CA CA - Barbara Thomas, 69, from Bullhead City AZ, disappeared in Mojave desert, 12 July 2019 #4

[anneg]

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I think Barbara may well be out there, either in the areas searched or nearby. JMO.

 

[wary]

9


I was wondering the chances of her hat being with/on her too and getting covered up by debris.

Flying off is definitely another consideration.

I think it’s possible that if she stumbled, it could fall off, and be hidden under her as she fell.

 

[chihuahua]

Having worked just in the transport capacity for the medical examiner and many removal services in the past, I have literally seen it all. I don't want to let my mind "go there" just yet.
But sadly, my thoughts are that she is out there waiting to be found. And I am not at all sure she was ever at that location.
If she was, LE surely know by now and can prove one way or the other. Aliens didn't take her.
Chi [retired funeral director via you get burned out]

 

[MassGuy]

This is how I’m looking at this case

If Barbara was murdered, then it happened before they arrived at their destination.

If Barbara was ever spotted anywhere near that location (within a timeframe close to when they supposedly arrived), then she is almost certainly missing in the desert, and this isn’t foul play.

I don’t believe she was attacked by a mountain lion, or was abducted.

 

[wary]

BBM
Ita.

"Supposedly".
We still do not know that she was even out there... just that she was seen alive on camera that morning.
She could be literally anywhere.
Which makes my hinky meter stay firmly raised.

It'd help to know that Barbara was spotted on camera at a nearby convenience store close to the location and what time.

Like grasping at straws.

I know. We don’t know anything that LE knows. When did they gas that truck up? Did they stop for food and a snack anywhere?

Right now, we have them leaving their home at about 8:15 am. (From our VI @dbdb11, from their neighbors.)

We have the 911 call at, I believe, 3:26 pm. (The 911 record was posted here.)

The drive from their house to the place the truck/fifth wheel parked takes less than two hours. (From Google Maps.)

That leaves a lot of time unaccounted for. Again, we know almost nothing of what LE knows.

 

[oviedo]

I know. We don’t know anything that LE knows. When did they gas that truck up? Did they stop for food and a snack anywhere?

Right now, we have them leaving their home at about 8:15 am. (From our VI @dbdb11, from their neighbors.)

We have the 911 call at, I believe, 3:26 pm. (The 911 record was posted here.)

The drive from their house to the place the truck/fifth wheel parked takes less than two hours. (From Google Maps.)

That leaves a lot of time unaccounted for. Again, we know almost nothing of what LE knows.

and no timeline of her movements either - no gas/break/stretch your legs/grab a starbucks/grab a donut/etc. nothing on video has been released - IMO we know very little except what we have heard in the Nixle updates and the interviews by RT. Where is she???

 

[kay74]

I think she is out there on the OTHER SIDE of where they were searching. IMO she got to the RV and instead of waiting around crossed the street and started her rock obsession again. She got carried away and the poor thing got lost. I know what an obsession collecting is. I'm a collector and it's tempting to keep on collecting. It was admitted they did not search that side as thoroughly as the side coming from RT to the RV. That bothers me.

 

[CSIDreamer]

This is how I’m looking at this case

If Barbara was murdered, then it happened before they arrived at their destination.

If Barbara was ever spotted anywhere near that location (within a timeframe close to when they supposedly arrived), then she is almost certainly missing in the desert, and this isn’t foul play.

I don’t believe she was attacked by a mountain lion, or was abducted.

I don't think she was abducted either. From one of our members on the media thread - a car goes by "every few minutes". I always base "few" on a minimum of 3 to start. With RT even being 5 - 10 minutes behind her that's a fair guess that 2 or 3 cars may have passed by. That's like saying 33-50% of all vehicles on the road are driven by criminals poised to kidnap someone.

 

[katydid23]

This is how I’m looking at this case

If Barbara was murdered, then it happened before they arrived at their destination.

If Barbara was ever spotted anywhere near that location (within a timeframe close to when they supposedly arrived), then she is almost certainly missing in the desert, and this isn’t foul play.

I don’t believe she was attacked by a mountain lion, or was abducted.

Do you think there is any possibility that something bad happened between them, when they were hiking in the desert? And she was hidden, left somewhere, earlier in the day?

So that if she is found, it can look like she was just lost in the desert, and it wasn't his doing.

 

[katydid23]

This is how I’m looking at this case

If Barbara was murdered, then it happened before they arrived at their destination.

If Barbara was ever spotted anywhere near that location (within a timeframe close to when they supposedly arrived), then she is almost certainly missing in the desert, and this isn’t foul play.

I don’t believe she was attacked by a mountain lion, or was abducted.

Do you think there is any possibility that something bad happened between them, when they were hiking in the desert? And she was hidden, left somewhere, earlier in the day?

So that if she is found, it can look like she was just lost in the desert, and it wasn't his doing.

 

[MassGuy]

Do you think there is any possibility that something bad happened between them, when they were hiking in the desert? And she was hidden, left somewhere, earlier in the day?

So that if she is found, it can look like she was just lost in the desert, and it wasn't his doing.

I think there’s an outside possibility of that.

It would be hard to hide her out there though.

