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

[Blue Ridge]

Put the key under a rock? Who in the heck does that!?

I guess that was more common in years past...people of the T's generation (which is also basically my generation) frequently left a spare house key under a rock, in case anyone got locked out. That is, when we had occasion to actually lock the door . Back then many didn't!

 

[agt1965]

can i refer to it without discussing it?

I check everyday for any new word on Barbara. I guess because of location, clothing & her not having any resources with her causes concern. Dramatic temps out there. Am I looking in the wrong place or is there really no news?

 

[LietKynes]

Wild claims? Can you be more specific? Is there a link perhaps with a TV interview or newspaper?

Agreed.
What is Barbara's son saying ???

 

[Gardener1850]

I can't answer for the OP, but what raised a red flag for me was RT characterizing himself as the "prime suspect". it's not a term that LE uses, and implies that a crime occurred when this is a still a missing person investigation. MOO

IDK. I think maybe it means he watches too much crime drama tv. Plus, after being polygraphed and questioned for hours, almost anyone would feel like they were being treated as the "prime suspect" by LE. RT seems to be lacking in self awareness and an unpolished speaker to me-- someone who says whatever is on his mind without thinking about how it sounds. He probably should not have done the interviews. MOO.

 

[MsMiniSleuth]

The VI mentioned yesterday I think how he and the Thomas's would visit his grandmother in a care facility in Vegas. Could this be why Vegas cropped up in RT's mind, given that that road runs there?

 

[MimosaMornings]

Does any of Barbara’s family live in NV or AZ? Who in her family lives closest?

 

[MimosaMornings]

I guess that was more common in years past...people of the T's generation (which is also basically my generation) frequently left a spare house key under a rock, in case anyone got locked out. That is, when we had occasion to actually lock the door . Back then many didn't!

I hide a key under a rock or use the little magnetic box to hide a vehicle key when out exploring or surf fishing. Nowhere comfortable to put a key in a swimsuit and I lost one in the water one day. It took hours for a locksmith.

 

[dbdb11]

<modsnip>

for the record, robbie did not inform barbs son she was missing. he found out from police six or so days later.

 

[IceIce9]

it can be sleuthed.

for the record, robbie did not inform barbs son she was missing. he found out from police six or so days later.

Wouldn’t that be the first thing you would do? Inform the son that his mother was missing?

 

[10ofRods]

My reaction, if I were the lagging spouse and my spouse was not at the agreed-upon meeting spot would be to:

• honk the horn, 3 beeps at a time; stand on the hood or top of RV to see a greater sweep of the area (I'd assume he had just gone into the bush for toilet reasons)
• uncouple the truck from the RV and make a rapid sweep of the road in both directions, in case s/he was at a different pull-out
• before leaving on this task, I'd open the RV (thieves be damned) and write a note telling him/her to stay put, that I'd be back in 5-10 minutes (and then do a couple of searches up and down the road)
• I'd call 911 within 20 minutes
• If I knew we had been separated for only 10 minutes, I know my spouse's walking rate - he could get almost a mile in that time, so I'd write all that down and I would have already checked the road a mile or two in each direction (and I'd be driving fast)
• Then, I'd be back on foot, retracing the trail and any side trails (there were side trails in this area). I'd honk more before doing that and would be yelling the entire time.
• I'd use markers to indicate the trail I thought was the one we'd taken and where we'd last seen each other; almost anything could be used for this, but if I used things familiar to my spouse, he'd know I had left crumbs if he was actually turned around. I'd use bottled water as one of those markers and stash along the trail and in the area beyond the RV, at side of trail/road
• I'd try and stay to the side of the trail in case others were better at sussing out footprints than I am

BTW, my assumption would be that my spouse did what they said they were going to do (go back to RV). If I got there and the key was still under the rock, I'd assume they couldn't find it (common issue) and that they were in the bush. So I'd be yelling (and using my new whistle). We both know the make, model & color of each others' shoes.

I always check the time when we separate anywhere, and announce it pretty loudly to DH because he loses track of time quickly. I didn't used to wear a watch, but I do now. All the time.

If you went to get the key and couldn't find it, you wouldn't wander off to find shade. You would wait at the camper (maybe open the awning? I dunno), or you would wander back to husband and give him a hard time until you both got back, and probably would continue to give him a hard time for a few hours afterward.

