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

[Twistinginthewind]

All of a sudden Mexico comes to mind .. where abductions are common and respect for human life is low. Where drug cartels run the nation..

What if there was a purpose for the walk to the rocks..
That changes everything.

And RT has a private plane that no one seems to have known about and what he used / uses it for. MOOish

 

[debbiegarcia36]

I agree and disagree. Sometimes, it is the missing person herself who is the face to the story.

The first case I ever sleuthed was Laci Peterson's. Her beautiful smile drew me in. BT's smile is also beautiful and draws me in.

In Laci's case, the local paper, the Modesto Bee, was very, very instrumental in keeping the case alive.

Unfortunately, we don't seem to have generated the same level of local interest in BT's case.

I have emailed, emailed, and emailed reporters.

I have a personal friend who reports for a small Bay Area paper. I will check in with her for ideas.

Though Laci had many advocates. Her mother was always in front of the camera pleading for help. Laci had a lot of friends who spoke of her, organized a vigils, etc. And Scott kept doing stupid things drawing additional media attention to the story.

Barb needs advocates, i.e. family members, best friends, etc. to consistently speak up and do newsworthy things to keep her story alive. An event in her neighborhood, i.e. vigil, drone fundraiser, etc.,might get the medias attention. JMO

 

[Tillicum]

Good point, and yet another aspect of her disappearance that just rankles - the location is so remote, there are no towns or local LE stations nearby (it took over 2 hours for LE to respond to RT's 911 call IIRC), there are no Media Outlets, it's in a different state (CA) than where she lives in AZ, and CA has the largest population of any state in the US, and San Bernardino County is the largest county in CA with lots of crime and people going missing all the time.
"California has been the most populous state in the United States officially... [the] current population is estimated at 39,536,653 as of July 1, 2017, by the U.S. Census Bureau."
Which State Has the Biggest Population?
The population of San Bernardino County is over 2 million people San Bernardino County, CA | Data USA, and the Sheriffs Office investigating BT's disappearance has jurisdiction for the entire County.
Even Needles, CA, the closest city, is over an hour away, and with a population of 4,800 people, has 17 recent 'mapped' crimes on SBSCO webpage:
CrimeMapping.com - Helping You Build a Safer Community
I can't think of a more tricky geographical or jurisdictional scenario under which to investigate a missing person case. Especially a person who just disappeared within minutes of walking with her husband and returning to their RV on a desolate desert highway with no witnesses. There's just no information it seems to help pinpoint what happened to her easily. It's altogether mind boggling.
Kudos to SBCSO for conducting their investigation under these difficult circumstances.
Bumping for Barbara, desperately hoping she will be found soon!
MOO

And if you add that Barbara had no presence on social media, no cell phone, no friends and no family members living close by, well, you have the ultimate perfect crime scenario. IF a crime is involved.

 

[cazador]

And RT has a private plane that no one seems to have known about and what he used / uses it for. MOOish

Everything makes sense now except him calling LE in ..
She is dead in another location and his life is over too.. LE silence makes perfect sense..
This is just a matter of time..

 

[Kapua]

Though Laci had many advocates. Her mother was always in front of the camera pleading for help. Laci had a lot of friends who spoke of her, organized a vigils, etc. And Scott kept doing stupid things drawing additional media attention to the story.

Barb needs advocates, i.e. family members, best friends, etc. to consistently speak up and do newsworthy things to keep her story alive. An event in her neighborhood, i.e. vigil, drone fundraiser, etc.,might get the medias attention. JMO

There should be flyers up all over San Bernardino County, CA and in Bullhead City, AZ. Maybe even in Las Vegas, NV. We could make ribbons in her favorite color. (I see photos of her wearing pink, coral, and navy blue).

Are there any locals here on WS? If not, maybe we can get in touch with area businesses, snail mail them some flyers, and ask them to post.

Kelsey Berreth didn't have local family or friends, but a church did a vigil for her, IIRC.

What about electronic billboards? Are there any along I-40?

 

[PommyMommy]

I think the square parking lot is here:

34.898920, -115.650160

At first, I thought it might be the Sweeney Desert Research Center (it still could be) but someone here pointed out that the terrain just didn't allow a view over the hills to the Research Center, unless Barbara climbed to the top of Granite Peak, which would be impossible given the length of the walk and their lack of equipment.

