CA CA - Barbara Thomas, 69, from Bullhead City AZ, disappeared in Mojave desert, 12 July 2019 #4

[Tssiemer]

For those who think Robert was involved, if so, why would he do 2 lengthy interviews on TV? Inviting them inside his home, sharing personal things?
On top of that claiming him being the prime suspect and failing a lie detector test?

What would be the benefit of this if he was the perpetrator? Why not stay away from cameras to begin with?

Why would a perpetrator not only seek media attention, but also do it in such a way that the case would peek everyone's interest, even in Europe? A 69 woman in her bikini, drinking beer, probably kidnapped to Las Vegas, husband says he is the prime suspect. It almost seems like a well thought out pr stunt for a missing persons case, that otherwise would not have gotten that much media attention, if any.

(reposting this, deleted it because of concern it may be victim unfriendly, but to me it is defending him, and it can be a constructive discussion imo)

Chris Watts anyone?

 

[Anicole]

Do we know where the cave is, with regard to where he stopped to take the photo and she forged on ahead?

Something about that keeps bothering me. Why, if they were fairly close to being back to the camper, would he want to backtrack to search the cave? Logically, I'd stay/concentrate in the area between the photo op and the camper. Or, am I misremembering the early reports of them being fairly close and that's why she went on ahead? Surely LE had him show them the place he stopped, right?

The silence from LE, the family and the media seem to make me think that LE knows what's up, they're just waiting for someone to trip themselves up.

Then again, they weren't from around there so the locals don't really have a vested interest, so there's probably not much scuttle going on in the nearby towns.

I don't know … I'm from a small town where if you change up what brand of coffee you buy, you get the stink eye from half the town because everyone knows your business. No friends pleading for help. No family pleading for help. Family 'sides' not communicating with each other.

There's just so much missing, most importantly, Barbara.

 

[Micheline]

I'm not saying RT is a perpetrator or in some other way involved in BT's disappearance, but here are some reasons a perpetrator might do that:

• They might think they had committed the perfect crime so they could do or say what they liked.
• They might think that their explanation of what happened (in this case, bikini, beer, probable abduction) as well as their delivery of that explanation was convincing and hence wanted to promulgate it.
• They might feel guilt about their deed and unconsciously want to be caught. This might especially be true if they had accidentally caused their spouse's disappearance or death and had quickly created a cover story.
• If they had arranged the disappearance with others, they might be trying to signal to those others for some reason.

Again, I'm not saying any of these things happened or are relevant to this case. Just trying to answer your question. MOO

I really doubt perpetrators going on TV because of an unconscious desire of getting caught.

IMO they do not want to draw any attention to themselves or even to the case.

Robert not only goes on TV twice, but adding his prime suspect position and failing a lie detector test, added with it was just the two of them.

I guess Robert knows that a 25 year old in bikini in the desert could be kidnapping material, and that in general 69 year olds are not seen as objects of desire. We will never see a seductive 69 year old in an add or as a lingery model.
He must realise his claim of kidnapped to Vegas being unlikely.
And that is just the thing, to him it isn't, and that says it all, clears him of suspicion, to him this is realistic or he wouldn't say it, to a perpetrator it wouldn't be.

 

[Kapua]

The fact that its been so long in the search for Barbara tells me that an abduction of some kind did happen. Either by an unknown 3rd party who happened to be there when Barbara was alone or RT paid someone to abduct her or he did it himself.

I know its not fair to blame the husband, but SAR teams can't find her, or any trace of her, even the beer. If she got lost/injured/disoriented then she probably would've been found, the fact that she isn't means someone is actively trying to cover up her whereabouts. Maybe the kidnappers knew about the beer and made sure nothing was left behind. Maybe thats why RT is silent, because the kidnappers are blackmailing him now.

The 2 fugitives that RCMP can't find in connection with the weird case are actively trying to hide, (or were actively trying to hide, if we were to assume they died). People that aren't trying to hide/run are easier to find. Someone else played their hand in this case

All MOO.

So without placing blame on anyone, would you say that if SAR teams using search dogs, off-road vehicles, helicopters, and drones could not find BT in the area where she was last reported to be, that it is highly likely that BT is not there? If that is true, then we can proceed to examine possibilities of other places she might be. MOO

 

[MassGuy]

I really doubt perpetrators going on TV because of an unconscious desire of getting caught.

IMO they do not want to draw any attention to themselves or even to the case.

Robert not only goes on TV twice, but adding his prime suspect position and failing a lie detector test, added with it was just the two of them.

