Mollie Tibbetts' Father Has New Theory on What Happened

The family of missing Iowa college student Mollie Tibbetts hasn't really wavered on its position that they believe the 20-year-old is alive. On Tuesday, father Robert Tibbetts shared his theory on what may have happened with CBS News: He thinks Tibbetts may know whomever she's with. "I think someone went to the house that Mollie knew or that Mollie trusted and that she left with them willingly. Now they're in over their head and they don't know what to do." He made similar comments to ABC News: "It's totally speculation, but I do believe that Mollie is with someone who she knows, probably someone who cares about her. But that relationship was misguided, misinterpreted, and went wrong." More on the case:

• CBS News offers one other touching detail about Robert's close relationship with his daughter: Tibbetts served as his best man when he married earlier this year.

• There was one moment—an hour, specifically—where that conviction Tibbetts is still alive did waver. People reports that while passing out fliers on Sunday afternoon, Robert Tibbetts learned a body had been found; it could possibly be his daughter's, and the family spent a fraught hour believing it was. They then learned a positive ID had been made: Sadie Alvarado, 20. CBS News reports Alvarado had been found along a roadside; it's believed she died in an accident.
• The Globe Gazette reports that officials had been slated to share more on the case Tuesday, but that their press conference has been rescheduled for 9:30am local time Friday. Updates will be given regarding the reward, tips, and the investigation.
• Officials thus far have released no information regarding whether they have any suspects, though one Iowa pig farmer has repeatedly found himself in the news due to media reports he has spoken with investigators several times, most recently on Monday. The Des Moines Register interviewed Wayne Cheney after that latest conversation and quoted him as saying, "I have nothing to hide." Cheney, who has a history of harassment and stalking charges, previously gave investigators the OK to search his house and 70-acre farm but has said he would not sit for a polygraph test, calling it "stupid."

(More Mollie Tibbetts stories.)