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

[Richmond]

Maybe worth adding as well, whenever Barb called her brother in HK the call was on speaker phone and RT was listening. The same is true for when my dad or his wife got hold of Barb. Until July 12 there was never any reason for anyone to think anything of this.

I liked this post, but in truth, very much dislike the larger implication of what this means in the context of Barbara’s disappearance.

@dbdb11, I feel for you and your family as you reassess the meaning of past interactions with/between Barb and Robbie. You are a tireless advocate and searcher for your aunt. I hope you and your dad and your family will find out the truth soon and be able to bring her home.

 

[al66pine]

Family Communications, Finding BT?

Do you count social media? Or are you asking if someone has flown from Indiana or Hong Kong to talk to RT face to face? Email and phone are direct, right? But what about social media?

@10ofRods Hope this is clearer than my earlier muddy post.
Asking @dbdb11 rhetorically if he could anticipate any kind of joint RT & BT fam communications in the future - whether in person (same room), or by Skype or other vid conferencing - could result in anything worthwhile to help find BT.
I realize w fam geog being quite scattered, an actual (analog) sit-down does not seem likely. But maybe someone, even just one, from BT's branch could be at same location/room w RT? Then again, I sense that even BT's extended fam is sparse.
I had not really thought much about email (rather slow, no way to judge subtle reactions/facial expressions, etc.) or non-vid phone (w more than 2-3 ppl, may be hard to coordinate the conversations).
I'm sure someone here can offer more help/improvements on this, re soc media.

Just something for dbdb11 to consider. Or not.

 

[al66pine]

RSBMFF
The son stated he believed RT was involved in his interview.
There are numerous options. Facetime is one example. Virtual videoconferencing/phone are options.
None of these require travel, loss of context which can occur in the written word. This can be done in real time, and on short notice.
Typing is not required, although for business I usually have one person keep a record.
Most of these are cost effective.
In business this as well enables me to be reviewing documents without a phone attached to my ear.
It allows groups of people to be involved similar to speakerphone. Everyone can hear and respond accordingly.

@Leney Thanks for your post.

^ Seems like good ideas for @dbdb11 to consider.
( I could not remember name Facetime, have not personally used it.)

Thanks again.

 

[NoNameNoSlogan]

DELETE (didn't mean to reply).

 

[al66pine]

Listening in/Speaker Phone on Phone calls?

Maybe worth adding as well, whenever Barb called her brother in HK the call was on speaker phone and RT was listening. The same is true for when my dad or his wife got hold of Barb. Until July 12 there was never any reason for anyone to think anything of this.

@dbdb11 Agreeing w you - the July 12 events may put a new spin on this ^ for you & fam. Maybe RT is nosy and/or controlling.

One thing that came to mind: the speaker phone feature simply makes it unnecessary for a person on call (BT) not to be bothered w repeating minutia of conversation to another (RT) after hanging up. Sometimes I yearn for the extension phone that some seniors (like RT, BT, me, and others) grew up with. jmo. just possibilities.

 

[Lilibet]

Maybe worth adding as well, whenever Barb called her brother in HK the call was on speaker phone and RT was listening. The same is true for when my dad or his wife got hold of Barb. Until July 12 there was never any reason for anyone to think anything of this.

@dbdb11 Did RT also participate in the calls, or just listen? I assume Barb informed her family that they were on speaker phone and RT was there? I’ve gotten annoyed with a friend who put me on speaker phone when others were present and didn’t tell me. Not that I said anything private, but I had the expectation of privacy and felt it was violated.

 

[al66pine]

Ice for RV?

Would people in RVs take ice on a trip routinely? Cold drinks in the fridge of course. Ice seems odd. But again, I'm in the uk and wouldn't routinely have it at home even. It's 31 degrees here today, not quite the desert tho

@HongKongPhooey Thanks for your post w a good question. .
Before starting trip, some RVer's routinely empty their icemaker ice from home freezer into RV freezer, while others stop at C-store or gas station to buy ice for RV freezer.
Also some RVers keep an ice chest/cooler/Yeti/Rtic in their pickup truck and keep it stocked w ice and bevvies in the truck to drink on daytrips in the truck, while leaving RV behind typically at campground.
So, yes, keeping or buying ice for RV and/or for truck is a practice I've commonly seen in my several yrs of RV full-timing. Jmo.

