It's very dangerous, there is no room for error or accident. A twisted ankle may mean death by thirst. Plus, it's a recipe for terrible skin issues later in life. I advise everyone to only visit these areas during fall or winter.
Layers of sunscreen. I use very good ones. And reapply, of course. I personally don't go by myself in the desert. Long sleeves and a hat, for me.
But my point is that people do go to very hot places for fun. And Kelbaker/HH is almost 4000 feet above sea level (according to Google), so not nearly as hot as Bullhead City.
VI here stated that RT said they were hiking before noon, initially. However, it was really 12-2, it was probably around 102-103 at that time (same temp as my back yard yesterday, and yep, I do go outside and I do go for walks). High that day at Kelbaker/HH was around 103-104 (LE said "
low 100's.) That's the temp that DV would be on a day in fall.
A reasonable person would not run around frantically, knocking on doors, doing daily interviews, putting up posters etc, hereby putting pressure on already very suspicious and alert kidnappers.
Instead, one should do everything to forecom them flipping and harming their loved one or worse. LE would advice against this too.
Except, of course, LE has said they do not think there was an abduction. So I doubt they're treating it as an abduction or offering advice to RT on how to handle an abduction on his own.
In the previous thread,
@artsy1 said this:
CA - CA - Barbara Thomas, 69, from Bullhead City AZ, disappeared in Mojave desert, 12 July 2019 #5
In a subsequent post, artsy1 gave a Google maps address for the gas station:
Google Maps
My guess is that it's around 30 miles on Hidden Hill Road to its intersection with Kelbaker Rd, which is where RT said BT disappeared. Others pointed out that Hidden Hill Road is unpaved and discussed what it would be like to drive the truck/RV combo along such a road. They said it would be jarring and dusty and (if I understood the comments correctly) not very good for the RV. On the other hand,
if one intended to make someone disappear, that might be one place to do it.
If RT had driven the truck/RV combo along Hidden Hill Road, I think it would be covered with dust. I also think there might be distinctive tire tracks, especially because the truck was a "dually," with dual rear wheels on each side. I hope that LE noted the condition of the truck/RV as well as any tire tracks in the area.
Of course, that doesn't mean someone
else couldn't have driven along that road. JMO.
Hidden Hill Road is barely a road. It goes for miles parallel to the I-40. It is unpaved and you can see the SAR team walking along it in one picture (it looks like a wide trail).
Searchers and LE were seen on HH early in the search so yes, I think they checked for tracks (I think it would have aroused suspicion if the truck and trailer tracks were there and RT had used such a road to approach their trailhead).
The timing for this abduction (with cars going by on Kelbaker every few minutes) had to be exquisite. If, as claimed by Barbara's son, it was by persons known to RT, there had to be some communication at some point about where, exactly, the couple would be at 2:30 pm that Friday and RT had to just coincidentally not be with Barbara (or as the son claims, deliberately stayed behind). Pretty amazing timing, if you ask me (although RT's cell phone was working at that point, obviously LE has his cell records by now and still does not believe it was an abduction).
I don't know why anyone would use HH as an approach, anyway. No cameras on either road, and many ways to get to that intersection on paved roads without passing by a camera (from Baker, for example). Or Zzyzx. Someone coming along HH would raise so much attention (big ole dust plume) that even a casual passerby on Kelbaker would notice (and the people just down the road at the Desert Study Center could notice, too). Indeed, RT would have seen such a dust plume himself, in that brief 5-10 minute period while he walked after Barb...
