CA CA - Barbara Thomas, 69, from Bullhead City AZ, disappeared in Mojave desert, 12 July 2019 #5

[cricket49]

I'm still here, just waiting for official news and holding onto what is rapidly dwindling hope that BT comes home safe.
Where is Barbara?
Chi

This must be unbearable to the family hoping for the best outcome but getting no information from LE or RT.

 

[oceanstarryeyes]

I wonder if he’s reading here, and getting worked up over any of our ideas

If he is reading here he will see that we are working toward finding BT and all what ifs has to be considered before they can be ruled out in finding solutions for BT to be found.

 

[10ofRods]

Whenever I'm "on to something" I get a panicky sense of urgency. I just got it now. Here's what I think happened to Barbara, and because I am an amateur, could be completely wrong. That's the caveat.

I think, just like RT speculates, Barbara was crossing the road, and I believe she was hit by a vehicle. They panicked and threw her in the trunk, and dumped her somewhere else. That long desert drive to Vegas, they could have been looking at scenery, reaching for something, or whatever, (on cruise control), and didn't see her.

That's what I think happened to Barbara.
LE should look for signs of this on the highway, if they haven't already.

Amateur opinion and speculation

It's certainly another possibility. People who take back roads sometimes do so because they are drinking. We had 3 fatalities just last night in my little community of 50,000 or so. Drinking and driving. Pedestrians get hit with frequency.

It's just weird that if RT was only 5 minutes behind her, that he didn't hear any of this.

But if I were LE, I wouldn't rule this out (and if she was just a bit off course and went further south to cross the road, then RT wouldn't have heard or seen anything).

I'm leaning toward more nefarious theories, but I appreciate that you're offering this one, because none of us has a clue what really happened.

Her body wouldn't be too far off a road, in that case, and would be found in the next year or two, I'd think. But it could be a lot longer than that...

In support of your theory: people go 60 mph or greater on Kelbaker; the road has little dips in it, obscuring other cars and would obscure a pedestrian. If she was in a hurry, she would be hard to see (mostly black and tan, except for her hat).

I think it must be very hard for LE to focus on all these possibilities, they're probably going to look at RT's digital footprint very closely (I hope, I hope they do).

 

[rkendmar]

Whenever I'm "on to something" I get a panicky sense of urgency. I just got it now. Here's what I think happened to Barbara, and because I am an amateur, could be completely wrong. That's the caveat.

I think, just like RT speculates, Barbara was crossing the road, and I believe she was hit by a vehicle. They panicked and threw her in the trunk, and dumped her somewhere else. That long desert drive to Vegas, they could have been looking at scenery, reaching for something, or whatever, (on cruise control), and didn't see her.

That's what I think happened to Barbara.
LE should look for signs of this on the highway, if they haven't already.

Amateur opinion and speculation

If Barbara was hit by a vehicle, picked up and placed in someone's trunk, wouldn't it have been likely that the search dogs would have hit on her scent?
Being hit by a car usually results in some body fluids being left at the spot.

 

[rosesfromangels]

It's certainly another possibility. People who take back roads sometimes do so because they are drinking. We had 3 fatalities just last night in my little community of 50,000 or so. Drinking and driving. Pedestrians get hit with frequency.

It's just weird that if RT was only 5 minutes behind her, that he didn't hear any of this.

But if I were LE, I wouldn't rule this out (and if she was just a bit off course and went further south to cross the road, then RT wouldn't have heard or seen anything).

I'm leaning toward more nefarious theories, but I appreciate that you're offering this one, because none of us has a clue what really happened.

Her body wouldn't be too far off a road, in that case, and would be found in the next year or two, I'd think. But it could be a lot longer than that...

In support of your theory: people go 60 mph or greater on Kelbaker; the road has little dips in it, obscuring other cars and would obscure a pedestrian. If she was in a hurry, she would be hard to see (mostly black and tan, except for her hat).

I think it must be very hard for LE to focus on all these possibilities, they're probably going to look at RT's digital footprint very closely (I hope, I hope they do).

Well if my "panicky meter" is right, this is what happened. I really hope this is explored.

 

[rosesfromangels]

If Barbara was hit by a vehicle, picked up and placed in someone's trunk, wouldn't it have been likely that the search dogs would have hit on her scent?
Being hit by a car usually results in some body fluids being left at the spot.

I can't answer that very logical question. IDK. Still holding tight to this notion.

 

[IceIce9]

RT refers to the crime scene, but if no one saw her being abducted, how does he know where the crime scene is? She could have been abducted at any point on the trail after he lost sight of her as well.

What if she willing accepted a ride instead of being kidnapped? For example if she became dehydrated and wasn’t thinking clearly?

