CA CA - Barbara Thomas, 69, from Bullhead City AZ, disappeared in Mojave desert, 12 July 2019 #7

[CharlestonGal]

I think this case is deader than a doornail. But, BT's son's FB is interesting, to say the least.

 

[Yvettea]

<modsnip: quoted post was removed>

How long do you believe he waited to call? There have been several times floated here.

 

[Deleted member 39678]

How long do you believe he waited to call? There have been several times floated here.

I don't know how long it was.

That's another reason why I can't criticize RT for taking too long to call for help. JMO

 

[Tripod]

Bumping for Barbara!!

 

[Officer Dibble]

My money is on their having a disagreement,not necessarily anything major, and she stormed off. Understandably he wouldn't want to disclose that detail to the media or the wider public, but he may have admitted it to the police.

Cherwell I good point and one I agree with. It is entirely possible. If you admit that it sort of automatically points a guilty finger at you, so you'd need to change the narrative slightly. I'm in your camp as most likely.

 

[ChuckMaureen]

Element of interest:
Mojave Desert | Location | Description | Map | DesertUSA

One wonders if the T's were well-prepared for desert hiking/exploration. If not, why not?
26 Tips for Surviving in the Desert - DesertUSA

Did the T's inform anyone they were to go hiking and where, that day? If not, why not?

Did the T's carry 'enough' water in their vehicle and on-hand while hiking that day?

Why did the T's also have beer? Even though beer has a diuretic effect (from alcohol), it contains calories (energy) and provides water for hydration. Maybe the Ts's purchased a high malt (more calories) and low alcohol (2-3% max) content beer. That BT was drinking beer is not so unusual a practice for some desert explorers. The unusual element regarding the beer is that RT seemed to emphasize that a woman carrying a beer while walking in the desert and wearing a bikini is an enticement for abductors. That comment still bothers me. I would like to hear RT's explanation for such a belief. Maybe RT only emphasized the beer aspect in case someone should come across a bikini-clad woman desert walker AND she's carrying a beer... that's BT! Carrying a water or soda pop? Nope. Not BT.

I apologize if this question has been asked and answered: did LE/SAR search mine shafts/breaches in the general area of a few square miles surrounding the reported 'last known location' of BT?

 

[Cherwell]

The unusual element regarding the beer is that RT seemed to emphasize that a woman carrying a beer while walking in the desert and wearing a bikini is an enticement for abductors. That comment still bothers me. I would like to hear RT's explanation for such a belief. Maybe RT only emphasized the beer aspect in case someone should come across a bikini-clad woman desert walker AND she's carrying a beer... that's BT! Carrying a water or soda pop? Nope. Not BT.

It doesn't really bother me. It strikes me as two-fold.
One, he thinks of her as an attractive woman.
Two, he has a clear mental image of his last sighting of her which is stamped on his memory.

 

[Leney]

By all indications the Thomas’s were not on Facebook nor has there been any social media trail so it seems a stretch that Robert would be up to the minute on their page.


Was it a public Facebook? If not is there any proof that Robert followed the family Facebook?


Inyo County is what 5 hours 300 miles away from Mojave? I don’t get the leap to Robert being so interested in SP’s case.


The stories aren’t even the same in the least. Car verses back country creeper. Desolate campsite and well-traveled road.


I can find the abducted from the road viable it is more, to me, the way it was presented by RT.


All imo

The Powell family were insistent from the outset that she had been abducted.
They appeared on national news programs to state this.
It matters not whether RT was on social media.
Members here questioned the relationship of the two cases.
This is a scenario in which BT could possibly be alive.

This is a thought process seen with many family members when a person goes missing.
It could of been one they arrived at themselves.

The only reason this is being questioned is because the Info Officer alluded to this in a statement, given to the Daily Mail.
Otherwise how RT decided she could of been abducted has nothing to do with the Powell case.

 

[rosesfromangels]

A lot of folks have been wondering why more info hasn't been forthcoming from LE, or additional searches organized. I *speculate* that the last thing LE needs are a bunch of (well meaning) amateurs out there looking for Barb, and they themselves requiring a rescue. It's just too hot and dangerous for untrained folks to be out there searching.

Amateur opinion and speculation

 

[Cherwell]

It matters not whether RT was on social media.

Agreed.
People do not live in a vacuum. Friends, acquaintances, and family members may give advice, speculate, offer suggestions. Don't assume that everything is RT's idea.

 

[Leney]

Element of interest:

Why did the T's also have beer? Even though beer has a diuretic effect (from alcohol), it contains calories (energy) and provides water for hydration. Maybe the Ts's purchased a high malt (more calories) and low alcohol (2-3% max) content beer. That BT was drinking beer is not so unusual a practice for some desert explorers. The unusual element regarding the beer is that RT seemed to emphasize that a woman carrying a beer while walking in the desert and wearing a bikini is an enticement for abductors. That comment still bothers me. I would like to hear RT's explanation for such a belief. Maybe RT only emphasized the beer aspect in case someone should come across a bikini-clad woman desert walker AND she's carrying a beer... that's BT! Carrying a water or soda pop? Nope. Not BT.

I apologize if this question has been asked and answered: did LE/SAR search mine shafts/breaches in the general area of a few square miles surrounding the reported 'last known location' of BT?

Perhaps he should of lied and stated she had water?
BT was a photogenic 69 year old.
Considering the number of photos of her, someone enjoyed taking her picture which I assume is RT.

