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

[Rural_PC]

""Still frantically working on a way to get information to bring her [Barbara] home," said Robert's attorney, Eric Anderson out of California."

frantic: wild or distraught with fear, anxiety, or other emotion.

Attorneys are usually very careful about the words they use.
Mr. Anderson is inferring that RT is working to find information which will result in bringing Barbara home.
No pleas to the public, dissemination of 'Missing' posters, hiring PI, etc. from RT or his attorney?

Perhaps working behind the scenes trying to figure out if people with whom he is associated with had anything to do with BT's disapearance?

 

[AC's Grandma]

It's also possible that the police advised RT to not contact her son. They may have wanted to investigate if he was involved in any way prior to notifying him. JMO

 

[10ofRods]

RT mentioned in one of his televised interviews that they both knew of a "cave" near that spot, so he went to check it. The cave was not on the trail they were on, and it wasn't really a cave (searchers tweeted a picture of it - it was a kind of rock lean-to that did provide shade). If RT knew of additional caves, then that indicates even more familiarity with the area.

I think this is pretty good evidence that they were familiar with the area.

 

[LietKynes]

Bystander effect. Or diffusion of responsibility. In short, everyone assumed that someone would have already called her son.

Five days in, wouldn't you have assumed that the son would have heard about his missing mother somehow, from someone?

Emph. mine.

Very good point, PaulR.

Wonder if RT's relatives/children had any communications with Matt Schellinkhout ?
As Matt is her only child, does she have any nieces or nephews on her side ?
Any good friends ?
Still wondering if we'll hear from her friends ?

 

[Micheline]

The notes pages on Isreal and Palestine were dated 2017 at the top. They looked like something a college student studying the middle east conflict would take during a class. I think it's safe to say those topics are completely unrelated to Barbara's disappearance.

Here is the relevant notes page about Barb with "Bullhead City" at the top and even has the name and phone numbers of the detective for her case:
View attachment 197299
From the video here: Lafayette man's mother still missing after hiking in the Mojave Desert with husband

Some very interesting notes there. I wonder why the news didn't show Barb's son talking about any of those controversial topics? It seems that they cut down the interview quite a bit.

MOO.

I Think I can answer this.
Matthew wrote down some of the points he wanted to bring up during the interview on a random page in a random notebook.

Many of us have such books that we use for work/study but also if we need to write something down quick.

I do not know if Matthew has a pile of notes somewhere about the case, maybe so.

The show did a bad job by zooming in on the Israel Palestine notes, along with the words that he was doing an investigation of sorts regarding his mother's disappearance.

I am pleasantly surprised by Matthew.

 

[Cherwell]

RT has a lawyer and that says a lot in itself.

Any sensible person in his situation would get themselves legal advice and protection.
Anyone who was not sensible would soon be advised to do so by friends or family!

 

[PommyMommy]

Emph. mine.

Very good point, PaulR.

Wonder if RT's relatives/children had any communications with Matt Schellinkhout ?
As Matt is her only child, does she have any nieces or nephews on her side ?
Any good friends ?
Still wondering if we'll hear from her friends ?

Our VI is her nephew.

 

[Kapua]

That young man offered nothing new..
Just his belief that RT knows exactly what happened to his mother and needs to own up to it.
RT 6 days go by and Never called the son.. RT has a lawyer and that says alot in itself.
RT daughter talked in the beginning and agreed with her father that BT was taken by others..
LE offers no opinion..

We are still at day one .. "sigh"
Time for a drone search of the area looking for what others may have missed..
It is the only thing that makes sense other then RT placing her body in another location.. jmho.

We are still at day one. Let's hope that LE is on day 26 and following up on their many tips and leads. MOO

 

[firstsleuth]

On the authorities reporting "no trace" of BT:

It turns out No Trace has a very specific definition in SAR. Specifically according to "Lost Person Behavior":

No Trace: Search suspended without locating the subject.

Overall frequency for single hikers, male or female, not being found (no trace) is 3%.

It does not mean that there is no evidence of the person ever having been there.

@PaulR do you have a link handy for this? I can’t find a formal, operational definition anywhere. I’ve looked here, specifically for SAR terms:
https://www.mngeo.state.mn.us/commi...2011_1118_Published_Land_SAR_Addendum_1.0.pdf

and did a google search of “what does “no trace” mean in a missing person search”

and found nothing (a search of the word “trace” in the pdf doc returned zero results)

As an aside, my google search results included this highly interesting (at least to me and I think people here following Barbara) article by Outside magazine Online titled “How 1,600 People Went Missing from Our Public Lands Without a Trace”. How 1,600 People Disappeared on Our Public Lands

The article highlights the case of 18 year old Joe Keller, who went missing 7/23/2015 with some similarities to Barbara

“Joe left his phone and wallet at the ranch house. He wore only red running shorts, blue trail shoes, and an Ironman watch. Shirtless, with blond anime hair and ripped muscles, he looked more like a California lifeguard than a Tennessee farm kid. ”

The following article published after his remains are found closely parallels our efforts and theories here on WS, even including a wild animal and snake theory as causes:

Joe Keller: The Runner who Never Returned

Edited to include “even...causes”

 

[crhedBngr]

Following. Praying BT is found soon.

