Found Deceased CA - Barbara Thomas, 69, from Bullhead City AZ, disappeared in Mojave desert, 12 July 2019 #13

[PommyMommy]

In reading yesterday about her remains being found - if the location was correct it was almost 17 miles from where her husband said she went missing on foot.

Can you please link to what you were reading yesterday? If not, can you place a pin on one of the maps below where you have determined Barbara was found? 17 miles in which direction?

This is what has been linked here so far:

1. Remains of woman lost in Mojave Desert last year found ... in the desert near Essex, California.
2. Today's News Herald on Twitter The coroner's office couldn't confirm her exact location in the desert ...
3. http://nixle.us/CE3JA ... in a field off Kelbaker Road ...

This is the pull out where the truck and 5th wheel were parked: 34°47'36.6"N 115°36'35.0"W - Google Maps

360 view of Kelbaker and Hidden Hill Rd: Google Maps

 

[LAhiker]

In reading yesterday about her remains being found - if the location was correct it was almost 17 miles from where her husband said she went missing on foot.

Are you going by the part in the Havasu News piece saying that Barbara went missing 20 miles north of the I-40 and east of Kelbaker Road? That appears to have been an error that appeared in LE's first Nixle reports and that some news pieces have perpetuated. The search was based at the intersection of Kelbaker and Hidden Hill Road, which is where the couple's RV was parked and near where her husband Robert said they were walking when she disappeared. Others have said that intersection is around 6.8 miles north of the I-40.

Another possibly confusing location in the update from LE is Essex, CA. They said the remains were found in the desert near Essex. Essex is an unincorporated community which is indicated by on maps by a dot south of the I-40 and further east than Kelbaker Road. But that community (very few people live there) extends north of the I-40 and includes the Kelbaker/Hidden Hill intersection. There's also an Essex Road in the area.

So I don't think we have enough information to know how far the remains were from where Barbara was said to be last seen or from the search area.

JMO

 

[PommyMommy]

She disappeared on a day with a heat warning out so it was around 120 when she disappeared. She was probably dead before the police were even contacted. The Mojave Desert in the summer is no place to hike unprepared.

The high temperature was 95.2 at 4pm according to the Sweeney Granite Mountains Research Center which is located about 2.5 miles from the site they were parked.

Sweeney Granite Mountains California (dri.edu) - Click on "Daily Summary" to the left and enter July 12, 2019.

Temperatures reached triple digits during the search for Barbara. All of this is documented in the media thread. MOO

ETA: More about the research center at this link: Weather Analyses | Sweeney Granite Mountains Desert Research Center (ucnrs.org)

Weather graphs for July 12, 2019 in @sroad's post here: CA - CA - Barbara Thomas, 69, from Bullhead City AZ, disappeared in Mojave desert, 12 July 2019 #9

 

[Seattle1]

In reading yesterday about her remains being found - if the location was correct it was almost 17 miles from where her husband said she went missing on foot.

RT stated he last saw BT when she walked out of his sight at the rock formations which are near Kelbaker & Hidden Hills Rds. Can you please share your link where she was located almost 17 miles from this location. Much appreciated.

 

[rosesfromangels]

I was just looking to see if I could find a Coroners report, or any mention of the Nov 27th discovery, and was somewhat surprised to see the obvious omission in many blotter posts. Interesting.

What I did find, however, should make us even more grateful to the San Bernardino Sheriff and Coroner:

"There are 2 Coroners & Medical Examiners in San Bernardino County, California, serving a population of 2,121,220 people in an area of 20,052 square miles. There is 1 Coroner & Medical Examiner per 1,060,610 people, and 1 Coroner & Medical Examiner per 10,025 square miles.

In California, San Bernardino County is ranked 50th of 58 counties in Coroners & Medical Examiners per capita, and 57th of 58 counties in Coroners & Medical Examiners per square mile."

Source: https://www.countyoffice.org/ca-san-bernardino-county-medical-coroner/

I mean good grief! For those that grouse about LE and Coroner responsiveness, well there you go. Seems to me a little budget allocation review is in order, but that's just my......amateur opinion and speculation.

Amateur opinion and speculation

 

[PommyMommy]

I was just looking to see if I could find a Coroners report, or any mention of the Nov 27th discovery, and was somewhat surprised to see the obvious omission in many blotter posts. Interesting.

What I did find, however, should make us even more grateful to the San Bernardino Sheriff and Coroner:

"There are 2 Coroners & Medical Examiners in San Bernardino County, California, serving a population of 2,121,220 people in an area of 20,052 square miles. There is 1 Coroner & Medical Examiner per 1,060,610 people, and 1 Coroner & Medical Examiner per 10,025 square miles.

