CA CA - Barbara Thomas, 69, Bullhead City, hiking wearing bikini in Mojave desert, 12 July 2019

[happyday]

Here’s a another campsite in the area, though it’s on the West side of Kelbaker road and seems like the dirt road to get to it would be too rough for their truck/trailer. There are some great pictures here of the rock formations in the area. Google Maps

Yeah she could be seeking shade in some rocks like that & it would make it very hard to see her. Moo

 

[Twistinginthewind]

This article says it was a short, 2 mile hike to and from their trailer (RV/camper, shown in the video behind her husband when he was interviewed posted upthread) that was parked next to the road, not some long hike into unknown territory nor from a campground:

"Thomas’ husband, Robert, told authorities that the couple had driven their camper to the area on Friday and embarked on a two-mile hike. He said they were on the return to the camper when he stopped to take some pictures and his wife continued toward their destination.

He said when he arrived at the camper a few minutes later, there was no sign of his wife; the camper was still locked. He said he searched the area and, unable to find her, called 911.

[..............]

Thomas reportedly did not have a cell phone with her nor did she have any supplies, such as water. Daytime temperatures in the area have exceeded 100 degrees each of the last four days."
Search continues for missing Bullhead City woman

IMO, at this point with no other information than what her husband has stated, no sign of her at all or of foul play, and thinking of Occam's razor, I would posit the simplest explanation for BT's disappearance in a remote area alone with her husband on a short hike offroad in the desert and the heat without any supplies, is uhhhhh.... her husband is the only one who knows of her whereabouts.

No one but her husband can attest to when she was last seen or heard from, what she was wearing, drinking, or doing. I agree with other posters who wondered if she was ever even there, or if her husband has sent LE on a wild goose chase out in the desert.

So convenient for his story that she had no cell phone, no water, it was super hot, he stopped to take a photo and it took 'so long' that she went ahead without him, and he let her do that and let her get out of sight, etc. without saying "hey honey, hold up a minute, let's stay together" or something along those lines. Oh, and he claims she was drinking a beer. Oh, and that she was wearing a bikini (although one MSM article said she was wearing black shorts with a bikini top, not hiking in a full bikini set), which all seems like it's made to sound like she was a little off and being a little risky, when IMO he was a little not a competent hiking companion or careful with making sure his partner was safe. This behavior seems contrary to his statements in MSM that they 'often' took their camper to go take hikes in the desert, implying they knew what they were doing and it was just 'usual' behavior for them.

This is all JMO, and I could be and hope I'm wrong and she is found safe around there having fallen or become disoriented, and I will eat my words if so, but after reading all the MSM articles and posts here, my hinky meter is going off, especially after watching the interview of her husband. He kept covering his mouth and stuttered when he spoke about when he 'lost sight of her around the corner'. He also was ready right away to give them his theory saying in the interview with MSM that she must have been taken by someone when crossing the road to get back to the camper, and was maybe in Las Vegas??

IMO LE has not issued the Silver Alert because her husband is the only person who has a story about what happened to her and where she might be. and they are focusing on searching the area where he says she disappeared, and don't have reason to believe she could be elsewhere where the public could be on the lookout for her.

 

[K9Enzo]

<modsnip: quoted post was removed> how can you not see a person 5 miles away in the desert? Sheryl Powell was in similar very open terrain and only 2.5 miles from where she was last seen and it took 4 days to find her. Helicopters, drones, dogs, ATV's dozens of searchers.... It doesn't make sense to me but it seems to repeat again and again. It must be much more difficult than I realize to spot a lost person.

IMO, it's important to remember that these official searchers are done in a methodical way. Usually by clearing a area (grid searches), then moving on, and so on. You can have all the manpower searching but it will not be efficient or effective if it's not coordinated. All my opinion.

 

[Twistinginthewind]

Yeah she could be seeking shade in some rocks like that & it would make it very hard to see her. Moo

LE has been searching for her since last Friday. Four plus days is a long time to be seeking shade in 90 - 100 degree temperatures without food or water. The terrain there where LE was called to where her husband said they parked the camper and went on a 2 mile hike from there is relatively flat desert overall according to maps posted upthread. There is a stand of rocks / higher elevation area between the spot where he said he stopped to photograph something (that she didn't want to wait for him to finish so went ahead without him) and their RV camper parked by the side of the road. I think this is where her husband said he saw her "go round the corner" of, the last time he said he saw her. IMO

 

[ZhaZhaHa]

Unfortunately, we don't know...

• Where the camper was parked
• What highway BT would have crossed
• If BT crossed the highway
• Where RT stopped to take the picture
• Where BT "rounded the bend"
• What time she was last seen

I would like to know the precise route of their hike, walk, or whatever it was. Did they make it to the Hidden Hill mine? Has that been searched? MOO

I'd also like to know if the pic we have of her in the bikini was supposedly taken the day she went missing? And if so, can police verify it was and at what time? Why is it so cropped and blurry?

 

[LAhiker]

<modsnip: quoted post was removed> how can you not see a person 5 miles away in the desert? Sheryl Powell was in similar very open terrain and only 2.5 miles from where she was last seen and it took 4 days to find her. Helicopters, drones, dogs, ATV's dozens of searchers.... It doesn't make sense to me but it seems to repeat again and again. It must be much more difficult than I realize to spot a lost person.

