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

[evilwise]

WARNING DISCUSSING DECOMP

Let me clarify. As this was a study done to observe decomp, the pig on the surface had a cage, of sorts, around it. They didn’t want animals feeding on the carcass and disturbing the decomp process. They were surprised to find no large bird tracks, no coyote tracks, around the area at all. What I gleaned from this is that the dry hot desert climate desiccates and mummifies the body quickly and there’s little odor to attract animals to the carcass.

Barb also had a lot less fat on her than a pig

 

[K9Enzo]

Scientists at the Desert Study center near where Barb went missing, as well as other wildlife biologists, have said that we are missing half of our birds of prey in California, in the course of about a year. This was true when Barb went missing. The desert has become so hot and dry and inhospitable that even the small creatures (like rabbits and mice) that can sometimes live out there...aren't. It's all plants.

Vultures are rarely seen where I live (and we used to see them quite a bit). We have an uptick in coyotes, though.

Nationwide, birds are disappearing at an alarming rate:

An avian apocalypse has arrived in North America. Birdsong could become a rare sound..

Thank you, I enjoyed reading your post & link.

I find birds of prey fascinating. A few years I got to watch a friend who has a trained (falconry I believe is the term) hawk hunt. It was incredible. The hawk made it back to the truck before we did and was just waiting. I loved it.

 

[BeachSky]

Reading between the lines there, it sounds as though the remains were scattered, so I'm thinking it was possibly items that helped confirm they were all from the same person, eg clothing.


That's a good point.

or her wedding band...I noticed she wore one in some of her photos.

 

[Kittybunny]

I was just looking for updates on the location of Barbara's remains, and ran across this older article. I'm just re-posting and bringing some key quotes here to support those, like myself, that believe that the possibility of foul play still exists, or believes that this is still the most likely scenario. Her son certainly felt that way, as quoted below from the article linked.

"Family members suspect foul play and are seeking answers.

In a statement written by several members of Barbara Thomas' family based in Hong Kong, she is described as an avid and regular desert explorer along with her husband, Robert.

"The chances she became lost or disoriented in the five minutes between her husband reporting last seeing her, and him (realizing) she was missing, are highly improbable," the family said in the statement shared with The Republic.

Also, a reminder of the very close proximity of her trip to Hong Kong, which I know several discussed as being a potential trigger IF this was a domestic violence situation:

"The family members said Barbara Thomas was scheduled to visit them in Hong Kong on July 23.

"Barbara does not have a history of any illness that we know of. We have no reason to believe Barbara would walk away from her husband, or disappear in the manner she has. Especially not so near to a trip to Hong Kong to visit her younger brother in (the) hospital," the family's statement reads."

Family members of Barbara Thomas suspect foul play in disappearance

Perhaps her family knows something about the situation and/or RT that we don't. Personally, I remain on the fence pending the disclosure of the location of her remains.

 

[evilwise]

I was just looking for updates on the location of Barbara's remains, and ran across this older article. I'm just re-posting and bringing some key quotes here to support those, like myself, that believe that the possibility of foul play still exists, or believes that this is still the most likely scenario. Her son certainly felt that way, as quoted below from the article linked.

"Family members suspect foul play and are seeking answers.

In a statement written by several members of Barbara Thomas' family based in Hong Kong, she is described as an avid and regular desert explorer along with her husband, Robert.

"The chances she became lost or disoriented in the five minutes between her husband reporting last seeing her, and him (realizing) she was missing, are highly improbable," the family said in the statement shared with The Republic.

Also, a reminder of the very close proximity of her trip to Hong Kong, which I know several discussed as being a potential trigger IF this was a domestic violence situation:

"The family members said Barbara Thomas was scheduled to visit them in Hong Kong on July 23.

"Barbara does not have a history of any illness that we know of. We have no reason to believe Barbara would walk away from her husband, or disappear in the manner she has. Especially not so near to a trip to Hong Kong to visit her younger brother in (the) hospital," the family's statement reads."

Family members of Barbara Thomas suspect foul play in disappearance

Perhaps her family knows something about the situation and/or RT that we don't. Personally, I remain on the fence pending the disclosure of the location of her remains.

An upcoming trip might also be a reason for more drinking than normal which can increase the likelihood of both accidents and violence. If I recall correctly the husband's testimony was that Barb had a six pack in her hand when she disappeared. He might have been omitting a disagreement or his own level of coherence or both without necessarily having actively hurt Barb.

 

[Cherwell]

An upcoming trip might also be a reason for more drinking than normal which can increase the likelihood of both accidents and violence. If I recall correctly the husband's testimony was that Barb had a six pack in her hand when she disappeared. He might have been omitting a disagreement or his own level of coherence or both without necessarily having actively hurt Barb.

