Here is the latest Iowa news from The Associated Press at 3:40 a.m. CDT

BROOKLYN, Iowa (AP) — The mother of a missing Iowa college student is pleading with anyone who may have abducted her to let her daughter go and claim a fast-growing pot of reward money. Laura Calderwood said Thursday that she believes her daughter, 20-year-old Mollie Tibbetts, is still alive but potentially kidnapped. She says it’s the family’s greatest hope that whoever may have Tibbetts lets her go and claims the “money we have raised for her freedom.”

WATERLOO, Iowa (AP) — More than 200 people filled an amphitheater in Waterloo to draw attention to missing persons cases and demand justice for the slain. The Waterloo-Cedar Falls Courier reports that Wednesday’s vigil was organized by the Family and Children’s Council of Black Hawk County. It aimed to bring awareness to missing and unsolved crimes involving young people.

MASON CITY, Iowa (AP) — Officials in northern Iowa are looking for a work release prisoner who walked away from a residential facility without permission. Prison officials say 29-year-old Matthew Ernest Andersen left the Beje Clark Residential Facility in Mason City on Wednesday night and did not return.

CEDAR RAPIDS, Iowa (AP) — A Cedar Rapids man has been accused of producing child pornography and threatening to distribute the depictions. Federal court records say 34-year-old John Hunt has pleaded not guilty to one count of sexual exploitation of a child and one of extortion and four counts of child pornography possession.

A woman who says her leg fell asleep while she was driving to the Greater Regional Community Hospital in Creston, crashed her car into two other vehicles in the parking lot late this (Thursday) morning. 75-year old Paula Jean Bowman, of Lenox, was driving a 2006 Lincoln Towncar eastbound through the hospital parking lot at around 10:30-a.m., when the car went out of control and drove over the median before rear-ending a parked 2002 Ford registered to a man from Afton. The impact forced the Ford into a parked 2014 Chevy Impala registered to a woman from Slayton, MN. A witness told police Bowman’s car ramped the median and went very fast across the parking lot before hitting the Ford. It then backed up over the curb and into the bushes before pulling away to park. No injuries were reported. Damage from the accident amounted to $2,500.

IOWA CITY, Iowa (AP) — The mother of a missing Iowa college student pleaded Thursday with anyone who may have abducted her daughter to let her go and instead claim a pot of reward money that has ballooned to $172,000. Laura Calderwood said during a news conference that she believes her daughter, 20-year-old Mollie Tibbetts, is alive but has potentially been kidnapped. She announced the new reward amount, which spiked from $2,000 offered earlier this week after donations poured in from across the nation. Tibbetts’ disappearance has baffled investigators since she went missing more than two weeks ago. Calderwood said the money would be paid to anyone who provides information that leads to her daughter’s safe return.

“If someone has abducted her, we are pleading with you to please release her,” Calderwood said. “It is our greatest hope that if someone has her, that they would just release her and claim that money we have raised for her freedom.” Tibbetts was last seen on the evening of July 18, when she went for a routine jog in her hometown of Brooklyn, Iowa, a town of about 1,400 people in central Iowa. She was dog-sitting that evening for her boyfriend and her boyfriend’s brother, who were out of town, at a home where she was living this summer after completing her second year at the University of Iowa.
Tibbetts was reported missing the next morning when she didn’t show up for work at a daycare in a nearby town.

The FBI and dozens of investigators from state and local agencies are working on the case but have so far hit dead ends . The latest came Thursday, when police confirmed that a possible sighting of Tibbetts at a Missouri truck stop turned out not to be her. Crime Stoppers of Central Iowa spokesman Greg Willey promised to protect the anonymity of tipsters who call in or submit tips online, saying the group uses software that scrubs identifying information. He said the group exists for people who cannot come forward to police, including those who are guilty or involved in a crime.
Mollie’s father, Rob Tibbetts, praised the investigation, saying it has been large, sophisticated, aggressive and sensitive to the family.

But he said he believes the case will be solved by someone who comes forward with new information. “If you have nothing to hide, you have nothing to fear. Come forward, bring information to the authorities, and let’s bring Mollie home,” he said.

