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

[fictionisbetter]

Barbara Thomas was hiking with her husband in the Mojave Desert and they became separated. She has not been seen since.

Search underway for lost hiker in Mojave Desert

"Thomas does not have supplies or a cell phone, and she was last seen wearing a black bikini, red baseball cap and tan hiking boots with black socks."

"She is a resident of Bullhead City, and she is 5 feet and 9 inches tall, weighing about 130 pounds, with blonde hair and green eyes."

Media, Maps, Timeline *NO DISCUSSION* thread

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Thread #5 - CA - CA - Barbara Thomas, 69, from Bullhead City AZ, disappeared in Mojave desert, 12 July 2019 #5
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[Sillybilly]

Thread is open again.

Many posts have been removed in response to the OP suggestion regarding undie pics for money.

Such speculation is not victim friendly, is distasteful, and there is nothing in MSM to support such discussion (and subsequent bickering).

 

[Sillybilly]

We don't like to yell and we don't like issuing bans, but we are getting fed up with members not paying attention to WS rules and policies. ...

From a previous admonition of a previous admonition:

ADMIN NOTE:

Websleuths is VICTIM FRIENDLY.

From my admonition in a previous thread:

You may question what an individual says or does in MSM but you may NOT make accusations or insinuations that they are responsible for a crime unless they have been officially named a POI or suspect by law enforcement.

Members who continue to make accusations will receive a thread reply ban.

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Please "Like" this post to indicate that you have read it and that you understand it. Thread will re-open later on today.

If there is something you do not understand about the above, please contact any Mod or Admin and we will clarify further.

 

[muddlehead]

agree with all of the above. Could have been media strategy. Another niggle is the idea that she’d wander far enough not to be found in searches, I guess. Especially as she’s described as an experienced hiker.

There’s a lot of “what are the chances eh?” across all possible theories with this one.

Well, Beans. (Sounds like I'm Fred McMurray talking to Edward G Robinson on the recording machine explaining the details in Double Indemnity) Listen to the interviews RT gave at the beginning of the disappearance. About a year ago, now. It's really almost all we have to go on in this case. You'll find the links. Re: the beer. RT implies his wife's disappearance is owed to the fact that she was crossing a road w/a beer in her hand wearing a bikini. He says she might have been kidnapped and driven to Las Vegas. He does not state in these 2 interviews he thinks she became heat stricken and disoriented and unfortunately wandered aimlessly in the desert till she died. Please, read that previous sentence again and let it sink in. RT was the last to see his wife. His thoughts, one might say, a day or two after the event, are kind of significant - prepared and rehearsed as they might be. There you have it. Hence the significance of a beer and a bikini in the disappearance case of a woman in the desert.

 

[Knox]

Well, Beans. (Sounds like I'm Fred McMurray talking to Edward G Robinson on the recording machine explaining the details in Double Indemnity) Listen to the interviews RT gave at the beginning of the disappearance. About a year ago, now. It's really almost all we have to go on in this case. You'll find the links. Re: the beer. RT implies his wife's disappearance is owed to the fact that she was crossing a road w/a beer in her hand wearing a bikini. He says she might have been kidnapped and driven to Las Vegas. He does not state in these 2 interviews he thinks she became heat stricken and disoriented and unfortunately wandered aimlessly in the desert till she died. Please, read that previous sentence again and let it sink in. RT was the last to see his wife. His thoughts, one might say, a day or two after the event, are kind of significant - prepared and rehearsed as they might be. There you have it. Hence the significance of a beer and a bikini in the disappearance case of a woman in the desert.

Pretty specific as to where he thought BT may have been taken.

Not Barstow, not Arizona, not Los Angeles, not Mexico, not Hong Kong. But Las Vegas.

If he had said she got lost and aimlessly wandered about the desert. She would be found somewhere in that area, eventually. Right?

 

[Sleuth2u]

Just wondering... if the vehicle had been driven to the hiking spot, then driven somewhere else, and then returned... would there be tire tracks indicating that? Or do tracks get blown away quickly? I’m not familiar with desert roads.