I think that place looks like a sand or gravel (probably sand) concern. I understand why LE didn't run over to this place and start investigating. Anyone at either of those two places would have had to be using binoculars, spying constantly on tourists to the Granite Hills, and then launch an abduction on the off chance that the parties were separated, all while being absent from work. LE has probably called these places to ask if anyone left work unexpectedly right then or if they saw anything unusual.

When did the parking area become square? MOO

 

[MassGuy]

There should be flyers up all over San Bernardino County, CA and in Bullhead City, AZ. Maybe even in Las Vegas, NV. We could make ribbons in her favorite color. (I see photos of her wearing pink, coral, and navy blue).

Are there any locals here on WS? If not, maybe we can get in touch with area businesses, snail mail them some flyers, and ask them to post.

Kelsey Berreth didn't have local family or friends, but a church did a vigil for her, IIRC.

What about electronic billboards? Are there any along I-40?

I’m not surprised by the lack of flyers and billboards.

In Laci’s case, she was missing, and foul play was overwhelmingly likely. She could plausibly have been kidnapped.

The same goes for Kelsey, and Mackenzie Lueck.

In this case we have a woman who is either deceased in the desert, or was murdered.

Law enforcement apparently isn’t entertaining the abduction theory at all.

For all we know, they have evidence that is telling them otherwise.

 

[10ofRods]

It's possible that that facility appears in the 360 picture that RT says BT took from a hill. I certainly think LE should talk with people at the facility. That said, I have some concerns:

• The area with buildings at those coordinates is 7.9 miles north of the intersection of Kelbaker Road/Hidden Hill Road. I don't think you can see people at one location from the other, even with binoculars. So if that was the location in the 360, what hill would the photo have been taken from? The Kelso Dunes aren't that far away, but I don't know if you can see the facility from there, and if RT and BT went to the dunes earlier in the day, it seems likely he would say so.
• While the area itself is squarish, on Google Earth most of it appears to be cleared ground with some buildings, some exposed pipes, a tallish round silo-like tower, and some blacktop driveway/parking area:View attachment 201093
• I don't know what sort of facility it is, but I notice it's right under the power lines. Could it have had something to do with earlier mining operations? It does seem to be well-kept, so I think it's still being used for something. It could even be a private inholding. View of facility from Kelbaker: Google Maps Better view from Kelso Dunes Road: Google Maps
• Also, maybe I missed something, but are you sure RT said they saw a square parking lot? Could someone in our own discussions have used that as a description of a possible lot, and we accidentally turned it into a requirement?
• If 360 picture was taken from the small rocky hills near Kelbaker/Hidden Hills that RT & BT appear to have visited on their walk, I still think the small lot less than a mile north on Kelbaker noted by @slowpoke is a good candidate. CA - CA - Barbara Thomas, 69, from Bullhead City AZ, disappeared in Mojave desert, 12 July 2019 #6

JMO.

.
I agree with everything you said. I do not know where the "square" comes from (or parking lot." To me, that's just another dirt pull-out. But if there was even one car at that nearby pull-out, I would be suspicious as well (if I were RT and I thought she was abducted). If there were two cars there, I'd be even more suspicious (since we hardly ever see anyone on the pullouts in Mojave NP...although, it was high tourist season). Obviously, there are a few places where it's common to see people (Kelso Depot, Zzyzx Road, etc) but we would never pull over where there were already cars, and if someone comes up while we're there, we pretty much pack up and leave. Robbie and Barbara may have felt someone similar if the other car(s) were just a mile away.

I too would insist the police investigate the license plates (and perhaps they have). At the same time, if I were the detective on this case and I had way better information/leads (including the whereabouts of the Thomas's truck throughout the day), I might put that on the back burner, IKWIM.

 

[katydid23]

BBM, must have missed this too, do we have a link?

That info came from sleuthing, so no real link. I guess I should say In My Opinion.

 

[10ofRods]

When did the parking area become square? MOO

I may be mistaken (although I'm pretty sure I read it here). Now I don't know exactly which words were used. "Parking area" is different than "parking lot." If RT were really concerned, though (since he has seen the picture or still has a copy of it, if it's in the Cloud), he'd be asking for those people to come forward if they saw or heard anything unusual.

