Found Deceased Chile - Tom Marsh 60, Uk National, University Professor missing from a research trip, 16 September 2022

[5W's]

Is it possible that he left willfully from the site and is still alive but far away, hoping to disappear himself?

I think its not conduxive to Tom's well being to assume he left willfully, he may have had an injury and doesn't know where he is. IMO its best to find out as he is in a foreign country with different resources to get him through what has happened to him. If he was in Briton and this happened we might be able to assume this because he has resources available to aid him, as a foreigner somwhere else he may not have those things to help him in his condition or situation. He needs to be found soon for his well being so he can access those reources before perhaps its too late.

 

[Hexe]

https://www.google.com/maps/uv?pb=!1s0x9691caf51e5ad7c7%3A0x2d8ca36a6354e263!3m1!7e115!4shttps%3A%2F%2Flh5.googleusercontent.com%2Fp%2FAF1QipOPhWU-N39OT2M873A-NUrlinn_o2pWo-HfMFyT%3Dw213-h160-k-no!5svisitor%20centre%20la%20silla%20chile%20-%20Google%20Search!15sCgIgAQ&imagekey=!1e10!2sAF1QipNoQMvVhYyDcWrLoqw1cTopDbvn0oS8NHRCXJPu&hl=en&sa=X&ved=2ahUKEwjG-be5xIf7AhUUJjQIHZSNDbAQoip6BAhDEAM

Here are some photos from Google in some one can see buildings of the property. I saw one where visitors were petting the donkeys on the road outside. I thought it was with this set but its not.

Donkeys at La Silla

Donkeys at La Silla

www.eso.org

La Silla donkeys are feral. You can pet'em if they are in a good mood, but you cannot ride them.

 

[TootsieFootsie]

He may have had something like amnesia or something that affected his memory and wandered off the path.

I imagine his family wouldn't think that he would disappear on purpose, unless something out of the ordinary had happened.

 

[Hexe]

He may have had something like amnesia or something that affected his memory and wandered off the path.

I imagine his family wouldn't think that he would disappear on purpose, unless something out of the ordinary had happened.

That's what I suspect from the beginning. The medical event that left him confused and at least partially amnesiac and made him to get lost in the mountains.

 

[TootsieFootsie]

La Silla donkeys are feral.

They're still donkeys.

 

[Hexe]

They're still donkeys.

Feral donkeys are, you know, feral. That means they were not trained to carry a human on their backs (because donkeys and horses are not born with this skill, they have to be taught that). That in turn means that someone attempting to mount them would get a nice set of kicks and (nasty) bites in reply. So no, it is absolutely impossible that Tom would ride one of these animals and it is even less possible that any of these donkeys would carry him to any farm, as they are feral, so they have no farm to return to.

Can we kindly end the donkey topic on that? It leads nowhere.

 

[dotr]

o/t Wishful thinking

Travels with My Donkey: One Man and His Ass on a Pilgri…

Having no knowledge of Spanish and even less about the …

www.goodreads.com

''Having no knowledge of Spanish and even less about the care and feeding of donkeys, Tim Moore, Britain's indefatigable traveling Everyman, sets out on a pilgrimage to the cathedral at Santiago de Compostela with a donkey named Shinto as his companion. Armed only with a twelfth-century handbook to the route and expert advice on donkey management from Robert Louis Stevenson, Moore and his four-legged companion travel the ancient five-hundred-mile route from St. Jean Pied-de-Port, on the French side of the Pyrenees, to the cathedral at Santiago de Compostela which houses the remains of Spain's patron saint, St. James.''

 

[WingsOverTX]

Is it possible that he left willfully from the site and is still alive but far away, hoping to disappear himself?

99.9% chance of No. They could trace that I think. LE seems sure he went walked into the desert. It's too bad the translation problem leaves us unable to clearly know why LE thinks that.

It is only a week away from TM being missing two months. It is only two weeks away from LE likely discontinuing their active search.

I'm not optimistic his body will be found. Why did this happen? The desert keeps its secrets. But the motive for him disappearing or "being disappeared" should be discoverable (and may already to known IMO).

jmo

 

[Hexe]

99.9% chance of No. They could trace that I think. LE seems sure he went walked into the desert. It's too bad the translation problem leaves us unable to clearly know why LE thinks that.

