CA CA - Barbara Thomas, 69, from Bullhead City AZ, disappeared in Mojave desert, 12 July 2019 #2

[Inthedetails]

Great questions! But Lord help me, I don’t want to be needing feminine hygiene supplies at age 69. MOO

Amen!

 

[GordianKnot]

Interesting. ^^^

Weren't there clothes, makeup, other toiletries of hers in the camper ????

Stuff in the car that belonged to her ?
Some women take an arsenal of everything with them on trips, including but not limited to : Extra shoes, changes of clothes, sunscreen, water cooler bottles (like a green Yeti drink bottle),makeup, feminine hygiene supplies, small portable fan with a 'mist-er', etc.

This is really going to raise up my hinky meter if nothing was found that belonged to her !

I interpret LE's statements that they've found no traces of BT in the search location to mean they've found no signs of her there anywhere outside of their vehicle.

I don't think LE meant they found no trace of her inside the RV.

JMO.

 

[artsy1]

SAR would not have searched the truck or trailer (which were back at their house for most of this search). They'd need a warrant to search the truck and trailer and LE would do this (not SAR). LE and SAR together found no physical evidence of her in the area where she disappeared.

But maybe they did get a peek inside the truck at some point? Maybe RT let them look?

Even if her belongings are found inside the vehicle and RV, that's not proof that she was out at Kelbaker Road. This is a really strange and concerning case.

I agree that maybe RT let them look. Since he said he took a polygraph (which he had a right to refuse), IMHO I would think he would have also given LE permission to search the truck & rv. And, according to VI reports as he heard them, RT was questioned for 5 hours in the back of the police car. A polygraph wouldn't have been performed there, so RT had to have been with LE for quite some time, which would have left plenty of time to look at the vehicles if given permission voluntarily by RT.

ETA: We don't know which LE agency gave him the poly - in CA or in AZ, either.

 

[Joe Friday]

Our reporter on scene (sroad) mentioned that there were cars traveling past the location where it was believed the camper was parked about one every minute. IIRC it was also said the traffic would be heavier on Friday's, the same day of the week BT went missing. Perhaps a car every 30 seconds or so.

Where the camper was parked is believed to be directly across the road from where the trail begins and where BT would have crossed the road.

If she had crossed the road there and a passing motorist (monster) stopped to abducted her, that person(s) would have had to have gotten out of the car and wrestled her into the car. I doubt she would have went willingly.

Now I don't know about you, but if I were driving down the highway and seen a car pulled over in the middle of the desert with people scuffling around I would likely slow down at the very least to see if someone needed help thinking their car had broken down. As I approached this car if I seen someone wrestling with a women in a black bikini I would have for sure stopped. (Not every day you see that)

Point being, driving past a bikini clad women standing along the side of a road or crossing the road out in the middle of the desert would be a memorable event in itself. Someone forcing a bikini clad women into a car in the middle of the desert would be even more memorable. But no one that we know of has come forward to say they even seen a bikini clad women anywhere in the desert.

You would surely think if there was a car passing by every 30 seconds were BT in her bikini crossed the road someone would have said "Ya, I remember seeing her"

JMO

 

[artsy1]

Our reporter on scene (sroad) mentioned that there were cars traveling past the location where it was believed the camper was parked about one every minute. IIRC it was also said the traffic would be heavier on Friday's, the same day of the week BT went missing. Perhaps a car every 30 seconds or so.

Where the camper was parked is believed to be directly across the road from where the trail begins and where BT would have crossed the road.

If she had crossed the road there and a passing motorist (monster) stopped to abducted her, that person(s) would have had to have gotten out of the car and wrestled her into the car. I doubt she would have went willingly.

Now I don't know about you, but if I were driving down the highway and seen a car pulled over in the middle of the desert with people scuffling around I would likely slow down at the very least to see if someone needed help thinking their car had broken down. As I approached this car if I seen someone wrestling with a women in a black bikini I would have for sure stopped. (Not every day you see that)

Point being, driving past a bikini clad women standing along the side of a road or crossing the road out in the middle of the desert would be a memorable event in itself. Someone forcing a bikini clad women into a car in the middle of the desert would be even more memorable. But no one that we know of has come forward to say they even seen a bikini clad women anywhere in the desert.

You would surely think if there was a car passing by every 30 seconds were BT in her bikini crossed the road someone would have said "Ya, I remember seeing her"

JMO

A car passing every 30 seconds is uncommon out there. MOO is that the increase in traffic was due to "looky-loo's" trying to see what they could & get their own photos of the search.

