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

[PaulR]

I’ll add self harm to the list even though I don’t think it’s likely.

I remember the case of the family visiting Scotland. The husband and wife argue and the woman walks off. Husband reports her missing and says she walks sometimes to clear her head. She was found several months later in some underbrush in a wooded area. Her death wasn’t suspicious and LE suspected suicide.

I don't think they've mentioned that she was having mental issues.

Then again, in the few missing person cases I've seen where it's been reported that the missing person was seriously depressed/etc. - many people just assume they committed suicide. And even if they are found, their struggle with mental illness is now public.

If it were my loved one missing and they had mental health issues, I don't think I'd want it in the press at all. MOO.

 

[Twistinginthewind]

Once again, the reporter is not quoting directly, and we have no context to the interview, to know who brought up the subject of Las Vegas first.

(I have personal experience of the way that reporters can ask leading questions to get the story that they think will be interesting. And it’s easy for someone in mental shock to just agree that yes, that’s possible. MOO.)

Interesting to see the dogs working. I assume they were given something of hers to sniff? Does anyone who knows about tracking dogs know if that’s how they’d be behaving if she’d never been in the area?

I realize it wasn't a direct quote of RT's, but if the reporter said he mentioned Las Vegas as a possibility for where she might be, I see no reason to question the veracity of the statement. All JMO.
I wondered too about the video of the dogs. It looked like the were running in circles, really fast.

 

[whoizzit]

Keystone Cougar.

Right!

I'd looked it up the day of the IE interview with him standing beside it! Thanks for the backup!

I was trying to be polite. I've definitely made goofs in the past!

 

[Jax49]

I do apologize for asking a question which others had already asked.

But, based on the lack of a quote where he brought up Vegas, I'm stuck with maybe he did OR maybe the reporter was the one who started that train of thought. moo

 

[Cardinal47]

I must be blind. Where was their camper shown on the video (other than back at home in their driveway)? There was one brief clip of the reporter standing by a road and the camera scans across the road as he mentions it, but I'm not sure that is the exact spot and there is no trailer in view (nor any LE/SAR vehicles) and no certainty that that is "the" spot. Is there more than one Inside Edition video?

Inside Edition video. It's at the end of the 1:32 mark. Just after the step daughter speaks. I think that's where they were parked in the desert with police cars there after being called to the scene.
The other pictures seem to be of the camper in their driveway.

 

[BayouBelle_LA]

I don't think they've mentioned that she was having mental issues.

Then again, in the few missing person cases I've seen where it's been reported that the missing person was seriously depressed/etc. - many people just assume they committed suicide. And even if they are found, their struggle with mental illness is now public.

If it were my loved one missing and they had mental health issues, I don't think I'd want it in the press at all. MOO.

Sometimes it’s not mentioned, as in the case of Leanne Bearden. Her husband was raked over the coals. It was never leaked that she was suffering from depression until her body was found.

 

[Joe Friday]

I keep forgetting her husband failed the lie detector test. What was his excuse again? That he hadn't slept?

ETA: I apologize as it may have been mentioned previously in the thread, but, how long have they been married?

Who said he failed the test?

RT said LE told him he was being deceptive.

I would like to hear what the administrator of the test says about whether or not RT was truly deceptive or not, if the test was conducted by an independent not associated with LE.

LE is not going to tell their prime suspect that he was not deceptive on the test, even if he was.

 

[allboys]

Where is there an account that BT needed to use the restroom? It hasn't been described in any MSM articles or posts on WS that I've read.

Anyway, regarding her getting turned around, according to RT, they were experienced desert hikers, and did this type of short hike in the desert heat all the time. She was less than a mile from their camper when she went around a corner, according to RT, and he never saw her again. They were not on a trail, but had just pulled off on the side of the road to take a short 2 mile hike into the desert wilderness to check out some rock formations. Based on these circumstances as described by her husband to MSM and LE, it doesn't seem like it would be easy to get lost. IMO.

I was replying to a post from @zecats who said there was a report upthread that she needed to use the restroom. I didn’t actually see where that report was stated.

