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

[Cherwell]

That is the one thing I’ve seen RT do that makes him look guilty.

Really? I think it was obvious as soon as the early searching failed to find her that, whatever had happened to her, she wasn't going to be in any fit state to go.

 

[enelram]

LE must be having a hard time determining
if a crime took place, by whom, and where it took place. This takes time so I understand
their silence.
I'm sure they're working hard behind the scenes
to determine where this story went off the rails.
I don't think LE is buying his story.

Give it a few weeks and we'll probably have an update and some action toward the perp.

another perp who thought he was smarter than
LE and could pull off this sad crime.

 

[PommyMommy]

They had chairs set up in the shade of the camper, I assume an awning. That is where Robbie expected to see her when he returned.

<Snipped for focus>

RT said Barbara wanted to get back to the RV. There was shade at the camper. So, why would he think she went to a cave? MOO

 

[PommyMommy]

I’m glad you mentioned the backpack; one or two initial reports stated he had a backpack in which he carried BT’s cell phone, but those reports seemed to have disappeared. I’m guessing the initial reports of a backpack were incorrect, explaining why I can’t find those initial news blurbs about it.

JUL 17, 2019
Husband of Woman Who Vanished During Mojave Desert Hike: 'I Just Want Her Back'
[...]

Robert says they had taken a short trip in their camper when they decided to pull up and go for a 2-mile walk to explore rock formations. They took a pack, beer and a gallon of water...

They were on their way back to the camper when Bob said his wife started pulling ahead. He told her he wanted to take a picture of a rock formation and as he put his camera away, he saw her rounding a corner.

 

[oceanstarryeyes]

Really? I think it was obvious as soon as the early searching failed to find her that, whatever had happened to her, she wasn't going to be in any fit state to go.

It still wasn’t his business to be canceling someone else's flight plans. That makes him look controlling and self centered.

 

[cricket49]

It still wasn’t his business to be canceling someone else's flight plans. That makes him look controlling and self centered.

What does that say about me? I handle all our personal business.

Seems normal to cancel a flight when someone has been missing for days.

 

[cricket49]

He got back to RV and she was not there so he searched around and could not find her.

Then he went back and looked at a cave they saw earlier. Maybe thinking she was resting in cave due to the heat.

 

[rosesfromangels]

What does that say about me? I handle all our personal business.

Seems normal to cancel a flight when someone has been missing for days.

Agree that in isolation, the action doesn't seem concerning. However, depending on the timing of the call in context to BT's missing status, it could be damning. We need a timeline to understand this better.

Amateur opinion and speculation

 

[rosesfromangels]

He got back to RV and she was not there so he searched around and could not find her.

Then he went back and looked at a cave they saw earlier. Maybe thinking she was resting in cave due to the heat.

I hadn't heard this data point before. Do you know much more about the cave? Does it go on for miles, have drop offs, etc, or is it more of a cubby hole?

 

[Auntie Cipation]

SBM

According to RT, they pulled off to the side of the highway to go check out some rock formations in that area, just the two of them, going on a 2 mile walk, and there were no other people or vehicles nearby.

[SBM]

RT said they parked their RV (truck and 5 wheeler) on a pulloff space (turnout) just off the highway that was not near (within several miles of) the place where other vehicles were purported to have been parked (at a separate trailhead) based on what RT said was visible from the hill that they took a 360 degree photo from earlier in the day.

Yes, there seems to be consensus or close to it, about where BT/RT parked their RV. However, I apparently missed or forgot that RT specifically said there was no one around when he parked. I don't challenge this, though. It makes sense to me.

But I have seen nothing suggesting where the other cars seen in the 360 photo WERE parked.

Our VI thought he saw an area, but then zoomed in farther and saw it was an electrical substation.

As far as I can tell, the turnout where the RV parked was the largest turnout in the area. That's why I speculated the other vehicles were either right there with them, or alternatively, quite a ways away, visible only via the hilltop photo.

 

[cricket49]

I hadn't heard this data point before. Do you know much more about the cave? Does it go on for miles, have drop offs, etc, or is it more of a cubby hole?

I have not read any details about the cave other than they saw the cave earlier.

 

[rosesfromangels]

Yes, there seems to be consensus or close to it, about where BT/RT parked their RV. However, I apparently missed or forgot that RT specifically said there was no one around when he parked. I don't challenge this, though. It makes sense to me.

But I have seen nothing suggesting where the other cars seen in the 360 photo WERE parked.

Our VI thought he saw an area, but then zoomed in farther and saw it was an electrical substation.

As far as I can tell, the turnout where the RV parked was the largest turnout in the area. That's why I speculated the other vehicles were either right there with them, or alternatively, quite a ways away, visible only via the hilltop photo.

It sounds like the RT RV might stand out because it is a high end unit. (Or it sounds like it). "RV people" would notice it, and them if it is. Hopefully LE has found some of these folks to reinforce RT's story of his bikini clad wife. BT's attire and the upscale RV would be memorable to witnesses, IMO.

Amateur opinion and speculation

 

[rosesfromangels]

I have not read any details about the cave other than they saw the cave earlier.

Anyone else know much about the aforementioned cave?

 

[George Fayne]

Yes, there seems to be consensus or close to it, about where BT/RT parked their RV. However, I apparently missed or forgot that RT specifically said there was no one around when he parked. I don't challenge this, though. It makes sense to me.

