Bay Area Native Mollie Tibbetts Found Dead

PIEDMONT, CA - Authorities in Iowa have confirmed the body of missing University of Iowa student Mollie Tibbetts has been found. The 20-year-old Bay Area native had been missing since mid-July.

The Iowa Division of Criminal Investigation said in a news release that the body was discovered in rural Poweshiek County. The DCI said investigators were working to determine the cause of death.

Mollie was born in the Bay Area and started school in Piedmont. She moved to Iowa with her mother when her parents separated while she was still in elementary school. Her father remained in the Bay Area and works for an architecture firm in San Francisco.

>> Iowa City Patch: Mollie Tibbetts Found Dead, Police Confirm

In Piedmont, friends processed the awful news that Mollie's body had been found. "You know, our family is heartbroken, really heartbroken for the family," Linda Safir told KGO. "So sad, it's so wrong, she had so much to give."

Photo via Poweshiek County Sheriff's Office