I suppose it's because they have no evidence whatsoever of a foul play and some evidence that he left the observatory. And that observatory is dab smack in the middle of a desert (mountainous desert, to be precise) and there is nowhere else to go.

 

[acutename]

I think it may be possible because perhaps some may not have internet access or even cellphones. And Tom may look different in appearance as well so the sheep herders may think he is a drifter and wanted to help him perhaps for odd jobs he could do. I thinkin this case its possible he may have amnesia or some other mental issues as not realizing his life. Hopefully its not forced, though. It may be rural enough for these factors to come into play.

google tells me that it is 2-10% humidity around La Stila- the Atacama Desert-

Travel to ESO La Silla

ESO, European Organisation for Astronomical Research in the Southern Hemisphere

www.eso.org

so unless some one is giving him water, he only had a few days, IMO

Atacama Desert - Windows to the Universe

www.windows2universe.org

Not seeing a lot of predators

Animals in the Atacama desert? | Say Hueque​

grey fox and scorpions (ouch)​

the La Stila site tells visitors that they truck in water every day
and it has a fox picture in one of the sub sites.

Weekend Visits to the La Silla Observatory

ESO is happy to welcome interested visitors at the La Silla Observatory. Guided tours for tourists and the general public are offered every Saturday except during July and August, due to the risk of snowstorms in winter time.

www.eso.org

Q: Since Paranal is such a remote and dry site, how are the essentials provided?​

A: Paranal is a very arid and isolated place, where no trace of water can be found, and the closest town is about 100 km away. For this reason, everything needed must be brought in specially. The 60 000 litres of water that are used each day are delivered by truck from Antofagasta, the capital of the region, located some 120 km north.https://www.eso.org/public/about-eso/faq/faq-vlt-paranal/

 

[vls12345]

Just came across this thread. An article from yesterday:

Casi dos meses sin Tom Marsh: Estas son las novedades ante expectativa de su familia

Con la presencia de la familia de Thomas Marsh en el campamento base, y luego de que el fiscal Adrián Vega decidiera extender las labores de búsqueda hasta el 15 de noviembre, Carabineros y la PDI continúan con los rastreos para dar con el paradero del científico británico.

www.diarioeldia.cl

(From Google translate):

Almost two months without Tom Marsh: These are the news before the expectation of his family

With the presence of Thomas Marsh's family at the base camp, and after the prosecutor Adrián Vega decided to extend the search until November 15, Police and the PDI continue the searches to find the whereabouts of the British scientist .

 

[annpats]

If he was in Briton and this happened

The country is Britain.

 

[5W's]

google tells me that it is 2-10% humidity around La Stila- the Atacama Desert-

Travel to ESO La Silla

ESO, European Organisation for Astronomical Research in the Southern Hemisphere

www.eso.org

so unless some one is giving him water, he only had a few days, IMO

Atacama Desert - Windows to the Universe

www.windows2universe.org

Not seeing a lot of predators

Animals in the Atacama desert? | Say Hueque​

grey fox and scorpions (ouch)​

the La Stila site tells visitors that they truck in water every day
and it has a fox picture in one of the sub sites.

Weekend Visits to the La Silla Observatory

ESO is happy to welcome interested visitors at the La Silla Observatory. Guided tours for tourists and the general public are offered every Saturday except during July and August, due to the risk of snowstorms in winter time.

www.eso.org

Q: Since Paranal is such a remote and dry site, how are the essentials provided?​

A: Paranal is a very arid and isolated place, where no trace of water can be found, and the closest town is about 100 km away. For this reason, everything needed must be brought in specially. The 60 000 litres of water that are used each day are delivered by truck from Antofagasta, the capital of the region, located some 120 km north.https://www.eso.org/public/about-eso/faq/faq-vlt-paranal/

Santa Maria is 60kms away. There may be homes before that.

 

[5W's]

Unique landscapes in Chile, the Atacama Desert

www.itinari.com

This article is from 2019 and in the context of this article the last blooming of those lovely flowers was in 2017. I wonder since these flowers bloom in September and Tom was at La Silla in September I wonder if its possible he thought he could get a view of this. Although it has to occur when he is visiting, Al Nina has to be occuring in September in order for the flowers to bloom as well so the combination has to happen at the right time. I wonder if it happened this year in September 2022?