That said, whether it was in fact stated or not, I still consider it a possibility she needed to use the restroom.

I wonder if the fact they weren’t actually on a trail would make it easier for her to get turned around? “Experienced” hikers get lost all the time. My hunch is that this is an unlikely scenario (especially with RT not seeming to lean this way), but it’s hard for me to get an idea of the area with the little bit of footage I’ve seen.

I’m still in the trying to keep an open mind phase. Being a suspicious person by nature, I really have to work hard at this in cases like this...

 

[zecats]

Can someone please post a link to Barbara needing to use the restroom? I've searched here and Google using "restroom," "rest room," "bathroom," and "toilet" and I get nothing. I'd appreciate it! TIA

I posted it because I remember reading it. I'm thinking maybe it was from the post that the nephew wrote here when he was quoting what his sister was telling him. I can't find that post any longer. I really thought it was in a linked MSM statement though, so I'll keep looking. I did not imagine it, honest..

 

[whoizzit]

Yep. And, because she had to cross the road. MOO

This made my twitchy eye all blinky again, just after it had settled down.

My baloney has a first name, it's O-S-C-A-R ....

 

[GordianKnot]

I don't think they've mentioned that she was having mental issues.

Then again, in the few missing person cases I've seen where it's been reported that the missing person was seriously depressed/etc. - many people just assume they committed suicide. And even if they are found, their struggle with mental illness is now public.

If it were my loved one missing and they had mental health issues, I don't think I'd want it in the press at all. MOO.

Your post sparked a thought re: emotional stressors.

There was a case here very recently on WS where a man (don't remember his name) went missing.
Interestingly, casinos came up in that one, as I recall.
One of his co-workers or something was posting on that thread, I think.
His brother was apparently gravely ill at the time he went missing.
If I'm not mistaken, his brother died while he was still missing...so, so sad.

Anyway, as it turns out, that guy had gone voluntarily missing.

I mention that case only b/c per our (unverified) insider, dbdb11, BT is planning on taking a trip to Hong Kong next week to see her own brother who is suffering from what sounds like significant health issues.

Personally, I'm not seeing this being a reason for BT to hide away from the world.
But I did think it was worth mentioning that we've seen it happen.

People under a great deal of emotional stress/duress behave unpredictably at times.

I do wonder if she's ever been known to hitchhike.

JMO.

 

[zecats]

I’m trying to get an idea of the area here, after having only seen the Twitter video of dog search...

IF the one account was true about Barbara needing to use the restroom (ALWAYS the case when I drink beer)...if she decided she couldn’t wait to get back to the trailer, and stepped off trail for a minute, when back on trail could she get turned around and headed a wrong direction as Amanda Eller (Maui hiker who got lost during planned “short” hike).... WITHOUT Robert being able to see her?

In the brief video I saw, this scenario seems more unlikely, but after learning how Amanda Eller somehow got turned around and going in the opposite direction of her vehicle for miles and miles... I thought I would ask for input from anyone who may be familiar with this area/terrain.

I’m completely divided on what my suspicions are in this case. I see some red flags, but I’ve been fooled by what I interpret as red flags before.

* ETA When I stop to take pictures (with or without family) I get completely lost in it. I could easily see what seems like a brief moment, actually being quite a bit longer.

True it is remote enough to go the the bathroom off trail. Though supposedly they were close to the RV. That would be my preference if I had to go.

I did read it somewhere...that she told husband she had to go back to use the restroom...maybe from the nephew who was posting here. Some of his posts were removed I believe.

 

[lonetraveler]

When he got back to the RV, he expected to see Barbara sitting outside the camper,
“If she went ahead, my thought is she would be inside in A/C.

Agree!
Why would he expect her to be sitting OUTSIDE after a hot hike instead of expecting her to be INSIDE the RV drinking a COLD BEER? !!!!
(remember the keys were hidden at the RV site)
I think the RV they have the air can run without electricity or she could turn on the engine.