I think it was a red herring (where ever it was located) but if it in fact if was another pull-out (so that someone could have passed their RV and then pulled out and waited to see what was up - because that does happen out there), I would be asking LE to follow up.

 

[LAhiker]

.
I agree with everything you said. I do not know where the "square" comes from (or parking lot." To me, that's just another dirt pull-out. But if there was even one car at that nearby pull-out, I would be suspicious as well (if I were RT and I thought she was abducted). If there were two cars there, I'd be even more suspicious (since we hardly ever see anyone on the pullouts in Mojave NP...although, it was high tourist season). Obviously, there are a few places where it's common to see people (Kelso Depot, Zzyzx Road, etc) but we would never pull over where there were already cars, and if someone comes up while we're there, we pretty much pack up and leave. Robbie and Barbara may have felt someone similar if the other car(s) were just a mile away.

I too would insist the police investigate the license plates (and perhaps they have). At the same time, if I were the detective on this case and I had way better information/leads (including the whereabouts of the Thomas's truck throughout the day), I might put that on the back burner, IKWIM.

Just to clarify, are you talking about the pullout found by @slowpoke that's .7 mile north of the intersection of Kelbaker/Hidden Hill Road? That looks like a dirt pullout on Google Earth satellite pictures, but if one looks at nearby photospheres, including this one from 2018, it looks like the pullout has been paved and has a small paved parking lot:
Google Maps

 

[Kapua]

Ribbons. Which one do you prefer?

 

[PommyMommy]

View attachment 201125 View attachment 201126
Ribbons. Which one do you prefer?

You're awesome, Pua! I like the one on the left. But, I have a question - how easy is it for you to show us the print in white? I'm just wondering if that would stand out more. Great job! MOO

 

[Tillicum]

View attachment 201125 View attachment 201126
Ribbons. Which one do you prefer?

I think the text is more distinct on the ribbon rather than below it.

 

[HongKongPhooey]

View attachment 201125 View attachment 201126
Ribbons. Which one do you prefer?

Both fab, but for me the left

 

[MassGuy]

View attachment 201125 View attachment 201126
Ribbons. Which one do you prefer?

Definitely the one on the left.

Great job!

 

[Twistinginthewind]

BBM, IMO, nothing to do with his safety

I respectfully disagree.

I would be afraid for my and my family's safety if my mom disappeared under these circumstances and I was her only child and family member living in the US (her son Matthew).

Until it's known what happened to her and criminal activity being a part of it is eliminated from the equation, I would be really upset, stressed out, nervously looking over my shoulder, and afraid for my and my family's safety.

Especially if she was married to a man per MSM article whom he states he thinks is involved in her disappearance, and his cousin (our VI) has also said has 'questionable integrity' (my paraphrasing what he has said in his posts here for lack of a more descriptive set of words out of context). IMO

 

[oceanstarryeyes]

Well, yes, it might be odd but it doesn't necessarily mean he is involved. Maybe that's really what she was wearing. Maybe she really was drinking a beer.
Maybe he thought she must have been abducted because LE found no sign of her and he didn't believe she got lost.

Maybe he felt defensive after being treated like a suspect so he felt he needed to share her letters with the media to prove their love for each other.

Maybe he cancelled the trip because he thought that since she was nowhere to be found she wasn't going to make it.
Wasn't she already missing for several days? Maybe he thought she wouldn't be up to a trip after such an ordeal.
There's really no way to tell.
All those things might be signs that he is lying but unless there is evidence that contradicts his story it doesn't necessarily point to foul play. Imo

Except for the canceled trip. It wasn’t his trip to cancel.

 

[oceanstarryeyes]

View attachment 201125 View attachment 201126
Ribbons. Which one do you prefer?

The one on the RIGHT

 

[debbiegarcia36]

Since it is a missing persons investigation, it will probably never be closed. As long as LE have received tips they will follow up on those leads.

Apparently some of Barbaras family have relayed their suspicions to LE. According to the VI, police told him that just because a person's behavior is suspicious, it doesn't make him a murderer. But they still have to follow up on tips that were provided.

The case may grow cold, but they usually won't close it, even after the person has been declared dead after several years, or they find a body. Imo

Well said! Yep! LE's job is to solve the missing persons case; to leave no stone unturned. It may go cold but the ultimate goal is to solve it!