CA CA - Barbara Thomas, 69, from Bullhead City AZ, disappeared in Mojave desert, 12 July 2019 #12

[RANCH]

You can only 'prove' the phone was not moved. I could have had the phone in a pants pocket while I was laying flat on the rock and sleeping.

It seems kind of strange to hike out into the desert on a hot summer day and lay down on a rock to take a nap.

If RT told LE he did that and later examination of the phone showed it being stationary for a significant amount of time at that location then LE would have to wonder why he would do something strange like that.

I think it would cause LE to look at him as trying to coverup something. It definitely wouldn't make him look innocent. JMO.

 

[happyday]

You can only 'prove' the phone was not moved. I could have had the phone in a pants pocket while I was laying flat on the rock and sleeping.

I was skeptical about what Paul R. was saying, but I think the key he is pointing out is that the phone’s exact movements, non-movements, placement, location etc. can be used to check against your story. More sophisticated than just pinging in an area.

 

[ChuckMaureen]

If BT was abducted, to where would a perp transport her? Would the perp have had to disable/knock out BT to take her/to continue driving with her in the vehicle? What if the vehicle was a camper/trailer home?

Is there a place within only a few miles the perp could have driven to handle his just-abducted victim? Is Las Vegas to far a drive to risk being caught?

 

[ChuckMaureen]

It seems kind of strange to hike out into the desert on a hot summer day and lay down on a rock to take nap.

If RT told LE he did that and later examination of the phone showed it being stationary for a significant amount of time at that location then LE would have to wonder why he would do something strange like that.

I think it would cause LE to look at him as trying to coverup something. It definitely wouldn't make him look innocent. JMO.

It doesn't have to be a nap; simply a rest period/sitting quietly.

Either way, still no proof of anything nefarious.

 

[ChuckMaureen]

I was skeptical about what Paul R. was saying, but I think the key he is pointing out is that the phone’s exact movements, non-movements, placement, location etc. can be used to check against your story. More sophisticated than just pinging in an area.

Assumptions, conjecture, but no proof of nefarious undertakings.

 

[RANCH]

It doesn't have to be a nap; simply a rest period/sitting quietly.

Either way, still no proof of anything nefarious.

Sitting without moving for how long? More than a few minutes would make me wonder if RT was trying to hide something by telling LE that. JMO.

 

[Cherwell]

I have also been trying to keep an open mind about what happened, and to take seriously the possibility that RT *mostly* told the truth and is a victim of her disappearance. But I keep wondering what parts of the full story he might have omitted or revised to make his actions look better to BT's relatives.

That's been my thinking too. If you factor in some variables, eg he lingered a lot longer than he said, or they had a tiff and she stormed off, the possibilities are widened:

What if she didn't get lost but deliberately (or in an impaired state of mind) took off down the wrong trail (or along Hidden Hills Road)......
..... Something happened to make Barbara disappear. Abduction or, perhaps, an intentional walk in a direction away from the RV area.

Indeed.

 

[TristanP]

If BT was abducted, to where would a perp transport her? Would the perp have had to disable/knock out BT to take her/to continue driving with her in the vehicle? What if the vehicle was a camper/trailer home?

Is there a place within only a few miles the perp could have driven to handle his just-abducted victim? Is Las Vegas to far a drive to risk being caught?

I mean, she was wearing a bikini and drinking a beer, clearly she’d be down to party with anyone! (That was sarcasm.)

 

[ChuckMaureen]

I'm still bothered by elements of this case:
1) No scream heard.
2) No dropped container found.

A possibility comes to mind: BT must have been taking a deep sip of that refreshing beer whilst the abductor approached then placed her in to his vehicle. That might explain why no scream and no dropped container.......

Of course, absurdity.

 

[10ofRods]

I was skeptical about what Paul R. was saying, but I think the key he is pointing out is that the phone’s exact movements, non-movements, placement, location etc. can be used to check against your story. More sophisticated than just pinging in an area.

If a person wanted to make it look as if they were in their truck or trailer parked in a particular place while in fact they had gone elsewhere, yes, the person would have to put the phone in a stable place at a height consistent with being somewhere inside a truck. Pretty easy to do. Return, park truck very near where phone is. Get out, resume using phone.

Would also need not to have GPS on the truck itself.

 

[Cherwell]

I'm still bothered by elements of this case:
1) No scream heard.
2) No dropped container found.
A possibility comes to mind: BT must have been taking a deep sip of that refreshing beer whilst the abductor approached then placed her in to his vehicle. That might explain why no scream and no dropped container.......
Of course, absurdity.

The simplest explanation would be that she got in the vehicle willingly.