I guess Robert knows that a 25 year old in bikini in the desert could be kidnapping material, and that in general 69 year olds are not seen as objects of desire. We will never see a seductive 69 year old in an add or as a lingery model.
He must realise his claim of kidnapped to Vegas being unlikely.
And that is just the thing, to him it isn't, and that says it all, clears him of suspicion, to him this is realistic or he wouldn't say it, to a perpetrator it wouldn't be realistic since in that case it did not happen.

Some people who commit crimes have no awareness as to how absurd their claims are.

They think the scenario they are trying to sell is entirely plausible.

Diane Downs claimed that a stranger attempted to carjack her on a dark road in the middle of nowhere; shooting her kids, and killing one.

Susan Smith tried a similar tack, saying that someone carjacked her and kidnapped her children.

They both believed the public would believe the tearful pleas to the camera, and their fanciful tales.

This guy is trying to convince us that some random abductor couldn’t help but kidnap his scantily clad, beer carrying wife.

Like her being dressed that way is akin to leaving a pile of cash in the presence of a thief.

I’m not convinced. Not by a long shot.

 

[MsBetsy]

For those who think Robert was involved, if so, why would he do 2 lengthy interviews on TV? Inviting them inside his home, sharing personal things?
On top of that claiming him being the prime suspect and failing a lie detector test?

What would be the benefit of this if he was the perpetrator? Why not stay away from cameras to begin with?

Why would a perpetrator not only seek media attention, but also do it in such a way that the case would peek everyone's interest, even in Europe? A 69 woman in her bikini, drinking beer, probably kidnapped to Las Vegas, husband says he is the prime suspect. It almost seems like a well thought out pr stunt for a missing persons case, that otherwise would not have gotten that much media attention, if any.

(reposting this, deleted it because of concern it may be victim unfriendly, but to me it is defending him, and it can be a constructive discussion imo)

Yes, that seems strange to me too.
From the beginning it was if he drew attention to himself, when it was totally unnecessary for him to reveal anything about him being the main suspect or that he was even given a polygraph.

The other thing that is strange is his story. If he has something to do with her disappearance, why not come up with a better one?

He could have said she wanted to go look for some rocks and he stayed in the RV because he wasn't feeling well. That she had said she'd be back in about a half hour and after an hour she wasn't back so he went looking for her. That would leave about an hour for something to happen.

Instead he says he had just watched her go around a corner when he stopped to take a picture. He couldn't have been too far behind her. It doesn't sound believable. If he was going to make up a story at least I would think it would be one that allows more time between when he last saw her and when he realized she was gone.

He must have known that every part of his story sounds suspicious. According to the VI, he is an intelligent guy, so why not make up a story that makes more sense and why tell everyone he is a suspect? Imo

 

[dbdb11]

It almost seems like a well thought out pr stunt for a missing persons case, that otherwise would not have gotten that much media attention, if any.

(reposting this, deleted it because of concern it may be victim unfriendly, but to me it is defending him, and it can be a constructive discussion imo)

You said it. Very confusing, indeed.

 

[Micheline]

Chris Watts anyone?

The disappearance of his wife and two daughters had huge coverage, with or without him. Not wanting to talk would make him look suspicious.

The disappearance of Barbara would never get the huge coverage Chris Watts wife and two daughters got. The case of Barbara got all this interest because of the words of her husband.

Incomparable to Chris Watts IMO.

 

[dbdb11]

I really doubt perpetrators going on TV because of an unconscious desire of getting caught.

IMO they do not want to draw any attention to themselves or even to the case.

Robert not only goes on TV twice, but adding his prime suspect position and failing a lie detector test, added with it was just the two of them.

I guess Robert knows that a 25 year old in bikini in the desert could be kidnapping material, and that in general 69 year olds are not seen as objects of desire. We will never see a seductive 69 year old in an add or as a lingery model.
He must realise his claim of kidnapped to Vegas being unlikely.
And that is just the thing, to him it isn't, and that says it all, clears him of suspicion, to him this is realistic or he wouldn't say it, to a perpetrator it wouldn't be.

This is a very simplistic interpretation. But it makes sense.

 

[Micheline]

You said it. Very confusing, indeed.

I recall you once posting Robert being way smarter than everyone thinks.

Could he have made it up, I mean Barbara wearing a trousers and shirt drinking water, and him telling something else in order to get media attention her case otherwise would not have gotten?

That would mean a plan made in hopes of finding his wife, realising the effect of his words?

 

[dbdb11]

I recall you once posting Robert being way smarter than everyone thinks.

Could he have made it up, I mean Barbara wearing a trousers and shirt drinking water, and him telling something else in order to get media attention her case otherwise would not have gotten?

