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

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PommyMommy said:
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
Click to expand...

Preach it, sista! :p
 
GordianKnot said:
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.
Click to expand...

I agree. The sheer amount of digital information (or lack of it) has to be put together. I'm guessing that the Needles/Colorado River responding division has to put this in a queue with other evidence requests. Also, as with so many cases that end up in the criminal queue, this one goes across jurisdictions.

<modsnip - no link for this info>

His phone records and especially his google maps/other map location software will be critical. I assume they looked at his phone when he went in for his investigative interview (and gave the polygraph). But it won't show everything that his google locations would show.

If he turned off his google locations (a rare thing for people to do), then of course LE is going to be even more suspicious of him.

I think it's possible she got turned around by taking one of the minor trails branching off that main one and would have walked 10-15 (in the wrong direction) before becoming concerned...the searchers surely took this into account. However, we don't know her mental state and too many people in the desert end up being found, deceased from natural causes/misadventure.

When it's winter and there's less foliage, chances of finding the body go up.
 
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I’m sure that LE is investigating all possibilities. She was reported to be missing in the desert so they had to search the desert thoroughly. They would have been joyous if they had found her alive and well; sad but relieved if they could have at least found her body. Searching that area was their duty, even if they had reason to suspect that something happened to her elsewhere.

I think they would have found her by now if she was there. Even if she was hidden between rocks, there would have been obvious natural predator activity to lead searchers to a body.

I fully believe that she is not in the area she was reported missing. If something had happened to her in the short time her husband said he lost sight of her, there would have been noise that he could hear and some indication of a struggle. Her beer container would have fallen to the ground.

What is the likelihood that a kidnapper, not a good samaritan, just happened to drive past and snatch her in the short time she was out of sight?

Investigations take time. I believe that most of the time, LE knows what happened but can’t say until all evidence is obtained with reasonable cause and warrants. When a person is missing, the best way to find them is to sit back and watch the suspects. If you arrest a perp too soon, the location of the missing person may never be revealed.

MOO
 
10ofRods said:
I agree. The sheer amount of digital information (or lack of it) has to be put together. I'm guessing that the Needles/Colorado River responding division has to put this in a queue with other evidence requests. Also, as with so many cases that end up in the criminal queue, this one goes across jurisdictions.

IIRC, they served a warrant on RT's house. My source for that is probably not MSM, so MOO and probably a person claiming to be a neighbor, posting here. We don't have a verified insider for this case. The warrant, I think, would have to be served by Bullhead City authorities...

His phone records and especially his google maps/other map location software will be critical. I assume they looked at his phone when he went in for his investigative interview (and gave the polygraph). But it won't show everything that his google locations would show.

If he turned off his google locations (a rare thing for people to do), then of course LE is going to be even more suspicious of him.

I think it's possible she got turned around by taking one of the minor trails branching off that main one and would have walked 10-15 (in the wrong direction) before becoming concerned...the searchers surely took this into account. However, we don't know her mental state and too many people in the desert end up being found, deceased from natural causes/misadventure.

When it's winter and there's less foliage, chances of finding the body go up.
Click to expand...
BBM:

Fortunately, we DO have a verified insider in this case:

@dbdb11 , do you know whether or not LE executed search warrants for RT's house and/or the RV, his electronic data, computer, cell phone, etc.?

TIA!
 
10ofRods said:
I agree. The sheer amount of digital information (or lack of it) has to be put together. I'm guessing that the Needles/Colorado River responding division has to put this in a queue with other evidence requests. Also, as with so many cases that end up in the criminal queue, this one goes across jurisdictions.

IIRC, they served a warrant on RT's house. My source for that is probably not MSM, so MOO and probably a person claiming to be a neighbor, posting here. We don't have a verified insider for this case. The warrant, I think, would have to be served by Bullhead City authorities...

His phone records and especially his google maps/other map location software will be critical. I assume they looked at his phone when he went in for his investigative interview (and gave the polygraph). But it won't show everything that his google locations would show.

If he turned off his google locations (a rare thing for people to do), then of course LE is going to be even more suspicious of him.

I think it's possible she got turned around by taking one of the minor trails branching off that main one and would have walked 10-15 (in the wrong direction) before becoming concerned...the searchers surely took this into account. However, we don't know her mental state and too many people in the desert end up being found, deceased from natural causes/misadventure.

When it's winter and there's less foliage, chances of finding the body go up.
Click to expand...

Just for the record, we do have a verified insider for this case: @dbdb11.

While you're right that foliage decreases in winter, remember that she was last said to be in the desert, where there is different foliage than in other places and winter tends to be less wintery. MOO
 
We do have a verified insider in this case.


oviedo said:
@Tricia
CA - CA - Barbara Thomas, 69, Bullhead City, hiking wearing bikini in Mojave desert, 12 July 2019
Bringing this over from thread #1
Hey Everyone,

dbdb11 is now a verified family member of Barbara's.

You may ask questions of dbdb11 but you may not argue or in any way harrass a verified member. If you choose not to believe this person then scroll by.

dbdb11 thank you very much for your willingness to become verified. You will help us better understand Barbara's case and that means we can discuss her case in a more fact based manner.

Take Care,
Tricia

Today at 6:25
Click to expand...
 
I wonder if she fell into a ravine or wash? The temps have been so high that she would quickly dehydrate especially if she was drinking. I live in Needles California which is near where she went missing and the temps have reached 119 last week. The monsoons have not arrived in our area yet.
 