In California, San Bernardino County is ranked 50th of 58 counties in Coroners & Medical Examiners per capita, and 57th of 58 counties in Coroners & Medical Examiners per square mile."

Source: https://www.countyoffice.org/ca-san-bernardino-county-medical-coroner/

I mean good grief! For those that grouse about LE and Coroner responsiveness, well there you go. Seems to me a little budget allocation review is in order, but that's just my......amateur opinion and speculation.

Amateur opinion and speculation

Coroner – San Bernardino County Sheriff's Department (sbcounty.gov)
On January 8, 2005 the Coroner's Department merged with the Sheriff's Department. The Sheriff's new title is "Sheriff-Coroner." With this merger, a captain was appointed commander of the Coroner's Division and 33 new employees joined the department. The Coroner's Division has offices in San Bernardino, Apple Valley and Needles.

[...]

The Coroner's Division has Deputy Coroner Investigators who are tasked with investigating the cause and manner of death for those who die in San Bernardino County. ...

A Deputy Coroner Investigator will be called to the scene of homicides, fatal traffic collisions and any other place where an unexplained death has transpired -- even in the middle of the desert to retrieve bones of the deceased. The investigator will take pictures and examine the body. These investigators make family notification and document the facts of the death.

In addition to three board certified forensic pathologists, our staff includes: an anthropologist, an odontologist, deputy coroner investigators, autopsy assistants, Sheriff's Service Specialists, clerical staff, and an indigent burial specialist. The Sheriff's Coroner Volunteer Unit is also an invaluable addition to the Division.

[...]

 

[slowpoke]

I saw on an official Instagram for Mojave National Preserve a very cool pic posted 3 days ago of an area that may be in the general area where Barbara and husband hiked.

Their fun, lighthearted caption instead made me feel sad, as I thought of Barbara going missing from the Preserve. It said: “This area is a natural maze; you’ll never walk exactly the same path twice. Like any good maze, there are many dead ends…but figuring out your way through is at least half the fun.”

(I hope you can view the links. I don’t have an Instagram account, yet I was able to see the page.)

https://z-p42.www.instagram.com/mojavenp/
Login • Instagram

 

[rosesfromangels]

I saw on an official Instagram for Mojave National Preserve a very cool pic posted 3 days ago of an area that may be in the general area where Barbara and husband hiked.

Their fun, lighthearted caption instead made me feel sad, as I thought of Barbara going missing from the Preserve. It said: “This area is a natural maze; you’ll never walk exactly the same path twice. Like any good maze, there are many dead ends…but figuring out your way through is at least half the fun.”

(I hope you can view the links. I don’t have an Instagram account, yet I was able to see the page.)
https://z-p42.www.instagram.com/mojavenp/
Login • Instagram
Login • Instagram

Stunning photos, but yes, very bittersweet.
The desert gives great beauty, but seems to want to exact payment for that unique splendor.

Amateur opinion and speculation

 

[Seattle1]

A Deputy Coroner Investigator will be called to the scene of homicides, fatal traffic collisions and any other place where an unexplained death has transpired -- even in the middle of the desert to retrieve bones of the deceased. The investigator will take pictures and examine the body. These investigators make family notification and document the facts of the death.

^^rsbm

I read through about 3 months of Coroner Press Releases (+ archives by request only) and although most are auto-accident, there was an unidentified transient death and a woman in the Colorado River that made the report pending notification.

Just seems off that all details about hikers finding BT remains nearly a month ago still remain behind the wall, and never made the press release, period.

I dunno ... maybe LE wants it this way. Don't want to alert anybody.

MOO

Coroner Press Release – San Bernardino County Sheriff's Department

 

[rosesfromangels]

^^rsbm

I read through about 3 months of Coroner Press Releases (+ archives by request only) and although most are auto-accident, there was an unidentified transient death and a woman in the Colorado River that made the report pending notification.

Just seems off that all details about hikers finding BT remains nearly a month ago still remain behind the wall, and never made the press release, period.

I dunno ... maybe LE wants it this way. Don't want to alert anybody.

MOO

Coroner Press Release – San Bernardino County Sheriff's Department

It is notable, and could be in response to some sort of legal motion. Speculation only.

amateur opinion and speculation

 

[K9Enzo]

Could there have been initial jurisdiction confusion on where she was found? IMO

 

[Countem]

Perhaps they wanted to wait until they were able to confirm the identity of the remains? MOO.

 

[Cherwell]

All those reported were recent deaths, rather than skeletal remains.
Does anyone know if there have been any other such discoveries during the time covered by the press release? Just wondering if they are treated differently.
Is it worth contacting the department to ask?

