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.

Sheriff’s officials in Pottawattamie County report an inmate at the Pott. County Jail, 29-year old Caleb Cameron Perry, of Council Bluffs, faces a charge of possessing contraband, after Corrections Staff found two crystal-like rocks in his property. The substance later tested positive for methamphetamine. Perry was also served with a warrant for Violation of Probation, before being returned to his cell. And, 42-year old Christopher Michael Barnes, of Council Bluffs, was served with a warrant Wednesday, for Violation of Probation. Barnes was being held in the jail on four original counts of Failure to Appear in court.

The Mills County Sheriff’s Office reports 35-year old Andrew James Arrick, and 25-year old Shelby Lynn Reni Fichter, both of Glenwood, were arrested Wednesday afternoon, on burglary and theft charges. They were taken into custody at around 3:45-p.m. on Gingry Lane, for Burglary in the 3rd and Theft in the 3rd degrees. Bonds for both suspects was set at $7,000.

Clarinda Police Chief Keith Brothers reports there have been some developments in the investigation surrounding the two students who absconded from the Clarinda Academy on the afternoon of Friday, July 27th. Brothers say Wednesday evening, August 1st, officers received a report that a Red 1992 Chevrolet K3500 pick-up truck had been stolen from an address in the 1300 block of N. 12th St. The owner of the vehicle had last observed the vehicle at around 10:00 a.m. on Friday, July 27th and noticed the truck missing on the afternoon of August 1st.

Officers learned that the truck had been observed in Minneapolis, Minnesota which is the home of one of the Clarinda Academy students. Officers are working with the Minneapolis Police Department to locate the students. The truck was recovered this (Thursday) morning by the Richfield, MN Police.  The incident remains under investigation.

KEARNEY, Mo. (AP) — Authorities are investigating a report that a missing Iowa college student might have been seen in northwest Missouri. Police in Kearney, Missouri, (about 40 miles northeast of Kansas City) say an employee at a truck stop reported Sunday that she saw a young girl resembling Mollie Tibbetts. The 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.

KMBC-TV reports Kearney police Sgt. Joe Kantola said only one person reported seeing the woman who resembled Mollie. And he noted he didn’t say in the statement that she had been seen on video from the truck stop. Tibbetts, a 20-year-old University of Iowa student, hasn’t been seen since July 18. Authorities in Iowa have scheduled a press conference for 9:30-a.m. Friday to update the status of their investigation into her disappearance.

SIOUX CITY, Iowa (AP) — A man has pleaded not guilty to making unauthorized purchases of meat and cheese while working as the head chef for a Sioux City bar and grill. The Sioux City Journal reports that 52-year-old Carlos Barrera entered a written plea to a theft charge Wednesday in Woodbury County District Court.

Court documents say Barrera made an estimated 53 unauthorized purchases from Staber Meats between May 9, 2017, and Nov. 9, 2017. The documents say Barrera ordered the items, picked them up in his vehicle and then signed invoices allowing Staber Meats to automatically withdraw payment from the Ickey Nickel’s bank account. The documents say Barrera never took the food to the bar.