CA CA - Barbara Thomas, 69, from Bullhead City AZ, disappeared in Mojave desert, 12 July 2019 #4

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cryscrys said:
I still find it so odd that this is not in the news. I went to look and see if anything happened over the weekend and the most recent article I could find was a week ago. I live in So Cal and haven't heard this discussed on local news once. Could they think this is voluntary? They have suspended searches and don't seem to be too concerned, or could that mean they have good reason to think she is no longer with us and never was hiking to begin with. All JMO of course.
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Why would you think LE not concerned? They searched for her in triple-digit temperatures for nine days and have detectives in their Specialized Investigations Division investigating the case. MOO
 
PommyMommy said:
Why would you think LE not concerned? They searched for her in triple-digit temperatures for nine days and have detectives in their Specialized Investigations Division investigating the case. MOO
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It is just unusual for a missing person to go unmentioned. I understand that the heat complicates search efforts but something had to make them suspend searches on that 9th day. IF they thought she was out there lost or hurt I don't believe they would have done that. And I don't know if LE is concerned, they just don't seem concerned, no press conferences, no pleas to find her or call in with tips like we see in many other missing person cases.
 
cryscrys said:
It is just unusual for a missing person to go unmentioned. I understand that the heat complicates search efforts but something had to make them suspend searches on that 9th day. IF they thought she was out there lost or hurt I don't believe they would have done that. And I don't know if LE is concerned, they just don't seem concerned, no press conferences, no pleas to find her or call in with tips like we see in many other missing person cases.
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SAR is risky especially in severe temperature. Nobody wants to have to rescue a searcher.

Given the conditions and what we know about Barbara, if she did get lost she would not have lasted very long without water.

So do you risk the health of SAR for a recovery operation? Or pull back and let everyone recover for the next lost hiker search?

No matter what could have happened to BT, stopping the search was the right move. Perhaps when it gets cooler.
 
cryscrys said:
It is just unusual for a missing person to go unmentioned. I understand that the heat complicates search efforts but something had to make them suspend searches on that 9th day. IF they thought she was out there lost or hurt I don't believe they would have done that. And I don't know if LE is concerned, they just don't seem concerned, no press conferences, no pleas to find her or call in with tips like we see in many other missing person cases.
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BBM:

That's just it, though:
After 9 days, LE didn't think BT was lost or hurt out there in the desert.
If BT was out there in that desert for 9 days, she was dead.
I hate to state it that bluntly, but that's the stark reality.

LE conducted a thorough search of the area and found no trace of her in that location. None whatsoever.

Logically, it didn't make sense for LE to continue searching, given they had no evidence of her being there.
I think LE has reached the conclusion that she's not in that search area.
At this point, I think LE's questioning whether or not she ever was in that location.

I'm absolutely certain that LE is very, very concerned about what's happened to BT.
The fact that they're remaining extremely tight-lipped, is telling.

When LE was out in the desert searching, their efforts to locate BT were highly visible.
I don't think the investigative work LE's doing now is going to be nearly as visible to the public eye.
Lack of visibility should not be mistaken for lack of activity on their part, however.

I have no doubt LE's still working diligently to find BT.

JMO.
 
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cryscrys said:
It is just unusual for a missing person to go unmentioned. I understand that the heat complicates search efforts but something had to make them suspend searches on that 9th day. IF they thought she was out there lost or hurt I don't believe they would have done that. And I don't know if LE is concerned, they just don't seem concerned, no press conferences, no pleas to find her or call in with tips like we see in many other missing person cases.
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I've thought about posting all the daily missing persons cases from the greater SoCal area...but it's too tedious and really, no one wants to hear about most of them.

Since Barbara went missing, two women in my own local area also went missing (both now found). When Barbara first went missing, it was certainly news. And when the search was called off, local TV covered that too (I don't know about the LA Times because it's behind a pay wall, requires a credit card to read, and I don't trust them with my info, ha).

Anyway, I think most of us get our news from KTLA and KCAL here in SoCal, where there was some coverage.
 
cryscrys said:
It is just unusual for a missing person to go unmentioned. I understand that the heat complicates search efforts but something had to make them suspend searches on that 9th day. IF they thought she was out there lost or hurt I don't believe they would have done that. And I don't know if LE is concerned, they just don't seem concerned, no press conferences, no pleas to find her or call in with tips like we see in many other missing person cases.
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It's not at all unusual and Barbara has not gone unmentioned. Her disappearance has been covered by CNN, HLN, ABC, CBS... See media thread here: CA - AZ, Barbara Thomas,69,Timelind, Media, Maps, *NO DISCUSSION*

We have hundreds and hundreds of cases here that have never been mentioned in the news. There's a current Amber Alert for a 4-year-old girl from West Virginia that hasn't been mentioned in the news in a week.

