornfields in and around Iowa made it really difficult to find any leads. Chief agent Vileta said in a statement:

“You could hide 100 bodies along this road and they would be hard to find.”

Investigators also found no signs of conflict between Mollie and her relatives in Mollie’s final messages. Even Jack, her boyfriend the night she disappeared, had a solid alibi.

After the FBI analyzed cell phone data, it was revealed that he moved at a 10-minute pace between 8:15 pm and 8:28 pm. But after a brief pause of about four minutes, it suddenly accelerated to 60 miles per hour. .

This type of speed is possible only if a person is moving in the vehicle. Vileta added:

“We knew he couldn’t run that fast, so we knew he had to be in a vehicle.”

His phone signal went out at 8:53 p.m., and the last known location of his cell was about 15 miles outside Brooklyn. Thus, it was understood that the mobile phone was destroyed.

There were numerous false witnesses and vague clues suggesting sightings in Missouri and Colorado. As reported date linenone of the potential customers It had a solid foundation.

(4) Surveillance footage from the day Mollie disappeared helped investigators solve the case

Investigators collected all the CCTV footage from nearby shops, homes and other locations that might have been along Mollie’s usual route. After closer inspection, they found a chilling clue.

A black Chevy Malibu was constantly around Mollie and circling around her the night she disappeared. Tibbetts, who appears very small in the images, was also seen near an intersection in Brooklyn at 19:48.

However, it was not possible to get the license plate number from the video, but the uniqueness of the car helped solve the case. On August 16, 2018, Deputy Kivi was driving on the highway when he found a car that perfectly matched the description.

After approaching the person inside, he introduced himself as Cristhian Bahena Rivera. However, he could not speak English. It was later learned that Rivera was living as an undocumented immigrant. He even admitted that he knew Mollie was missing.

Kivi said in his statement:

“He seemed uncooperative and indifferent to everything.”

Four days later, Rivera was brought in for questioning, and Pamela Romero, a Spanish-speaking officer with the Iowa City Police, was assigned to interrogate him.

He quickly managed to establish a good relationship with Rivera (who was divorced and had a 3-year-old daughter). Vileta said in his statement:

“We decided to get his partner out of there because he was only engaged to her.”

Soon Romero managed to turn him on and get him to confess to the crime. Then, on August 21, 2018, Mollie’s body was pulled from cornfields near Brooklyn.

(5) Bahena Rivera was convicted

As reported Dateline NBCBahena Rivera was eventually charged with first-degree murder and sentenced to life in prison without parole on August 30, 2021. He is currently serving his sentence at the Iowa State Penitentiary, Fort Madison, Iowa.