CA CA - Barbara Thomas, 69, from Bullhead City AZ, disappeared in Mojave desert, 12 July 2019 #11

New Posts

Status
Not open for further replies.
La Louve said:
I keep wondering, if she simply got turned around when heading back to the RV then why didn't she call out to RT when she realized she was lost. IIRC (according to RT) she was five minutes ahead of him.
Click to expand...
With regard to estimated distances and times, I'm not taking anything RT said (or is paraphrased as having said) literally. He may have been mistaken. He may be a poor judge when estimating such things.

He may also have minimised the time between her leaving and him following - people tend to do that if they feel they might be criticised. It may well have been more like ten minutes if he decided to take more photos, or even longer.
 
What if BT had become tired of the "hiking the desert" lifestyle? The 'collecting rocks and placing them in a pile in the backyard' hobby? The having to leave behind her precious fur baby every time she had to go on a 'hike'?

Is it possible she decided to leave that all behind; hopped a bus to somewhere, never to be seen nor heard from again? Would BT accept how her 'disappearance' might affect her family?

Was there something in the air that gave hint that BT was tiring of the entire situation? Makes me wonder why RT was so quick to cancel BT's Hong Kong trip tickets.

Could BT have actually made it to HK, site unseen (read: unrecognized, but was anyone, i.e., local LE there, actually looking?) and is living the rest of her life with her HK family?

Why not...?
 
Cherwell said:
With regard to estimated distances and times, I'm not taking anything RT said (or is paraphrased as having said) literally. He may have been mistaken. He may be a poor judge when estimating such things.

He may also have minimised the time between her leaving and him following - people tend to do that if they feel they might be criticised. It may well have been more like ten minutes if he decided to take more photos, or even longer.
Click to expand...

Not just criticized. People are bad judges of time. "Give me a minute" = "ten minutes later", meetings and appointments start late, things take longer than people estimate, this happens every day.
 
ChuckMaureen said:
What if BT had become tired of the "hiking the desert" lifestyle? The 'collecting rocks and placing them in a pile in the backyard' hobby? The having to leave behind her precious fur baby every time she had to go on a 'hike'?

Is it possible she decided to leave that all behind; hopped a bus to somewhere, never to be seen nor heard from again? Would BT accept how her 'disappearance' might affect her family?

Was there something in the air that gave hint that BT was tiring of the entire situation? Makes me wonder why RT was so quick to cancel BT's Hong Kong trip tickets.

Could BT have actually made it to HK, site unseen (read: unrecognized, but was anyone, i.e., local LE there, actually looking?) and is living the rest of her life with her HK family?

Why not...?
Click to expand...
I don't think there is any indication that she was getting tired of hiking or camping or that her love of nature had diminished.
That is apparently one of the things they had in common and likely what attracted them to each other.
I don't think there is any way she is in HK with her family. They would not be trying so hard to find her if she was.
Imo
 
bbm
MsBetsy said:
I don't think there is any indication that she was getting tired of hiking or camping or that her love of nature had diminished.
That is apparently one of the things they had in common and likely what attracted them to each other.
I don't think there is any way she is in HK with her family. They would not be trying so hard to find her if she was.
Imo
Click to expand...

What would you expect to see as 'indication'? BT isn't here to reveal her inner-most thoughts, maybe thoughts she would not want to reveal to anyone except the remotest of family? Who knows.

Common like, perhaps. But if that common like morphed in to something the other never envisioned it to be, such as having become a matter-of-course, routine, doing it only a certain person's way and more often and with conditions not agreeable over the long run?

We don't know... but it's on the table.

Exactly what is it the HK family is doing?
 
Last edited:
ChuckMaureen said:
bbm


What would you expect to see as 'indication'? BT isn't here to reveal her inner-most thoughts, maybe thoughts she would not want to reveal to anyone except the remotest of family? Who knows.

Common like, perhaps. But if that common like morphed in to something the other never envisioned it to be, such as having become a matter-of-course, routine, doing it only a certain person's way and more often and with conditions not agreeable over the long run?

We don't know... but it's on the table.

Exactly what is it the HK family is doing?
Click to expand...

Most recently, they published a press release and got a few major MSM outlets to carry it. They are looking into drones. They are in contact with various forensic experts, although I don't think they've hired anyone. Our VI has spent countless hours trying to find ways to find Barbara. His father is bedridden and seriously ill, so it falls on our VI to be the family representative for Barbara, which he is doing ably from a distance. No way she's in Hong Kong.

How do you propose that she managed to "hop a bus"? Are you saying you completely discount both LE's and RT's version of events and that she never went to the Mojave Preserve that day? That she never wore the bikini and red/white hat? That the picture LE says it has of her in the desert that day is a fake? How did she fake her own picture? Why would RT assist her in this plan if it was designed to take her away from him, specifically?

