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

[10ofRods]

Didi, after reading all the posts between last night and this morning, that's now on my list too. I believe the woman who went missing in 2003 from Mojave NP was determined to have gone willingly.

I know it seems like a really odd theory. But I do know people who, especially if they couldn't find the one rock with the darned key under it, would be really pissed. And a lot of people would stop to ask an older lady in the heat in a bikini if she were okay.

Naturally, the big argument against this is why hasn't she contacted family? I can think of reasons why people have taken off for this length of time without letting anyone know, but it's very very unusual.

It's hard to believe she's still out there as a result of getting lost, though. In fact, after seeing the pictures and reading the posts by Sroad I no longer have "got off trail and got lost" as one of my theories.

 

[10ofRods]

Was she ever really there?

And that remains a frightening theory. I suspect we'll hear more about this case in the next week or two. They've done a very thorough search, given the victim's husband a polygraph, they have enough, I'd think, to get a warrant for his cell phone records.

 

[LietKynes]

Was she ever really there?

Bingo.

Would like to see any convenience/gas station footage of the two of them.

Here's a thought : Maybe she left him prior to the trip... and he's trying to 'save face', so came up with , "...she's been kidnapped..." ?

 

[Curiousobserver]

I don't think enough information has been released for me to have any ideas on what really happened. That said, a hit and run on a clear day with as much traffic (a car every couple minutes sometimes more), or animal attack is not what I think happened. (Mountain lions avoid humans and attacks are extremely rare and that would have left clues, not to mention drag marks, etc).

Getting lost for that particular place is hard to believe as well, as there is a non-motorized trail which they presumably hiked, and Kelbaker road is visible, and audible. Also, very few hikers hike off trail, those who do would not be wanting to wear shorts, as the area is filled with various cholla cacti, which have hooks that get into your legs, very unpleasant to get stuck by those! Even the I-40 is visible and a turnout at the pass is visible by eye. Less than a mile west of the road which runs north/south you have Granite Mountain, which is a sheer wall of rocks, she wouldn't have walked that way, unless extremely disoriented. They don't sound like rock climbers, so that's highly unlikely.

I'm hoping the husband will offer much more specifics about the hike and time than he did in those two short interviews. Some mention all they had was a beer, another article mentions they brought a gallon of water as well. That small detail makes a big difference in how far you can hike. A beer in hand, and your hike during mid-day is limited to no more than a mile or two, but a gallon of water, and now you'd have to expand the possible range to search by a few more miles.

Having hiked at this location my main observation was just how many places there are there to shelter from the intense sun, which of course also makes the search harder and makes it harder for aerial photography to pick up any clues. The scattered boulders south of the main rock formations also had lots of nooks and crannies to hide. I noticed SARS had tags going for about a mile south, so it looks like they covered that area as well.

If I were in trouble with the heat I might be tempted to go under a large boulder and wait to feel better, these are great sheltering places, but that is not what Robert Thomas suggested. He implied they had already gone to the rocks and were on their way back, between the main rock formations and the trailer there are no rock formations to hide. If she had gone for the closest boulder formations, she would have been found though, because they searched those formations extensively, see attached photo for an example.

It is uphill to the boulder formations from the trailer location and only .5 miles away, downhill back to the trailer, so getting back would have made more sense for me if I thought I was in heat trouble. But RT did not mention his wife had issues with the heat during that hike.

I'll attach a few more pics so you can see landscape and trailer location in relation to the surrounding landscape. Last photo shows the wall of rocks on the western side and a orange tag showing they searched to that extend.

Thank you for these-

I think based on these pictures, and your description.

1) she got lost- possible but not unlikely
2) she got abducted- possible but not likely
3) attacked by animals- possible but not likely
4) foul-play- cannot be excluded

 

[mrstfs]

Bingo.

Would like to see any convenience/gas station footage of the two of them.

Here's a thought : Maybe she left him prior to the trip... and he's trying to 'save face', so came up with , "...she's been kidnapped..." ?

I feel like she would’ve just continued with her plan to visit Hong Kong. Her brother is gravely ill. But that’s just my opinion without knowing her.

 

[PommyMommy]

Knowing that the VI thinks she didn't have a phone on her, it seems like that fact would make it more likely the two would stay together on the trail, just as a precaution.

