CA CA - Barbara Thomas, 69, Bullhead City, hiking wearing bikini in Mojave desert, 12 July 2019

[Knox]

Hmmmm. Don’t you need some probable cause documents or a court order to start throwing luminal around personal property?

Good point. Even if permission is given, LE will get a SW so the evidence if found is admissible in court.

 

[Jazzy5980]

In that vein. I read somewhere LE told RT to go home. He didn't mention any searches of the truck or trailer. Surely though they did some sort of forensic search right?

No forensic search without a warrant. LE would seek a warrant even if RT gave ‘permission’ to search vehicles just to be safe.​

 

[PommyMommy]

JUL 18, 2019
Husband of missing bikini-clad hiker says cops view him as prime suspect
[...]

'Yes, I took a polygraph test, they told me I was being deceptive," he said. "I know that polygraphs aren't 100 percent and I hadn't had any sleep."

[...]

"That’s the last I ever saw of her," he said.

When he turned the corner, Barbara was gone and Robert Thomas assumed he would find her sitting outside their camper.

[...]

"I hollered her name and I waved my arms, and I looked around the area and I saw that she wasn’t anywhere around. She didn't respond. I got really panicky," he said.

Thomas said he believes his wife was taken against her will because of what she was wearing and the beer she had. He insists he had nothing to do with her disappearance.

[...]

 

[Steelslady]

I am just hoping that this isn't another Roberta Snider case, to which her body still hasn't been found and probably never will be.

I'd like to know who the last person was to see Barbara before they ended up there- even a gas station attendant, someone, would have had to have seen the both of them together, right? *sigh* I am getting really nervous now. I want to be wrong....

 

[DianaElaine]

I’ve been thinking .... I wonder if they’ve checked their home, looked everywhere there? I would think by now they would have.

MOO

 

[LadyL]

It is odd, but we’ve seen it before.

Most recently, we saw in the Rousseau case in Wisconsin. The husband in that one was talking about an abduction from the beginning.

It turned out that his wife and daughter left on their own volition.

we just saw it with Sherry Powell - family mentioned abduction right from the start

Found Alive - CA - Sheryl Powell, 60, and dog, Grandview Campground, Inyo County, 12 July 2019

 

[lonetraveler]

People are so different. I never go anywhere...even with my husband...without my own keys and ID. And when we were full-time RVers 2003-2011 I made an effort to print a card for each of our wallets with each other’s contact info and filled in where our RV was parked each night. That way if one of us was out and about alone and was hit by a car or something, LE could easily contact the other spouse. Call me obsessive, but when you’re wandering around the U.S., anything can happen. Of course, none of my precautions would have helped in Barbara’s situation.

I've always had RVs and did the very same thing as putting emergency contact numbers and where we were staying on each of our persons.

 

[LadyL]

Eh, he's gone rogue. I'm sure being idle and waiting for news from LE is driving him crazy. He's desperate. His theory does not make sense to me but he's not clear headed right now, IMO. An abduction theory is giving him hope because the alternative he's not ready to face right now.

He's not speaking from a place of authority, because he doesn't have it but he is a panicked husband.

At some point, LE and probably along with the a SAR Command Lead, will sit him down and tell him they are moving into a recovery mission, based on many factors. They will continue to search but then the official search will be suspended until new and credible information comes forward, then they will search again. It's heartbreaking when it gets to that point but I don't believe they are there yet and will continue to search. They must have credible information to believe that was her PLS.

[bbm]

PLS? place last seen?

 

[Cardinal47]

Just started reading about this one. Strange no sight of her anywhere near the rv!

 

[LadyL]

Great Question!

I keep seeing this question. I understand that a lot of hikers/campers will leave their key under a rock so that no one loses it while hiking/camping/swimming/partying etc.

 

[artsy1]

I keep seeing this question. I understand that a lot of hikers/campers will leave their key under a rock so that no one loses it while hiking/camping/swimming/partying etc.

I was questioning it to myself only because I read he claimed to have a backpack with a gallon of water and camera with him. So if he was carrying water for the both of them, then IMHO he expected them to stay together. So why not just put the key in the backpack as well, since logic seems to say that they should arrive at the camper together. Why have to leave the key behind? Just a thought.

 

[MimosaMornings]

Put the key under a rock when out - usually the vehicle key is on a big ring with other keys - that one goes in the backpack.

 

[LadyL]

Welcome to Websleuths gossipgirl! The rules here are that any statements have to be backed up by a link to main stream media or to Law Enforcement (or an 'official' FB missing person's page).

Feel free to contribute and participate in the discussion.

unless she's a local or verified insider
mods have been going easy on locals who are providing local descriptions/photos/videos

 

[LadyL]

I was questioning it to myself only because I read he claimed to have a backpack with a gallon of water and camera with him. So if he was carrying water for the both of them, then IMHO he expected them to stay together. So why not just put the key in the backpack as well, since logic seems to say that they should arrive at the camper together. Why have to leave the key behind? Just a thought.

idk I've just read that lots of people do it - maybe a habit they get in when going anywhere away from camp/rv
I'm not a hiker/camper/rv'er so I'm just basing it on what I've seen WSers post

 

[Knox]

It's a safeguard against losing the key, multiple people will have access, etc. Once you get into that routine, it becomes just that. I don't find that detail out of the ordinary.

I'd sure like to know what's going on at their house though.

 

[Gunslinging Granny]

It would be interesting to know what's occurring at Barbara's home. Is anyone following twitter news accounts covering AZ and Bullhead City?

 

[Handsome Sailor]

No one goes hiking in the Mojave in the middle of the day in the middle of summer.

 

[whitelilac]

Video of search with dogs. There's actually a lot of scrub and rocky areas. Barbara may well have climbed somewhere and fell between rocks...
San Bernardino County Sheriff on Twitter

 

[Herat]

Video of search with dogs. There's actually a lot of scrub and rocky areas. Barbara may well have climbed somewhere and fell between rocks...
San Bernardino County Sheriff on Twitter

My gut feeling, watching that video is that she has fallen somewhere in those rocks and likely died of heatstroke or exposure.

I hope that isn't so

 

[whitelilac]

My gut feeling, watching that video is that she has fallen somewhere in those rocks and likely died of heatstroke or exposure.

I hope that isn't so

After seeing the terrain, I think she is there somewhere too. She may have went further to look at rocks......sigh.