Barbara would not have survived long in the desert without water. SAR teams have searched the area where she was reportedly last seen. They can't continue without some idea where to search. SBCSO said that more searches will be conducted as additional information develops in the investigation.

None of this means LE is not concerned. MOO
 
This seems like it would be a good place to be having posters put up - gas station & truck stop before you get to Kelbaker Rd. IIRC, someone had posted that a dispatch was made to this location to Colorado River station sheriff dept on 7/20/2019 for information. I still wonder if that an anything to do with a Barbara sighting.

Hi-sahara Oasis, Inc. | I-40 Exit 107 | Truck Stop/Service Directory

I-40, exit 107.
 
artsy1 said:
This seems like it would be a good place to be having posters put up - gas station & truck stop before you get to Kelbaker Rd. IIRC, someone had posted that a dispatch was made to this location to Colorado River station sheriff dept on 7/20/2019 for information. I still wonder if that an anything to do with a Barbara sighting.

Hi-sahara Oasis, Inc. | I-40 Exit 107 | Truck Stop/Service Directory

I-40, exit 107.
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@chihuahua, any idea if there's a flyer up here? MOO
 
cryscrys said:
I think my post may have been misleading. I never intended to imply that LE did anything wrong. More just that the silence on her disappearance is loud. That is all.
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Agreed.

LE's silence here is deafening.

I'm sure for some, the silence is incredibly uncomfortable.

Sometimes, that's the intended effect.

JMO.
 
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cryscrys said:
I still find it so odd that this is not in the news. I went to look and see if anything happened over the weekend and the most recent article I could find was a week ago. I live in So Cal and haven't heard this discussed on local news once. Could they think this is voluntary? They have suspended searches and don't seem to be too concerned, or could that mean they have good reason to think she is no longer with us and never was hiking to begin with. All JMO of course.
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I’m losing my mind because I have read a couple of references to Dateline having addressed this case and now I can’t find where I read it. And I watch Dateline regularly and never saw this. Does anyone recall Dateline touching this?

ETA, I always forget about the Media threads. I’ll check there.

Also, I’d love to know if RT or other friends/family are participating in any activities to keep the case in the public eye - distributing posters and flyers, etc. I watch way too much ID but have seen many relatives of the missing pulling out all the stops to keep their loved one’s image visible - sometimes even managing to get billboards posted in relevant areas. In this case, where the area is remote, perhaps posters could be placed at the nearby parking lot that @sroad mentioned. I know billboards wouldn’t be possible here, but what about on the major highways that lead toward here? RT seems to be a man of some means to afford this, or his community might pitch in also.
 
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GordianKnot said:
Agreed.

LE's silence here is deafening.

I'm sure for some, the silence is incredibly uncomfortable.

Sometimes, that's the intended effect.

JMO.
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I think you're right, i'm sure the police are investigating all avenues, and most likely they cannot say anything for legal reasons at the moment, but hopefully something will come to light about this soon.
 
Putting a poster up at the trailhead may make you feel like you are doing something, especially if they have a chance at still being alive.

If she's there, any hikers who find her will report it without needing a missing poster.
 
PaulR said:
Putting a poster up at the trailhead may make you feel like you are doing something, especially if they have a chance at still being alive.

If she's there, any hikers who find her will report it without needing a missing poster.
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Right. What I’m wondering about is if RT is doing anything, or wanting to feel like he’s doing something, no matter how futile. Many, many families of the missing do so.

If she is there, possibly someone might find her red cap or other item, but not realize it’s significance without having known about the case.
 
Someone on here who talked to searchers or was a searcher, mentioned they did not search the other side of the road as thoroughly as the side she was suppose to be on to get to the RV. She loved collecting rocks, her hubby was not back to the rv yet so who's to say she did not cross the road and look for more rocks, got disorientated and lost!
 
Mystery lingers around woman's disappearance


This is a link to a 2007 article about ANOTHER missing hiker-this one in Montana. Her circumstances are eerily similar and I wonder if that event was used as inspiration for THIS event. Her first name is Barbara too! Here is an excerpt from that article:

The pair then enjoyed the mountain views for maybe a half-hour or 40 minutes before deciding to head back down the hill.

Ramaker said Barbara was only about 20 or 30 feet away when he turned to take one more look at the scenery. It was a short look - maybe 45 seconds, maybe a minute. When he turned around, Barbara was gone. It was the last time he saw her, he'd tell investigators later.

"This is really a tough one for me," Johnson said. "It's outside of my scope of experience. I haven't been able to find anyone else who's had a similar experience. We're talking about a minute and then you look back and she's gone."

Thank you to the person who fixed my 'link.'
 
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