CA CA - Barbara Thomas, 69, Bullhead City, hiking wearing bikini in Mojave desert, 12 July 2019

[ZhaZhaHa]

Someone mentioned these police being tight lipped on past cases. Perhaps they aren't actually that competent? I'd like to think otherwise, but as I mentioned, the lack of anything from them is very unsettling.

As far as I have ever seen in any case, police are always tight lipped. I have not ever seen police giving out a lot of info unless it was something that was already known to the public.

 

[wary]

They aren't full proof and most, if not all of us, already know this.

I remember poor Jessica Lunsford's grandmother failed the lie detector test, and she had nothing to do with the poor little girl's death.

I think of a lie detector like LE does- it's a tool to help with an investigation, but it isn't full proof.

Actually, I think a lot of us don’t know this. So your post, and others like it, are extremely valuable.

 

[Snoopster]

Someone mentioned these police being tight lipped on past cases. Perhaps they aren't actually that competent? I'd like to think otherwise, but as I mentioned, the lack of anything from them is very unsettling.

Wouldn't Barb's son have access to information from LE as to what they are doing?

There are many cases where LE remains tight lipped. It has absolutely no correlation to whether or not they are competent.

 

[wary]

Kind of, there are people who are into falconry, but usually that's more along the lines of having their birds of prey hunt rabbits and such.

For scavengers, sure, there are ornithologists who study them: The Vulture Chronicles

Now here’s a rather horrific example of why vulture activity might sometimes not be too useful.

Why Vultures Devoured Hiker's Body in Minutes

 

[lonetraveler]

The only thing I am clinging to that makes me 51% on the side of she is lost in the desert is this: If you're going to do harm to your wife and hide it by concocting a "she got lost while hiking" story why would you describe her attire as a bikini and boots with a beer in her hand? Why not make it at least reasonable, ordinary, average etc...

Maybe the story goes like this: She was inside the trailer in her underwear with a beer. They had a fight or as a joke and he kicked/locked her out of the trailer. Perhaps it was even an accident as they were both drinking (MOO). After sometime he goes outside and she is gone. He makes up the story about hiking and fails his polygraph test.

If you have ever attended a class on how to detect a deception you will find that liars most times say and explain way more information than normal. Give way too much detail, in other words, say way more than average.

 

[dbdb11]

True it is remote enough to go the the bathroom off trail. Though supposedly they were close to the RV. That would be my preference if I had to go.

I did read it somewhere...that she told husband she had to go back to use the restroom...maybe from the nephew who was posting here. Some of his posts were removed I believe.

I don't recall anyone telling me anything about bathroom, but I do like the theory that she may have had to go in the brush, and perhaps was disoriented. Their proximity to a 'busy' road, and general flatness of the terrain do make me wonder if Barb could get lost. Maybe throw in some heat stroke, or early onset dementia, potential incompetence of LE on the case, extreme heat throwing the whole search crew off, and perhaps we have a working theory of how she wandered off into the desert and has yet to be found.

 

[PaulR]

Would police use their services?

She's been missing since July 12. It's been a full week. Either they think they're going to find something, or I bet the search will be coming to an end soon :/

I can't see the average falconer being of much help. They train their birds to hunt prey, not to find bodies.

No idea if police would even ask or know where to find an ornithologist who happened to be knowledgeable about vultures or other scavengers specifically when it came to human remains. There's Dr. Lauren Pharr but I'm not sure there are any others, and I'm not sure exactly what she studies (using vultures to find bodies or using remains and marks of vultures to get more information, similar to how we look at maggots.)

 

[lonetraveler]

I read that too but after hearing his interviews, I think it was less than a mile. MOO

I haven't gone back to check but I think I remember that she was only about 15 minutes away while he took the photo.

 

[lonetraveler]

I don't recall anyone telling me anything about bathroom, but I do like the theory that she may have had to go in the brush, and perhaps was disoriented. Their proximity to a 'busy' road, and general flatness of the terrain do make me wonder if Barb could get lost. Maybe throw in some heat stroke, or early onset dementia, potential incompetence of LE on the case, extreme heat throwing the whole search crew off, and perhaps we have a working theory of how she wandered off into the desert and has yet to be found.

My thoughts on her going into "the brush" to use the bathroom doesn't fit IMO. She is already in "the brush" with only her husband nearby. Why on earth would she take off and seek another area to pee? It's not like she's going to find a tree to hide behind. There's no one around.

 

[lonetraveler]

Alexa says a person can fail when they think they won't be believed. She said she found that information on Wikipedia. MOO

Welcome to Websleuths, @Didi777!

Just for snorts and giggles I asked Alexa why I failed a poly and she replied "because you lied". My Alexa has always been a smartass.

