Those remains are far away from where she was last seen: 2 hours by car, 22 hours walking, so they are probably not related to this case.
The question I have and haven't seen answered anywhere is: when did the construction crew arrive? This would seem to provide the answer to the key question of "was she on the trail that day?" Barbara and Jim Ramaker left the house at 8:30am-9am and the construction crew saw their car when they arrived. The earlier the construction crew arrived the less likely there was time for any incident to happen before Jim (and Barbara?) arrived at the mountain. I'd say if the crew arrived before 9:15am that pretty much rules out an off-trail incident; there just wouldn't have been enough time. If the crew arrived after 9:45am though, that would provide a big enough window for something to have happened and for Jim to arrive on his own. Between 9:15am and 9:45am I'd say we'd need a more precise time that they left in order to say whether there was enough time or not.
A couple more points/questions:
- I looked at pictures of Bear Creek Overlook online and there is definitely not much vegetation. If she fell off a cliff in that area her body should have been easy to find. There are heavily forested areas nearby though and probably along Bear Creek Trail before getting to the overlook itself.
- I was pondering what physical evidence would still be "findable" today. I was thinking 'not much', but then I remembered the gun. Whether it was an accident or something else, the gun would still be there and could be found with metal detectors (obviously a very large area to check). The police checked Jim's rental car and didn't find the gun so if he did kill her he must have disposed of the gun somewhere. Jim & Carl's cousin returned to California just a few days after Barbara went missing and based on what I've read they haven't returned, so there wouldn't have been much of an opportunity for Jim to go back and retrieve the gun.
- Did the police check Jim for gunpowder residue? You'd think if he killed her, especially in haste before arriving at the mountain, that the gun would have been the way to go. If he used it on the trail though the construction crew might have heard it (of course he might not have known there was a construction crew since they arrived after he did).
- The "trail head" is mentioned occasionally. Anyone know whether that means the west end of Bear Creek Trail or the east end? And does anyone know the exact location the car was parked or the location of the construction crew? Or the location of Barbara & Carl's house? It would help to have a map of the route from the house to where the car was parked. TIA.
). If it was a cougar, I suppose it could have stalked them and was on a ledge, jumped down, and drug her a far distance but still wouldn't he have felt the air move around him from the attack? He turned to look at the view, so I am guessing she was in front of him right? Other people stated that he knew the trail from walking it with her before while others stated this was the first time. Wish we knew which was true. I haven't been in this area of Montana since I was a little girl. I am more familiar with Glacier Park. I would love detailed pics of the hiking trail. I wish we could find this lady. She seemed really happy and full of life. I am not buying she disappeared on her own.