That would mean a plan made in hopes of finding his wife, realising the effect of his words?

I'm not sure if you're really paying attention. He could've made it up. I wish he could make up some more stuff for us to look into because we are all extremely anxious to hear something.

EDIT: I am a bit on edge. I apologise if my comments have hurt any of the users, but more importantly I apologise to Robbie's family members who know discussions like this are going on about people they love.
I apologise. I've actually been intending to get off of this public forum for the most part. But with so many people looking, and asking in these pages, it is very hard to stop participating. I want this resolved. We all want to find Barbara.

 

[sumzero]

Yes, that seems strange to me too.
From the beginning it was if he drew attention to himself, when it was totally unnecessary for him to reveal anything about him being the main suspect or that he was even given a polygraph.

The other thing that is strange is his story. If he has something to do with her disappearance, why not come up with a better one?

He could have said she wanted to go look for some rocks and he stayed in the RV because he wasn't feeling well. That she had said she'd be back in about a half hour and after an hour she wasn't back so he went looking for her. That would leave about an hour for something to happen.

Instead he says he had just watched her go around a corner when he stopped to take a picture. He couldn't have been too far behind her. It doesn't sound believable. If he was going to make up a story at least I would think it would be one that allows more time between when he last saw her and when he realized she was gone.

He must have known that every part of his story sounds suspicious. According to the VI, he is an intelligent guy, so why not make up a story that makes more sense and why tell everyone he is a suspect? Imo

For the sake of argument, let's say RT is telling the truth. He knows he was only 5 or 10 minutes behind BT. He knows it was a relatively short distance back to the RV. So, when he doesn't see her from the time she separated from him to the time he arrived back at the RV, what thoughts would cross his mind? That BT was lost? Probably not, since it wasn't that far back to the RV. That she was injured? Probably not, since he hadn't seen her or heard her calling for him. That she might've sought shelter from the heat? Well, he searched for her for about an hour without success. What's left? That she was abducted? It might seem strange to think so, but, in his mind, what other possibilities are left? He seemed as dumbfounded as I would expect, if he had nothing to do with her disappearance. Personally, I think we have too few hard facts to know yet what happened to BT.

 

[kay74]

I thought there was another VI on here. Was it a relative?

 

[PaulR]

I thought there was another VI on here. Was it a relative?

I don't think they are a VI yet, they said they were going through the process.

 

[MsBetsy]

Chris Watts anyone?

Chris Watts was completely different. He showed multiple signs of deception. He kept his arms crossed, he kept pausing and stammering, saying "umm, like" constantly throughout each interview. He was fidgety and nervous. He referred to his wife and children as "they" or "them." All of his behavior was distancing or deceptive. He had guilt all over his face.

I didn't see any of those signs with Robert.
His story and his theory about her being abducted is a little strange, though. Imo

 

[oceanstarryeyes]

.

 

[Davia18]

@dbdb11 I understand your father is ill and Barbara was going to Hong Kong to see him ??

If this is correct how is your father doing? I really hope there can be answers soon for your family.

 

[GordianKnot]

I recall you once posting Robert being way smarter than everyone thinks.

Could he have made it up, I mean Barbara wearing a trousers and shirt drinking water, and him telling something else in order to get media attention her case otherwise would not have gotten?

That would mean a plan made in hopes of finding his wife, realising the effect of his words?

I'm struggling to see the logic behind this argument.

How would misinforming LE and S&R about what his wife was last seen wearing and/or what she had with her at the time she went missing in any way assist them in locating her as quickly as possible?

Seems to me it would place her at greater risk of non-discovery/recovery if RT sent LE and search teams out into the desert looking for the wrong indicators that she'd been there.

It would place her in a much more precarious position...as if her position wouldn't have been life-threatening enough out in that desert.

To me, that suggestion is a total non-starter.

JMO.

 

[chihuahua]

IF BT was abducted, where is she now? And why?
Sorry just thinking outloud.
1 question for clarity. Was the pic of BT in the black bikini top and red hat taken on this particular trip? TIA
Chi

 

[neesaki]

For all intents and purposes, these two were on a walk.

They weren’t scaling rocks, or hanging upside down from bungee cords.

The only time I’ve ever lost my keys is when I’ve taken them out of my pocket and left them somewhere.

They don’t magically fall out when you are walking.

That’s why this rock scenario makes zero sense.

If she heads back first, you just hand her the keys.

I agree, when I walk /hike trails I have a small waste belt pack that holds my keys, phone and water. I would never ever hide my key under a rock. If they did do this they are way too trusting, IMO.