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

[10ofRods]

I don't live near the Mojave Desert, so I have to ask this dumb question. Do "mules" drop packages out there?

I'd say not on federal property, no. Maybe in surrounding areas (Barstow, I'm looking at you...) But not in the Mojave National Preserve.

 

[Handsome Sailor]

You'd want to be covered up for a desert hike for a lot of reasons. Obviously, the sun. But then there are also stinging insects and cactus spines. It all just doesn't add up.

 

[MsBetsy]

This is dbdb11's first post. It doesn't answer all your questions but will give you some idea about how long they've been married.

Thanks, yes that's very helpful.
So it seems they have been together a very long time.
It also explains a little more about how fast she went missing. Since he didn't find her at the camper and went to look in a cave, it's possible they missed each other, which leaves a little more time in between him seeing her rounding the corner and something happening to her. Imo

 

[Herat]

You'd want to be covered up for a desert hike for a lot of reasons. Obviously, the sun. But then there are also stinging insects and cactus spines. It all just doesn't add up.

Read the post by the nephew (who is a WS VI now). He states that the bikini (top), shorts, hiking boots, cap and a beer are entirely consistent with Barbara's normal desert attire. And that the Thomas' are experienced desert campers and frequent these kinds of areas.

So they know all about stinging insects ( I guess you mean scorpions) and cactus thorns.

 

[cazador]

After this many days in this heat and if she fell into a crevasse in the rocks, they are no longer looking for a body as you might know it..

 

[Gardener1850]

This is dbdb11's first post. It doesn't answer all your questions but will give you some idea about how long they've been married.

Thank you Pommy! I missed the VI's posts because I started reading Thread 1 before he was verified but after his posts were removed. I believe his posts have been restored now that he is a VI. Here are some additional helpful posts by the VI:

Just off the phone with Robbie's family. At this point they are just trying to get the word as far and wide as possible so I'll keep sharing here.

I am not familiar with the area, however it is confirmed they went camping in this location very frequently, and other members of Robs family have also been with them to this location several times.

It is off of Kelbaker road (not any officially sanctioned/commercial campsite), and I am told it is quite barren (flatland?), and would be very hard to lose track of someone, or for someone to lose track of their own bearings-- especially someone familiar with the surroundings.

Curiousobserver said: ↑
Having been to this area I can say that the one thing that strikes you is that you can see everything. There are very sparse trees and low vegetation.

This, combined with proximity to a relatively busy road is why Rob suspects abduction. I was told the reason he thinks Vegas is because the 40 highway goes directly to Vegas? again am not familiar with the area personally, just relaying what I was told.

To expand on why it was 'unbelievable', I imagine my family in HK simply couldn't believe what they were hearing, as we were literally finalising booking her accommodations for her visit days ago.

this is not the type of news any one is prepared to receive, let alone deliver, and Robbie's phone call to my dad and his wife must've been an extremely difficult call to make and to hear.

To be honest, watching the news reports, the bikini/beer and then the jump to assuming abduction and Vegas as a destination is difficult to make sense of out of context. I also felt the Vegas assumption was odd on Rob's part, but as far as I know him, he isn't the type to make baseless assumptions.

Creole said: ↑
what other conclusion will a mind deduce that makes any sense but abduction. I would take into account that the individual who is not missing is emotionally traumatized and facing a horrific scenario - it is difficult to analyze their accounting of the situation.

Re: social media, Barb's not a tech saavy 69 year old, so social media probably won't turn up much. Also likely why she didn't have her phone on her. I assume they were out there to get away from the things like that... As I mentioned, no one on our end thought twice about her being difficult to reach.

Robbie and his family are distraught to say the least, and doing all they can to keep spreading the word...

once again, appreciate all the kind thoughts and the fact all of you are taking the time.

Any updates I get I will share.

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

key to the camper was beneath a nearby rock, both Rob and Barb knew where it was. It being untouched was Robs first sign that something was amiss.

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

Scent dogs are on the case, i believe as I was told Robbie wasn't permitted in the search area so as to avoid throwing off the dogs.