 

[10ofRods]

Here's an article on crime in the Mojave Preserve area (and includes mention of the high crime rates in Barstow and Baker):

Murder in the Mojave: Homicides and Body Dumps in the California Desert

Kelbaker Rd heads out to Baker and the Preserve is right next to Barstow (one of the closer towns with a sizable population).

 

[Onebest]

Whenever I'm "on to something" I get a panicky sense of urgency. I just got it now. Here's what I think happened to Barbara, and because I am an amateur, could be completely wrong. That's the caveat.

I think, just like RT speculates, Barbara was crossing the road, and I believe she was hit by a vehicle. They panicked and threw her in the trunk, and dumped her somewhere else. That long desert drive to Vegas, they could have been looking at scenery, reaching for something, or whatever, (on cruise control), and didn't see her.

That's what I think happened to Barbara.
LE should look for signs of this on the highway, if they haven't already.

Amateur opinion and speculation

I have seen this hit and run speculation but IMO there would have been visible blood on the ground and most likely the dogs would have had a noticeable behavior change at the scene. JMO you could be right....

 

[rosesfromangels]

I have seen this hit and run speculation but IMO there would have been visible blood on the ground and most likely the dogs would have had a noticeable behavior change at the scene. JMO you could be right....

I think it should be explored further

 

[Onebest]

I think it should be explored further

You think that the highway itself should be examined more closely? I wonder if LE had any “forensics” type searches or? Would be interesting to know right?

 

[LietKynes]

I think it should be explored further

I know SAR dogs were brought out there.
Did they find a trail of where she'd walked ?
Not just by the road but along the path they both walked ?
I'd read in the last thread that dogs didn't find anything positive-- either showing she was there, or wasn't there.

 

[btfly547]

I have seen this hit and run speculation but IMO there would have been visible blood on the ground and most likely the dogs would have had a noticeable behavior change at the scene. JMO you could be right....

I thought of this theory as well then kind of ruled it out but who knows.
If someone were drinking, I think they may take a while to get Barbara in their vehicle and supposedly there was only a 5 minute window.
If not drinking, I think there would have been fresh tire marks from slamming on brakes. Also RT would have probably heard a car coming to a full stop in seconds.

 

[rosesfromangels]

Everything you smart sleuths are saying are very good responses and questions to my theory. I'm digging' in on this one. I really think it needs to be explored further.

As always, just an amateur speculation and opinion

 

[Kapua]

Here’s the thing: If BT was abducted or left the area on her own, she is not there. If she had a medical emergency and some Good Samaritan took her to the hospital, she is not there. If she was the victim of a hit and run and the driver picked her up and left her somewhere else, she is not there. If something nefarious happened in a different location earlier in the day, she is not there. The only scenarios in which she is still roughly in the location she was reportedly last seen (by RT) are if she got lost or had a medical event such as heat stroke and a team of SAR personnel searching on foot, with search dogs, in off-road vehicles, and in helicopters were unable to find her in 10 days of searching. I believe that BT is not there. You can all decide what you believe or are willing to believe. If your mind is open even 1% to the possibility that she is not there, then we need to brainstorm ways to figure out where she is and find her. My best idea is to get the word out to people who live within driving distance in every way possible. And I want to see pictures of the truck and RV as well as pics of Barbara out there because someone may have seen and admired it that day. Also, the flyer needs to be at all of the popular campgrounds in the state. I know @chihuahua is on the job, getting the word out to the trucking community. Many of us have contacted the media. What else can we do to find BT?

 

[ZsaZsa]

Realistically - who is going to abduct a 69 yr old woman? I wonder how often that has ever happened?

 

[Knox]

Realistically - who is going to abduct a 69 yr old woman? I wonder how often that has ever happened?

I would imagine a very low probability, unless she was targeted intentionally.

 

[Fukiyama]

1. Hit and run: I would be interested in knowing how long fluids from a person hit by a car would survive on asphalt on a hot, dry summer day.

2. RT's use of terms like "crime scene" and "prime suspect": Reading into a man's use of cop show lingo I would say is highly subjective. Is he incriminating himself? A person's answer to that question is going to be pretty much dictated by the person's own perception of those terms rather than RT's.

 

[Kapua]

OK, I hope this works. I added the vehicle pic to the missing flyer.

 

[Kapua]

RT refers to the crime scene, but if no one saw her being abducted, how does he know where the crime scene is? She could have been abducted at any point on the trail after he lost sight of her as well.

What if she willing accepted a ride instead of being kidnapped? For example if she became dehydrated and wasn’t thinking clearly?

What if she had heatstroke and someone came along, picked her up, and took her somewhere for medical attention? She didn't have her ID with her.