Which makes me wonder what specifically was her reason for going on ahead without him (ostensibly). If that story is true, it seems like it must be a pretty compelling reason (illness, overheating, urgent bathroom need, argument etc) which might then provide some clue about what went wrong from that point.

Not that it probably matters, since they are looking all over the area for her. It's just so baffling.

BBM I don't think there had to be a compelling reason, necessarily.

Think about taking a walk. You walk...at some point you're done and decide to go home. Not necessarily because you're ill, overheated, have to pee, or you had an argument. You're just finished walking and ready to go home. Or, in Barbara's case, ready to go back to the camper. MOO

Okay so here's another possibility I don't think we've considered. What if everything that RT said happened is true? Maybe BT was heading back and saw someone around the truck or camper? If I were in that situation alone, rather than confront them or yell for my husband, I would try to hide and sneak back to alert my husband without them seeing or hearing me. (I'm 61, 20 years ago I probably would've confronted them.) It's possible she could've been injured or overcome by the heat while hiding/sneaking back to RT and is still hidden somewhere between the camper and where RT was at when they separated. There would be no signs of an abduction or foul play and RT would still be telling the truth.

I really think she would have been found if this is what happened. And, I realize people are overlooked and found later in area that was already searched. I actually made a list of examples of that in another case. I just don't think it happened here. MOO

 

[Cardinal47]

I would really like to have something cleared up. Every time I read she was in a bikini I cringe. Wasn't she wearing a bikini top and shorts? I can surely see her in the later rather than the former. I think it's good headlines imagining her in a two piece bikini. I really think one paper picked up 'bikini' and ran with it!

 

[Kapua]

California police rule out husband's claims that his bikini-clad wife, 69, who disappeared during their hike was KIDNAPPED as search for her enters its tenth day

So the question is how was that ruled out? I saw another news story that used the word "abducted". I guess kidnapped grabs more attention. Regardless, I'm thinking of the ways LE could rule out that possibility? Curious as to everyone else's thoughts?

JMHO - it's the Daily Mail, a sensationalist rag. I take everything printed there with a box of salt.

 

[MimosaMornings]

If Barbara doesn’t own a cell phone, do she and her husband just share one? Is that how her family calls - via his cell phone?
What about a tablet or laptop?

Does Barbara have family that lives close? I see pictures with the grandchildren, I am guessing those are her sons two children.

 

[Joe Friday]

Bingo.

Would like to see any convenience/gas station footage of the two of them.

Here's a thought : Maybe she left him prior to the trip... and he's trying to 'save face', so came up with , "...she's been kidnapped..." ?

I seriously doubt that will turn out to be the reason. I'm sure if she left on her own and was never with him on the day he said she went missing, she would have been in contact with someone by now or someone would have recognized her like the mother and daughter from WI that were hopping from motel to motel for three days to get away from husband/father.

JMO

 

[PommyMommy]

I would really like to have something cleared up. Every time I read she was in a bikini I cringe. Wasn't she wearing a bikini top and shorts? I can surely see her in the later rather than the former. I think it's good headlines imagining her in a two piece bikini. I really think one paper picked up 'bikini' and ran with it!

Her husband said she was wearing a bikini. LE said she was wearing a bikini. The media is reporting the clothing description provided by LE. Not just one paper, all of them. MOO

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

 

[dbdb11]

I don't think enough information has been released for me to have any ideas on what really happened. That said, a hit and run on a clear day with as much traffic (a car every couple minutes sometimes more), or animal attack is not what I think happened. (Mountain lions avoid humans and attacks are extremely rare and that would have left clues, not to mention drag marks, etc).

Getting lost for that particular place is hard to believe as well, as there is a non-motorized trail which they presumably hiked, and Kelbaker road is visible, and audible. Also, very few hikers hike off trail, those who do would not be wanting to wear shorts, as the area is filled with various cholla cacti, which have hooks that get into your legs, very unpleasant to get stuck by those! Even the I-40 is visible and a turnout at the pass is visible by eye. Less than a mile west of the road which runs north/south you have Granite Mountain, which is a sheer wall of rocks, she wouldn't have walked that way, unless extremely disoriented. They don't sound like rock climbers, so that's highly unlikely.