I contacted law enforcement through one of the numbers at the bottom of a news article and left my info, hoped to ask some questions but the other end of the line wasn't having it.

I will try to get exact location, if not exact coordinates from Robbie or his family. Looked at google earth between hidden hills, kelbaker and I40... Lot of nothing. Not impossible Barb would get lost or disoriented, however based on report from Rob's fam about how familiar they were with this area in particular, it just doesn't seem likely. furthermore, if she was lost or disoriented and remained in the general area, unconscious or otherwise, the search and scent dogs probably would have turned her up.

I'd say safe to assume this was a walk for them; media pasting 'bikini' and 'hike' everywhere. Highly doubtful they were out for a hike with a beer.

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

responding from cell, apologies for spelling.mistakes.

our family in hong kong spoke to her last week... wed i think it.was, and she mentioned.they were going.camping and might be out.of touch for a.few.days

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

Knox said: ↑
A niece is also posting about Barbara on Facebook, her initials are LRR.
dbdb11 do you know who I'm speaking of?

i dont know who youre speaking of, and am also not on facebook for over a decade.

barb has two brothers, fairly estranged. have met my cousins once as a small child. i think my uncles side has divorced once lr twice and may have more cousins i dont even know about. on my dads side, we've been at home in hk for many years, and though i've visited rob and barb on trips back to states, have never tried to reach out to cousins.

can confirm barb and rob have been together since 2006 at least, though i dont know how long married.

on cellphone atm.. about to.call robs fam for any updates, but there are some questions i want to ask which just dont feel appropriate given my distance from everything.goin on abd the things they all must be going.through.

thanks again all

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

to clarify the brothers are estranged. barb and my father have always been on great terms. my father and his brother have not. i am unsure of barbs relationship with her other brother.

there is something i just learned and i feel is relevant. nobody informed barbs son, and barb and her son, though living far apart, were not at all estranged. im stunned robbie or his fam would not have reached out to barbs son.

barbs son is from a much older relationship, no relationship to robbie. as i understand he learned about all this from the police, who found his number on her phone... i have not verified this.with her son and am trying to get hold of him.

agree with others about police silence. confused generally over here.

my sister was.present when robbie called my father, and heard the convo on speaker. ive asked her to write down what she remembers... will share shortly

edit: on cell phone again.... cant bother with punctuation etc on these tiny buttons. sorry

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

hmmm i don’t have the sharpest memory but i’ll try to recount as best as i can - robbie and said he needs to talk to daddy and that barbara’s missing. it was a long story that started at the beginning on friday morning and progressed chronologically throughout the day. the impression robbie gave me was that she was wearing a red cap, a bikini and carrying a travel cup with beer in it. they lost sight of each other for 5-10 minutes before she “vanished” and he went back to their rv to see if she had returned but it was still locked so that meant she hadn’t come back yet (they had put the key under a rock which they both knew the location of). so he went back to check a shaded cave that they had found together earlier thinking she may have been taking a break from the heat but she wasn’t there either. he still wasn’t worried at this point because.. i don’t remember why he said he wasn’t yet worried. maybe because they both knew the area? or this was a regular thing? idk not sure but he continued searching for her on his own. by around noon time it was getting terribly hot so he started getting worried and called 911. police arrived like 2 hours later and searched for her. robbie said throughout the day they had sniff dogs, horses, hundreds of people and even a helicopter (which unfortunately couldn’t use its infrared function because it was too hot out to get any useful readings) and nobody could find any trace of her. searched throughout the night too. nothing. she had just disappeared. robbie admits “it doesn’t make any sense” that she just wandered off and got lost and there’s no evidence.. which is why he suspects she may have been picked up in a car. also because from the spot where she went missing she had to cross a highway in order to get back to where their rv was parked. also apparently she took a 360 picture that morning from on top of a hill and the photo included a parking lot with some vehicles in it so the police are looking into their license plates/info.