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.
Click to expand...
Yes, it's frustrating that we have not heard anything.

I wonder if the VI or anyone in the family has spoken to LE about their progress in the investigation and can give us an update.
I know he mentioned last week that Barbara's son was planning on talking to LE and also doing some interviews soon.
I wonder what ever happened with that. Imo
 
we've obviously not forgotten Barbara here. And I have no doubt - not one iota - that LE is actively working Barbara's case. Waiting is a form of suffering for those who genuinely love and care about Barbara... May they get the answers they need soon. <zips her trap>
 
10ofRods said:
i'd think it would be on reconstructing RT's movements that day, through whatever means possible.
Click to expand...

I agree that LE is carefully and methodically retracing RT's movements that day.

Additionally, unless neighbors saw her that morning or surveillance cameras caught her image somewhere on the way into that desert, I think LE's also working hard to determine when and where the last independent sighting of BT occurred.

If the last independent sighting of BT occurred prior to July 12, LE's going to be working off an entirely different starting point in the missing timeline, which in turn will mean they need to work their way even further backward, both in terms of tracking both his and her physical and digital footprints.

JMO.
 
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TGIRecovered said:
I’m sure that LE is investigating all possibilities. She was reported to be missing in the desert so they had to search the desert thoroughly. They would have been joyous if they had found her alive and well; sad but relieved if they could have at least found her body. Searching that area was their duty, even if they had reason to suspect that something happened to her elsewhere.

I think they would have found her by now if she was there. Even if she was hidden between rocks, there would have been obvious natural predator activity to lead searchers to a body.

I fully believe that she is not in the area she was reported missing. If something had happened to her in the short time her husband said he lost sight of her, there would have been noise that he could hear and some indication of a struggle. Her beer container would have fallen to the ground.

What is the likelihood that a kidnapper, not a good samaritan, just happened to drive past and snatch her in the short time she was out of sight?

Investigations take time. I believe that most of the time, LE knows what happened but can’t say until all evidence is obtained with reasonable cause and warrants. When a person is missing, the best way to find them is to sit back and watch the suspects. If you arrest a perp too soon, the location of the missing person may never be revealed.

MOO
Click to expand...

You make many excellent points that I agree with, but I’m going to single out one to disagree with. :(

.Even if she was hidden between rocks, there would have been obvious natural predator activity to lead searchers to a body.
Click to expand...

Unfortunately, this seldom happens. Many people are found skeletonized, on the surface of the ground, without anyone having noticed scavenger activity at all. I assume you mean vulture activity? Maybe no one was looking in the right direction at the right time? Maybe there weren’t vultures in the area at the right time? I know one case, Hannah Graham, where, after she was found, someone said that they HAD noticed vultures, but hadn’t put two and two together.

MOO
 
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GordianKnot said:
I absolutely agree that LE is carefully and methodically retracing RT's movements that day.

Additionally, unless neighbors saw her in the vehicle when it pulled out of the driveway that morning at 8:15 or surveillance cameras caught her image somewhere on the way into that desert, I think LE's also likely working hard to determine when and where the last independent sighting of BT occurred.

If the last independent sighting of BT occurred prior to July 12, LE's going to be working off an entirely different starting point in the missing timeline, which in turn will mean they need to work their way even further backward, both in terms of tracking both his and her physical and digital footprints.

JMO.
Click to expand...
If they are working diligently they sure are quiet about it. and MSM isn't around either. ......
 
wary said:
You make many excellent points that I agree with, but I’m going to single out one to disagree with. :(



Unfortunately, this seldom happens. Many people are found skeletonized, on the surface of the ground, without anyone having noticed scavenger activity at all. I assume you mean vulture activity? Maybe no one was looking in the right direction at the right time? Maybe there weren’t vultures in the area at the right time? I know one case, Hannah Graham, where, after she was found, someone said that they HAD noticed vultures, but hadn’t put two and two together.
Click to expand...
BBM:

Totally different set of circumstances here, though.

In that HG case, she was out in a remote location nowhere near where she was last seen.
In other words, no one was actually looking for there.

In this case, you have (purportedly) a known location from which BT went missing.
There were searchers out in force for days looking for any sign of her...including helicopters flying overhead.

There's no way trained searchers would have failed to notice scavengers in the area.

JMO.
 
GordianKnot said:
BBM:

Totally different set of circumstances here, though.

In that HG case, she was out in a remote location nowhere near where she was last seen.
In other words, no one was actually looking for there.

In this case, you have (purportedly) a known location from which BT went missing.
There were searchers out in force for days looking for any sign of her...including helicopters flying overhead.

There's no way trained searchers would have failed to notice scavengers in the area.

JMO.
Click to expand...

Why Vultures Devoured Hiker's Body in Minutes
 
So sad to hear of another missing hiker in desert climate.

This reminds me so much of the missing Paul Miller case who disappeared at Joshua Tree park which has a desert type climate too.

For Barbara's case the one thing that stuck out to me was her husband mentioning she had a beer.
Is beer or alcohol even allowed on the trails?

I know some people may break rules but if it is not allowed to begin with then it brings up some more questions I would have.

And even if it is allowed and with my understanding of hiking in hot climates alcohol would not typically be what you want to bring to hydrate yourself. I know a cold beer is refreshing but for a hike on a desert trail I think I would be more inclinded to bring plain water.

Hope she is found soon one way or another. So sad. :(

CA - CA - Paul Miller, 51, Canadian missing in Joshua Tree Natl Park, San Bernardino Co., 13 Jul 2018 #2
 
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