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

Much respect, admiration, and love to you.

 

I would gladly.
When thinking about the things he said and done I changed my mind.
Barbara leaving him love notes under his pillow, he cherishing them and having kept them all. Him thinking she is a striking beauty even at 69 in her bikini, thinking she would be kidnapped. He always has his arm around her, or she around him, even when people are standing in between them. He loved her, and was loved by her. This was no marriage gone sour or greatly disturbed in order for the husband to plan to murder her. IMO

 

Thanks

 

That's extremely gracious of you, IMO, dbdb11. It must be very challenging to balance your concern for your aunt with digesting information on her disappearance and trying to be even handed about her husband's behavior.

I feel strongly that it was extremely cavalier if not negligent for RT to not immediately alert BT's family that she was missing.

There was nothing in his attitude or demeanor in the first few days after she disappeared and he was on MSM that made him seem like he was sheepish and 'didn't dare' notify her family because he felt bad about the circumstances of her disappearance.

On the contrary, he gave several interviews, was quite outgoing, invited MSM into their home, never said anything about feeling responsible for anything even under those extreme conditions they were hiking in, and immediately put his theory out there as to her being abducted and his reasons why (beer, bikini, had to cross a road) and where she might be (Vegas).

My hunch is that he thought if his theory gained traction, and there was some further play to her being in Las Vegas on some kind of jaunt with her abductor, that he wasn't really on the hook to be contacting family because she was just not around for now, who knows where she is or when she'll be back.

I think he simply avoided contacting her family for days because he didn't put any personal value on her connections with them, and didn't think of them at all, which goes to speak to his character.

All JMO MOO IMO

 

I realize that, living not far from a similar environment. My yard has some of the same plants (native).

But in looking at the search photos, the creosote, alone, is far far more dense this year (and those flowering shrubs are usually rare - not thickly carpeted in the northern side of the rocks).

So in years like this, when the Mojave is so beautifully and densely carpeted, a person seeking shade (or feeling very ill and disoriented) may curl up under some creosote or similar plants and not be easily seen. Especially, if it it's a jumble of rocks and plants.

SAR teams are volunteers and many go back from time to time for failed searches. They know that when winter comes and things die back (and it rains and bones wash out of rock crevices), it's a good time to return.

Winter starts out dry and windy, scouring the desert of much plant life. Chollas look less flowery and more stark. A flyover might reveal a red cap (it's always a good idea to wear a brightly colored tank top, btw, just for safety purposes). You can read about the discovery of the missing Germans (in winter, in Death Valley, after years of being missing).

Winter also gives searchers wider range into remote areas on foot. When the rains first come, there are gully washers and the plants don't start blooming again until it warms up in spring, so there are two windows of opportunity (the early winter and the wet winter). Checking drainages for human bones is something many people do in late winter, actually.

 

A plane?
A boat
A new truck
A new Keystone Cougar fifth wheel

Wow

 

It's possible - it happens. Probably not into a wash (at least not one nearby) and as to ravines, there are ravine-like places in the granite outcroppings (you can see them on google maps). They did have rock climbers out there for two days, but they can't check the bottom of each crevasse/ravine. She would have had to gain altitude above where she was hiking, though.

As someone who managed to have heat stroke (just outside of Needles, so not far from where Barbara went missing), one of the symptoms is euphoria. I am not a particularly extroverted person IRL, but on that day (I was in a car without air conditioning - and without water, long story) I was first miserable and achy and really worried about what to do. The person who had taken my water and was in another vehicle was ignoring our signaling system and this was before cell phones. I just kept driving.

Well, pretty soon, I felt better. WAY better. Really peachy! I tried to pull up alongside people and wave to them and mouth words to them. I didn't want to stop, and when we finally did stop, I was not concerned about water or finding shade. Euphoria is a symptom of heat stroke. My body temp was 102.5 and rising.

So, if she went from overheated to true hyperthermia, she might have decided that climbing some nearby rock formation was a super cool thing to do. Then, the chances of being in a ravine and eventually washed out of that space - maybe after a year or two - are much higher. Searchers know all this. Heck, I knew that at the time, but managed to completely be in a different frame of mind where all sense flew out of my mind.

I was traveling with a physician, btw...in that other car. He did notice, thankfully. I guess I was clammy and my skin had lost color, whereas I'd been flushed earlier. It was only 3 hours in 117-118 heat, but it was starting to cook me.

 

Snipped for brevity
Emphasis mine

I also agree this was no kidnapping.

 

So, RT has a plane ?
Did Barbara's family know this ?
Is it possible they flew somewhere, on the day she went missing ?

 

This is a good area for a drone search.. Early morning or late evening.. Cameras recording everything.

 

BBM

Thanks for pointing this out, esp. the bolded portions.
Curious.
Also wondering what a 'few' marriages means ? 3 ? 4?
And how they ended.

 

as is my understanding, non verified members should not be discussing these points. but verified insiders are invited to share more personal details because they have direct knowledge of people involved.

hence a verification process.

this is why i appealed to Robbie's family, and not to everyone else here, for answers to my latest questions.

 

Emphasis mine

I am hoping you get some answers from Robbie's family.

Where is Barbara ???

 

I really wish the area across from the RV, the other side would be searched more.She came back to the RV before Robbie and I believe crossed the road looking for rocks to kill time before he came back

 

There's some good points @ his assumptions about Vegas - maybe there's something there, something he held back initially...hmmm....

This could be the case...but sometimes things that seem too good to be true, are. Lots of people though, also, have - let's say: 'feisty' relationships. The 'feist' goes both ways

My experience though of an abusive man was that if anyone was around - he would be very loving, affectionate, the image of 'perfect' etc. - got to the point when company left it would be just a matter of 'wait for it' then the explosion - over nothing, for nothing - the pent up need to shout, be angry, put me in my place etc.

So who knows? I sure hope that he is innocent & that whatever has occurred there was true love that will help him deal with, I'm sorry to say, her loss. Just seems unlikely she's alive. Hope I'm wrong.

I am still on the fence here.....

JMO

 

Please let us know if there is some way we may assist you.

This is about as close as we can come:

 

BBM
Agreed.^^^

I am not of the opinion that Barbara is NOT in that desert.
She may be somewhere that only someone(s) else knows.

 

Great post!

Thank you for being so real with us and putting out those tough questions.

I hope his family can offer some insight into his behaviours that have been questioned.

I am glad to see this thread opened again, I was desperately hoping that something new had arisen....and feel sad to know there is no news.

Still hoping for the best for Barbara and your family

JMO

 

They need something new. New photos of Barbara, an interview with a family member or friend, family statement, interview with a random PI, announcement about a Facebook "Find Barbara" group, a vigil or prayer service, a flyer distribution event, a volunteer search, anything... It's not likely they will write a follow-up without new information. MOO