Student who was snatched on her evening run

Mollie Tibbetts, 20, had no idea she was being followed as she headed out for a jog

- GAIL SHORTLAND

Unknown to Mollie Tibbetts, thousands of people would soon recognise her face. Not just in her small hometown of Brooklyn, Iowa, but all across America. Even politicians would go on to say her name. But before 18 July, 2018, Mollie, 20, was just a normal girl, who bickered with her brothers and loved Harry Potter.

A student at the University of Iowa, she was studying psychology, but expressed herself through performance and writing, and loved cross country running.

Mollie lived at home with her mum, Laura Calderwood, and two brothers. Her parents had separated when she was seven and just weeks earlier, she had been “best man” when her dad Rob Tibbetts remarried. She’d moved all the guests with her speech.

After dating for three years, Mollie’s boyfriend Dalton Jack was about to propose. He’d bought an engagement ring and hidden it away in his bedroom, waiting for the right moment to pop the question. Dalton was out of town working in construction, and Mollie was dog-sitting at his brother’s.

After sending Dalton a Snapchat message, Mollie texted her mum to find out what was for dinner, as she would be heading over soon. “Brats,” Laura had replied, referring to a type of Bratwurst sausage. Mollie sent back, “OK.”

With the heat of the day subsiding, Mollie donned her neon blue and pink running shoes, put in her wireless headphones, attached her iPhone to her arm, and headed out for an evening run. Witnesses last saw her at 7.30pm, running in her pink sports bra. Mollie didn’t turn up to for dinner at her mum’s. And the next day, she didn’t appear at the daycare centre where she had a summer job. A huge search began.