Also 31C = 87.8 F. They hiked in temps of 37.7- 40C or 100-104 F. So, yes, ice in my drink pls.

 

[k-mac]

I don't think it matters too much the word for word verbatim between RT and the shop assistant.
it is fantastic however that this pit stop took place and there is cctv

so...we have no confirmation barb was seen at the pitstop.
not provable she was sitting in the truck but same the other way. she likely was though.

a bag of ice......
easily explained away and relevant for their picnic day trip.

LE confirming to DB there is photo evidence (that we are not privy to) of barb out there that morning.

imo she has to be at worst somewhere between the service station and the Mojave.
anyone know the distance between the two exactly?

and also any other tourist spots between the two?

apologies if I have missed a posting on these specifics.

 

[Lilibet]

I don't think it matters too much the word for word verbatim between RT and the shop assistant.
it is fantastic however that this pit stop took place and there is cctv

so...we have no confirmation barb was seen at the pitstop.
not provable she was sitting in the truck but same the other way. she likely was though.

a bag of ice......
easily explained away and relevant for their picnic day trip.

LE confirming to DB there is photo evidence (that we are not privy to) of barb out there that morning.

imo she has to be at worst somewhere between the service station and the Mojave.
anyone know the distance between the two exactly?

and also any other tourist spots between the two?

apologies if I have missed a posting on these specifics.

I have no answers, and may have missed something, but thanks for the summary and getting us moving forward again.

 

[oceanblueeyes]

Listening in/Speaker Phone on Phone calls?


@dbdb11 Agreeing w you - the July 12 events may put a new spin on this ^ for you & fam. Maybe RT is nosy and/or controlling.

One thing that came to mind: the speaker phone feature simply makes it unnecessary for a person on call (BT) not to be bothered w repeating minutia of conversation to another (RT) after hanging up. Sometimes I yearn for the extension phone that some seniors (like RT, BT, me, and others) grew up with. jmo. just possibilities.

I don't find that unusual at all. When our children, friends or grandchildren call my hubby he always puts his phone on speaker.

That way we both can hear, and both of us can converse with whomever is on the phone.

Our kids do the same when we call them so their wife or husband can hear us too, and both can talk to us at the same time.

Imo, If Barbara did this it shows what she had to say or what was being said back she had nothing to hide that she didn't want him to hear.

Imo, it shows their relationship was an open, and honest one. I know many elderly couples who do the same thing.

Imoo

 

[Hair of the Dog]

RT did NOT mention he had a disability. The OP said the attendant, Mike, thought it was to imply a disability.

Yikes! Please accept my apologies, I didn't mean to "assume" because we all know what happens then and apparently it has. Mea culpa @sillybilly .

ETA: Please don't hesitate to edit/delete my original post.

 

[Nikynoo]

Apparently Robert's attorney, Eric Anderson, who gave a statement in the Indiana news, is no longer representing him. What might this mean to an intelligent business man? No need for a lawyer anymore cause the heat is passed?

Out of interest, how do you know this?

 

[MsBetsy]

I don't find that unusual at all. When our children, friends or grandchildren call my hubby he always puts his phone on speaker.

That way we both can hear, and both of us can converse with whomever is on the phone.

Our kids do the same when we call them so their wife or husband can hear us too, and both can talk to us at the same time.

Imo, If Barbara did this it shows what she had to say or what was being said back she had nothing to hide that she didn't want him to hear.

Imo, it shows their relationship was an open, and honest one. I know many elderly couples who do the same thing.

Imoo

Yes, my dad always speaks to everyone on speaker phone. I find it very annoying but apparently it's easier for him.