The mother of a missing Iowa college student is pleading for anyone who may have abducted her daughter to let her go and claim a fast-growing pot of reward money. Laura Calderwood said Thursday that she believes her daughter, 20-year-old Mollie Tibbetts, is alive and may have been kidnapped. She said that it’s the family’s greatest hope that whoever may have Tibbetts lets her go and claims the “money we have raised for her freedom.” Tibbetts hasn’t been seen since July 18, when she went for a run in her small hometown of Brooklyn, Iowa. Investigators have reached no conclusions about why she has disappeared.

Calderwood announced at a news conference that $172,000 and counting had been raised for a new “Bring Mollie Tibbetts Home Safe” reward fund. She said the money would be paid to anyone who provides information to Crime Stoppers of Central Iowa that leads to Tibbetts’ safety. Crime Stoppers is promising to protect the anonymity of tipsters.

CEDAR RAPIDS, Iowa (AP) — A Cedar Rapids man has been accused of producing child pornography and threatening to distribute the depictions. Federal court records say 34-year-old John Hunt has pleaded not guilty to one count of sexual exploitation of a child and one of extortion and four counts of child pornography possession. He’s scheduled to begin trial Oct. 1.

The federal indictment says that, between 2015 and 2017, Hunt produced sexual depictions of a child, possessed the porn on four different devices and sent communications containing threats to distribute the sexually explicit depictions. He remains in custody.

Page County Sheriff Lyle Palmer reports a man was arrested on a warrant for a drug offense, Tuesday. 41-year old Jasen Lee Bebout, of Bedford, was served with a warrant for Possession of Contraband in a Correctional Facility, while he was being held in the Page County Jail. The cash-only bond on the warrant is $10,000. Bebout is also being held on a previous charge of Controlled Substance Violations – Methamphetamine. Bond on the latter charge is $50,000.

On July 27th, Page County Sheriff’s Deputies arrested 33-year old Kyle William Chase, of Red Oak, on a Page County Warrant for Probation Violation. Chase was being held in the Buchanan County Jail in St. Joseph, MO on other charges at the time. He was transported to the Page County Jail where he is currently being held on $10,000 bond. That same day, 31-year old Roy Cordell Smith, of Westboro, MO., was arrested for Interference with Official Acts during a vehicle stop for a minor traffic violation, east of Coin. Smith was transported to the Page County Jail and later release on a $300 bond, pending further court proceedings.

WATERLOO, Iowa (AP) — More than 200 people filled an amphitheater in Waterloo to draw attention to missing persons cases and demand justice for the slain. The Waterloo-Cedar Falls Courier reports that Wednesday’s vigil was organized by the Family and Children’s Council of Black Hawk County. It aimed to bring awareness to missing and unsolved crimes involving young people.

Heather Collins is the mother of 8-year-old Elizabeth Collins, who disappeared with her cousin Lyric Cook Morrissey in July 2012. The girls were later found dead. Collins says she’s alarmed by the number of youths reported missing.

To assist with the growing number, Democratic Sen. Jeff Danielson spoke about pursuing a state Amber Alert-type system that could provide immediate notification through social media and other channels. He says the system wouldn’t have the same rigid criteria required for an Amber Alert.

KEARNEY, Mo. (AP) — Investigators say they have concluded that a woman spotted in northwest Missouri was not a missing Iowa college student. Iowa Division of Criminal Investigation special agent Mike Krapfl confirmed Thursday (today),  that the reported sighting of Mollie Tibbetts wasn’t substantiated and has been ruled out by investigators.

Police in Kearney, Missouri, said an employee at a truck stop reported Sunday that she saw someone resembling Tibbetts eating at a Taco Bell. Kearney is about 25 miles northeast of Kansas City.

The Kearney Police Department said in a statement that it spoke to witnesses and reviewed video footage before forwarding a report to a task force investigating Tibbetts’ disappearance. Tibbetts, a 20-year-old University of Iowa student, hasn’t been seen since July 18 .

FOREST CITY, Iowa (AP) — A Winnebago Industries spokesman has confirmed cutbacks at the company’s northern Iowa plant in Forest City. Chad Reece said Thursday that fewer than 35 people were dismissed at the end of July. He wouldn’t provide a more precise number but did say the cutbacks were permanent. He says the company constantly refines its staffing to meet production demands and future business needs.
He says Winnebago employs 2,600 to 2,700 people at the plant, which is more than half of the company’s total workforce. The company makes motor homes and other outdoor products.