Unless that scenario happened some distance away, and it wasn’t covered by searchers.

If she was murdered though, I don’t think she’s all that close by.

 

[Liwthe]

Here’s what an expert says on missing hikers in case people are interested. It’s from ‘Hike Arizona’s missing persons forum.

Here's some "Lost Person Behavior" demographics as collected by author Robert Koester. One of his categories is on the behavior of lost hikers (a total of 3,837 missing hikers included in the anaylysis). An abbreviated list of lost hiker behavior:

"Hikers are oriented to trails. Errors typically occur at decision points (trail junctions, obscure trails, game trails, social trails, head of drainages). Other common errors include heading the wrong direction down a trail. Errors at decision points account for 56% of lost cases. Errors can be active (standing at a trail junction and making the wrong decision after reading the map upside down) or passive (not noticing they left the trail). Hikers are guided by terrain to other linear features once they are lost. Many follow path of least resistance. Poor navigators fail to notice landmarks. Youths and some young adults will also cut switchbacks. This often results in missing the trail. It may result in the subject moving uphill, even up and over a ridge line. Among hikers, 32-48% will be found uphill in relation to the IPP ( initial planning point used to plan the search incident). A recent phenomenon is lost subjects moving uphill or leaving trails to move uphill in order to obtain cell phone coverage. Many attempt to reorient themselves by trail running or finding a high spot. Hikers in dry domains stay mobile twice as long as in temperate domains and typically travel farther.

Being overdue accounts for 16% of search incidents. Hikers are often delayed because of poor estimates of fitness/travel time, lack of light, and blisters, especially in carrying heavy packs or hiking for the first time. Many discard equipment when lost or in trouble. Many lack skills for remote areas."

The book covers about 34 other 'Lost Person' subject categories, from 'Abduction to Workers.' A good read . . . if one is interested in this type of profiling statistics. A must have book for anyone conducting SAR.”

I think the part that stood out to me is that hikers in dry domains stay mobile twice as long and typically travel further. But there’s more interesting stuff to be gleaned.

 

[katydid23]

I think there’s an outside possibility of that.

It would be hard to hide her out there though.

Unless that scenario happened some distance away, and it wasn’t covered by searchers.

If she was murdered though, I don’t think she’s all that close by.

As to the bolded, that is where I am leaning right now. There is a large gap in the known timeline. I think there was plenty of time for another quick hike, earlier in the day. Then trailer is moved here and this scenario is set up, as a cover?

 

[Advocate4]

Just in general -- and in the desert just as much as anywhere else -- a human body very quickly does not look like one from even a short distance away. It can look like a low bundle of rags or a low bit of brush. Often one needs to walk right up to it to see what it really is.

 

[rosesfromangels]

Just in general -- and in the desert just as much as anywhere else -- a human body very quickly does not look like one from even a short distance away. It can look like a low bundle of rags or a low bit of brush. Often one needs to walk right up to it to see what it really is.

This is 100% accurate based on my (limited) search experience. You can literally step over someone and not “see” them.

 

[Tillicum]

We need to hear the 911 call IMO. Hoping our VI can get the media to go for it.

 

[Gigi3]

If you register on their site for instance, sign up for newsletters by email, you can post comments such as your willingness to review video. There are also options to share Barbara's flyer from there onto Social Media. (Near the bottom of the page.) Missing Person in Mojave Desert MOO

Thanks for the info Pommy! I haven’t posted since the first couple of threads, but I check in daily to see if Barbara has been found I still don’t know what to think of this whole case, but I pray she is found soon.
Question- and I’m quoting your post because I know how diligent you are at keeping up with the facts (thank you) I know the VI said she was seen leaving around 8:15, but do we know she was actually leaving in the truck and RV? I mean could she have just been seen on video getting in the truck without the camper attached yet? TIA!!

 

[SuperTmo]

It seems to happen frequently. Just recently, in Savanna Spurlock's case and Elizabeth Shelley, the body was found after extensive searches in that exact location, after having missed it. Search dogs were used in both cases. Imo

I personally think Savannah was moved after the fact but I could be wrong. I think Elizabeth was there all along, which thankfully wasn’t too long. Both of these cases were so sad. I don’t think BT is anywhere nearby and never was. I hope she is found.

 

[MassGuy]

Just in general -- and in the desert just as much as anywhere else -- a human body very quickly does not look like one from even a short distance away. It can look like a low bundle of rags or a low bit of brush. Often one needs to walk right up to it to see what it really is.

Thats true. That being said, search teams would have likely been aided by scavenger birds in the area.

I was hiking in the 29 Palms area a few years ago (which isn’t too far away), and I saw a ton of birds all gathered in one spot.

They were feeding off a dead coyote.

Morbid as it is, I’d expect the same here.

 

[chihuahua]

Scavenging birds have led to many bodies.
Hannah Graham in Virginia. Man called in reporting 20-30 leading to her remains.
I don't generally do links (from other cases), but since some may not be aware, here that sad one is. Very different terrain, same applies everywhere there are such birds. Man calls Hannah Graham tip line after sighting ’20-30 buzzards’
There are other wildlife in the Mojave that do the same.
Chi