robbie said that he just wants barbara back and will press no charges against the person who abducted her so long as they return her. the call was delivered in a measured tone but he broke down a bit at this point, was tough to hear ..abc reached out? idk if it was abc but some mainstream news outlet and i definitely heard nancy grace mentioned. robbie’s done some interviews as he wants to get the word out. but he hasn’t seen or read any of the released news and comments. it’s too much

he said he keeps returning to the spot where he lost her and overturning rocks and searching and searching hoping to find something. he was there the day he called us although i think he said he shouldn’t really go back there as protocol says he’s the first suspect. he was even held for 5hrs in a cop car on the first day. it’s been nonstop and nobody is sleeping. robbie said he had held off on calling daddy to tell him the bad news because it was such devastating news and he was hoping she would turn up.. but he couldn’t wait any longer. he also said it’s difficult to call into china and said his calls rarely go through so if we want to ask any questions or talk more we should call him.
txt msg from my sister. wish i.asked.for this.earlier...

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

 

[zecats]

After this many days in this heat and if she fell into a crevasse in the rocks, they are no longer looking for a body as you might know it..

If she truly did become lost to there, this had likely been true for a while.

 

[MsBetsy]

One could say it is nearly impossible, but it is a feeling that cannot even be explained.
In a way it is our instinct and how we often are able to "read" someone in one second.
But same goes for people who genuinely believe him. We all rely on our reference cadre and may all be right in some way or another.



I don't know which interview you are referencing, I only saw a few secs of him on TV.

Yeah, I only saw one interview where he got choked up and stopped talking because (it seemed) he was trying to keep from breaking down. The clip ended there so maybe I didn't see the whole thing.
I didn't immediately get the feeling that he did something to her or was being deceptive, though. Imo

 

[PommyMommy]

Do we know anything about their Henderson, Nevada property? Is it a second home? Do they rent it out?

Hypothetically speaking, if the property is still owned by him (and doesn't have Barbara's name on it), we wouldn't be able to post or discuss that here because he's not a POI or suspect. But, here is the assessor site if you want to take a look: Property Records

 

[10ofRods]

I will say again that I see people hiking in the Mojave (and elsewhere) in flip flops, bikini tops, shirtless (for men, all the time). I don't hike in a bikini (!) but I do hike in shorts and tank tops and make a major investment in sunscreen, as does everyone I know. I often wear a cap to shade my face, just as Barbara Thomas did.

It can be 115F in Los Angeles and people will be jogging dressed really scantily. While more humid than the Mojave, it's definitely part of SoCal culture to go to the beach, the local park - and yes, the desert, and wear as little clothing as possible. I've seen people hiking Grand Canyon, also, dressed in bikini tops and shorts (and it gets really hot at the bottom).

Not many stinging insects in Joshua Tree or the Mojave NP (scorpions and snakes, though, but covering up your body isn't going to help there). I've never seen a gnat or a mosquito either place. Simply too dry. If you start seeing flies/horse flies, then you're near some sort of water or something (grazing spot). But no one grazes anything in Mojave NP or nearby. Too dry. Many places truly are just dry sand.

Again, the heat in Mojave NP has been going up to around 100F each day, whereas in the place the Thomases live, it's been 116-118F. 100F is hot but, to me, it's not that hot. 118 is definitely hot. They are definitely part of a subculture of retirees living in Laughlin, Bullhead, Havazu, whose life revolves around adaptation to hot weather.

 

[kay74]

Since their camper was on an almost deserted road, there could have been someone there burglarizing it! She might have come upon them and was abducted.

 

[Stripehaven]

As hot as it is here today, I can barely breathe when I think about her being lost in the desert, and that heat. 9 days is a long time..

2:30 would seem to be peak temperature time, too. It would have been way too much for me, but then I am a PNW girl and I know she is used to the desert. But the human body has its limits no matter what, including the need for hydration. I just can’t imagine a good ending here.

I wish @dbdb11 would chime in. I hope other family members have not asked him to keep quiet - out of fear, for example. We want to help if we can! Though perhaps the silence suggests that investigators are coming to some conclusions and don’t need further brainstorming.