 

[CSIDreamer]

You are exactly right. You learn to quickly size up a gas station to see how easy it is to get in and out and how many cars are there, etc. But there’s no need to unhitch. If you’re smart, you fill up your truck before hitching up. And you park in an easy spot if you just need ice or snacks.

This is a non-issue. There was nothing suspicious about RT parking across the street. The attendant misunderstood. I suspect RT said something like “My wife would have to help me get in and out” [of the gas station] when he explained why he came across the street and entered the store in a roundabout way.

Nothing to see here folks.

I'm just wondering why he even mentioned it at all. Do you normally tell a cashier where/why you parked the way you did? Is an RV unusual enough in Needles that everyone would have been gawking at it or something?

 

[CSIDreamer]

Ok, but even if she thought the phone was valuable it really is not an indication that she would or would not have wanted other expensive things.
Since they both loved camping and the outdoors, maybe she had no problem spending money on an RV, a plane, or a boat.
Do we even know how much money each one of them made or how they decided to spend their money?

I'm not sure how we would know how Barabara felt about what they spent their money on or how much each of them made without knowing the details.

Did she make more money than he did? Did they argue over money? Did one spend more money than the other? Did they each contribute equally to the bills and expenses? Did they live beyond their means?
Without knowing any of the details it's impossible to know whether one did not approve of the others spending habits. Imo

JMO valuable and expensive are relative words. I think in terms of a gift I might attach valuable and expensive to the giver of the gift. There have been times in my life I felt like I was given a valuable and expensive gift based on the situation of the giver, not mine personally. I'm not saying, hinting, or inferring anything about her family's finances, just another viewpoint.

 

[CSIDreamer]

Boat, Plane, RV Purchases?

@Tillicum Thanks for post. I have to wonder too.
A person might turn down a gift, if donee perceived/misperceived the $ spent on gift as a strain on donor's budget at that time. May tell donor it is too valuable or may give other reason.

That same person may not object to spouse's purchase of boat, plane, RV. I doubt we actually know source of funds to buy these. May be from her $. OTOH, as someone insinuated, BT may have raised Cain about one or all of these purchases.
jmo, as possibilities.

I totally missed this and said it too.

 

[MsBetsy]

The most common reason is that the lawyer is not being paid or there aren't funds to pay the attorney in the future. Another reason could be because the attorney doesn't practice the area of law required in the future.

Or maybe whatever they were furiously working on did not lead to anything useful. Imo

 

[CSIDreamer]

I don't think it matters too much the word for word verbatim between RT and the shop assistant.
it is fantastic however that this pit stop took place and there is cctv

so...we have no confirmation barb was seen at the pitstop.
not provable she was sitting in the truck but same the other way. she likely was though.

a bag of ice......
easily explained away and relevant for their picnic day trip.

LE confirming to DB there is photo evidence (that we are not privy to) of barb out there that morning.

imo she has to be at worst somewhere between the service station and the Mojave.
anyone know the distance between the two exactly?

and also any other tourist spots between the two?

apologies if I have missed a posting on these specifics.

About an hour between the convenience store and where they stopped to hike. I asked earlier for timeline purposes. But I can't remember miles wise.

 

[GordianKnot]

I'm just wondering why he even mentioned it at all. Do you normally tell a cashier where/why you parked the way you did? Is an RV unusual enough in Needles that everyone would have been gawking at it or something?

BBM:

Yeah. This. I'm wondering, too.

A lot.

I find it weird.

In fact, I find that whole conversation RT purportedly had with the cashier weird.
It sounds forced.

To me, it almost sounded like RT mentioned "his wife" just to establish with an independent witness the fact that "his wife" was waiting for him in the RV.

JMO.

 

[happyday]

The main thing I get from the gas station stop (whether or not the attendant misinterpreted what R.T. said) is that it was made very clear that his WIFE WAS OUT THERE. (But parked far enough away not to be able to see her.)

This could be idle chit chat or a purposeful thing to say. Who knows, but I think it’s odd unnecessary information, especially considering the attendant said he was “naggy.”