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

[tabitha111]

@dbdb11 ~I am so curious if you have told Robert about all these people on Websleuths that are concerned about Barbara and want her found? Do you think he reads here or knows of this place?

 

[MsBetsy]

BBM- The VI said that RT actually asked the brother's family to cancel her hotel reservations over in Hong Kong.

Oops, I guess that answers my question.
I wonder why he would ask her family to cancel the reservations if they were made with his credit card. Maybe he wasn't concerned about the money, but the reservation. Imo

 

[Tillicum]

Oops, I guess that answers my question.
I wonder why he would ask her family to cancel the reservations if they were made with his credit card. Maybe he wasn't concerned about the money, but the reservation. Imo

I think the VI said they took care of her reservations. Maybe he was trying to save them some money.

 

[PommyMommy]

Oh, ok, I thought the VI said it was a Wednesday.
So it was actually six days before she was due to fly?
Was it verified that he cancelled both her flight and her hotel reservations?
Or was she planning on staying with family this time?

RT called Barbara's brother in Hong Kong on July 16th and RT had already canceled her flight reservations. As far as I know, we don't know the specific date they were canceled, but on or prior to the 16th.

In the same conversation, four days after Barb's disappearance and six days prior to her trip, RT said they (family in HK) should cancel her hotel reservation because, "she's not gonna make it." MOO

 

[GordianKnot]

Yes, the digital data was what I was thinking of, but wouldn't they have done this a lot earlier? At least a month ago?
Public records are not hard to find, yet we have not seen any warrants related to this case at all. No bank records, no computer or cell phone history, no GPS tracking, nothing.
How can we be so sure they are looking into those things when no public record exists? Imo

We can't be sure.
Search warrants can be sealed, though.
Links below appear to reflect that in both CA and AZ, it looks like search warrants can be sealed by a judge's order.

https://www.saccourt.ca.gov/general/media/docs/search-warrant.pdf
http://www.clerkofcourt.maricopa.gov/news/MediaGuide-SWhandout.pdf

JMO.

 

[MsBetsy]

The same way I made the ribbons: Photoshop.

I mean how did she physically get to the other location assuming it is true that LE confirmed that she was there based on the pictures that show she was there? LE has never given any indication that the photos are photoshopped or they don't believe his story. If they had any suspicions then why would they say there is no evidence of foul play?

 

[Twistinginthewind]

Yes, the digital data was what I was thinking of, but wouldn't they have done this a lot earlier? At least a month ago?
Public records are not hard to find, yet we have not seen any warrants related to this case at all. No bank records, no computer or cell phone history, no GPS tracking, nothing.
How can we be so sure they are looking into those things when no public record exists? Imo

I think LE has been searching for evidence outside of the Mojave Desert where RT said she went missing, since we know they have obtained video footage from the convenience store where RT picked up ice at around 9 am that morning.

MOO

 

[Kapua]

I mean how did she physically get to the other location assuming it is true that LE confirmed that she was there based on the pictures that show she was there? LE has never given any indication that the photos are photoshopped or they don't believe his story. If they had any suspicions then why would they say there is no evidence of foul play?

As I recall, LE said they do not believe she was abducted. As to how she got wherever she is, I imagine she was driven there. LE hasn't said much; they did say there were pictures and that they believed she was where RT said she was. However, SAR searched and did not find her there. So I am "thinking outside of the box" to explore all possibilities. One possibility is that the photos were actually taken another day and the timestamp was changed, or the photos were altered. It's fairly easy to cut and paste a person onto another background. I'm not saying that's what happened - but it's one possibility. MOO

 

[MsBetsy]

Search warrants can be sealed.
Links below appear to reflect that in both CA and AZ, it looks like search warrants can be sealed by a judge.

https://www.saccourt.ca.gov/general/media/docs/search-warrant.pdf
http://www.clerkofcourt.maricopa.gov/news/MediaGuide-SWhandout.pdf

JMO.

Yes, but it says the public will be advised that the warrant has been sealed, which I would think would generate even more public curiosity.
The public and the media seems to show no interest in this case. I wonder why.