 

[ZhaZhaHa]

Here is my hope and what I'm sure police have already been doing:

They've subpoenaed cellular data for both phones. It sounds like she didn't carry her phone much so we'd expect it to be with the RV almost the whole time. But RT's phone...does he carry it or would he also leave it in the RV? We SHOULD expect to see hers and his phones in the same place at all times until the hike (I cannot imagine there are many towers out that way so the ping area will be a wide one, but they should at least be able to see where his was). It should show them if he's being honest about the route they took there and whether or not they stopped along the way. I'd be interested to know if there are any other times the two phones went away from one another.

 

[dbdb11]

I hope you can get verified soon and repost some of the same info (unless Websleuths can simply reinstate the posts), which I found very helpful. Thanks for doing this.

Either the thread is growing faster than I can read it or my last few hours of posts are gone.

 

[MassGuy]

Someone mentioned these police being tight lipped on past cases. Perhaps they aren't actually that competent? I'd like to think otherwise, but as I mentioned, the lack of anything from them is very unsettling.

This isn’t your normal missing person’s case, one that requires frequent press conferences and public appeals.

If she is truly missing, they already have searchers scouring the area.

If something else is going on, they are focused on one particular person.

Either way, I’m not at all surprised by how tight lipped they are being.

 

[Inthedetails]

Thinking through the logistics of being abducted....if someone randomly drove by and decided to grab BT, the driver would have to likely chase her on foot for at least a bit. She wouldn't just stand there once she realized what was happening, but would see it coming. It takes some time for the abductor to get out of the car, giving her time to maneuver herself away. And once he caught her, there would likely be a scuffle. You'd think there would be some evidence of that - disturbed dirt, dropped beer container, etc, not to mention the noise of a car door, her scream, etc.

jmo

 

[MassGuy]

Thinking through the logistics of being abducted....if someone randomly drove by and decided to grab BT, the driver would have to likely chase her on foot for at least a bit. She wouldn't just stand there once she realized what was happening, but would see it coming. It takes some time for the abductor to get out of the car, giving her time to maneuver herself away. And once he caught her, there would likely be a scuffle. You'd think there would be some evidence of that - disturbed dirt, dropped beer container, etc, not to mention the noise of a car door, her scream, etc.

jmo

Yeah. The odds of that happening are borderline astronomical.

 

[kkdj]

Just for snorts and giggles I asked Alexa why I failed a poly and she replied "because you lied". My Alexa has always been a smartass.

I love Alexa! She pretty much knows everything!

 

[PommyMommy]

Someone mentioned these police being tight lipped on past cases. Perhaps they aren't actually that competent? I'd like to think otherwise, but as I mentioned, the lack of anything from them is very unsettling.

That was me - based on another case I'm following in which SBCSO is the investigating agency. Tight-lipped, for sure and no reason I know of to believe they're incompetent. MOO

 

[ZhaZhaHa]

I don't recall anyone telling me anything about bathroom, but I do like the theory that she may have had to go in the brush, and perhaps was disoriented. Their proximity to a 'busy' road, and general flatness of the terrain do make me wonder if Barb could get lost. Maybe throw in some heat stroke, or early onset dementia, potential incompetence of LE on the case, extreme heat throwing the whole search crew off, and perhaps we have a working theory of how she wandered off into the desert and has yet to be found.

With all respect, but I think a lot of people waiting on answers from police believe they've become incompetent when they are not relaying information. It's usually the complete opposite. They're building a case, waiting on warrants and subpoenas, interviewing people, searching and whatever else. And with more respect, they were told by the only other person who was known to be with her last that she's probably on her way to Vegas. You are right. Wandering off, falling, becoming injured, and suffering from exposure is definitely more likely than an abduction and it's where most people's minds go when the last person with the victim has been cleared. It is upsetting to me that Vegas was the option given rather than a hope that she hadn't become injured and is nearby somewhere.

I do almost always feel that the police are doing their best in these cases. I hope everybody in this case is being truthful and she will be found!

Edit to add: If you have not already done so, listen to the Podcast "Small Town Dicks". It's really good and gives insight on police work. I have a newfound respect for officers.

 

[kkdj]

Either the thread is growing faster than I can read it or my last few hours of posts are gone.

I think they are gone unless and until you are verified as an insider.
I really appreciate all your input but Websleuths needs to make sure you're authentic. I believe you are, but they need to verify you. I actually love that about Websleuths.

 

[kkdj]

With all respect, but I think a lot of people waiting on answers from police believe they've become incompetent when they are not relaying information. It's usually the complete opposite. They're building a case, waiting on warrants and subpoenas, interviewing people, searching and whatever else. And with more respect, they were told by the only other person who was known to be with her last that she's probably on her way to Vegas. You are right. Wandering off, falling, becoming injured, and suffering from exposure is definitely more likely than an abduction and it's where most people's minds go when the last person with the victim has been cleared. It is upsetting to me that Vegas was the option given rather than a hope that she hadn't become injured and is nearby somewhere.

I do almost always feel that the police are doing their best in these cases. I hope everybody in this case is being truthful and she will be found!

BBM
He hasn't been cleared. In fact, his polygraph results were deceptive, per his own statement.