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

[happyday]

There is a reason LE has not provided the public with more details about Barbara being missing. Three weeks have passed and not even a press conference asking the public for help. Nothing.

Their silence is telling. LE has so much information that will be out in the open once the investigation is completed.

JMO

I think so too.

 

[muddlehead]

Guessing the three state location hampers the investigation. AZ residency. Crime scene in CA. Possible abduction into NV.

 

[PommyMommy]

Is that a Ford F-350 truck?

Yes, and I'm not a car person but I will add that it's an extended cab, and a dually. I'm guessing those fenders don't come standard but I'm not sure. MOO

 

[MsMiniSleuth]

"That’s the last I ever saw of her," he said.

Husband of Woman Who Vanished During Mojave Desert Hike: 'I Just Want Her Back'

And that quote, IMO, says it all. He knew he was not going to see her alive again. Either he has a very bad command of expressing himself, or as the police he said felt, he is being very deceptive.

 

[10ofRods]

I too think the LE silence is telling. If the dogs found no scent at all, LE has to be thinking that perhaps she was never there. If it is true that a search warrant was served on RT, then the direction of this is going toward a criminal investigation.

I think the family and friends should hire a private investigator in future, someone who is former LE and can get information to and from the official investigation. That is, if they're feeling that the investigation isn't moving forward. It's complicated, because LE keeps cards close and one family member is a self-described POI.

Perhaps this could be crowd-sourced (I don't know if that's ever been done). Or hire an attorney merely to get LE's attention to their concerns, including whatever information the family has about a possible abduction or murder. By "family," I mean people besides RT.

I think she could still be out there (so many people go missing in the desert, dogs find nothing, then later they are found, scent is just so scant and the wind is a factor). However, the reasons why she would be off trail and out of a narrow search radius still deserve investigation.

 

[sumzero]

And that quote, IMO, says it all. He knew he was not going to see her alive again. Either he has a very bad command of expressing himself, or as the police he said felt, he is being very deceptive.

Not necessarily. He's recounting events of that particular day. This happened, then this happened, and the this happened. And, since he didn't see her ahead of him or at the trailer, that's the last he ever saw of her that day (the period for which he was recounting the events).

 

[Kapua]

Yes, and I'm not a car person but I will add that it's an extended cab, and a dually. I'm guessing those fenders don't come standard but I'm not sure. MOO

Thanks, PommyMommy, I added a description as well as a picture.

 

[iscaremyself]

This Google Maps shows the locations of the Primitive Campsite and Kelbaker Rd & Hidden Hill Rd intersection:

Google Maps

that's uphill.. she would have seen the highway looking right before reaching the campground.
Between the camper and the rocks it's flat, you can't see the highway..it's lower than natural terrain as much as 4 feet.

 

[ChuckMaureen]

that's uphill.. she would have seen the highway looking right before reaching the campground.
Between the camper and the rocks it's flat, you can't see the highway..it's lower than natural terrain as much as 4 feet.

My main point was, there may have been other people in the area (maybe at that campsite) and may have seen or heard something since they would have had a broad view of the rock formations.

 

[10ofRods]

Yes, could have been dumped if they lost their nerve, but then she wouldn't be in hospital.
I can't believe that nobody has checked hospitals for unidentified admissions by now, though.

This case has been well publicized. A person who remained unidentified in a hospital would end up being publicized as well. I'm sure all hospitals in the region would have a way of figuring out Barbara's identity pretty quickly, especially as the admission would have occurred on the day she went missing, and hospitals would report an unidentified person to their LE resource officer right away.

I'm sure there's a lot that's been done that we don't know about, as well. My fear is that with SBCounty's enormous size and the sheer number of calls the Sheriff gets daily, the attention to Barbara's case will fade. The missing posters would keep her case more visible. There are posters still up at Grand Canyon for people missing years ago...occasionally someone is found.

 

[ChuckMaureen]

1) LE is too quiet.
2) No evidence of struggle, abduction.
3) No call for travelers who may have been in the area to come forward with information.
4) BT's disappearance was too clean, complete.
5) Finally...where's the "beer"?

As time moves along, so do my opinions and I must say, I now believe this might be realized to have been a 'perfect' crime.

The culprit just might get away with it.

 

[IceIce9]

Not necessarily. He's recounting events of that particular day. This happened, then this happened, and the this happened. And, since he didn't see her ahead of him or at the trailer, that's the last he ever saw of her that day (the period for which he was recounting the events).

So many of his expressions are concerning. “That’s the last I ever saw of her” sounds final, as if he knows he will never see her again.

When he referred to the “crime scene” grabbed my attention. How does he know there was a crime? How does he know where the “crime scene” is if indeed a crime did take place?

