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

[firstsleuth]

I strongly believe they are not available on the Internet anymore at this time

Also, there was a plea for the claims NOT to be made public. I think any of us who saw that should respect it and not enter into private conversations about it. But, that is up to each person to decide on their own

 

[slowpoke]

I would like to know what the "wild claims" are and where to find them. All we do on here is "what if" and more "what if". Maybe he could offer some insight!

Ok, I think I see a little something that maybe is part of what others have been referring to.

This should be safe for me to post. But remember what can and cannot be posted here.

Google this: barbara thomas last seen on july 12

 

[MsGazette]

RSABBM:

I find RT's early leap to the abduction theory even as LE was sending out search teams, dogs, helicopters, etc., out combing the desert looking for BT inexplicable.

Well, almost inexplicable.

Unfortunately, the reasons I can think of for RT promulgating this stranger abduction theory are not innocent ones.

To your point about the phone records:

The SBSCO also investigated the disappearance/murder of Erin Corwin, and they were able to use phone info to assist them in their search for, and recovery of, her remains, but it took them considerable time, like a couple of months:

Untapped gold mine was site of Erin Corwin body

Search for missing Marine wife "like finding a needle in a thousand haystacks” - CBS News

Apparently, BT didn't have a cell phone, which is really most unfortunate, as LE could have definitely used that info.

I'm assuming RT does have a phone, though, so one would assume LE is going to be mining that electronic data to see if it in any way helps them in their efforts to locate her.

LE knows a whole lot more than they're telling us.

The fact that they aren't telling us anything other than the fact that they don't believe she's been abducted (as RT is postulating) and that they haven't found any evidence of her there (where RT states she was last seen), is in and of itself quite telling.

JMO.

Are we allowed to ask dbdb11 (VI) about the credibility of the rumors arising from the breadcrumbs trail? Does he know when Barbara’s son might speak to the media? Or, is it likely that he will not?

As for what happened to Barbara, it is such a mystery. My husband and I are avid hikers. I have looked at all the photos posted here as well as the Google maps 360° photo and the street view. I also found the highlighted trail route posted extremely helpful. In my opinion, this walk was extremely simple. If my husband and I were hiking this route, the only reason we might separate is if we needed a bit of space from each other. We hike together bc we love being with each other; but we also are comfortable hiking alone. On this route, the disappearance of either of us would’ve caused the one still there to almost immediately decide there is NOWHERE else we could be, therefore something bad has happened. We each, in the same circumstances, would be all over the police, the rescuers, insisting they clear us as soon as possible so they could stop wasting time...I would’ve wanted roadblocks, expanded searches, etc. My mind would’ve instantly gone to abduction. My husband mostly agrees, he said first he would’ve checked the spur trails. No way was Barbara climbing in those rocks. It was way too hot. But not too hot for a hike! We live in Phoenix, so we are acclimated to the heat

I have driven through that desert on route to AZ from CA and my mind also immediately went to foul play. I just remember it being so vast and open. But that’s first blush without digging or looking into it. This is very scary. I hope they get some clues soon.

 

[whatizzinit]

Quoting myself to clarify. IF the site is MSM or LE, we can add a link and add a comment guiding people to the comments in general.

YES but I also thought VI’s could post pertinent info/links?

 

[Tssiemer]

Ok, I think I see a little something that maybe is part of what others have been referring to.

This should be safe for me to post. But remember what can and cannot be posted here.

Google this: barbara thomas last seen on july 12

Oooooooooh!! Ok. Now I see why he wasn’t alarmed with no contact for a few days.

 

[firstsleuth]

Ok, I think I see a little something that maybe is part of what others have been referring to.

This should be safe for me to post. But remember what can and cannot be posted here.

Google this: barbara thomas last seen on july 12

Yes, different trail but leads to same place I went; everything is back up except the conversation with the Websleuths person that previously was in the comments

MOO (memory)

 

[Deleted member 39678]

YES but I also thought VI’s could post pertinent info/links?

Verified insiders have to follow the rules here just like everyone else.

 

[debbiegarcia36]

It was fairly easy to see the Incident Command Trailer post with the naked eye from about a mile or closer depending on your eyes (she may not have had good eye sight) as that is also a 5th wheel trailer, and those are tall and big trailers that stick well above the predominant creosote/cacti vegetation. If she had walked the opposite direction (meaning west instead of east) then RT's story would not match as he said she walked ahead of him (meaning east towards the trailer). But SAR searched at least several square miles in each direction (based on the tags and tracks I found). SAR it looks like emphasized the search west of the trailer as that is where RT told them they hiked. They did also cover east of Kelbaker to "cover all bases" as one of them told me in passing, but did not focus their search there as far as I could tell as an independent observer (meaning less foot prints, no 4wd off road or quad tracks through the bush).