Yes, this is exactly what I'd do if I were the "missing person" in this scenario. You can bet on it. Not able to find key under rock? Yep, right back over to that trail and over to where I last saw hubby, and he would be hearing about it. And yes, the RV itself would be my choice of shade. Which is why, unless she wandered out by that other, smaller trail that headed south and ended up at different dirt pull out (which is the only theory I have that makes sense). If she then assumed she needed to head back to where he was, it would have been at least an additional 2 miles round trip. She could been distracted and easily gotten on that second trail and gone a half a mile or more before realizing she was in the wrong place - but people lose track of time and distance easily out there. Watches are essential, to my way of thinking.

Hubby would never hear the end of the key/rock thing in that case.

You can see the main trail diagonally in the lower right corner, with two spur trails leading toward the dry creek/rock formations. The second one also forms an intersection with a southbound trail (smaller, but still visibly a trail). If she took the spur trail with RT and then left on her own, she might have forgotten they turned and she would have stayed straight (because she was thinking they walked straight the entire time). It's hard to describe. Anyway, you can see that there are other trails and she could have walked back from the truck and not managed to remember which spur trail to turn on - they did search the area where she would have been, as a result, very thoroughly.

 

[IceIce9]

Other Possible reasons people go missing, Vegas style:

1). A contract mob hit for offending someone
2). A kidnapping as a warning to someone
3). Must disappear for their own safety (witnessed something)

Had any threats been made against either of them?

Did they owe a large debt to someone?

Are they enormously wealthy?

There would have to be a reason for a contract hit, a warning, or for her to go into hiding. And wouldn’t they both have gone into hiding together?

 

[LietKynes]

Why did RT refer to the area where she'd vanished as a 'crime scene' ?
How odd.
B/c we don't know if she was abducted, or became lost in the desert, or left voluntarily.

 

[MimosaMornings]

Six days? What the heck.

 

[PaulR]

Nobody, including both RT and law enforcement, noticed the son for six days?

 

[MsBetsy]

I can't answer for the OP, but what raised a red flag for me was RT characterizing himself as the "prime suspect". it's not a term that LE uses, and implies that a crime occurred when this is a still a missing person investigation. MOO

He probably just heard that term on tv. There might even be a movie with that title.

 

[GordianKnot]

it can be sleuthed.

for the record, robbie did not inform barbs son she was missing. he found out from police six or so days later.

Current status: Flabbergasted.

That is beyond the pale. Totally inexcusable.

It's. his. MOM.

So, RT was off granting interviews to reporters for the tv cameras whilst BT's son remained completely unaware and in the dark about the fact that his mother had vanished without a trace in the desert?

That ain't right.

JMO.

 

[wary]

Are we allowed to refer to public comments on MSM articles?

<snipped by me>

No, we aren’t.

The reason—the comments are from who-knows-whom, often anonymous, often trolling,

 

[iscaremyself]

the local bullhead newspaper had a single article on mrs thomas 7/16
that I can find. Must be an editorial decision.
Search continues for missing Bullhead City woman

 

[firstsleuth]

Page after page people are talking about these breadcrumbs.

No one has an idea what this is about or where they are to be found.

Open up, or stop talking about it imo.

It

Page after page people are talking about these breadcrumbs.

No one has an idea what this is about or where they are to be found.

Open up, or stop talking about it imo.

They were discussed in Thread #1. No need to follow them anymore as they do not lead anywhere anymore; but if our VI is allowed to discuss them, I believe he will once he hears from the mods.

 

[IceIce9]

someone threw up on the Daily Mail

Sometimes I feel like throwing up on the Daily Mail too

 

[PaulR]

Current status: Flabbergasted.

That is beyond the pale. Inexcusable.

It's. his. MOM.

So, RT was off giving interviews to strange reporters, before BT's son even had the first inkling his mother had vanished without a trace in the desert.

That ain't right.

JMO.

Forget that. I'm skeptical and here is why.

Calling the close family of a missing person should seem to be basic detective work. Not just to let them know, but to ask if they have seen them, or know anything about the case, or can provide suggestions about where they could be.

This isn't her second cousin twice removed.