CA CA - Barbara Thomas, 69, from Bullhead City AZ, disappeared in Mojave desert, 12 July 2019 #8

[Lilibet]

My heart goes out to you and your family @dbdb11. Putting all your recent thoughts together in one post feels like getting kicked in the stomach...so I can only imagine how you all feel. Hang in there.

 

[Stripehaven]

ETA to fix this stupid thing

One more reason I think an abduction is highly unlikely: if our theoretical super lucky random abductor came across BT in that small window, I’m certain the sight of that 5th wheel (which was parked where she crossed the road, right?) would suggest at least one other person nearby - a possible witness, possibly armed.

They had a helicopter in Sheryl's case and did not find her at 2/1/2 miles out over 4 days searching.. She was alive and well with a barking dog.. Just saying.
They had a great SAR team for Barbara.
But you would have to have a lot of people along the road where the 5th wheel was parked separated by 6 foot and walk a straight line to where RT lost sight of her to find her IF she was past out or deceased in a shaded spot where she attempted to hide from heat sickness that turned worse. A helicopter stays high and is not near the ground and can't look under large rocks and bushes. Dogs work sometimes and miss sometimes.
It happens ..
Common sense says she is there and needs to be found..

In Sheryl’s case she was attempting to stay concealed during the day. I’m sure that complicated the search.

 

[dbdb11]

Oh, thank you. I guess I'm not familiar with all these terms.
Well, in that case we don't have any indication or reason to believe that what they did for a living has anything to do with her disappearance since nothing has been reported about it.
I would imagine that kind of thing would be very hard to keep secret. Imo

WS also kindly asked us not to talk about the MLM.

 

[SDHELPS]

I have no doubt that LE continues to work Barbara's case. Please don't think for a second that this has gone cold.

I couldn't agree more! IMO, LE has been running a parallel investigation from day one. When doing this, there is very little that comes out from investigators. On one hand they investigate/search based on the information given by RT in the beginning. Again MOO, there is likely information that was given that immediately did not add up, hence two investigations going on at the same time.

It is also MOO that the trip to Hong Kong was the absolute trigger to Barbara's disappearance. I can't expand further on this and remain within the TOS guidelines...

@dbdb11 my continued thoughts and prayers go out to you all during this most difficult time. I do believe you will have answers though.

 

[Tillicum]

abandoned is even more probable than abducted imo.

Wonder if RT felt abandoned when Barbara went to Hong Kong.

 

[HongKongPhooey]

@dbdb11 I think I speak for the majority when I say we are so appreciative of your input. We would have hardly anything to go on if it wasn't for your "pointers".

Barb will be found, we're still with you all the way.

 

[dbdb11]

Just gathering and summarizing the recent thoughts and opinions of @dbdb11...



Barbara did not wander the wrong way by accident.



RT was not always the mellow upstanding guy he currently appears to be.



RT is telling the truth that LE called him deceptive on the polygraph.
Barbara did not get lost at the end of their stroll.



In reply to theory that she was not intending to return home from Hong Kong @dbdb11 agrees.



RT feels he could have gotten away with whatever happened anytime.



It’s more likely Barbara was abandoned than abducted.

BBM

I want to clarify I have no reason to think she did not plan on returning to the US. I agree with the thought. I agree with the potential fear adding to a potential motive. I do not believe she intended to stay in HK.

 

[Stripehaven]

i can only speculate on motive. LE asked me the same thing...

if you want i can imagine a bunch of different motives for you. most have already been brought up in previous threads.

the timing of the whole thing is most suspect, imo.

in RT's own words (in a private email)

"it could have happened anytime."

that is not even thinly veiled imo. this mf has his ducks in a line, and feels he could have gotten away with it whenever he wanted.

I’m certain she is elsewhere, whether before or after the stop at Kelbaker. I bet there was indeed a walk, elsewhere, and she was walking ahead of him at that location. And something happened.

I can think of a few motives too. An afternoon of watching ID or Dateline reruns will inspire a lot of possible scenarios.

 

[Lilibet]

BBM

I want to clarify I have no reason to think she did not plan on returning to the US. I agree with the thought. I agree with the potential fear adding to a potential motive. I do not believe she intended to stay in HK.

Thanks for clarifying @dbdb11. I deleted that portion of the post.

 

[Chingaling]

Hi all WS's I'm newly
signed up and trying to figure this thing out.

 

[CSIDreamer]

Hi all WS's I'm newly
signed up and trying to figure this thing out.

Hi

 

[Lilibet]

Hi all WS's I'm newly
signed up and trying to figure this thing out.

Welcome Chingaling. Just jump in.

 

[dbdb11]

Hi all WS's I'm newly
signed up and trying to figure this thing out.

Thank you for being here.

 

[10ofRods]

Perhaps the annual Canada trip was postponed or canceled because BT was going to Hong Kong? MOO

Sure. But it still means she got to go see her family, and he did not.

 

[Chingaling]

Thank you for being here.

Thank you and this case is what finally made me sign up.I'm pulling for Barb.So many times I have wanted to chime in but I''l be the first to get booted probably.Still right now my mind is blank.

 

[Tillicum]

Hi all WS's I'm newly
signed up and trying to figure this thing out.

Welcome! New eyes are always a good thing around here.

 

[CSIDreamer]

Sure. But it still means she got to go see her family, and he did not.

Family dynamics can be rough in the best of marriages.

 

[Chingaling]

Thank you all for the warm welcome

 

[oceanstarryeyes]

Those may all be red flags, or they may not be.
The things you list could all be perfectly normal, as well:

If wearing a bikini, dbdb11 has told us that is typical for Barbara’s style, that she was comfortable being dressed like that.

And if wearing a bikini, there’s generally no pockets to carry ID. It was a short jaunt, so she likely wouldn’t feel the need to carry it, anyway.

No cell phone or email (I wasn’t aware of no personal email, is there a link for that someone can kindly steer me to?) may just show she didn’t embrace technology or care enough to learn.

Putting a phone on speakerphone is common for many people. My husband, for example, does that for practically all his calls. It is just his preferred method.

IMO

BTs son said the way they communicated was through email.

 

[10ofRods]

we had no reason to believe so. i personally believe she would not have told my family if she was ill, in order to keep from adding to our worries: she was scheduled to arrive in hk on the 23rd of july to visit her brother who was in hospital.

i do not believe she was ill, and saw her in may of 2018, and she did not say anything about being ill, nor did she show any signs of being ill. she did say, 'this is the longest i've been without robbie since we got married' i didn't think much of it...

she would have kept illness to herself unless it was life or death, imo.

i say that because generally bullens are stubborn like that...

And, within a year of being without Robbie for the "longest time" since they were married...she decides she wants another taste of life without Robbie (for another time).

If she'd keep an illness to herself, I'm pretty sure she'd be pretty tightlipped about any other problems.

Thank you for sharing your memories of Barbara with us. I want this case to get to the point where you don't have to focus on sleuthing her past and worrying about what happened.