VI says she has no phone, RT says she carried no phone. If you think she never left Bullhead City that day, then why did the neighbor's cameras pick up images of RT and BT leaving their home at around 8:15? When did she jump ship? In Needles? If she had run off in Needles, why would RT then drive to Mojave NP and pretend that she was going hiking, apparently altering dates on his camera or phone to make it look as if she was there?

How would you construct a sensible timeline and map for this theory?
 
ChuckMaureen said:
bbm


What would you expect to see as 'indication'? BT isn't here to reveal her inner-most thoughts, maybe thoughts she would not want to reveal to anyone except the remotest of family? Who knows.

Common like, perhaps. But if that common like morphed in to something the other never envisioned it to be, such as having become a matter-of-course, routine, doing it only a certain person's way and more often and with conditions not agreeable over the long run?

We don't know... but it's on the table.

Exactly what is it the HK family is doing?
Click to expand...
I meant from everything we have heard and the information the VI has given I did not get the idea that Barbara was getting tired of camping and hiking. It was something she loved doing all her life, or at least since he has known her, so it doesn't seem likely she would suddenly stop enjoying it.

The family has been speaking to LE from the beginning and they feel certain there is foul play involved.
In a recent post I mentioned that they are considering pursuing other avenues if LE does not find anything in their investigation. The VI has said he plans to go to the area himself in the coming months.

Why would they be so desperate to find her, to the point of taking actions themselves to solve the case and find out what happened to Barbara if she was in HK with them?

The VI has said he is certain she is not in HK. He hoped she would turn up, but that has not happened.

Imo
 
MsBetsy said:
I meant from everything we have heard and the information the VI has given I did not get the idea that Barbara was getting tired of camping and hiking. It was something she loved doing all her life, or at least since he has known her, so it doesn't seem likely she would suddenly stop enjoying it.

The family has been speaking to LE from the beginning and they feel certain there is foul play involved.
In a recent post I mentioned that they are considering pursuing other avenues if LE does not find anything in their investigation. The VI has said he plans to go to the area himself in the coming months.

Why would they be so desperate to find her, to the point of taking actions themselves to solve the case and find out what happened to Barbara if she was in HK with them?

The VI has said he is certain she is not in HK. He hoped she would turn up, but that has not happened.

Imo
Click to expand...
Alright, BT is not in the HK. That doesn't mean she couldn't have hopped transportation (whether it be via bus or a supportive friend) and took off to regions unknown.

It is possible.
 
ChuckMaureen said:
Alright, BT is not in the HK. That doesn't mean she couldn't have hopped transportation (whether it be via bus or a supportive friend) and took off to regions unknown.

It is possible.
Click to expand...
As a big dog lover myself, I dont think she would have left Lexi somehow. Also, she has a good relationship with her brother and family in HK. I dont think she'd allow them to suffer. JMO
 
ChuckMaureen said:
Alright, BT is not in the HK. That doesn't mean she couldn't have hopped transportation (whether it be via bus or a supportive friend) and took off to regions unknown.

It is possible.
Click to expand...

So...where did she have this friend pick her up, is still my question. To get to a bus.

Again, are you assuming she walked off in Needles and that RT, in embarrassment or for some other reason, staged a disappearance out on Kelbacker Road? Or did she get out of the truck at a stoplight in Bullhead City?

She doesn't need a "supportive friend" to get to a bus, unless you're proposing that somehow she left from the Granite Mountains area by insisting on walking ahead of RT to the pull-out (but with no phone to let friend know where they had stopped).

I don't see any evidence that they had planned this specific stop in advance. There were probably other stops. Said friend would have to be waiting nearby to see when BT approached the road (but without phone contact at any time since they left home). The timing had to be really tight or RT would have seen it.

Why not just plan it from your own home and take a few things besides a bikini and sunglasses? Or are you assuming that whole thing is not true?

And I agree, she'd take the dog.
 
kay74 said:
I'm surprised they don't use drones regularly, even the day she was missing. You can spot people very well on them. They could have spotted her walking around that day!
Click to expand...
More and more they are using drones.. It has gone from a toy to a tool..
oct 17th .. A Drone searcher found a 6 year old using thermal infrared technology built into his drone.
Missing 6-Year-Old Found by Drone
A missing 6-year-old boy in Minnesota was found alive thanks to a drone during a 10-hour search by more than 600 volunteers. The disappearance of Ethan Haus had many in Sherburne County looking for the child after he got off the school bus with his siblings and ran off to play with the family dog earlier in the week. That was the last time anyone saw him. As temperatures dropped to near freezing, the search intensified. A local photographer, Steve Fines, had the idea to use his drone to help.
 