But I have seen nothing suggesting where the other cars seen in the 360 photo WERE parked.

Our VI thought he saw an area, but then zoomed in farther and saw it was an electrical substation.

As far as I can tell, the turnout where the RV parked was the largest turnout in the area. That's why I speculated the other vehicles were either right there with them, or alternatively, quite a ways away, visible only via the hilltop photo.

BBM
First time quoting & replying so I might screw this up. I rarely post, usually lurk because by the time I think of something, someone else has already posted it. Someone other than the VI speculated that the parked cars RT referred to might've been at the a nearby Desert Research Center but I don't remember the particulars. It was several pages back.

 

[Mind your biscuits]

IMO in most adult missing persons cases, unless there is evidence right from the onset (i.e., blood drops, bedding is missing, history of DV, etc.) which makes LE immediately suspicious. The investigation will start off with an assumption of "no foul play". But the story RT gave must have given some cause for concern, especially since she wasn't found in the first 24 hours. We know they gave him a poly, so while that may be routine in cases where the spouse is the last person to see the MP. It also gave them the opportunity to see his reaction to the hard questions.

In this case, SAR worked for 10 days trying to find her with no luck. I think now the investigation has likely progressed to a different stage. They are looking at bank records, home and cell phone records, life insurance policies, interviewing family & neighbors, business records, etc.

I've seen cases where LE will stick to the no foul play comment up until a body is found. Every department, region and state is different.

I think this stage of a case drives WSers a little nutty. We start re-hashing the re-hash and arguing about inconsequential details.

I've written a long winded post about pretty much nothing, lol

It worked for the writers of the tv show 'Seinfeld' .

 

[wary]

RT said Barbara wanted to get back to the RV. There was shade at the camper. So, why would he think she went to a cave? MOO

Because he didn’t find her at the camper! If you know someone isn’t in one place, you look in another.

 

[rosesfromangels]

Picking over and over and over little details often brings big "aha" moments. Our minds tend to work based on our own experiences, and reference points. The beauty of the forum is that we "brain-crowd", and combined, create some very interesting ideas, and even leads.

Amateur opinion and speculation only

 

[dbdb11]

Can you explain why you got a feeling that these desert spots are where dangerous types lurk?

the dangerous types lurk in the wrong place, at the wrong time. not confined to desert.

 

[LAhiker]

Anyone else know much about the aforementioned cave?

I don't think enough information has been released for me to have any ideas on what really happened. That said, a hit and run on a clear day with as much traffic (a car every couple minutes sometimes more), or animal attack is not what I think happened. (Mountain lions avoid humans and attacks are extremely rare and that would have left clues, not to mention drag marks, etc).

Getting lost for that particular place is hard to believe as well, as there is a non-motorized trail which they presumably hiked, and Kelbaker road is visible, and audible. Also, very few hikers hike off trail, those who do would not be wanting to wear shorts, as the area is filled with various cholla cacti, which have hooks that get into your legs, very unpleasant to get stuck by those! Even the I-40 is visible and a turnout at the pass is visible by eye. Less than a mile west of the road which runs north/south you have Granite Mountain, which is a sheer wall of rocks, she wouldn't have walked that way, unless extremely disoriented. They don't sound like rock climbers, so that's highly unlikely.

I'm hoping the husband will offer much more specifics about the hike and time than he did in those two short interviews. Some mention all they had was a beer, another article mentions they brought a gallon of water as well. That small detail makes a big difference in how far you can hike. A beer in hand, and your hike during mid-day is limited to no more than a mile or two, but a gallon of water, and now you'd have to expand the possible range to search by a few more miles.

Having hiked at this location my main observation was just how many places there are there to shelter from the intense sun, which of course also makes the search harder and makes it harder for aerial photography to pick up any clues. The scattered boulders south of the main rock formations also had lots of nooks and crannies to hide. I noticed SARS had tags going for about a mile south, so it looks like they covered that area as well.

If I were in trouble with the heat I might be tempted to go under a large boulder and wait to feel better, these are great sheltering places, but that is not what Robert Thomas suggested. He implied they had already gone to the rocks and were on their way back, between the main rock formations and the trailer there are no rock formations to hide. If she had gone for the closest boulder formations, she would have been found though, because they searched those formations extensively, see attached photo for an example.

It is uphill to the boulder formations from the trailer location and only .5 miles away, downhill back to the trailer, so getting back would have made more sense for me if I thought I was in heat trouble. But RT did not mention his wife had issues with the heat during that hike.

I'll attach a few more pics so you can see landscape and trailer location in relation to the surrounding landscape. Last photo shows the wall of rocks on the western side and a orange tag showing they searched to that extend.

Some of the photos from @sroad show spaces within the rocks that could be called caves. They're just small crevices, nothing like a big cave. Also it sounded to me like RT was implying that he and BT were beyond the rock formations when she disappeared. If he thought she was in one of these "caves," it sounds like she would have to have disappeared further from the road.

While of course that's possible, I have serious doubts about his story. MOO

ETA: Here's a link to @sroad's original post. I don't know how to quote an earlier post so it includes the photos.

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

 

[rosesfromangels]

DBM.
Made my point.