Found Deceased CA - Barbara Thomas, 69, from Bullhead City AZ, disappeared in Mojave desert, 12 July 2019 #13

[Cherwell]

I still think it's most likely that the interviewer prompted the mention of Las Vegas, as in
"Do you think she could have been taken to Vegas?"
Two reasons - reporters always look for local connections, and this one was from Las Vegas media.
Secondly, the road leads there, so if Barbara had got into a vehicle, it was a reasonable theory.

 

[Charlot123]

I try to follow as many California desert stories as I can. Most desert disappearances that I'm aware of (I've been watching for about 10 years) end up being foul play. There was a rather famous case (which involved a woman from AZ, not far from where Barb lived) in which there was a voluntary disappearance. The woman was walking in the Mojave Preserve, IIRC, having had some kind of falling out with her traveling partner. She got into a car with strangers, went to Vegas, partied for a few days, and then was dropped off in Laughlin, where she contacted family.

I may be misremembering a couple of details. Anyway, I've often thought that RT's belief that the same happened to Barbara (at least, his initial story about what happened) paralleled that woman's story and made his own story more plausible. RT and Barbara were living in the area at the time. RT frequently went to Laughlin (per VI).

At any rate, there are some never found (and obviously, could be a lot we don't know about). But I consider the entire area around the Mojave Preserve to be a higher crime area. I've witnessed a robbery and two assaults in Barstow (over the last 25 years). There are bodies found out there, victims of foul play either in the desert or elsewhere, so many abandoned car/missing person cases...the desert is a scary place for many reasons.

That being said, I wouldn't have thought too much about my personal safety on a brief stop on Kelbaker Road, there are a couple of businesses nearby, it's not *that* isolated.

I too think we can rule out deliberate disappearance. <modsnip>

I am not a desert traveler, but we once drove from Las Vegas to Palm Springs, and back.

The whole road is the desert, one coalescing with another. Even Death Valley was not that far away, according to Google maps. And - nothing habitable. You are supposed to pass some villages, but it is all desert. And only once you cross the boarder with Nevada, close to Las Vegas, you suddenly see the city.

I would never travel in the desert for fun. Global warming is no joke, and Nevada locals were telling me about the lakes around getting more shallow.

I think it is some kind of foul play, but accidents in the desert happen, too, and easily.

 

[rosesfromangels]

I am not a desert traveler, but we once drove from Las Vegas to Palm Springs, and back.

The whole road is the desert, one coalescing with another. Even Death Valley was not that far away, according to Google maps. And - nothing habitable. You are supposed to pass some villages, but it is all desert. And only once you cross the boarder with Nevada, close to Las Vegas, you suddenly see the city.

I would never travel in the desert for fun. Global warming is no joke, and Nevada locals were telling me about the lakes around getting more shallow.

I think it is some kind of foul play, but accidents in the desert happen, too, and easily.

Yes, either you're a desert person or you're not. I prefer the mountains myself, but apparently Barb & hubby loved it with their rock and photo excursions etc. I thought I saw a photo of Barb's desert assemblages; very artistic.

Have we ever heard what they were scouting for that day? Any particular type of desert rock, plant, or fauna?

One positive thing I can say about the desert is that I have never seen so many stars at night as I have in the desert, and it's truly magnificent.

Amateur opinion and speculation

 

[CSIDreamer]

Yes, either you're a desert person or you're not. I prefer the mountains myself, but apparently Barb & hubby loved it with their rock and photo excursions etc. I thought I saw a photo of Barb's desert assemblages; very artistic.

Have we ever heard what they were scouting for that day? Any particular type of desert rock, plant, or fauna?

One positive thing I can say about the desert is that I have never seen so many stars at night as I have in the desert, and it's truly magnificent.

Amateur opinion and speculation

If I remember, they had been there before according to our VI. Barb collected interesting bits.

It still just bothers the heck out of me they were out there hiking in something like 118 degree weather.

Jmo

 

[rosesfromangels]

If I remember, they had been there before according to our VI. Barb collected interesting bits.

It still just bothers the heck out of me they were out there hiking in something like 118 degree weather.

Jmo

I understand your point, and the thought of walking in 118 degrees sounds like a form of torture to me. However, I reflect on a July trip to a resort in Arizona where it was 115 and I literally thought I was going to perish. In comparison, there was a whole group of "snow birds" happily golfing and playing tennis, seemingly unbothered. So there you go.

I still keep thinking of the weather there now, and how ideal it is for additional searches. I think LE has exhausted their resources, and is very reticent to ask for volunteers due to the ruggedness of the territory and liability issues.

Amateur opinion and speculation

 

[K9Enzo]

If I remember, they had been there before according to our VI. Barb collected interesting bits.

It still just bothers the heck out of me they were out there hiking in something like 118 degree weather.

Jmo

Right. What could possibly go wrong in that weather?

 

[Cherwell]

I'll never get past the fact that LE did not search/impound RT's vehicle(s) but they certainly must have felt they did not have probable cause (even after his polygraph).

Do you know that for sure?

As a Brit I find it hard to believe, because here it is routine to search the home or (as in this case) base of the missing person. It is the first thing to be done, without fail. Not just because the person may be there, but because there may be valuable clues.

