CA CA - Barbara Thomas, 69, from Bullhead City AZ, disappeared in Mojave desert, 12 July 2019 #10

[MimosaMornings]

correct. after websleuths brought the plane to my attention, i shared that info with LE, with matt, and also brought it up with RT's family. they knew about the plane and explained rob and barb flew in to visit. that was normal. for me and my family we only saw the flight simulator, we went on the colorado river in the boat, and took day trips into the desert. we rarely visited... about once a year, until 2008 or so when we stopped doing annual family visits to the US.

he's had the plane since before meeting barb, so not sure why they wouldn't think to mention it, ever.


barb has never met her grandchildren, and, imo, they are too young to share health details about relatives or travel plans with. perhaps with their mother? its not impossible, but i doubt it.

as i understand, barb and matt were in direct contact, on at least one occasion, in the months leading up to her disappearance.

Wow. That is very sad Barbara has never met her grandchildren. (11 and 13 years old)

 

[MimosaMornings]

Thank you for your input and patience with us @dbdb11
Thinking of you and your family - wishing we could do more to find Barb.

 

[Steelslady]

San Bernardino County Sheriff on Twitter

Anyone know who @wubbagirl is tweeting about Barbara?

Matthews ex girlfriend or wife, mother of his children.

 

[MimosaMornings]

Thanks @Steelslady
(I’m a bit slow tonight or just getting old)
Perhaps the flight cocktail also.

 

[MsBetsy]

Well now, that is interesting indeed.

I think it was shortly after Matt's interview that he stopped representing him, maybe a couple of weeks later.
Imo

 

[Seattle1]

Attorneys are expensive, and the heat may have subsided.

As I've said before -- RT seems to have heeded the attorney's warning --to remain silent!

 

[1&2&3]

Has RT retained another lawyer?

This could be the beginning of RT’s collapse if he hasn’t gotten a new lawyer. He may think enough time has passed that the story has lost interest. Whatever “guard”he
had been maintaining knowing LE was watching him, he figures is over.

He may now feel like he is a free man. LE needs to be watching him to see what he does. IMO, he is a sly suspicious guy.

Barbara Thomas did not disappear into thin air!

 

[al66pine]

Time Lapse, for Life Ins Claim, for Probate, etc. for Missing/Absent Person

....Life Insurance which takes time to get to the final result of an insurance claim when the person is just listed as missing. Usually there is a time limit rule before a person can be declared deceased for the purpose of the life insurance claim. I seem to remember 7 years... delays they will experience trying to get that life insurance money....

@Hatfield Thanks for your post. dbm sbm
Before paying a claim, those picky, exasperating life insurance companies insist on having in hand at least one particular document: Death Certificate for person whose life was insured, because, well, otherwise how does an ins co know there has actually been a death.
And typically, based on info another doctor who treated the person/now-decedent and sometimes LE info re any suspicious circumstances, sometimes conducting an autopsy on the remains, then completing autopsy report, and determining cause of death and manner of death, the medical examiner/other official issues a Death Certificate. The standard classifications for manners of death: Natural, Accident, Homicide, Suicide, and Undetermined. MisPers, no remains to examine, so how could D/Cert be issued.
Ins co's put homicide MoD cert's under the microscope, to assure they do not pay benefits to someone who is barred from profiting from his crime (slayer statute), to avoid paying out a second time to the contingent beneficiary.

Typically the person submitting a claim is supposed to complete the ins co claim-for-benefits form and send to co w D/Cert and without that, claimant hits a concrete wall. But AZ law provides a procedure for securing a D/Cert for a long-missing person, a procedure also used for probating/settling a MisPers' estate.
Per AZ statute, "a person absent for a continuous period of five years....[details] .... is presumed to be dead.... person's death is presumed to have occurred at the end of the period unless...."

So like @Leney post 473 noted in some of these MisPer cases, these assets can sit dormant a long time. A loooong time, before a life ins policy is paid, or savings a/c is disbursed, IRA is distributed, or real est can be sold, etc. In AZ, 5 years, before spouse/SO/Fam whoever files in court, to have the MisPers declared dead so D/Cert can be issued and estate can be probated, either per will or by AZ statutes on intestacy/ no will.
IANAL, jmo, moo.

 

[Detective Willy]

Barbara disappeared into thin air without a trace. It's all too neat.

 

[Seattle1]

We reached out to Robert to ask him what happened, but he directed us to his lawyer.

"Still frantically working on a way to get information to bring her [Barbara] home," said Robert's attorney, Eric Anderson out of California. bbm

ETA: OK, I finally see reference to RT's attorney, and understand why no further statements, reward, etc.

^^ SBM

Snipped for focus.

The VI said this atty. is no longer representing RT ??
Afaik.

repeating: eric anderson is no longer representing robert thomas, and declined to comment why.

Bump -- Eric Anderson, Esq. no longer represents RT per VI.

 

[deugirtni]

Snipped by me for focus

“He” refers to Matt S in this post (I’m pretty sure)

@MsBetsy I guess I missed this? I’m wondering if you could please provide a link that Matt is refusing to divulge the way he communicated with his mom? Is it that he refused; or is it that we just do not know?

ETA: Thanks for any help you can provide for me @MsBetsy !

Well, the problem was that Matt did not tell the VI how they were communicating, and it seems like he was trying to get an answer for a long time. We don't know why he wouldn't say.

If you do a search of his posts you can find it, but I can't remember the post number.

I believe it was in response to another post which indicated that Matt said he communicated with his mom by e-mail. (although in another interview he said it was by phone.)

DBDB1 replied, Thank you, I "never could" get an answer from Matt as to how they were communicating.

