CA CA - Barbara Thomas, 69, from Bullhead City AZ, disappeared in Mojave desert, 12 July 2019 #3

[AzPistonsGirl]

There is a new “closed” case discussion FB group for Barbara. Can’t link it because it’s not official.

well that's helpful.

sarcasm aside, I really do hope it is though.

 

[IceIce9]

There is a new “closed” case discussion FB group for Barbara. Can’t link it because it’s not official.

Do you mean the case is closed, or it is a “closed” FB group?

 

[artsy1]

Flash flood watch for Mojave Desert (more monsoonal rain today) is a double edged sword, IMHO. On the one hand, a flash flood could wash away any evidence that may be out there but not located. On the other hand, a flash flood could also uncover evidence that hadn't been found. Hope it's the latter, if the flash flooding hits the Kelbaker area.

National Weather Service Watch Warning Advisory Summary

snip

Flash Flood Watch
Flood Watch
National Weather Service Las Vegas NV
1224 PM PDT Wed Jul 24 2019

...Monsoon moisture brining flash flooding risk...

AZZ001>003-036-CAZ522>527-NVZ016>022-250600-
/O.NEW.KVEF.FF.A.0005.190724T1924Z-190725T0600Z/
/00000.0.ER.000000T0000Z.000000T0000Z.000000T0000Z.OO/
Northwest Plateau-Lake Havasu and Fort Mohave-Northwest Deserts-
Lake Mead National Recreation Area-Death Valley National Park-
Western Mojave Desert-Eastern Mojave Desert-Morongo Basin-
Cadiz Basin-San Bernardino County-Upper Colorado River Valley-
Northeast Clark County-Western Clark and Southern Nye County-
Sheep Range-Spring Mountains-Red Rock Canyon-Las Vegas Valley-
Southern Clark County-
1224 PM PDT Wed Jul 24 2019 /1224 PM MST Wed Jul 24 2019/

...FLASH FLOOD WATCH IN EFFECT UNTIL 11 PM PDT /11 PM MST/ THIS
EVENING...

The National Weather Service in Las Vegas has issued a

* Flash Flood Watch for portions of northwest Arizona, southeast
California, and southern Nevada, including the following
areas, in northwest Arizona, Lake Havasu and Fort Mohave, Lake
Mead National Recreation Area, Northwest Deserts, and
Northwest Plateau. In southeast California, Cadiz Basin, Death
Valley National Park, Eastern Mojave Desert, Morongo Basin,
San Bernardino County-Upper Colorado River Valley, and Western
Mojave Desert. In southern Nevada, Lake Mead National
Recreation Area, Las Vegas Valley, Northeast Clark County,
Sheep Range, Southern Clark County, Spring Mountains-Red Rock
Canyon, and Western Clark and Southern Nye County.

* Until 11 PM PDT /11 PM MST/ this evening

* Rich monsoon moisture and an area of low pressure are combining
to produce thunderstorms across the Mojave Desert. Rainfall
rates of 2 to 4 inches per hour are possible at times.

* Heavy rainfall from thunderstorms will produce flows in normally
dry washes and low water crossings. Flash flooding may also cause
rock and debris slides.

PRECAUTIONARY/PREPAREDNESS ACTIONS...

A Flash Flood Watch means that conditions may become favorable
for flooding of washes...streams and other drainage areas in the
watch area. If you are in the watch area...you should closely
monitor weather forecasts and be prepared to take immediate
action should heavy rain and flooding occur or a flash flood
warning is issued.

 

[Midwestmom2019]

I’m glad you remembered reading that RT had her phone in his pack. I read that and I think it also said and her shirt.

I've read other media changes, in other cases, to fit the need to report...
So that explains the cell phone issue.

 

[Midwestmom2019]

I'm reading about a case now - an eight year old girl separated from her parents in northern New Mexico. Even with searches which began a few hours after she went missing, she was found four days later, well outside the original search area - 3.2 miles away. Hiding in thick brush. I'm surprised they found her.

Who found her? Continued efforts by LE/ Family? Locals?

 

[10ofRods]

Searchers will probably come back in late autumn/winter and search further, I'm guessing. They'll look down the washes and in places where vegetation was thicker.

From personal experience, I can say that heat exhaustion can really sneak up on a person.

 

[wary]

Forgive me for asking this. Barbara and her husband wouldn't have taken any mind altering substances like LSD. I'm probably just going with desert and California equals hippies. Sorry. I'm trying to think of a reason you would lose someone you are following in a well lit flatish area.

I think the most likely ‘mind altering substance’ is simply dehydration in the blazing sun. Someone on an earlier page/thread pointed out that sunstroke can create euphoria. And dehydration can create disorientation—

 

[PaulR]

Who found her? Continued efforts by LE/ Family? Locals?

Ground search team led by trained professionals. By the time they found her, she was "hypothermic and unresponsive."

http://www.sarbc.org/sarbc/pdfs/FindEm.pdf has the story, see pages 1-2.

 

[Midwestmom2019]

Ground search team led by trained professionals. By the time they found her, she was "hypothermic and unresponsive."