 

[Curiousobserver]

Sure sounds that way, doesn't it? What's really weird is that RT did not organize a search after the main search was over. Anyone who lives in the region knows that bodies go missing out there and aren't found for a year or more (like one-half of the Amboy couple or the Canadian man at Joshua Tree). Areas are searched and searched again, and the person is right there, where they died, and they were simply not found on prior searches.

I too think the reporter may have suggested a Vegas connection. It would be an obvious question to ask right after RT states that he thinks someone may have taken Barbara. RT calls the father of our VI and says she's missing, but apparently skips the Vegas connection and the family never attempts to mount a campaign to find her in Vegas.

I'll never get past the fact that LE did not search/impound RT's vehicle(s) but they certainly must have felt they did not have probable cause (even after his polygraph).

That last sentence, and the fact they searched so long in that spot, is why I think the missing piece in this case is that there is significant evidence that she was there in that spot at that time; i.e. the pictures they took have time stamps, landmarks, Barbara in the background, and maybe GPS metadata. LE has not behaved as if this was anything other than a lost person and (visibly) have only done the minimum to check out the timeline given to them; was he at the gas station- yep, was he at the kennel, yep....

I always have a hard time wrapping my head around how professional searchers fail to find a missing person after days, only for them to be found later a thousand feet from where they were last reported but it happens so often I can't ignore it.

 

[rosesfromangels]

I always have a hard time wrapping my head around how professional searchers fail to find a missing person after days, only for them to be found later a thousand feet from where they were last reported but it happens so often I can't ignore it.

Respectfully snipped and BBM.
Try to volunteer for a search if you can. It will put this in to perspective for you. It is immensely difficult to "see" remains outdoors. You can literally step over them, or walk right past them, later to be discovered. Mother nature is the master of camouflage.

Amateur opinion and speculation

 

[CSIDreamer]

Respectfully snipped and BBM.
Try to volunteer for a search if you can. It will put this in to perspective for you. It is immensely difficult to "see" remains outdoors. You can literally step over them, or walk right past them, later to be discovered. Mother nature is the master of camouflage.

Amateur opinion and speculation

I'm starting to think all hikers should wear some day glo garb.

 

[trujac]

I'm starting to think all hikers should wear some day glo garb.

The desert is known for its mirages--fake signs of hope, and lost souls blended into the landscape..

 

[anneg]

The desert is known for its mirages--fake signs of hope, and lost souls blended into the landscape..

That sounds like the first sentence of a book.

 

[dulcinea]

I'm starting to think all hikers should wear some day glo garb.

We frequently hike in the desert, including Joshua Tree National Park and the Mojave. When I purchased my last coat I did so with the consideration that it would stand out in stark contrast to the surrounding area should something unfortunate happen. Becoming disoriented in the desert is a serious concern. There are often no landmarks to assist you and trails blend in with all the other dirt. There are also so many trails that aren't truly trails and you can become lost quickly just feet from the actual trail.

 

[Curiousobserver]

We frequently hike in the desert, including Joshua Tree National Park and the Mojave. When I purchased my last coat I did so with the consideration that it would stand out in stark contrast to the surrounding area should something unfortunate happen. Becoming disoriented in the desert is a serious concern. There are often no landmarks to assist you and trails blend in with all the other dirt. There are also so many trails that aren't truly trails and you can become lost quickly just feet from the actual trail.

Good idea, I have a bright red one for deer hunting season (which can make geocaching a little dangerous sometimes).

Sailors have GPS beacons that activate when they get wet, perhaps something similar with a dead-man's switch- if you don't turn it off after so much time it goes off.

 

[K9Enzo]

IMO, after a period of time human remains, including clothing, take on the color of the surroundings and blend in. Finding bodies outdoors is hard.

 

[Auntie_Seagull]

IMO, after a period of time human remains, including clothing, take on the color of the surroundings and blend in. Finding bodies outdoors is hard.

Depends on the fabric. Some get bleached easy, exposed to the sun, rain and wind, some keep their colour like crazy. But yes, finding a body outdoors is difficult, even if this body is clad in bright colours.

 

[trujac]

That sounds like the first sentence of a book.

Lol, I write poetry...but seriously, I see everyday from the safety of my house the ever shifting optical illusions of the desert. At night, the nocturnal creatures only add to its mysteries. So many people succumb in the desert not realizing the power of it--just how quickly the landscape can suck the life out of you. It's amazing to me that RT and Barbara enjoyed hiking during the peak of the desert summer...during that time I hide from the sun...not explore and rejoice in it the way they did.

 

[trujac]

Depends on the fabric. Some get bleached easy, exposed to the sun, rain and wind, some keep their colour like crazy. But yes, finding a body outdoors is difficult, even if this body is clad in bright colours.

The clothes would have to light up like a Christmas tree at night to be helpful in finding someone.

 

[CSIDreamer]

IMO, after a period of time human remains, including clothing, take on the color of the surroundings and blend in. Finding bodies outdoors is hard.

Thats a good point.

I personally was thinking it might help find someone when the chances of surviving would be greater.

 

[K9Enzo]

Thats a good point.

I personally was thinking it might help find someone when the chances of surviving would be greater.

When I buy hiking clothing, I hit the clearance rack for all the awful colors no one wants. I want to be seen. It’s really the only time I wear color. lol