Though some deserts are flat and sandy, desert does not necessarily mean "perfectly flat sandy terrain with no plants." According to Wikipedia, it means "a barren area of landscape where little precipitation occurs and, consequently, living conditions are hostile for plant and animal life." As others have noted, the Mojave contains small hills and gullies and rocky outcroppings. It also has creosote bushes, Joshua trees, and other desert-adapted plants which might make it harder to find a person.

As far as I know, the area in which Sheryl Powell was lost was very rugged, with rocky outcroppings which mean that the terrain may not have been so open. Though it's near the Mojave, I don't think I'd call it a desert.

 

[ZhaZhaHa]

Question - depending on how you look at his statement, I can see two different meanings.

Hubby said when he got back to trailer and lifted the rock up and saw the key was still there, he knew there was trouble. Not verbatim.

At first read, this statement makes absolute sense, nothing wrong with it.

After going back over all that we have been told, why would he go to get the key if Barbara returned ahead of him? She should have already gotten the key and been in the trailer!

Was Barbara even in the area?

Oooooohhhhhh. This is an interesting take on it. I didn't love his interview and then towards the end I was like sheesh, I was too hard on this man. It just felt like a thought out narrative. It had a beginning, a middle, and an end (that he thinks she was headed to Vegas with an abductor). But then he got all choked up and I felt this was genuine. This key detail is a good one though. Part of a narrative (unless he went to open the camper, found it was locked, checked the key and realized THEN that it meant she was not inside).

 

[oviedo]

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

 

[iscaremyself]

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

wow.. "being deceptive"

 

[Twistinginthewind]

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

Thanks for this link with an updated article. Wow, listen to this her husband is quoted as saying:
"I feel like someone did pick her up because she was wearing a bikini, she had a beer in her hand and she was ahead of me and she had to cross that road," he said.

Thomas said the police consider him the prime suspect "because it was just the two of us." He went for a polygraph test and authorities told him he was being deceptive, but Thomas said he had not had any sleep when he took the test.

Speaking to Inside Edition, he insisted he had nothing to do with her disappearance."

 

[PommyMommy]

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

What? Why would she be sitting outside their camper if the key was under the rock? Why no mention that he went and searched a cave? And, a failed polygraph... Hmmm.

From the article:

[...]

When he reached the corner and didn’t see her, he assumed he’d find her sitting outside their camper, he said. But when he got to the vehicle, the door was locked.

"I hollered her name and I waved my arms, and I looked around the area and I saw that she wasn’t anywhere around. She didn't respond. I got really panicky," he said.

[...]

Thomas said the police consider him the prime suspect "because it was just the two of us." He went for a polygraph test and authorities told him he was being deceptive, but Thomas said he had not had any sleep when he took the test.

[...]

 

[PommyMommy]

LE has been searching for her since last Friday. Four plus days is a long time to be seeking shade in 90 - 100 degree temperatures without food or water. The terrain there where LE was called to where her husband said they parked the camper and went on a 2 mile hike from there is relatively flat desert overall according to maps posted upthread. There is a stand of rocks / higher elevation area between the spot where he said he stopped to photograph something (that she didn't want to wait for him to finish so went ahead without him) and their RV camper parked by the side of the road. I think this is where her husband said he saw her "go round the corner" of, the last time he said he saw her. IMO

Did you read this somewhere or is this speculation? I didn't think we knew where he stopped to take the photograph(s). ? MOO

 

[muppethead]

wow.. "being deceptive"

Did anyone look at his camera and see if he really took pictures of rock formations? It would be telling and "deceptive" if there are none. They may need to go back to the last known sighting of her and track them forward here. Likely LE is also doing that.

 

[cryscrys]

wow.. "being deceptive"

I feel like the beer in hand is going to be some type of set up for a fall. I hope I am wrong. That article was a real eye opener.

 

[ZhaZhaHa]

I feel like the beer in hand is going to be some type of set up for a fall. I hope I am wrong. That article was a real eye opener.

I REALLY don't like his words that somebody might have taken her "because she was wearing a bikini and has a beer in her hand". There's an uneasy victim blaming feeling I am getting from this.

 

[ZhaZhaHa]

Does anybody know what line of work these folks were in before retirement? And how long ago did they retire?

 

[oviedo]

Frankly, I'm shocked he would give such an interview and admit to all that. Where is she??? And if LE does consider him a suspect - they haven't named him that I can find - he named himself - this is getting weirder and weirder IMO
Husband of Woman Who Vanished During Mojave Desert Hike: 'I Just Want Her Back'

 

[iscaremyself]

Frankly, I'm shocked he would give such an interview and admit to all that. Where is she??? And if LE does consider him a suspect - they haven't named him that I can find - he named himself - this is getting weirder and weirder IMO
Husband of Woman Who Vanished During Mojave Desert Hike: 'I Just Want Her Back'

typo

 

[mrstfs]

Does anybody know what line of work these folks were in before retirement? And how long ago did they retire?

Are we allowed to link mylife .com here?

 

[GordianKnot]

What? Why would she be sitting outside their camper if the key was under the rock? Why no mention that he went and searched a cave? And, a failed polygraph... Hmmm.

From the article:
[...]

Thomas said the police consider him the prime suspect "because it was just the two of us." He went for a polygraph test and authorities told him he was being deceptive, but Thomas said he had not had any sleep when he took the test.

[...]

BBM:

Hoo-boy.

Did he just tell on himself, or what?

Rhetorical question.

If anyone wonders what my main man, William of Occam, is doing right now, I think he can currently be found poring over those failed poly results with raised eyebrows.

JMO.