 

[ChuckMaureen]

The simplest explanation would be that she got in the vehicle willingly.

AFAWK, BT has not accessed her bank account(s).

Willingly or, under duress?

"Hello, abductor! What's that? Get in? Alright. Hold my beer."

 

[ChuckMaureen]

After Danielle Imbo and Richard Petrone and his Dodge Dakota quad-cab truck went missing, some in LE stated their disappearance was "too clean", as in, it was a 'professional hit'. Even the FBI suggested a "murder-for-hire" scenario (more or less to 'shake the tree', but nothing came of it).

Is BT's disappearance also "too clean"? Is a 'professional' required to disappear someone with no traces of evidence beyond that the person is missing?

Or... does it simply require a someone who is aged-smart?

 

[Cherwell]

AFAWK, BT has not accessed her bank account(s).
Willingly or, under duress?
"Hello, abductor! What's that? Get in? Alright. Hold my beer."

I said "willingly".
A possible scenario is that she was in some sort of trouble (e.g. feeling ill or had fallen and hurt herself) and accepted a lift from someone who seemed to be a Good Samaritan but sadly turned out not to be.

I don't think this is what happened, but it is an example of how abductions can take place without force or violence being involved. People can be tricked into getting into a vehicle.

 

[happyday]

Assumptions, conjecture, but no proof of nefarious undertakings.

True—no proof of anything, but could just be a tool along with other things to tell if someone is telling the truth.

 

[cazador]

True—no proof of anything, but could just be a tool along with other things to tell if someone is telling the truth.

Precisely... Inch by Inch

 

[Curiousobserver]

That's been my thinking too. If you factor in some variables, eg he lingered a lot longer than he said, or they had a tiff and she stormed off, the possibilities are widened:

Indeed.

Yes, and also we don't have an official written transcript of what he said to the police or anyone else. He may have been considerably more emotional and/or forthcoming with information than we know. The best version of his "statement" is from the VI's 2nd hand account of a phone conversation he had where the re-teller starts the whole story with "well, my memory is not the best..."

We have almost zero hard information about this case and yet we are still parsing the rumors as if they were facts.

Sure its weird she got lost in the seemingly open terrain but we also know that happens dozens of times a year in similar areas around the country.

 

[al66pine]

BT Accessing Bank A/c(s)?

AFAWK, BT has not accessed her bank account(s)....

@ChuckMaureen sbm
Did someone in a position to know as a fact, e.g., LE or RT (even our VI, dbdb11 would have info only second hand), publicly comment on this point one way or another? I don't recall hearing/reading but could have missed it. Or forgotten. Or something.

So, AFAWK, based on .....what, pls? {{{ETA: Sorry, if <--- that read as curt, did not mean to come across that way. Just looking for something concrete as basis for your opinion.}}}

 

[deugirtni]

I would like to convey my heartfelt condolences to our VI @dbdb11 on the loss of his beloved father. My prayers are with you and your family at this tragic time. May he rest in love and may you find strength in each other and comfort in your fond memories of him.

Wonder if RT flew out for the funeral? If so, perhaps dbdb11 might know more from him by now?

 

[slowpoke]

Hi again, everyone! I’m glad we’re all here.

I was thinking of Barbara as I did my hike on trails near my home. They recently have installed 1/4-mile markers on the trail I’ve been going on for years, so of course it made me recall dbdb11 telling us that “according to robert the distance between them was less than 1/4 mile, and the fifth wheel would have been visible.”
CA - CA - Barbara Thomas, 69, from Bullhead City AZ, disappeared in Mojave desert, 12 July 2019 #7

I noted it takes me about 5 minutes to reach the next 1/4-mile post. It was really helpful in realizing just how far 1/4 mile is (I’m really bad at visualizing distance otherwise). It doesn’t sound very far in my head, but in actuality is quite far, especially if you have bends in the path as I did, since I was in some hills. Just as I would lose sight of someone that far ahead of me due to the bends in the path, I was picturing Barbara making her turn and getting out of RT’s sight.

The trouble I think we are having figuring out RT’s account is where dbdb11 said RT said “and the fifth wheel would have been visible”. How did she get lost if she could have clearly seen the vehicle once she turned the corner?

So, IMO a quarter mile ahead of RT is quite a distance (despite it being possibly only 5 minutes ahead of him, which in my head didn’t sound like a lot) for a couple who was taking this trip together. Why was she THAT far ahead of him? Is he that much of a slower walker compared to BT? Did he take really long to take his photo?

Sorry this is likely a rehash. After 12 threads, I guess a lot of what we’ll discuss may be relooking at the facts, though!

All JMO.