Most beer consists of greater than 90% water. The issues are with dehydration and re-hydration.
Re-hydration typically takes longer if one is drinking beer with high alcohol content.

"In addition, Professor Castillo cited an earlier paper published in the Journal of Applied Physiology by SM Shirreffs and RJ Maughan at the University of Aberdeen Medical School in the United Kingdom in 1997. They discovered drinks containing 2% or less percent alcohol had no significant diuretic effect on recovery, while there was a slight negative effect on re-hydration on drinks containing 4% alcohol."

Beer for Hydration | Adventure Sports Journal

 

[Leney]

A lot of folks have been wondering why more info hasn't been forthcoming from LE, or additional searches organized. I *speculate* that the last thing LE needs are a bunch of (well meaning) amateurs out there looking for Barb, and they themselves requiring a rescue. It's just too hot and dangerous for untrained folks to be out there searching.

Amateur opinion and speculation

RBBM

You nailed it right here.

 

[Leney]

Actually I would've thought if LE suspected foul play-- they wouldn't be asking for help from the public, as they're following up on clues from the photos or other leads.
Who knows ?
LE's silence is suspicious.
Finding Barbara or what's happened is the main objective.
MOO

They as well don't appear to ask for it when they don't suspect foul play either.
Please see links below, which are only a few of many others I could of posted.

Jared Michael Negrete – The Charley Project
CA - CA - Paul Miller, 51, Canadian missing in Joshua Tree Natl Park, San Bernardino Co., 13 Jul 2018 #3
Found Safe - CA - Eric Desplinter, 33, & Gabrielle Wallace, 31, hikers, Mt. Baldy, San Bernardino Co., 6 Apr 2019

 

[Leney]

But BT was already on the trail. She did not need to cut across the desert because she was on the trail, in sight of the RV, and only 1/4 of a mile from the a/c and cold water.

Which trail ?
They are unmarked, some are not as defined, so that perhaps is where my confusion is ?

 

[Leney]

Also last photos of Mollie, Kelsey, Maleah, Hania, Mackenzie, Serenity... SOP

View attachment 199829 View attachment 199830

SBM

These cases are not a fair representation IMO
These cases, for the most part, relied heavily on CCTV to solve/piece together timelines.

How many CCTV cameras are in the desert ?

 

[10ofRods]

If BT took a wrong turn and ended up at the road but not near the RV, I wonder if there are any culverts under the road and whether they might have appeared to offer shade to someone overcome by heat.

Nope, no culverts there. Really, at that point, her best chance would have been to flag someone down.

 

[Leney]

Meanwhile, they gave RT a polygraph and a couple of days after the search ended, RT got a lawyer (who is, I believe, a criminal defense attorney - can someone confirm?)

SBMFF

If my wife's son, family, were accusing me of nefarious deeds, I would retain a lawyer as well.
Actually, I would of retained one whether they did/didn't accuse me.

 

[10ofRods]

Which trail ?
They are unmarked, some are not as defined, so that perhaps is where my confusion is ?

This is the trailhead for the main trail. This is immediately across the road from where the RV was parked when LE got there. If you were standing there, behind you would be Hidden Hill Road, which is shown by SAR photos as being searched on about day 3. But according to RT, they took this trail. If you look at the pictures we've posted of the area, this trail goes "straight" to the Granite Hills, but there is an intersecting, somewhat narrower trail about 1/4 mile in. If you head right on that trial you get to some climbable boulders and the dry creek bed. If you go left on that trail you walk parallel to the road until it comes out onto the road about a mile south of this spot.

We don't know exactly where RT and Barbara separated. He likely took one of the trails down to the creek bed, since early on, one reporter says he went to a "dry lake" to take pictures. If she followed him briefly on that side trail, then coming back, she'd have to make a turn to get back on this trail. If she never left this trail - well, you can see that it's plainly a trail and it would be very hard to get lost on it. RT says they were a mere quarter mile or so from the road when he decided to get off the main trail to take pictures...

 

[Leney]

View attachment 199982

This is the trailhead for the main trail. This is immediately across the road from where the RV was parked when LE got there. If you were standing there, behind you would be Hidden Hill Road, which is shown by SAR photos as being searched on about day 3. But according to RT, they took this trail. If you look at the pictures we've posted of the area, this trail goes "straight" to the Granite Hills, but there is an intersecting, somewhat narrower trail about 1/4 mile in. If you head right on that trial you get to some climbable boulders and the dry creek bed. If you go left on that trail you walk parallel to the road until it comes out onto the road about a mile south of this spot.

We don't know exactly where RT and Barbara separated. He likely took one of the trails down to the creek bed, since early on, one reporter says he went to a "dry lake" to take pictures. If she followed him briefly on that side trail, then coming back, she'd have to make a turn to get back on this trail. If she never left this trail - well, you can see that it's plainly a trail and it would be very hard to get lost on it. RT says they were a mere quarter mile or so from the road when he decided to get off the main trail to take pictures...

BBM

Thank you. I know the area well.
I suspect she did go down to the dry lake as well.

 

[Auntie Cipation]

Nope, no culverts there. Really, at that point, her best chance would have been to flag someone down.

I tried to take a Google car stroll along there to look, but it was of poor quality and hard to see the sides of the road clearly. But just north of where they parked, there is a creek/wash crossing. Surely there must be some kind of culvert under the road there to keep [even occasional] water off the road surface?

I know most of the speculation about her taking a wrong turn would send her farther south from the RV rather than north, but still...