What is a ground search team led by professionals?
Locals with LE?
Private investigators?
What/who comprised the ground search team and who were the professionals?
It's great that they found her, and maybe this will help in future SAR efforts.
But to educate others, we need the details. Like hug a tree. And another sleuther added to my hug a tree post, climb the tree if you can, to get a perspective on your location.
If you keep moving around while you are lost, you are a moving target. It is so much easier to hit a target that is still.

 

[k-mac]

Question to all, where do you think Barbara is?

imo deceased.....180 degrees opposite direction from where the search was with their home running through the middle like a line.
speculative of course.
moo

 

[PaulR]

What is a ground search team led by professionals?
Locals with LE?
Private investigators?
What/who comprised the ground search team and who were the professionals?
It's great that they found her, and maybe this will help in future SAR efforts.
But to educate others, we need the details. Like hug a tree. And another sleuther added to my hug a tree post, climb the tree if you can, to get a perspective on your location.
If you keep moving around while you are lost, you are a moving target. It is so much easier to hit a target that is still.

I've edited it to include the story as published.

http://www.saraz.org/documents/AZBasicSAR.pdf may also be useful, it's a SAR guide for Arizona, which should be close to California in terms of climate of the area where BT is missing.

Page 172 has percentiles for distance traveled by lost people in their dataset for Arizona. For the elderly, 50% chance they are within 1.39 miles; 75% chance within 5.60 miles. Trivia, if you wanted to search a 5.6 mile radius around the last known location, that's 98.52 square miles you are searching.

 

[helpfulcharlie]

I've edited it to include the story as published.

http://www.saraz.org/documents/AZBasicSAR.pdf may also be useful, it's a SAR guide for Arizona, which should be close to California in terms of climate of the area where BT is missing.

Page 172 has percentiles for distance traveled by lost people in their dataset for Arizona. For the elderly, 50% chance they are within 1.39 miles; 75% chance within 5.60 miles. Trivia, if you wanted to search a 5.6 mile radius around the last known location, that's 98.52 square miles you are searching.

Search science is no joke, and holy crap that's a lot of ground to cover.

 

[cherrymeg]

I think the most likely ‘mind altering substance’ is simply dehydration in the blazing sun. Someone on an earlier page/thread pointed out that sunstroke can create euphoria. And dehydration can create disorientation—

Drinking and heat don't mix.

 

[IceIce9]

Why did Robert take a polygraph? Did he volunteer to take it to prove his innocence? Was he asked to take a polygraph by LE? Could he have refused if he did not want to take it?

Robert, in the meantime, said in an interview with Insider Edition saying that he had failed the polygraph test and was the prime suspect. "Yes, I took a polygraph test. They told me I was being deceptive. I know that polygraphs aren't 100 percent and I hadn't had any sleep. The police consider me the prime suspect because it was just the two of us."

 

[ClaireNC]

Do you mean the case is closed, or it is a “closed” FB group?

Closed Facebook group. Meaning it’s not out there for the public to read. Members only can read the comments.

 

[rosesfromangels]

imo deceased.....180 degrees opposite direction from where the search was with their home running through the middle like a line.
speculative of course.
moo

I'm still holding out for a magical mystery tour with a VW Van full of happy hippies, or that she jumped in a maserati with Fabio on his way to a gig in Vegas. But sadly, I admit k-mac, your theory sounds the most probable.

Amateur opinion and speculation

 

[k-mac]

I'm still holding out for a magical mystery tour with a VW Van full of happy hippies, or that she jumped in a maserati with Fabio on his way to a gig in Vegas. But sadly, I admit k-mac, your theory sounds the most probable.

Amateur opinion and speculation

I don't like it roses :-(
but honesty is the best policy . that's my speculative gut thoughts.

moo

 

[PaulR]

Search science is no joke, and holy crap that's a lot of ground to cover.

Well, hopefully you can prune that down. That's what the SAR experts do, figure out where someone is most likely to go, and prioritize those areas.

Light reading for everyone from Arizona SAR: David Lovelock : Manuals

 

[wary]

Why did Robert take a polygraph? Did he volunteer to take it to prove his innocence? Was he asked to take a polygraph by LE? Could he have refused if he did not want to take it?

Robert, in the meantime, said in an interview with Insider Edition saying that he had failed the polygraph test and was the prime suspect. "Yes, I took a polygraph test. They told me I was being deceptive. I know that polygraphs aren't 100 percent and I hadn't had any sleep. The police consider me the prime suspect because it was just the two of us."

We don’t know how and why the polygraph test happened, but beyond the shadow of a doubt, RT could have refused to take it.

MOO, of course

 

[ACE422]

I read the interview a couple of days ago and felt neutral but then actually listened to it just last night. He says he thinks she was taken because “she WAS wearing bikini and carrying a beer.” Like, well of COURSE that would make someone grab her. The emphasis made it “read” differently to me.

Maybe he thought the fact that she was wearing a bikini and carrying a beer made her more of a “target” for abduction than if she was using a walker and drinking a bottle of ensure? The thought of abduction left him some hope that she was still alive out there and he was grasping at the best scenario he could think of.

If she truly was last seen as he described, a free spirit wearing a bikini in the desert while enjoying a brewski could possibly make her more “attractive” to some creep driving by. Is it unlikely? Yes. So is winning the lottery, but it still happens. And there are some seriously sick people in the world.

Or he could be lying about it all. Who knows?

All MOO.