 

[Knox]

Hmmn, does anyone remember RT saying something about tire tracks and LE SAR vehicles messing up any potential evidence?

Similar to BM complaining that LE messed up potential evidence in the recovery of his wife's (Suzanne) bike.

 

[Cherwell]

Well, Beans. (Sounds like I'm Fred McMurray talking to Edward G Robinson on the recording machine explaining the details in Double Indemnity) Listen to the interviews RT gave at the beginning of the disappearance. About a year ago, now. It's really almost all we have to go on in this case. You'll find the links. Re: the beer. RT implies his wife's disappearance is owed to the fact that she was crossing a road w/a beer in her hand wearing a bikini. He says she might have been kidnapped and driven to Las Vegas. He does not state in these 2 interviews he thinks she became heat stricken and disoriented and unfortunately wandered aimlessly in the desert till she died. Please, read that previous sentence again and let it sink in. RT was the last to see his wife. His thoughts, one might say, a day or two after the event, are kind of significant - prepared and rehearsed as they might be. There you have it. Hence the significance of a beer and a bikini in the disappearance case of a woman in the desert.

I think we need to keep in mind that at the time he gave the interview (there was only one interview) the search had been under way for some time. I'm not sure how long but long enough for Barbara's survival to be highly unlikely out in the desert.
"He does not state in these 2 interviews he thinks she became heat stricken and disoriented and unfortunately wandered aimlessly in the desert till she died."
No, he didn't because he wasn't ready to face up to that. He was trying to come up with a scenario in which she might have survived - clutching at straws, simple as that.

 

[Seajay]

Can’t believe it’s been almost a year and she still hasn’t been found.

How large is her estate again? Why hasn’t any resources been used by DH (dear hubby) to try to find her.

Since March, if she were in Vegas, she would have been sheltering in place, so she would have needed a place. Vegas was closed down, she would have needed money, a means to live.

Pretty much, she’s gone. No one is looking for her, no one seems to care, but us.

 

[oviedo]

Can’t believe it’s been almost a year and she still hasn’t been found.

How large is her estate again? Why hasn’t any resources been used by DH (dear hubby) to try to find her.

Since March, if she were in Vegas, she would have been sheltering in place, so she would have needed a place. Vegas was closed down, she would have needed money, a means to live.

Pretty much, she’s gone. No one is looking for her, no one seems to care, but us.

yes, they do seem to go on don't they? Cheryl Coker's remains were found - no arrests yet. Barb may never be found - IMO

 

[K9Enzo]

I often say we don’t know what the family is doing behind the scenes to find their missing loved one. However, in this case , I believe there’s most likely no activity. IMO

If I’m wrong, my sincere apologies.

 

[Curiousobserver]

I think we need to keep in mind that at the time he gave the interview (there was only one interview) the search had been under way for some time. I'm not sure how long but long enough for Barbara's survival to be highly unlikely out in the desert.
"He does not state in these 2 interviews he thinks she became heat stricken and disoriented and unfortunately wandered aimlessly in the desert till she died."
No, he didn't because he wasn't ready to face up to that. He was trying to come up with a scenario in which she might have survived - clutching at straws, simple as that.

Exactly, because if she got lost, which I believe she did, that would be at least partially his fault and therefore very difficult to admit. As would an argument that led her to storm off (hypothetically). Anything "off" about his behavior is actually fairly easy to explain by something ordinary that we might not know.

 

[muddlehead]

Pretty specific as to where he thought BT may have been taken.

Not Barstow, not Arizona, not Los Angeles, not Mexico, not Hong Kong. But Las Vegas.

If he had said she got lost and aimlessly wandered about the desert. She would be found somewhere in that area, eventually. Right?

The only people who think she got lost and wandered aimlessly about the desert are on this site.

 

[Skillz]

Been gone a while...stopped by, hoping for an update. I hope Barbara is found soon!

I am originally from Bullhead City, AZ, but relocated to NM in 2009. Any other locals in this thread?