 

[Lilibet]

Rsbm
But no one that we know of has come forward to say they even seen a bikini clad women anywhere in the desert.

Rsbm

JMO

It’s also possible that if someone did see Barbara in her bikini, they are long gone and don’t even know she’s missing, so they wouldn’t come forward.

 

[LietKynes]

Great questions! But Lord help me, I don’t want to be needing feminine hygiene supplies at age 69. MOO

^^^ Agreed.... heeheehee....

I forgot she is 69.

But in a bikini, or at least a bikini top, no less.

 

[leomoon]

One of the wierdest cases I ever heard of with the exception of Sheryl Powell just weeks after.

 

[mjp1228]

It does not seem like something aunts and cousins do together, hiking in bikini in the Mojave desert in 114F.

Then again, I am from another country so not sure here.

I think I’m missing the point on this one. Why wouldn’t aunts and cousins be together hiking if they chose to be in bikinis? Aunts and cousins go swimming together in bikinis.

 

[SDHELPS]

Per the SBSD statement regarding the suspension of the search it is also noted ... "The investigation is ongoing and anyone with information is asked to contact Detective Nicholas Clark, Specialized Investigations Division".

July 22nd - The investigation continues into the whereabouts of missing person Barbara Thomas from SBSD - Colorado River Sheriffs Department : Nixle

In looking at what all that division of the SBSD handles, here is the following narrative.

"The division is comprised of the Homicide Detail, Crimes Against Children, and hi-tech crimes. They investigate a variety of major crimes including homicides, suspicious deaths, in-custody deaths, officer-involved shootings, crimes against children and cyber crimes. Personnel assigned to the division are highly-skilled and experienced investigators they use the latest technology to investigate cases."

Specialized Investigations – San Bernardino County Sheriff's Department

This may be typical and I will admit I have no knowledge of what all the internal divisions within LE are but found it interesting.

I also want to point out that I am still on the fence as to what may have happened to Barbara and my only hope is that she is found. My thoughts are with her family.

 

[Micheline]

LAS VEGAS (KTNV) — UPDATE JULY 22: Robert Thomas says that police are now looking at him as a suspect in his wife's disappearance while the couple was on a hike in the Mojave Desert.

Man says police think he is a suspect in wife's disappearance

 

[castilloisno1]

LAS VEGAS (KTNV) — UPDATE JULY 22: Robert Thomas says that police are now looking at him as a suspect in his wife's disappearance while the couple was on a hike in the Mojave Desert.

Man says police think he is a suspect in wife's disappearance

My question is..have the police changed their stance on this? I have seen many articles like the above one. BUT I still am not finding it anywhere where he is a POI.

 

[LietKynes]

LAS VEGAS (KTNV) — UPDATE JULY 22: Robert Thomas says that police are now looking at him as a suspect in his wife's disappearance while the couple was on a hike in the Mojave Desert.

Man says police think he is a suspect in wife's disappearance

BBM

But what do LE say ?

 

[mrstfs]

My question is..have the police changed their stance on this? I have seen many articles like the above one. BUT I still am not finding it anywhere where he is a POI.

LE has not put out an official statement regarding any suspects or persons of interest.

 

[PommyMommy]

They did search for her in the desert, but did not explore a kidnapping scenario, so it isn't the same logic.
Very possible she was never there though. IM0

I don't know where you're getting this information but I can assure you that SBCSO is investigating every possibility. MOO

 

[Tealgrove]

So I don’t really know much about how scent dogs work. Would they be able to determine that a person *was* somewhere, even if they aren’t there anymore? Like if Barbara at one point sat on a rock, under perfect circumstances would the dogs be able to smell she had been on that rock?

Yes and no.

Tracking dogs would need a medium that held scent somehow. Concrete is harder to track on because of it's composite nature. Concrete/rock would not hold scent as well as tall grass, shrubbery or someone crawling across a field.

It would be hard on sand and if windy, the scent could be moved or simply blown away.

In essence a tracking dog is telling you where the person was, which way they went and sometimes they even find the person. Conversely, they can track to a point where the scent disappears, i.e., a river, a road, etc., and then they would be lost. But it would give LE or searchers a direction right?

So it is possible to find scent on a rock but it wouldn't be as strong as other mediums.