So if you scan for some of those words you will probably find it easier.

It probably still won't help, however, since the VI has said that Matt has proven to be an unreliable source of information and has become a liability to LE! I'm not sure why. He claimed to be working closely with LE on the investigation, so maybe he became more if a hindrance than a help.

It's probably better if he distances himself from Matt from now on so LE will start giving him some information.

At least that's what I would do.

IMO

Thank you for that @MsBetsy Your post jogged my memory of this post you remembered from dbdb11: “Thank you, I “never could” get an answer from Matt as to how they were communicating.”

just spent awhile looking through our VI’s posts; I could not find it. Perhaps it was one that was deleted before his verification. I scrolled through from the start... such a tragedy beyond imagining ...surreal; bizarre; awful. My heart is with Barbara and her family

It wasn't deleted because I just saw it about two days ago. I was actually looking for another post and couldn't find it, so I ended up reading about twenty of them.
I'm not sure of the exact wording so I didn't put the whole thing in quotes, but I think it's pretty close to what was said.

oceanstarryeyes said: ↑

BTs son said the way they communicated was through email.

I am glad he explained that, personally I could never get an answer out of him about how they were communicating.

dbdb11, Aug 29, 2019
#304

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

 

[lolafaith]

Barbara sounds like such a lovely lady, and someone no doubt who would have loved grand children. It's a shame how she never met hers? If she was in contact with Matt recently, or for a long time, even if they had been estranged for some time, I wonder why they never met. Matt obviously doesn't live near by but travel doesn't seem an issue if she used to travel abroad to see family. I wonder about the backstory to her's and Matt's relationship over the years. His kids are teenagers so would be interesting to know what happened over the last 10-15 years with their relationship.

 

[Seattle1]

Barbara sounds like such a lovely lady, and someone no doubt who would have loved grand children. It's a shame how she never met hers? If she was in contact with Matt recently, or for a long time, even if they had been estranged for some time, I wonder why they never met. Matt obviously doesn't live near by but travel doesn't seem an issue if she used to travel abroad to see family. I wonder about the backstory to her's and Matt's relationship over the years. His kids are teenagers so would be interesting to know what happened over the last 10-15 years with their relationship.

Sadly - often it's internal family issues.

Dad may have had every other weekend visitation -- limited time; or if their mother was custodial parent - she may have prevented kids from leaving the state; mom didn't like Barb, etc. ....

Feels like sleuthing the family so I'd rather not say more.

MOO

 

[Micheline]

-respectfully snipped by me-

VI has said that Matt has proven to be an unreliable source of information and has become a liability to LE! I'm not sure why. He claimed to be working closely with LE on the investigation, so maybe he became more if a hindrance than a help.

It's probably better if he distances himself from Matt from now on so LE will start giving him some information.

At least that's what I would do.

IMO

I think it's not fair to say this.
First, Barbara is his mother.
Second, Matt seems to be easily influenced. Now that it has become clear that VI has told Matt about all the in his opinion suspicious things about Robert, probably about his position in a certain company aswell and not the other way around, it seems Matt instantly has adopted all this suspicion and has put all these thoughts online instantly and in an interview.

But now he is unreliable and a hindrance to LE.

I truly like Matt, I think this is not fair.

He is entitled not to share with anyone how he communicated with his mother nor what they talked about, that is his private life and his right.

I think we are not entitled to all this info, these are private people with real lives and pain, and now being called unreliable and a liability to LE on an open board, how does this help anyone. IMO

 

[Micheline]

Snipped for focus.

The VI said this atty. is no longer representing RT ??
Afaik.

What kind of representation does RT need?

Isn't it only logical him not having a lawyer, only just briefly when being told he was deceptive while he wasn't, that makes sense imo.

Soon after LE said no foul play no kidnapping, they have pictures of that day and time of Barbara being where Robert said she was, he isn't a suspect, so no need for a lawyer. IMO

 

[Micheline]

Wow. That is very sad Barbara has never met her grandchildren. (11 and 13 years old)

Imagine if it were Robert who never met his grandchildren, that would have been considered suspicious behavior, paranoid etc.

This goes beyond not walking the dog.

Just saying this to put all the suspicious behavior of RT in context.

Another thing, people have been very upset how RT had not called Matt (no contact for 13 years) but apparently feel it very normal that the Matt accuses RT of the kidnapping and murder of his mother.

To me this go way further than not calling someone you haven't been in contact with for 13 years.

Just saying this to put the suspicious behavior of RT in context. IMO

 

[Seattle1]

lafayette man's mom missing

Matthew Schellinkhout news video at link - Aug 7, 2019

 

[Seattle1]

Snipped by me for focus


“He” refers to Matt S in this post (I’m pretty sure)

@MsBetsy I guess I missed this? I’m wondering if you could please provide a link that Matt is refusing to divulge the way he communicated with his mom? Is it that he refused; or is it that we just do not know?

ETA: Thanks for any help you can provide for me @MsBetsy !

Family suspects foul play in disappearance of Bullhead City woman

Matt direct quote:

"My mother and I were close. ... (We) spoke on the phone often (and) she loved my children, Christopher,13, and Natalie, 11. ...

ETA: Same article - BT's nephew is also quoted. If he didn't know how they communicated, he could have read the article.

 

[MimosaMornings]

Barb communicated via RT’s cell phone since she didn’t own one.

 

[Seattle1]

Barb communicated via RT’s cell phone since she didn’t own one.

In my experience - seems many people of BT's generation still have land lines. Is it a fact that BT had to rely solely on RT's cellular phone to communicate with others? TIA.