My main concern was also the shelter theory, that she may have gotten off the trail to seek shelter in the dense thickets, rocks or if RT story is incorrect, worse, in all kinds of other rock formations further south, or west into the Granite Mountains. It's about a mile from the trailer turnout as the crow flies to where you hit the wall of the Granite Mountains. Unless they were climbers, they would not want to attempt up there. They could have followed the dirt road that skirts South around the foothills of these Granite Mountains, but all those trails were heavily driven by SAR and Sheriff vehicles. That's probably what they did initially, just cover as much ground as possible in as fast a time. I also saw lots of quad 4wheeler tracks running straight through the vegetation, so they would have done that according to their grid search likely. So I don't think her going way beyond the search grid is plausible, with the few facts that we got from RT. Robert is going to need to provide more detailed timeline and an exact account of where they went and what they did and show the pictures he took in order to help the volunteer searchers.

Wouldn't one be a bit apprehensive about walking too fast or too far ahead of one's hiking partner in the event one of them might get hurt, fall or even get lost.

I would look behind me every few minutes to make sure my partner was still in sight. I would think Barb would want to do the same.

IMO it doesn't make sense that she would walk on ahead of him without looking back to check on him. Its just not safe or smart in a remote area. THats what makes the story hard to believe for me.

 

[Deleted member 39678]

Oooooooooh!! Ok. Now I see why he wasn’t alarmed with no contact for a few days.

I did a Google search with that phrase and simply got links to different news articles.

These "breadcrumb" games are getting tiresome. JMO

 

[MsGazette]

I agree, this is very true.

This is difficult, as there isn’t much to speculate on. We know it’s difficult to judge demeanor, and we can see from this thread alone, interpretations of someone’s behavior are as varied as people are. We’re subjective and compare to our own experiences.

It’s hard to judge from a few photos.

People have found attire, the walk, the beverage, and other things many others don’t find unusual for some people very questionable.

The owning or not of a cellphone is also a subjective conversation and we’ve found it’s not highly unusual, less so as you are in older age groups.

Lie detectors - they really are ineffective and tend to be used to see if the suspect will cooperate in agreeing to one more than anything else.

So it appears until better evidence comes in, we have a lot of subjective stuff. It’s normal to be concerned due to the statistics of crime. But in the absence of a crime being committed (and we don’t know if there is any evidence yet), people do get lost (quite often), and even abducted.

It’s difficult, that’s for sure as we’re naturally looking for any hint, any clue in his behavior that would indicate a cold blooded murderer (it would have to have some planning you’d think, or at least a good cover up effort). I think sometimes people’s behavior makes it so obvious by the things they do (withdrawing money, seeing new lovers etc). But here, nothing has been reported much other than things to speculate on, none of which are highly indicative of anything to me alone, or taken as a whole, just yet. MOO

My hinky meter did go off a little bit about RT showing the notes of love. I thought it seemed a little awkward, but we don’t know him. It may be his personality. But, the point about abused women above about overcompensating is something I have known to be true. It’s not enough to suggest he’s involved until he’s a known suspect (TOS) but it may help explain a reason to leave. I don’t know. Too many unknowns. Keeping her and her family in my thoughts.

 

[Gardener1850]

It was fairly easy to see the Incident Command Trailer post with the naked eye from about a mile or closer depending on your eyes (she may not have had good eye sight) as that is also a 5th wheel trailer, and those are tall and big trailers that stick well above the predominant creosote/cacti vegetation. If she had walked the opposite direction (meaning west instead of east) then RT's story would not match as he said she walked ahead of him (meaning east towards the trailer). But SAR searched at least several square miles in each direction (based on the tags and tracks I found). SAR it looks like emphasized the search west of the trailer as that is where RT told them they hiked. They did also cover east of Kelbaker to "cover all bases" as one of them told me in passing, but did not focus their search there as far as I could tell as an independent observer (meaning less foot prints, no 4wd off road or quad tracks through the bush).