 

[PaulR]

@PaulR do you have a link handy for this? I can’t find a formal, operational definition anywhere. I’ve looked here, specifically for SAR terms:
https://www.mngeo.state.mn.us/commi...2011_1118_Published_Land_SAR_Addendum_1.0.pdf

and did a google search of “what does “no trace” mean in a missing person search”

and found nothing (a search of the word “trace” in the pdf doc returned zero results)

As an aside, my google search results included this highly interesting (at least to me and I think people here following Barbara) article by Outside magazine Online titled “How 1,600 People Went Missing from Our Public Lands Without a Trace”. How 1,600 People Disappeared on Our Public Lands

The article highlights the case of 18 year old Joe Keller, who went missing 7/23/2015 with some similarities to Barbara

“Joe left his phone and wallet at the ranch house. He wore only red running shorts, blue trail shoes, and an Ironman watch. Shirtless, with blond anime hair and ripped muscles, he looked more like a California lifeguard than a Tennessee farm kid. ”

The following article published after his remains are found closely parallels our efforts and theories here on WS, even including a wild animal and snake theory as causes:

Joe Keller: The Runner who Never Returned

Edited to include “even...causes”

It's from this book:

Lost Person Behavior: A Search and Rescue Guide on Where to Look - for Land, Air and Water https://www.amazon.com/dp/1879471396/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_apa_i_e7XsDb82YQRZ6

 

[justchrissy47]

IIRC from what I've read from the very astute sleuthers here, there is always some truth in an otherwise untruthful statement. Maybe BT being abducted is the truthful thing in RT's statement and he knows it's true because he saw it happen and because it is tied to him based on activities that are shady?

JMO

 

[PommyMommy]

<modsnip - quoted post was removed>
It's always best to PM a mod because if you are wrong, and I'm not saying you are,
it could get the thread shut down and create a lot of work for the mods to do.

This is the last Admin note I could find regarding the MLM:

ADMIN NOTE:

Speculative theories about possible drug involvement are not based on any known fact, and conspiracy theories are not allowed.

Also, the Herbal Life document was from an anonymous person 34 years ago. If LE hasn't busted the company in that length of time, there is probably zip to substantiate such an accusation by an anonymous tipster.

Move on from both those discussion please.

 

[PommyMommy]

Are we not supposed to challenge the info a VI provides us? Ask questions yes, but challenge no? Please correct me if I am mistaken.

Please see Tricia's post below:

@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

 

[Kapua]

Great post, and unless I misunderstood, I thought the topic of the MLM company was verboten. There are lots of folks who don't appreciate people trying to push plastic containers, soap, or lipstick on them. No doubt this has created lots of adverse publicity.

As for this case, I consider the discussion of an MLM a distraction to the real focus of search and rescue/recovery, but that's JMO, and all that jazz.

Im going back to what my work colleague from Bullhead told me. There are thousands of mines, and he/his buddies used to find all sorts of things out in the desert. He said it's a bad area, or certainly was when he was there. I have no way of gauging what he considers a bad area.

I'd like to hear everyone's best ideas on how recovery teams would even approach a search like this given the enormity of the task. : (

Amateur opinion and speculation

IIRC in the Erin Corwin case, investigators had a mine map and methodically plotted out which mines she may have been placed in based on cell phone data. Then they attached a little camera to a long cable and poked around in the most likely ones. And they found her. So my understanding is that those mines are mapped. And the key to finding an individual who might be in one of those mines is knowing in what general area to look. MOO and if/when I get time, I will do more research on this.

 

[leomoon]

So no new news about Barbara and its been how long now? She's not in Las Vegas, at least willingly, imo. But if buried, she is somewhere!

 

[GordianKnot]

IIRC in the Erin Corwin case, investigators had a mine map and methodically plotted out which mines she may have been placed in based on cell phone data. Then they attached a little camera to a long cable and poked around in the most likely ones. And they found her. So my understanding is that those mines are mapped. And the key to finding an individual who might be in one of those mines is knowing in what general area to look. MOO and if/when I get time, I will do more research on this.

Hark! Did I hear someone mention the Erin Corwin case?!?

I think there's probably a lot that we could glean in terms of the SBCSO's desert search methods and capabilities by reviewing the info on that forum...I may spend some time doing a look back tonight to see what comments posters were making r/t LE updates or lack thereof, etc., just to see how it does or doesn't match up with what we're seeing and hearing here, which is largely radio silence.

JMO.

 

[Kapua]

Hark! Did I hear someone mention the Erin Corwin case!?

I think there's probably a lot that we could glean in terms of the SBCSO's desert search methods and capabilities by reviewing the info on that forum...I may spend some time doing a look back tonight to see what comments posters were making r/t LE updates or lack thereof, etc., just to see how it does or doesn't match what we're seeing and hearing here, which is largely radio silence.

JMO.

LOL, I was going to tag you.

 

[kay74]

So no new news about Barbara and its been how long now? She's not in Las Vegas, at least willingly, imo. But if buried, she is somewhere!

Or on the desert floor.

 

[GordianKnot]

So no new news about Barbara and its been how long now? She's not in Las Vegas, at least willingly, imo. But if buried, she is somewhere!

Oh, there's no doubt that BT is definitely somewhere.

One thing we know for certain: She didn't evaporate.

I think she's likely in the desert at a location that's somewhere between their home and the search location.

JMO.