His description of what she was wearing, and stating his thoughts that she was abducted and taken to Las Vegas because she was wearing a bikini and holding a beer? How did he know she was holding a beer? Maybe she finished the beer before she reached the trailer? If she wasn’t able to get into the trailer did he think she just stood out by the road holding her beer can?

 

[IceIce9]

1) LE is too quiet.
2) No evidence of struggle, abduction.
3) No call for travelers who may have been in the area to come forward with information.
4) BT's disappearance was too clean, complete.
5) Finally...where's the "beer"?

As time moves along, so do my opinions and I must say, I now believe this might be realized to have been a 'perfect' crime.

The culprit just might get away with it.

Good list, and I would add no request for businesses to check camera footage, where they might have stopped to get gas, food, etc. Often in missing persons cases requests are made by LE to check video. For example, what if they stopped for gas or food and a strange man was spotted following her?

And dogs picked up no scent.

 

[Kapua]

This case has been well publicized. A person who remained unidentified in a hospital would end up being publicized as well. I'm sure all hospitals in the region would have a way of figuring out Barbara's identity pretty quickly, especially as the admission would have occurred on the day she went missing, and hospitals would report an unidentified person to their LE resource officer right away.

I'm sure there's a lot that's been done that we don't know about, as well. My fear is that with SBCounty's enormous size and the sheer number of calls the Sheriff gets daily, the attention to Barbara's case will fade. The missing posters would keep her case more visible. There are posters still up at Grand Canyon for people missing years ago...occasionally someone is found.

LE was able to solve Mollie Tibbett's case due to a video clip turned in by a resident with a security camera. This happened weeks after her abduction. People are busy, especially this time of year, and can be unaware of events. The public can be the key to solving a case. The more attention that we can draw to this case, the greater likelihood that it will be solved, IMHO.

 

[Kapua]

Guessing the three state location hampers the investigation. AZ residency. Crime scene in CA. Possible abduction into NV.

That's why I've been wondering if the FBI would be willing to help. ETA: Maybe they are helping and we don't know about that yet. MOO

 

[AnnaGrace]

1) LE is too quiet.
2) No evidence of struggle, abduction.
3) No call for travelers who may have been in the area to come forward with information.
4) BT's disappearance was too clean, complete.
5) Finally...where's the "beer"?

As time moves along, so do my opinions and I must say, I now believe this might be realized to have been a 'perfect' crime.

The culprit just might get away with it.

I lean this direction. Not because of what RT said in interviews. I don't put much focus there. I try to keep an open mind to other's ideas of what could have happened. I stay focused on the reactions of LE, their words or lack of, but I'm still open to anything brought forth. I hope there's news of Barbara soon.

 

[MsMiniSleuth]

Not necessarily. He's recounting events of that particular day. This happened, then this happened, and the this happened. And, since he didn't see her ahead of him or at the trailer, that's the last he ever saw of her that day (the period for which he was recounting the events).

Respectfully, I disagree. 'Ever' is not required in this sentence; the stress on it, IMO, is a way of subconsciously showing more meaning that to something that he is trying to keep below the surface.

 

[AnnaGrace]

I'm just not convinced Barbara was there. There's only the word of RT. LE has said there was no evidence of her there. I take it to mean they found nothing there. I would like to be wrong. I have never seen at all, anything about whether her scent was picked up by the search dogs. I'd be interested to know. It seems they would have at least picked it up right outside the RV.

 

[MsMiniSleuth]

So many of his expressions are concerning. “That’s the last I ever saw of her” sounds final, as if he knows he will never see her again.

When he referred to the “crime scene” grabbed my attention. How does he know there was a crime? How does he know where the “crime scene” is if indeed a crime did take place?

His description of what she was wearing, and stating his thoughts that she was abducted and taken to Las Vegas because she was wearing a bikini and holding a beer? How did he know she was holding a beer? Maybe she finished the beer before she reached the trailer? If she wasn’t able to get into the trailer did he think she just stood out by the road holding her beer can?

Yes, with you on all those points.

What caught me also is all the detail, which really is not needed, i.e. holding the beer. It's almost as if he is relating this as something rehearsed.

 

[Hair of the Dog]

If she had to make a turn there at that intersection but got to that junction and went straight instead she would end up about a mile or so from where she was supposed to be and it might have looked to her like where they parked. If she realized she was lost she might have flagged someone down or she may have tried to find her way back. She may have waited for a time thinking the truck was stolen. She might be much further south than they think.

Or if they had had a disagreement prior to separating, she could have been standing there thinking he had driven off just to pi** her off.