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

[Herat]

Check the 360 here, it's gorgeous and obviously a campsite. Can somebody bring the coordinates of the search area forward? Sorry I am too lazy to find them...

Google Maps

Found it: 34.8085059, -115.6226757

Find Kelbacher Road and scroll north to the Sweeney Granite Mountains Desert label. Just a bit north and east Kelbacher goes between two hills named Granite Pass.

On the east side is a concrete pad with some sort of building on it. Directly west, across Kelbacher is a dirt road that takes off northwest and goes to two round loops in the road which have a label Primitive Campsite on my Google version. The larger loop is the one that 360 photo looks down on

I can see why they wanted to visit there. I would, too. It’s beautiful

 

[PaulR]

the beer and the red bikini while hiking just doesn't gel for me.

Nit - black bikini.

she might have been out there loitering around the RV in such attire chilling and whatever but I just can not see a woman exposing her body with no protection to dessert heat and rays for a hike??

It doesn't make sense to me, not with melanoma. I wear long sleeve shirts and pants (and a hat), UPF rated. That's on top of sunscreen. Yet people do go out without sun protection, I see people wearing short sleeves/shorts/no sun hats all the time.

 

[Steelslady]

Glad you made it. If you felt dizzy, it was probably a combination of dehydration and losing electrolytes. You might try to drink some water (maybe add some salt, cheaper than Gatorade) before you go, and bring water too. You shouldn't feel that dizzy after only 15 minutes.

I urge everyone here and in my own life off of here, to always always make Snake Juice (recipe online, most ingredients already in your cabinet) and bring it with you when hiking in the heat or doing activities in the extreme cold to keep you hydrated. It's healthier than Gatorade or Powerade without all that sugar. For my family, I use Crystal Light Fruit Punch to make it taste better, but I drink mine plain as is. It came in very handy last week when we hiked to a gorgeous set of falls and went swimming there- hubby didn't realize how dehydrated he became until after he drank some.

I also discourage drinking beer or any alcohol during heat like this, if you are outdoors. Alcohol and excessive caffeine will dehydrate you, so if you need iced coffee, drink decaffeinated until you are inside and well hydrated!

 

[Steelslady]

But if she was not even there that day, would he be taking photos? It will look even more suspicious if he took dozens of photos, and his wife isn't in any of them at all. JMO

Do we know if she was in any of the photos that he took that day? I have seen many folks on here question the photo in the first post of the thread, as to whether or not that is a current photo of her, or if it was taken that day.

 

[LAhiker]

I can’t pull off the coordinates, but I’m pretty sure I’ve found it:

Find Kelbacher Road and scroll north to the Sweeney Granite Mountains Desert label. Just a bit north and east Kelbacher goes between two hills named Granite Pass. There is a dirt road that takes off due west and goes to two round loops in the road which have a label Primitive Campsite on my Google version. The larger loop is the one that 360 photo looks down on

I can see why they wanted to visit there. I would, too. It’s beautiful

Thanks for finding that. It shows that the area has plants, dips and rises, and many rocky outcroppings. "Desert" means dry and relatively barren but not necessarily flat, sandy, or devoid of plants.

 

[Herat]

Primitive campsite:

34.8085059, -115.6226757

And there are more campsites farther south into that large boulder-strewn area

Honestly, it looks like a fabulous place to camp if you get along with the neighbors

 

[k-mac]

Do we know if she was in any of the photos that he took that day? I have seen many folks on here question the photo in the first post of the thread, as to whether or not that is a current photo of her, or if it was taken that day.

I agree
that pic of her in the red cap she looks 20 years younger than the post pictures of her released.
not impossible but suspiciously different to me.

 

[Steelslady]

I am very glad to hear the departments competence vouched for by multiple posters. And I am sorry for your loss.

Apologise as well. Reading and rereading. Sense myself beginning to vent frustration on this forum. Will check it.



yes

You're going through a frightening time, your loved one is missing, and you want answers. Totally understandable that you're questioning LE and anyone involved in looking for her. The not knowing is devastating, and the longer it goes on, the more it goes through your mind, all these awful scenarios. No one thinks anything good has happened when day after day goes by, and no clues found to their whereabouts. I just wish that they had found something of hers- the cup that had the beer in it, her hat, something, to indicate where she may have been last.

One thing to keep in mind, though- many of us have been here for years, seen many cases and all different scenarios. If LE is only checking for her in two places- where she was last seen and her home, there's a reason for it. Especially with the great reputation that they have- they know what they're doing, and what they are looking for.

Hang in there, and thank you for giving us what bits and pieces you can while waiting to be verified. I truly hope she is alive and well- it is a strand of hope to hold on to. We just never know, she could show up one day soon alive and ok. We all hope for that- for Barbara and your family and her friends.

 

[artsy1]

Yes, some of our Southwest bushes and grasses can grow quite bushy and tall too. Like Mesquite, Joshua trees, etc

Yep. I live in the desert.

ETA: As far as the bikini, I can assure you that people who are used to the desert wear things that city dwellers would never think of wearing in public.

 

[Herat]

I agree
that pic of her in the red cap she looks 20 years younger than the post pictures of her released.
not impossible but suspiciously different to me.

Nah. Her face is in the shadows under the red cap. She’s youthful looking - “well-kept” . Her skin looks to be in great condition. Maybe she’s had a little work done

And she’s in great shape. I don’t know how to phrase this right - but it seems like she has enough money in retirement to keep her appearance up. Do we know anything about the finances in their relationship?

 

[k-mac]

Nah. Her face is in the shadows under the red cap. She’s youthful looking - “well-kept” Maybe she’s had a little work done

she looks fabulous no matter her age.
hope im rockin a bikini at 69!!!

 

[Herat]

Thanks for finding that. It shows that the area has plants, dips and rises, and many rocky outcroppings. "Desert" means dry and relatively barren but not necessarily flat, sandy, or devoid of plants.

Yes. A desert can have all sorts of different regions and terrains. These rock formations seem particularly attractive

 

[oviedo]

I’m patiently waiting ...

 

[PaulR]

I’m patiently waiting ...

For what?

 

[Lisa Dee]

Yes, time is so relative. I’ve been thinking that he may have taken his photo and then had to relieve himself. Many men at that age have BPH (enlarged prostate) which presses on the bladder and results in urgency...gotta go right NOW! But it can take awhile to finish. If this happened, it could explain taking longer to get back to the RV. It doesn’t explain where Barbara is though.

The only thing I don’t like on these forums sometimes is the conjecture. I mean, I understand that at least part of the purpose here is to come up with ideas to aid in the recovery of someone but I guess I was hoping that we wouldn’t stray TOO far from the known facts. Otherwise, it feels like too much stuff to swim/weed through. (MOO and with much respect to those that have come before me.)

 

[Steelslady]

I agree
that pic of her in the red cap she looks 20 years younger than the post pictures of her released.
not impossible but suspiciously different to me.

THANK YOU! I was afraid to bring that up for fear others would think I was crazy. Some photos, to me anyway, she looks much younger- same with that bikini photo.

 

[PaulR]

I hate to say this - she doesn't look 49 (20 years younger if we are being literal) in the red cap photo. Look at her neck.

 

[Herat]

One thing that bothere me about that 360 photo:

My experience with the scorching summers in the Sonoran Desert of Tucson was that the summer days were always hazy. A grey-tan sky rather than the clear crisp blue sky in the photo.

Are we sure when that photo was taken? It reminds me more of a spring sky

 

[monicadc74]

She looks very different in the bikini pic, the other pictures of her I've seen she looks like a complete different person, (much older in my opinion)

 

[oviedo]

For what?

Any kind of news