 

[Lore Listener]

It appears that the water and phone were in the possession of the husband. He is most likely the one who hid the key under a rock as well. Hopefully, she knew where to find the key. JMO but I'm beginning to think that all was not good with this couple and that maybe they were having a disagreement and she decided to flag down the next car and hightail it out of there. That is the good case scenario. My other thought is that she was not there at this location where he says that she is missing. JMO

If she took off voluntarily and is safe somewhere, though, wouldn't she have reached out to her adult child? Or the dying brother she was about to fly to the other side of the planet to see (or his children)? What I'm saying is, she might have been willing to run off on her husband if things were not good between them, but what about everyone else in her life?

 

[Liwthe]

^^^ Agreed.... heeheehee....

I forgot she is 69.

But in a bikini, or at least a bikini top, no less.

I feel this may be an extremely obvious detail to post for my first post, but I wanted to share my thoughts because it was questioned why someone would hike in a bikini (at any age).

When I was a teenager living somewhere rural with very small trails into the bush (scrub really), a few times I decided to strip off down to my undies because I was getting exercise while also receiving a much, at the time, coveted tan. I stashed my clothes etc on the trail. The one time I thought I heard someone coming on the isolated trails, I ducked into the bushes.

Sorry if that was a long winded way to say I think it’s possible she was enjoying getting a tan while out walking. I haven’t looked at all her pics, but a few I’ve seen show her quite tanned.

It’s also quite liberating. I’ve certainly canoed and hiked more recently in a bikini in the wilderness when overheated, even though I eschew the sun now (lots of sunscreen, although this isn’t as good as clothing as well).

I wouldn’t say minimal clothing or bikinis are comfortable in high heat or strong sun, as the direct sun on the skin makes you feel hot. Light clothing protecting skin and a broad brimmed hat is often cooler in my experience. Sometimes in the high heat however, you just want to strip off when you get sweaty. Or I should say, I do.

I don’t think age has any bearing on it aside from a better grasp of sun safety and aging considerations.

Some people are more comfortable with their bodies, and wouldn’t find it uncomfortable at all with a husband in a mostly isolated spot.

I’m just trying to provide an explanation if Barbara Thomas was out there hiking in a bikini.

 

[PommyMommy]

I feel this may be an extremely obvious detail to post for my first post, but I wanted to share my thoughts because it was questioned why someone would hike in a bikini (at any age).

When I was a teenager living somewhere rural with very small trails into the bush (scrub really), a few times I decided to strip off down to my undies because I was getting exercise while also receiving a much, at the time, coveted tan. I stashed my clothes etc on the trail. The one time I thought I heard someone coming on the isolated trails, I ducked into the bushes.

Sorry if that was a long winded way to say I think it’s possible she was enjoying getting a tan while out walking. I haven’t looked at all her pics, but a few I’ve seen show her quite tanned.

It’s also quite liberating. I’ve certainly canoed and hiked more recently in a bikini in the wilderness when overheated, even though I eschew the sun now (lots of sunscreen, although this isn’t as good as clothing as well).

I wouldn’t say minimal clothing or bikinis are comfortable in high heat or strong sun, as the direct sun on the skin makes you feel hot. Light clothing protecting skin and a broad brimmed hat is often cooler in my experience. Sometimes in the high heat however, you just want to strip off when you get sweaty. Or I should say, I do.

I don’t think age has any bearing on it aside from a better grasp of sun safety and aging considerations.

Some people are more comfortable with their bodies, and wouldn’t find it uncomfortable at all with a husband in a mostly isolated spot.

I’m just trying to provide an explanation if Barbara Thomas was out there hiking in a bikini.

Welcome to Websleuths, Liwthe.

 

[fridaybaker]

If she took off voluntarily and is safe somewhere, though, wouldn't she have reached out to her adult child? Or the dying brother she was about to fly to the other side of the planet to see (or his children)? What I'm saying is, she might have been willing to run off on her husband if things were not good between them, but what about everyone else in her life?

On my "possible but not probable" list is the scenario that they had an argument and she wanted to leave, so flagged someone down. That someone turned out to be a bad actor, and she is no more. I can see husband wanting to keep the argument to himself for several reasons, although I'd think at this point he'd be talking about it.

Two other people who disappeared completely very shortly after having been seen by someone are Steven Koecher and Marizela Perez. In SK's case, it certainly looks like foul play, and in MP's, suicide. In this case, could be foul play.