Dateline NBC: Where is Tim McVay now?

In 2015, Tim McVay was convicted of murdering ex-girlfriend Carrie Elaine Olson, 29, of Davenport, and dumping her body in a vacant lot near Hastings before heading on a trip to Las Vegas.

Carrie Olson was last spotted by her family and her live-in boyfriend Justin Mueller on December 28, 2023, before she stormed out of the house after an argument. According to McVay's statement, she had allegedly visited Timothy McVay's residence before she was dropped home the following day. However, Olson was never to be seen again.

The Dateline NBC episode, Without a Trace: Carrie Olson, details the crime surrounding Olson's body which was recovered after almost three months of searching.

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Who is Tim McVay and what did he do?

Carrie Elaine Olson had started dating Tim McVay, a divorced father of two who had become popular in the Quad Cities by hosting karaoke nights through local bars. The couple separated ways as Olson was not ready to have children while McVay wanted the opposite.

Even though Olson started dating Justin Mueller, an Iraq war veteran, she remained close to McVay. The two spoke over the phone at least 20 times a day, per Oxygen.

Carrie Olson allegedly had an argument with Mueller over burnt eggs when she left the house. After the investigation had begun, officials from the Davenport Police Department found her on the surveillance cameras of a 7-Eleven at 38th Street in Rock Island around 4 pm.

Olson was reported as a missing person two days later when she failed to show up at work. Thus, officials began searching for her around the area where her phone had last pinged i.e. Camden Park. Just as the case started to turn cold, her n*ked dead body was found 300 miles away in Hastings, Minnesota on April 5, 2014.

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Why was Tim McVay arrested?

The autopsy reports of Carrie Olson's body came back with evidence of fibers of a carpet stuck to her hair. The same fibers were traced back to the carpet at McVay's Rock Island home.

After returning from Vegas, McVay had told the police that Olson had stayed the night at his place and he had dropped her home before borrowing her grey 2005 Toyota Avalon to drive to the Minnesota Airport.

After her body was recovered, McVay left a voicemail on Carrie's phone and to the Davenport police stating that the Jane Doe found in the description in the press release of the body found at Presley Circle near Hastings matched that of the missing girl from Quad Cities. He ended his message with:

“Hope this helps."

McVay was further spotted trying to make transactions on Carrie's debit card. Per Quad-Cities Times, he made use of the credit union ATM and two gas stations in Rock Island early on Dec. 29, 2013. He had tried to withdraw $400 from her bank account with the wrong PIN thrice.

Tim McVay shrugged off the allegations stating that Carrie Olson often left him to use her cards. Oxygen further reported an eerie detail of friends finding McVay belting out the lyrics to the Guns N’ Roses song Used To Love Her at one of his karaoke nights.

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Where is Tim McVay now?

Timothy McVay was charged with first-degree murder and concealment of a homicidal death and found guilty of the same on July 17, 2015, per NBC News. He was sentenced to 40 years in prison for the murder and five additional years for the concealment charge.

He presently remains incarcerated at the Menard Correctional Center and continues to maintain his innocence. Meanwhile, Carrie Olson's death had been ruled as homicide by unspecified means.