 

[Kemug]

Unique landscapes in Chile, the Atacama Desert

www.itinari.com

This article is from 2019 and in the context of this article the last blooming of those lovely flowers was in 2017. I wonder since these flowers bloom in September and Tom was at La Silla in September I wonder if its possible he thought he could get a view of this. Although it has to occur when he is visiting, Al Nina has to be occuring in September in order for the flowers to bloom as well so the combination has to happen at the right time. I wonder if it happened this year in September 2022?

Nevertheless, he wouldn't (in his right mind) have gone out see them at night.

 

[5W's]

Nevertheless, he wouldn't (in his right mind) have gone out see them at night.

I agree. I was just thinking if it was in the morning a quick trip to check them out and be back shortly since it is the desert area he was going in. Just an idea.

 

[5W's]

google tells me that it is 2-10% humidity around La Stila- the Atacama Desert-

Travel to ESO La Silla

ESO, European Organisation for Astronomical Research in the Southern Hemisphere

www.eso.org

so unless some one is giving him water, he only had a few days, IMO

Atacama Desert - Windows to the Universe

www.windows2universe.org

Not seeing a lot of predators

Animals in the Atacama desert? | Say Hueque​

grey fox and scorpions (ouch)​

the La Stila site tells visitors that they truck in water every day
and it has a fox picture in one of the sub sites.

Weekend Visits to the La Silla Observatory

ESO is happy to welcome interested visitors at the La Silla Observatory. Guided tours for tourists and the general public are offered every Saturday except during July and August, due to the risk of snowstorms in winter time.

www.eso.org

Q: Since Paranal is such a remote and dry site, how are the essentials provided?​

A: Paranal is a very arid and isolated place, where no trace of water can be found, and the closest town is about 100 km away. For this reason, everything needed must be brought in specially. The 60 000 litres of water that are used each day are delivered by truck from Antofagasta, the capital of the region, located some 120 km north.https://www.eso.org/public/about-eso/faq/faq-vlt-paranal/

ESO - La Silla Paranal Observatory

ESO is the European Organisation for Astronomical Research in the Southern Hemisphere. It operates the La Silla Paranal Observatory in Chile and has its headquarters in Garching, near Munich, Germany.

www.eso.org

This is a different location. There are those of us who can get confused by the differing locations so precision does help the rest of us or confusion can set in, thank you.

European Southern Observatory (ESO) | Britannica

European Southern Observatory (ESO), astrophysical organization founded in 1962. Its activities are financially supported and administered by a consortium of 14 European countries—Austria, Belgium, the Czech Republic, Denmark, Finland, France, Germany, Great Britain, Italy, the Netherlands,

www.britannica.com

 

[StillDiggin]

Unique landscapes in Chile, the Atacama Desert

www.itinari.com

This article is from 2019 and in the context of this article the last blooming of those lovely flowers was in 2017. I wonder since these flowers bloom in September and Tom was at La Silla in September I wonder if its possible he thought he could get a view of this. Although it has to occur when he is visiting, Al Nina has to be occuring in September in order for the flowers to bloom as well so the combination has to happen at the right time. I wonder if it happened this year in September 2022?

Tom has posted a pic of a plant from Chile on his fb From previous visits, although I think he was after a pic of a viscacha (Like a rabbit) which I think are quite hard to get a shot of. Perhaps this is a possibilly, he wondered off the trail chasing this and something unfortunate happened. Not the first time I’ve heard this, didn’t Paul Miller wonder off the palm oasis trail in California trying to take pics of sheep only to be found deceased months later.

 

[5W's]

La Higuera, Chile - Wikipedia

en.wikipedia.org

The area around La Silaa appears to be quite rural. The population is very small, but apparently there are vineyards in the La Higuera area.

Familia de Tom Marsh llega a Chile para supervisar búsqueda: se extenderá hasta el 15 de noviembre

Durante este fin de semana se levantó el campamento de Bomberos que estaba participando en la investigación para dar con el paradero del científico Thomas Marsh, quien se cree que se perdió en el camino que comunica el Observatorio La Silla con Punta Colorada.

www.diarioeldia.cl

I don't see why there can't be sheepfolds here as well if there are small vinyards here. Some places like Santa Maria have nice accommodations so its not entirelt rural,
https://higuera.cl/home/ In Santa Maria they grow all kinds of fruit.

 

[5W's]

No farm animals, donkeys included, roam these mountains free.

https://higuera.cl/home/

Its more than just one type of climate and land apparently. So its possible some of those animals may not be feral.