 

[MsBetsy]

As I recall, LE said they do not believe she was abducted. As to how she got wherever she is, I imagine she was driven there. LE hasn't said much; they did say there were pictures and that they believed she was where RT said she was. However, SAR searched and did not find her there. So I am "thinking outside of the box" to explore all possibilities. One possibility is that the photos were actually taken another day and the timestamp was changed, or the photos were altered. I'm not saying that's what happened - but it's one possibility. MOO

Yes, it's a possibility, but it's unlikely that she was driven to the desert by someone else, and someone who wanted LE to believe she was there at a different time and therefore photoshopped the pictures to make it appear so, in such a short amount of time, could have pulled it off without LE even suspecting this was the case.
I just can't see this being a possibility.
I have enough faith in LE, based on past cases, that they would have been capable of verifying when the pictures were taken. . Imo

 

[GordianKnot]

Yes, but it says the public will be advised that the warrant has been sealed, which I would think would generate even more public curiosity.
The public and the media seems to show no interest in this case. I wonder why.

There was quite a bit of interest initially, in my opinion.
Then, after about a week or so, it dipped dramatically.
I think a few factors play into that.

One reason we've seen interest dwindle is the inherently short attention span of the American public. That's just a hard reality.

Secondly, there is nobody out in front of the cameras advocating for BT.
RT gave that nationally televised interview to Inside Edition at the beginning.
That helped generate a great deal of public attention....
Probably because he was talking about failed polys and being the prime suspect.
Since he's now gone radio silent, interest has waned.

Finally, LE's silence, combined with RT's silence, does not give MSM any new material to report on. They can't keep saying the same old things over and over.

Yesterday's news is yesterday's news.

JMO.

 

[firstsleuth]

Yes, it's a possibility, but it's unlikely that she was driven to the desert by someone else, and someone who wanted LE to believe she was there at a different time and therefore photoshopped the pictures to make it appear so, in such a short amount of time, could have pulled it off without LE even suspecting this was the case.
I just can't see this being a possibility.
I have enough faith in LE, based on past cases, that they would have been capable of verifying when the pictures were taken. . Imo

Good point, but I would like to add: Unless they had more than a short amount of time to do so
ETA: if the photoshopping (and more) was pre-planned

 

[Kapua]

There was quite a bit of interest initially, in my opinion.
Then, after about a week or so, it dipped dramatically.
I think a few factors play into that.

One reason we've seen interest dwindle is the inherently short attention span of the American public. That's just a reality.

Secondly, there is nobody out in front of the cameras advocating for BT.
RT gave that nationally televised interview to Inside Edition at the beginning.
That helped generate a great deal of public attention.
Probably because he was talking about failed polys and being the prime suspect.
Since he's now gone radio silent, interest has waned.

Finally, LE's silence, combined with RT's silence, does not give MSM any new material to report on.
They can't keep saying the same old things over and over.
Yesterday's news is yesterday's news.

JMO.

One place there's a fair amount of interest is here on WS. We are in thread #8 with very little to go on here. MOO

 

[GordianKnot]

One place there's a fair amount of interest is here on WS. We are in thread #8 with very little to go on here. MOO

We do have an advocate and voice for BT here in @dbdb11, though.
That certainly helps spur the discussion.

I think it makes a huge difference that this WS forum has a VI contributing their insights.

If it weren't for db's presence, I don't think we'd be on Thread #8 now, to be honest.

JMO.

 

[al66pine]

Are These Public Records in Cal.? When?
Excerpt from Post by GordianKnot:
"....I think LE is likely doing a deep dive into the digital data, including cell phone, gps tracking, bank/financial records and computer activity...."

Yes, the digital data was what I was thinking of, but wouldn't they have done this a lot earlier? At least a month ago?
Public records are not hard to find, yet we have not seen any warrants related to this case at all. No bank records, no computer or cell phone history, no GPS tracking, nothing.
How can we be so sure they are looking into those things when no public record exists? Imo

@GordianKnot and @MsBetsy Thanks for your posts. bbm sbm

If LE had requested these phone & bank records, etc, would this info be made public under Cal. law already? Anyone? Thx in adv.