I'm hoping the husband will offer much more specifics about the hike and time than he did in those two short interviews. Some mention all they had was a beer, another article mentions they brought a gallon of water as well. That small detail makes a big difference in how far you can hike. A beer in hand, and your hike during mid-day is limited to no more than a mile or two, but a gallon of water, and now you'd have to expand the possible range to search by a few more miles.

Having hiked at this location my main observation was just how many places there are there to shelter from the intense sun, which of course also makes the search harder and makes it harder for aerial photography to pick up any clues. The scattered boulders south of the main rock formations also had lots of nooks and crannies to hide. I noticed SARS had tags going for about a mile south, so it looks like they covered that area as well.

If I were in trouble with the heat I might be tempted to go under a large boulder and wait to feel better, these are great sheltering places, but that is not what Robert Thomas suggested. He implied they had already gone to the rocks and were on their way back, between the main rock formations and the trailer there are no rock formations to hide. If she had gone for the closest boulder formations, she would have been found though, because they searched those formations extensively, see attached photo for an example.

It is uphill to the boulder formations from the trailer location and only .5 miles away, downhill back to the trailer, so getting back would have made more sense for me if I thought I was in heat trouble. But RT did not mention his wife had issues with the heat during that hike.

I'll attach a few more pics so you can see landscape and trailer location in relation to the surrounding landscape. Last photo shows the wall of rocks on the western side and a orange tag showing they searched to that extend.

Thank you deeply for going to these lengths. Based on what you're saying, it is highly unlikely that she was lost, unless medical issues forced aberrant behavior? The road's are easily referenced so one could maintain their sense of direction?

 

[dbdb11]

Well, it does, their investigation has given them the answer as to what did happen to her, and it wasn't an abduction.

Not for no reason the husband, who is a victim, was given a lie detector test.

Not following.

You are saying the police know what happened to Barbara?

 

[Micheline]

So the bottom line is that they have found no evidence that she was abducted. That doesn't mean that she wasn't, but that they don't think that she was. Of course, they may know or suspect that some other specific thing happened, but they haven't said so.

IMO it does mean she wasn't.
What would the purpose be for LE to tell the media no indication she was kidnapped, why this info?
This avenue was never explored to begin with IMO, going by what I have read.

 

[kkdj]

If my wife was hot and wanted to return to the camper, car, house, hotel, cabin or what ever, I would NOT have let her go ahead while I stayed behind dilly-dallying around doing what ever I pleased. Especially if I didn't have clear site of where she was heading to.

That just me and I'm not blaming RT for leaving BT go ahead alone. Maybe they hiked together all the time, but didn't necessarily stay by each others side the entire time.

JMO

My hubby would probably let me go ahead without a worry. So, I think it's a matter of how one thinks. I prefer to be around people, feel safer that way. I know others that feel safer being in the wilderness and alone. See, that would scare me more, because I would feel more vulnerable coming upon a stranger with nobody around.

 

[dbdb11]

Investigation is still going on, searches have been suspended.

Messages from SBSD - Colorado River Sheriffs Department : Nixle

These are the best photos the police dept could obtain of the missing person? Three people in one of the photos, and two in the other...

 

[Micheline]

These are the best photos the police dept could obtain of the missing person? Three people in one of the photos, and two in the other...

Since she wasn't active online I suppose her husband provided those, IMO.

 

[Lava]

IMO it does mean she wasn't.
What would the purpose be for LE to tell the media no indication she was kidnapped, why this info?
This avenue was never explored to begin with IMO, going by what I have read.

And I think that's fine - I just think there is a difference between stating your interpretation of what LE has said and stating it as fact. That's why I asked where they had said there had been no abduction. Because for me there is a different. No indication can just mean that - that there are no signs of abduction. No signs of struggle, no left behind items, no indication of another vehicle in the area.

 

[Steelslady]

Thank you for the photos! There is a bit of something red in the lower part of your last photo. Any idea what that is? It caught my eye since Barb was said to have a red hat on.

Wasn't that the outhouse that LE and SAR had set up? It certainly does stand out, the color red, doesn't it?

 

[Tillicum]

These are the best photos the police dept could obtain of the missing person? Three people in one of the photos, and two in the other...

Do you know if your aunt had a driver's license? Seems odd they didn't use the pic from that.

ETA It seems they would use a picture from her license before using pictures with others in them.