She was drinking a cold beer so the refrigerator was most likely on (on most late model RVs the refrigerator can run on electric and gas) or they had a cooler with ice to keep the beer cold. She would have most likely gone for another cold beer if she was back at the truck and camper. So why would she be outside???

 

[Cardinal47]

So you genuinely believe that this woman got lost on a walk, and is still out there?

I don’t. I’ve seen this movie before.

I'm having a time imagining all of this. First of all I have never hiked with a beer in my hand. Can, bottle or cup. Maybe a bottle of water attached somewhere but never a beer.

Seems like more of a stroll around the camper. Just sip a beer, meander around a bit and snap a few pictures.

Then if she was just up ahead wouldn't he hear a car approaching or a car door slamming or her hollering for him when things don't seem right since she was just around the bend.

Right now he has my sympathy and I think he's bungling along but something just isn't right and my first thoughts were like yours that she was never there.

 

[muppethead]

I posted it because I remember reading it. I'm thinking maybe it was from the post that the nephew wrote here when he was quoting what his sister was telling him. I can't find that post any longer. I really thought it was in a linked MSM statement though, so I'll keep looking. I did not imagine it, honest..

I remember it as well. Which means if she did make it back and he found the key under the rock then she had to have been taken before she entered the RV and could give credence to her interrupting someone looking at their truck/camper. What if she surprised someone and they incapacitated her and took her away. Makes me wonder how far behind her he really was for him to not see or hear another car. On another note, he said he went back and checked some caves they knew about. Did anyone go back there and check again? Are there lava tubes along the way? MOO.

 

[Blurgle]

I keep forgetting her husband failed the lie detector test. What was his excuse again? That he hadn't slept?

ETA: I apologize as it may have been mentioned previously in the thread, but, how long have they been married?

Perhaps his excuse is that lie detector tests are quack nonsense?

No, no: that would be the absolute, absolute undisputable truth. Anyone who "fails" a lie detector test has just failed a *worthless* quack piece of garbage.

 

[PaulR]

She was drinking a cold beer so the refrigerator was most likely on (on most late model RVs the refrigerator can run on electric and gas) or they had a cooler with ice to keep the beer cold. She would have most likely gone for another cold beer if she was back at the truck and camper. So why would she be outside???

Could also be hot inside the RV since it's been sitting out in the sun. Most RVs have shades, and people use them to sit outside. It can be more comfortable being outside in the shade than inside a tin can.

 

[zecats]

“I think she was in a very vulnerable position from the moment she left her husband's side.”

As they were seasoned hikers familiar with the area, they would have realized the danger of her separating and walking on alone.

I'd say the opposite ...they were used to this place and used to hiking/walking and pulling the camper up along the road. I'm thinking they were comfortable and had no thoughts about danger, other than those incurred from the environment. JMO

 

[PommyMommy]

I posted it because I remember reading it. I'm thinking maybe it was from the post that the nephew wrote here when he was quoting what his sister was telling him. I can't find that post any longer. I really thought it was in a linked MSM statement though, so I'll keep looking. I did not imagine it, honest..

It wasn't from there - I tried that too because I saved all of them. I thought it may have been from SM because I don't follow there. Anyway, no biggie. I agree with Allboys that wherever it came from, it's quite likely that she had to go potty! MOO

 

[Curiousobserver]

Haaaaaaa. Don’t forget polygraphs.

I’m not surprised they haven’t found any sign of her.

I don’t think she was there to begin with.

The only thing I am clinging to that makes me 51% on the side of she is lost in the desert is this: If you're going to do harm to your wife and hide it by concocting a "she got lost while hiking" story why would you describe her attire as a bikini and boots with a beer in her hand? Why not make it at least reasonable, ordinary, average etc...

Maybe the story goes like this: She was inside the trailer in her underwear with a beer. They had a fight or as a joke and he kicked/locked her out of the trailer. Perhaps it was even an accident as they were both drinking (MOO). After sometime he goes outside and she is gone. He makes up the story about hiking and fails his polygraph test.