 

[HongKongPhooey]

We do have an advocate and voice for BT here in @dbdb11, though.
That certainly helps spur the discussion.

I think it makes a huge difference that this WS forum has a VI contributing their insights.

If it weren't for db's presence, I don't think we'd be on Thread #8 now, to be honest.

JMO.

100% agree

 

[GordianKnot]

Are These Public Records in Cal.? When?
Excerpt from Post by Gordian Knot:
"....I think LE is likely doing a deep dive into the digital data, including cell phone, gps tracking, bank/financial records and computer activity...."

@Gordian Knot and @MsBetsy Thanks for your posts. bbm sbm

If LE had requested these phone & bank records, etc, would this info be made public under Cal. law already? Anyone? Thx in adv.

Tagging @gitana1 , gitana, if you have a chance, can you please share your knowledge of Cal. laws r/t search warrants being sealed?

Would there be a way for the public to find out whether or not search warrants were issued, even if the contents of the warrants were sealed?

 

[al66pine]

Search Warrants in AZ?

We can't be sure.Search warrants can be sealed, though.
Links below appear to reflect that in both CA and AZ, it looks like search warrants can be sealed by a judge's order.

https://www.saccourt.ca.gov/general/media/docs/search-warrant.pdf
http://www.clerkofcourt.maricopa.gov/news/MediaGuide-SWhandout.pdf
JMO.

From ^ maricopa publication for AZ, page 4 of Media Guide:
"Special Warrants (SW)
Requests for warrant-related records: 
search warrants 
tracking devices 
buccal swabs 
blood draws 
pen registers 
wire taps"

These ^ listed items seem to relate items LE would secure from a suspect/detainee/defendant, not records LE would obtain thru 3d parties, such as bank stmts, phone co records, etc. just off the top of my head and just glancing at pdf.
Jmo, could be wrong.

 

[campbellsouup]

There's another parking lot NE of the primitive campsite, 2 cars parked there on the google maps image - I wonder if there is a name for this spot, likely a trailhead? Also went looking on the Strava heatmaps to see where people have logged exercise, doesn't look like the Hidden Hills location is very popular, and the one logged exercise is going in another direction. There are more popular destinations nearby it seems, though getting away from people and enjoying the wilderness is typically my reason to go for a hike.

 

[MsBetsy]

There was quite a bit of interest initially, in my opinion.
Then, after about a week or so, it dipped dramatically.
I think a few factors play into that.

One reason we've seen interest dwindle is the inherently short attention span of the American public. That's just a reality.

Secondly, there is nobody out in front of the cameras advocating for BT.
RT gave that nationally televised interview to Inside Edition at the beginning.
That helped generate a great deal of public attention.
Probably because he was talking about failed polys and being the prime suspect.
Since he's now gone radio silent, interest has waned.

Finally, LE's silence, combined with RT's silence, does not give MSM any new material to report on.
They can't keep saying the same old things over and over.
Yesterday's news is yesterday's news.

JMO.

I think the reason the media lost interest was because there was no evidence of an abduction and no evidence of foul play.

There is not much to report about a missing person other than what LE have reported.

If suddenly there is evidence of foul play, it would be right back in the news again. That's why they look closely and search relentlessly for any signs of foul play, like warrants pertaining to an individual or the company they are involved in, or any dirt they can find on any member of the family. Apparently the media could not find any evidence of a crime.

Yes, the short attention span of the general public has a lot to do with it. They want murder, drama, sex, and intrigue.

So when they thought the husband might be a suspect in the case they were interested. As soon as it was confirmed that he was not a suspect the media lost interest.

However I doubt it stopped them from digging deeper, and trying to uncover any search warrants related to the case.

It's hard to believe LE has issued any search warrants into cell phone data, computer data, or any other digital trail without the media finding out about it, especially considering it's all public information. Imo