I dunno ... maybe LE wants it this way. Don't want to alert anybody.

Alert whom? The next of kin were informed.

 

[Curiousobserver]

All those reported were recent deaths, rather than skeletal remains.
Does anyone know if there have been any other such discoveries during the time covered by the press release? Just wondering if they are treated differently.
Is it worth contacting the department to ask?


Alert whom? The next of kin were informed.

It does seem a bit strange that a more precise location hasn't been released, or leaked. Even the fact that a body was found at all was not really known for some time. Many people know the exact location, including all responding officers and the hikers, but nobody has said publicly. I can understand LE wanting to scour the desert for all remains, personal effects, and evidence before releasing the location or a press release, but this is almost a month later now.

My sense, without evidence to cite, is that there is usually a press release for higher profile cases and that release brings some kind of direction (i.e we believe she died of natural causes after being lost in the desert, or we have opened a criminal investigation). <modsnip>

 

[Cherwell]

I didn't think it was a high profile case though. Most people here seem to have commented on the lack of publicity it received.

 

[MsBetsy]

I didn't think it was a high profile case though. Most people here seem to have commented on the lack of publicity it received.

Yes, after the first few weeks there was barely any media reporting on the case at all. There really wasn't much to report on. It might have been different if LE announced that they were opening a criminal investigation or that they suspected foul play. Imo

 

[SweetwaterJoe]

See Nixle update here:

http://nixle.us/CE3JA

“Two people were hiking in a field off Kelbaker Rd. when they discovered human remains.”

 

[k-mac]

It just seems so simplistic that she was wandering around in the dessert (in view of her truck)with practically no clothes on drinking beer and she just succumbed to the weather.
seems so irresponsible.
This woman was a seasoned hiker and her natural climate.
I hope they find traces of specifically what killed her to eliminate all doubt of foul play because at this stage I haven't seen anything to confirm it wasn't . Just because she was possibility within walking distance doesn't mean she did by her own means.
The odds of snake bite seem a reasonable possibility.
Hoping a clear definitive answer of her demise comes for all involved.

moo

 

[Brubon]

I was walking my dog along the beach, on a hot day: wearing a large hat and loose top.
I then had difficulty, walking to the car, driving and was 'pooped' for hours.
Heat stroke can be very quick and unexpected.

My dear, departed husband was in intensive care for 3 days due to heat stroke back in the 1990's during a Florida vacation. He quit sweating( we don't know why) and his body temp climbed to over 105 degrees F. Quick work by the ER with the ice water baths and icy cold water circulating in a special blanket saved his life....and then after he was released we had to be careful. Blood platelets do not work properly after they have overheated. Any bump could have caused internal bleeding.
Heat stroke can be deadly.
RIP, Barbara.
MOO

 

[Seattle1]

See Nixle update here:

http://nixle.us/CE3JA

“Two people were hiking in a field off Kelbaker Rd. when they discovered human remains.”

Thanks, @SweetwaterJoe for reposting the Nixle update dated Dec 18, 2020, citing BT's remains recovered.

I could be wrong but I believe this update by Nixle is the only public communication issued directly by LE or SBSD - Colorado River Sheriffs Dept., Needles, CA.

Although I've been following this case since the date the WS thread created, I think I would be remiss if I did not state that I've never relied on Nixle.us for updates on this or any other case, but instead primarily reference the local agency .gov sites and their respective Twitter and Facebook accounts as linked below. In my experience, it's notable to me that locating BT has not been shared on any of these sites below. Again, I'm grateful the Nixle link was posted here, or I would have totally missed it.

Colorado River – San Bernardino County Sheriff's Department

The Colorado River Station covers the second largest geographical jurisdiction in San Bernardino County. The area extends from the Nevada State line south to the Riverside County line and from the Arizona State line on the Colorado River west to Kelbaker Road.

[..]

Station personnel also work closely with other law enforcement agencies in the area that include the CHP, BLM, Mojave National Preserve, US Fish and Wildlife Service, Mohave County Sheriff’s Department, La Paz County Sheriff’s Department, Lake Havasu City Police, and the Arizona Department of Public Safety.

For press releases, news and information follow the Colorado River Station on Twitter at @CORiverStation

https://twitter.com/sbcountysheriff
Official Twitter of the San Bernardino County Sheriff's Department #SBCSD

San Bernardino County Sheriff's Department [Facebook - 2019].

According to the Nixle site, launched in 2007, Nixle provides an open communication forum that connect public safety, municipalities, schools, businesses and the communities they serve. Nixle enables real-time, two-way communication through text, email, voice messages, social media, and the Nixle mobile app, and serves about 8,000 agencies.