 

[PommyMommy]

One could say it is nearly impossible, but it is a feeling that cannot even be explained.
In a way it is our instinct and how we often are able to "read" someone in one second.
But same goes for people who genuinely believe him. We all rely on our reference cadre and may all be right in some way or another.

I don't know which interview you are referencing, I only saw a few secs of him on TV.

You can find both interviews here:

CA - AZ, Barbara Thomas,69,Timelind, Media, Maps, *NO DISCUSSION*

 

[cazador]

His interviews are strange and his theory is odd.. jmho
So let me consider what he may have left out of the story...
They argued and she walked off..?

What if she walked in a different direction and then something happened. The search teams could be missing the proper search area.

 

[10ofRods]

After this many days in this heat and if she fell into a crevasse in the rocks, they are no longer looking for a body as you might know it..

I'm starting to wonder if she had some kind of health event and therefore did not stay at the RV. Supposedly, they had put the key "under a rock" but probably only one of them put the key there (him) and she might not have been able to find it. It sounds like he was more than 5 minutes behind her. What if he was half an hour behind her, having got caught up in photography?

No water, hot...she could have been disoriented. And even though it looks like it would be easy to find someone out there, no one knows which direction she might have walked (if she did). They were walking back to the RV on a dirt road, it's unlikely she could get lost. The road is busy enough that she might have had to wait to cross. Could she have instead sought shade? The most obvious source of shade is the RV itself - but if she was unable to get inside, the normal thing to do would be to go fetch hubby, who couldn't have been more than 10 minute walk away. Unless he was off trail himself (which it seems he was, as he went to take pictures).

It's a really sad story, and I'm hoping it doesn't turn into a murder case.

 

[zecats]

2:30 would seem to be peak temperature time, too. It would have been way too much for me, but then I am a PNW girl and I know she is used to the desert. But the human body has its limits no matter what, including the need for hydration. I just can’t imagine a good ending here.

I wish @dbdb11 would chime in. I hope other family members have not asked him to keep quiet - out of fear, for example. We want to help if we can! Though perhaps the silence suggests that investigators are coming to some conclusions and don’t need further brainstorming.

Remember he's in HongKong. 2:40am over there at this time. +12 hours

And agreed. I live near and spend a lot of time at the Jersey Shore. That's the only sand I want to spend my life next to...next to the ocean. I suppose it was at first a good thing that they're acclimated to the climate there, as we all eventually become. However it's gone on way too long to hope she is ok if still out there.

 

[10ofRods]

Peak temperature time out that way is about 4-6 pm this time of year. So, a little off peak.

I think the possibility of someone stopping to mess with their RV is a good one. The number of times we've pulled off in the desert (without RV) only to have some stranger pull off behind us...is worrying. We leave immediately, but have also been followed and pretty badly scared in some remote places. However, kidnapping without actually breaking into the RV is really weird to me.

She's definitely not okay if she's still out there. No way she has survived this long wandering around.

 

[10ofRods]

His interviews are strange and his theory is odd.. jmho
So let me consider what he may have left out of the story...
They argued and she walked off..?

What if she walked in a different direction and then something happened. The search teams could be missing the proper search area.

I think this is very likely, at least as an initial hypothesis (they were searching quite further away yesterday - to the north, where there are some caves which I do not believe she could have known about as a non-local and without a phone on her). But, locals would know about them.

They weren't very far from the I-40 and Kelbaker road is a short cut to Vegas.

 

[Handsome Sailor]

But he unfolded before rolling cameras the love notes she left him, hand-written notes of the tenderest mercies

 

[Herat]

She's definitely not okay if she's still out there. No way she has survived this long wandering around.

I agree. It's just not plausible that she is alive hidden away in that area without an associated stash of about 40 gallons of water, with food, and some warmer clothing.

So, I have to hope and pray that RT is right about her b being abducted or kidnapped or something that spirited her away from that area. His statements have been odd, and I can sorta see how someone could make them into telegraphing information to someone holding her for ransom. Sorta.

The other probability is that she was never there to begin with and that's for LE to determine using technology and a different kind of search.

I really really do hope she is OK