Update on Mollie Tibbetts case, missing Iowa student found dead

POWESHIEK, Iowa — Investigators are planning to update the media after recovering a body believed to be that of 20-year-old college student Mollie Tibbetts, who disappeared from her small hometown in central Iowa one month ago. The body was discovered in rural Poweshiek County, which includes Tibbetts’ hometown of Brooklyn, Iowa, the Iowa Division of Criminal Investigation said in a press release.

The agency called a 5 p.m. ET news conference to provide an update on the search for Tibbetts, saying investigators were working to confirm the identity of the body and cause of death. (You can watch the press conference in the video player above.)

DCI spokesman Mitch Mortvedt said Tuesday that he couldn’t yet comment on any potential suspect in the case, saying only “there is nobody charged at this time.” Hundreds of people have been interviewed by investigators, who have been inundated with tips from the public. 

 So far, no details have been released about what the cause of death might be.

Investigators received information early Tuesday which led them to a field in the area, a law enforcement source told CBS News. There is heavy police activity in rural Poweshiek County, just south of Interstate 80 near Iowa Highway 21, CBS affiliate KCCI-TV reports.

Investigators have said that foul play, including the possibility that Tibbetts was abducted, could be involved, saying that disappearing on her own would be inconsistent with past behavior. 

Investigators said Tibbetts was last seen July 18 in Brooklyn, a rural town of about 1,400 people, as she took a routine evening jog. It’s unclear whether she returned to the home where she was dog-sitting for her boyfriend and her boyfriend’s brother, who have said they were both out of town. She was reported missing by her family the next day, after she didn’t show up for work at a day camp for children.