My main concern was also the shelter theory, that she may have gotten off the trail to seek shelter in the dense thickets, rocks or if RT story is incorrect, worse, in all kinds of other rock formations further south, or west into the Granite Mountains. It's about a mile from the trailer turnout as the crow flies to where you hit the wall of the Granite Mountains. Unless they were climbers, they would not want to attempt up there. They could have followed the dirt road that skirts South around the foothills of these Granite Mountains, but all those trails were heavily driven by SAR and Sheriff vehicles. That's probably what they did initially, just cover as much ground as possible in as fast a time. I also saw lots of quad 4wheeler tracks running straight through the vegetation, so they would have done that according to their grid search likely. So I don't think her going way beyond the search grid is plausible, with the few facts that we got from RT. Robert is going to need to provide more detailed timeline and an exact account of where they went and what they did and show the pictures he took in order to help the volunteer searchers.

Thank you so much for the distance measurement and the perspective on what it's like there. One thing I'm still confused on is where RT was standing when he saw Barb go round the bend (or around a corner). I don't think we know exactly where he was standing. I understand there are many places along the trail where she could have walked out of his sight momentarily simply due to the vegetation and elevation changes in the terrain. But I thought that this was described as a 2 mile walk? It appears that if they walked about 2 miles round trip, then that means they likely went beyond the first rock grouping you circled. But perhaps RT is bad at guesstimating how far they actually walked? I imagine healthy people acclimated to the desert and used to walking in heat would not think anything of walking all the way to the Granite Mountains, as it seems to only be a couple miles. Does that seem accurate, or would a 2 mile hike out there be too much?

Just following the trails on Google maps, here is one area that peaked my interest:

Google Maps
I found it interesting that there seems to be two pick up trucks parked in this little area and you said the trail is drive-able. Surely search and rescue would have searched this area (I hope). But the accessibility of it by vehicle makes it intriguing to me. Theoretically, BT could have left the trail via a vehicle or could have been taken to another area of the trail (outside the search radius) in a vehicle.

MOO.

 

[Nerissa]

If true son did not know his mother missing for six days....whelp: I wanna know why?

That's utterly absurd on every level.....

I've two legs over the fence but haven't popped quite entirely over it yet...

To chime in: I don't find any of his statements too damning....aside from: "I just want her back"....That just rings a bell - maybe it's Chris Watts - ? Not sure.

Sounds like someone regretful, someone who just wishes it all had never happened.....

Hmmm.....only reason I am on the fence is because his story is so preposterous it just might be true - the whole truth is stranger than fiction thingy. And sometimes it is

Holding a beer tonight in cheers to Barbara - may you be found soon

 

[k-mac]

Snipped by me:



Well, I am clueless as to any wild claims, anyway, so..that’s why I haven’t mentioned these cryptic references or “breadcrumbs”, lol.

I’m not certain what’s all being referred to (I don’t have a FB account, and often cannot see comments under public FB pages on my iPad, for some reason, which frustrates me no end.) But—don’t tell me! I don’t want any posters to suffer timeouts (especially ME) or our thread to get shut down.

Only thing I’ll say is: I trust Barb’s son has shared whatever “wild claims” with law enforcement?

I am surprised how many of us belong to the growing "republic of NO FACEBOOK"!!!!!

 

[Stripehaven]

Agree. But who knows if it was willingly.

Exactly.

 

[Onebest]

As far as Barbara not letting family/friends know where she is -- if she left voluntarily -- that's not unheard of to drop contact with everyone.
The reasons could be numerous.
We don't know what goes on behind closed doors.

FWIW I agree. Just because someone is blood relative doesn't mean there is an on going or current relationship.

 

[MsGazette]

Crews Suspend Daily Searches for 69-Year-Old Woman Who Vanished on Mojave Desert Hike
I realize daily searches have been slowed by authorities, but is there any info on whether RT is out there looking? My apologies if I missed this.

 

[kay74]

Ok, I think I see a little something that maybe is part of what others have been referring to.

This should be safe for me to post. But remember what can and cannot be posted here.

Google this: barbara thomas last seen on july 12

Thanks! I don't know what to say about this. Obviously the husband and son are not on good terms. Maybe the son should come to see him and see what he can do to help. Takes a man to do that.

 

[PaulR]

FWIW I agree. Just because someone is blood relative doesn't mean there is an on going or current relationship.

True, but how out of touch would you have to be to not know a close relative was missing, when your family had already been notified. Apparently not out of touch enough to not be on social media...

 

[kay74]

I am surprised how many of us belong to the growing "republic of NO FACEBOOK"!!!!!

No facebook here either.

 

[kay74]

Someone with no pockets wearing a bikini who might want to go back to the RV before her husband is done taking pictures. IDK?

Her husband could have carried it and handed it to her!