I don't remember any mention of a six-pack.
I do think there's likely to be reasons such as you suggest for RT not giving the full background in the TV interview at least, and possibly holding back at first from the police.
I really doubt that he was the worse for alcohol though. He had a new and expensive large vehicle to manoeuvre and I can't see him risking any loss of control while he still had any driving to do.

 

[Jo in Calif]

An upcoming trip might also be a reason for more drinking than normal which can increase the likelihood of both accidents and violence. If I recall correctly the husband's testimony was that Barb had a six pack in her hand when she disappeared. He might have been omitting a disagreement or his own level of coherence or both without necessarily having actively hurt Barb.

No, they had a pack with beer and water in it, he said she had a beer in her hand.

Robert says they had taken a short trip in their camper when they decided to pull up and go for a 2-mile walk to explore rock formations. They took a pack, beer and a gallon of water, and Barbara was wearing a bikini, hiking boots with black socks, and a red-and-white baseball cap.

Husband of Woman Who Vanished During Mojave Desert Hike: 'I Just Want Her Back'

 

[Stripehaven]

: ) : ) : )
I don't see this dynamic frequently enough. Of course it can go the other way with the wife imposing her will, but my personal observation is that it's usually the guys.

The other reason I suggested this is that from the little info we have on this couple, it "seemed" as if RT called the shots. But that's my own interpretation, not based on imperial data.

Amateur opinion and speculation

It seems to fit with what we learned from the VI, though; based on his info, to me RT sounded controlling.

 

[evilwise]

I don't remember any mention of a six-pack.
I do think there's likely to be reasons such as you suggest for RT not giving the full background in the TV interview at least, and possibly holding back at first from the police.
I really doubt that he was the worse for alcohol though. He had a new and expensive large vehicle to manoeuvre and I can't see him risking any loss of control while he still had any driving to do.

I assume they intended to stay the night, why else would they bring the RV to begin with?

 

[Auntie Cipation]

I assume they intended to stay the night, why else would they bring the RV to begin with?

As I remember it, they were heading out for a few days' camping RV trip, yes, but were not planning to spend the night at the location they stopped at.

Per RT, they pulled over on the spur of the moment to check out the interesting rock formation they saw. The original intention was to stop there for a bit, explore, then continue on to wherever they planned to spend the night, which I don't recall ever being identified.

MOO

 

[K9Enzo]

IIRC, BT told her family in Hong Kong that she and RT were going on a several day camping trip and would most likely be unavailable during that time.

 

[Cherwell]

As I remember it, they were heading out for a few days' camping RV trip, yes, but were not planning to spend the night at the location they stopped at.

Per RT, they pulled over on the spur of the moment to check out the interesting rock formation they saw. The original intention was to stop there for a bit, explore, then continue on to wherever they planned to spend the night, which I don't recall ever being identified.

Yes, it was an en route stop. I've wondered if they also had lunch or at least a coffee break there before heading off for the walk. It would be a natural thing to do and would have taken up some of the time.

 

[NervousNellie]

Yes, it was an en route stop. I've wondered if they also had lunch or at least a coffee break there before heading off for the walk. It would be a natural thing to do and would have taken up some of the time.

That’s an interesting idea that I had never considered. But it is exactly the kind of thing my family would have done on our many RV excursions/vacations.

ETA: I’m sure LE know this.

 

[Cherwell]

That’s an interesting idea that I had never considered. But it is exactly the kind of thing my family would have done on our many RV excursions/vacations.
ETA: I’m sure LE know this.

I'm sure too.
I always try to keep in mind that if something hasn't been mentioned or reported, that doesn't mean it didn't happen!

 

[unknown402]

I do remember her having a beer. I remember thinking it would be a good thing to look for while searching the dessert if she had it at the time of her disappearance.
Did we ever figure out the distance between where she was found and where she was last seen?

 

[wary]

I do remember her having a beer. I remember thinking it would be a good thing to look for while searching the dessert if she had it at the time of her disappearance.
Did we ever figure out the distance between where she was found and where she was last seen?

We don’t know the distance yet.

 

[Sillybilly]

Just for the record to clarify .. it was said from the very first articles linked in Thread #1 that Robert said Barb had a "beer in her hand".

 

[Cherwell]

We don’t know the distance yet.

It is such a shame that Robert's niece never returned to the thread. She knows the answer to this. She posted a few times early on.

 

[NervousNellie]

It is such a shame that Robert's niece never returned to the thread. She knows the answer to this. She posted a few times early on.

I agree it’s a shame for us WSers, but I understand her choice.

 

[Curiousobserver]

I'm sure too.
I always try to keep in mind that if something hasn't been mentioned or reported, that doesn't mean it didn't happen!

And look at the stance of LE this whole time. They searched for 9 days, never named the husband as a POI and appear to have done nothing more than check on his story of the events that day. They had a year to find time gaps, GPS discrepancy, suspicious financial transactions etc...

They know the most and have treated this as a lost missing person the whole time.