Last edited:
Becoming Tired of a Common Interest?
MsBetsy said:
I don't think there is any indication that she was getting tired of hiking or camping or that her love of nature had diminished. ....
Click to expand...
bbm sbm
ChuckMaureen said:
bbm
What would you expect to see as 'indication'? BT isn't here to reveal her inner-most thoughts, maybe thoughts she would not want to reveal to anyone except the remotest of family? Who knows.
Common like, perhaps. But if that common like morphed in to something the other never envisioned it to be, such as having become a matter-of-course, routine, doing it only a certain person's way and more often and with conditions not agreeable over the long run? We don't know... but it's on the table....
Click to expand...
 bbm sbm
@MsBetsy :) @ChuckMaureen :)
MSM has carried no indications, after a ~14 yr marriage, that either BT or RT had become tired of a common interest initially drawing them together. Their common interests could include something other than desert/walks/camping. For ex: ballroom or salsa dancing, home improvement int. & ext. projects, gambling, genealogy, attending sports events, vid RPG, who-knows-what. Maybe they both still love desert/walks/camping, but another common interest has fizzled out for one or both. IIRC, dbdb11 and son have not said anything BT or RT losing interests or having other interests. No reason that our VI @dbdb11 would necessarily know. Or her son. So what indication would we see?

Paraphrasing ChuckMaureen's post, sometimes husband or wife may lose some/all interest in a given common activity, or one may go over the top w it as an all consuming time suck, virtually excluding interaction w spouse. There's a reason behind terms like 'golf widow' or 'bridge widower,' sometimes spoken by spouse to a third party in a light hearted way, but hiding feelings of rejection. I think any/all of us can see that happening in lives around us, sometimes sooner than 14 yrs, sometimes later.

What, if anything, do RT's (three?) prior marriages say about his sense of commitment/
reliability/fidelity/steadfastness? We could ask the same about BT and her (one?) prior marriage.
IDK if those prior marriages tell us anything, just a question crossing my mind.
 
al66pine said:
Cactus & Outdoor Recreation
@LietKynes :) sbm
For those who have never had Close-Encounters-of-the-Cholla-Kind, lemme tell ya.

W fleshy parts of cholla 'flicked off' unfortunately the worst is not over. Vid ^ shown on larger-than-phone screen shows big spines still protruding from the bicycler's skin. They get embedded but can be pulled out. After that there still remain almost invisible hairy barbs that try the patience of Job to remove, or at least bright light, magnifier, and tweezers. Usu some swearing too. Then the Lanocaine to treat the residual rashy, itchy, scratchy feeling.

Having lived in SW'ern desert for several yrs, seems likely BT had some exposure to cactus. Maybe from prior swimwear-clad walks, she knew hiking boots were sufficient, if she was careful about where she walked and if the trail/path was wide its whole length. IDK, I just can't imagine. All jmo.
Click to expand...

I agree that BT would have known that cactus spines are to be avoided. Regarding getting those tiny fine cactus spines out (in some species the fine spines are called "glochids") I've heard that white glue (such as Elmer's) can be helpful. You put on some glue, let it dry thoroughly, and then pull it off. Apparently most of the glochids will come with it. Repeat as needed. JMO
 
LAhiker said:
I agree that BT would have known that cactus spines are to be avoided. Regarding getting those tiny fine cactus spines out (in some species the fine spines are called "glochids") I've heard that white glue (such as Elmer's) can be helpful. You put on some glue, let it dry thoroughly, and then pull it off. Apparently most of the glochids will come with it. Repeat as needed. JMO
Click to expand...
@LAhiker :) bbm Thanks for your post, as apparently you heard right, and recommendation was on target. Wish I would have known a few years back. At the time(s) [yes, plural] I did not think to ask my buddy wiki, who endorsed your post and backed it up w an honest to goodness medical study.*
Now back to finding BT.
-----------------------------------------------------
* Removing Glochidia
"...using a thin layer of household glue (Elmer's Glue-All, Borden Inc) covered with gauze, allowed to dry (about 30 minutes) and then peeled off resulted in removal of 63% of the spines..."
Using face mask or adhesive tape methods ~1/2 as effective as ^ and produced more inflammation than no treatment at all. Yikes.
"... the most effective method is to first use tweezers to remove clumps of spines followed by the application and removal of household glue, resulting in removal of 95% of the spines."
Glochid - Wikipedia
 
Status
Not open for further replies.

DNASolves

Who is Escambia County John Doe (1989)?

Members online

... and 212 more.
Total: 3,738 (members: 213, guests: 3,525)

Online statistics

Members online
213
Guests online
3,525
Total visitors
3,738
Totals may include hidden visitors.

Forum statistics

Threads
592,142
Messages
17,964,067
Members
228,700
Latest member
amberdw2021
Back
Top