 

[Beans]

Well, Beans. (Sounds like I'm Fred McMurray talking to Edward G Robinson on the recording machine explaining the details in Double Indemnity) Listen to the interviews RT gave at the beginning of the disappearance. About a year ago, now. It's really almost all we have to go on in this case. You'll find the links. Re: the beer. RT implies his wife's disappearance is owed to the fact that she was crossing a road w/a beer in her hand wearing a bikini. He says she might have been kidnapped and driven to Las Vegas. He does not state in these 2 interviews he thinks she became heat stricken and disoriented and unfortunately wandered aimlessly in the desert till she died. Please, read that previous sentence again and let it sink in. RT was the last to see his wife. His thoughts, one might say, a day or two after the event, are kind of significant - prepared and rehearsed as they might be. There you have it. Hence the significance of a beer and a bikini in the disappearance case of a woman in the desert.

Well, aye. I think we might be on the same page here.

Maybe it’s just plain bad luck that the last person to see her was her husband, in a remote area on a stop that nobody else knew about, when she had no phone, protective clothing, water or hike supplies, and was wearing a bikini and drinking a beer.

What are the chances.

 

[GordianKnot]

The only people who think she got lost and wandered aimlessly about the desert are on this site.

BBM:

The people who think that are in the minority, even here on this thread.
I don't believe for one second that she "wandered off" and got lost.

She didn't get abducted because she "was wearing a bikini and she had a beer in her hand."

LE searched that location for days.
They stated they found no evidence of BT being there in that desert.
None.

Occam says the simplest explanation for LE finding no evidence of BT in that desert location is that she wasn't there.

RT went on tv and said LE told him that it showed deception, i.e., he flunked it.

This ain't rocket science.

JMO.

 

[Beans]

Exactly. A whole year of catching up occasionally on this thread and I still don’t understand why anyone believes she was even there in the first place. I could be wrong, so wrong, but is there any reason to think that even LE truly believed she was there at all?

 

[bradfordsleuth]

One thing that always bothered me about this case is knowing that RT owned a plane that he and BT had used on occasion (confirmed by our VI) and never hearing that he used it in air searches to look for her.

He must really be convinced that she was no longer there to be found...

JMO

 

[Beans]

One thing that always bothered me about this case is knowing that RT owned a plane that he and BT had used on occasion (confirmed by our VI) and never hearing that he used it in air searches to look for her.

He must really be convinced that she was no longer there to be found...

JMO

I thought I’d done a decent job of following this story but there’s a plane? Do you know where it’s based or anything about usage or flight schedules?

*wee wave to Bradford from north of border*
*edit: is there a Bradford in USA?*

 

[Auntie Cipation]

Exactly. A whole year of catching up occasionally on this thread and I still don’t understand why anyone believes she was even there in the first place. I could be wrong, so wrong, but is there any reason to think that even LE truly believed she was there at all?

I think the reasoning is that LE searched that location for, IIRC, nine days. That's a long time. I certainly hope they were simultaneously searching other areas and pursuing other theories.

Personally I don't think she was there that day.

I take RT's words/story and ask myself, how would he behave if he was innocent? And there are things I think an innocent spouse, no matter how socially awkward or media shy, would have done or said. That he didn't do.

I can definitely imagine realistic and non-criminal scenarios where she disappeared while wearing a bikini and holding a beer, even while thinking she knew better than to undertake a hike or walk in such garb ill-protective for the sun and heat.

I'm inclined to think that, in general, when a guilty person tells a story, the details are often given such that when the body of the missing person is found, it will appear to validate the story.

So if in theory RT hurt her, he might have put her somewhere that would appear to be "on the way to Vegas" starting from the Kelbaker site.

On the other hand if he's innocent of hurting her and doesn't know what happened (and we all know it's sadly entirely realistic for a person to go down on the desert floor and not be found for years) then I have to wonder why he's not made a public correction of the quote that made the news implying he thought she was kidnapped due to her clothes and maybe alcohol level. I can see an innocent person nervously saying something awkward like that but not letting it stand after realizing how it came across. IMO MOO