The investigation into the disappearance of Iowa college student Mollie Tibbetts has led authorities once again to a hog farmer that they had already questioned once before, The New York Daily News is reporting.
Wayne Cheney, the farmer in question, said that FBI agents showed up at his farm, a second time, looking around and asking questions. He says he cooperated with authorities both times, including even allowing them to search his phone and to question him.
It was the second time authorities showed up at his farm. As The New York Post reported last Thursday, authorities questioned Cheney for hours last week.
“They took me down to the fire station Tuesday and questioned me for two hours. I don’t even remember what they asked me.”
Cheney insisted at the time that, though he had nothing to hide, authorities were looking in the wrong place.
“I just thought it was a waste of time, but oh well.”
According to Fox News , Cheney says he has never seen Mollie before and that he rarely goes to Brooklyn, the town where Mollie was last seen. He believes “some guy has her.”
Authorities aren’t so sure that questioning Cheney and searching his farm is the wrong way to go. For starters, Cheney’s willingness to cooperate only goes so far, as he’s steadfastly refused to take a polygraph test. What’s more, a red shirt that may have belonged to Mollie has been found nearby.
University of Iowa sophomore Mollie Tibbetts, 20, was last seen on the evening of July 18, 2018 in Brooklyn, Iowa. Her family is begging for help. Can you, or someone you know, help find Mollie? #Dateline https://t.co/oDGfmgXZUE pic.twitter.com/jzDizz7D2X
— Dateline NBC (@DatelineNBC) July 31, 2018
What’s more, Cheney has a history of arrests for stalking. Specifically, he pleaded guilty in stalking cases in 2009 and 2014.
Mollie Tibbetts, a 20-year-old University of Iowa sophomore, was last seen alive on July 16. At the time she was staying in Brooklyn, Iowa, pet-sitting at the home of her boyfriend, who was out of town for work, according to ABC News.
Her boyfriend, Dalton Jack, has been cleared as a suspect, as have his brothers.
Before she was last seen, Tibbetts had gone for a jog, says Jack.
“She goes for a run every night. She likes to go whenever the sun’s not down. She knows Brooklyn extremely well, better than I do, and I’ve lived here my entire life.”
Authorities hope – and believe – that Mollie was wearing her FitBit at the time of her jog. If so, the device’s location tracking could prove helpful in finding the missing woman.
As of this writing, authorities are offering a reward of $260,000 for any information that leads to the young woman.
