Husband of missing 69-year-old bikini-clad hiker admits cops think he's suspect after polygraph fail

The husband of the grandmother who vanished six days ago in the Mojave Desert has admitted cops see him as a prime suspect in the mysterious case of her disappearance in bikini during a hiking trip last Friday.

Arizona woman Barbara Thomas, 69, went missing around 2.30pm and her spouse said she was clutching a beer as they made their way back to a camper van in the sweltering temperatures.

But as nearly 20 volunteers and personnel were hunting in the triple-digital heat on Wednesday, Robert Thomas has admitted investigators don't believe he is telling the whole truth about what happened.

'The police consider me the prime suspect because it was just the two of us,' he told Inside Edition. 

When asked whether he took a lie detector test he confessed: 'Yes, I took a polygraph test, they told me I was being deceptive. I know that polygraphs aren't 100 per cent and I hadn't had any sleep.'

Probed further on whether he had anything to do with Barbara's disappearance he replied: 'Absolutely not.'

Robert shared a spread of handwritten love from his partner for the TV interview.

As he had done in an earlier interview, Robert began to cry as he called her the 'love of my life' and told her direct to camera: 'Come home. We're missing you.'

But the missing woman's family doesn't believe she left by choice.

Robert is convinced she was taken against her will and said he won't press charges if Barbara is dropped off to safety. In the latest interview he added: 'I would just beg that they release her. No questions asked.'

During the chat Robert explained more details about the moment he realized she had disappeared as he stopped to take a picture of a rock formation and she continued walking after their two-mile hike.

He got back to their trailer and said he was shocked to find it still locked. 

'I hollered her name and I waved my arms, and I looked around the area and I saw that she wasn’t anywhere around. She didn't respond. I got really panicky,' Robert said. 'I feel like someone did pick her up because she was wearing a bikini, she had a beer in her hand and she was ahead of me and she had to cross that road.' 

Her stepdaughter Tracy, agreed 'it's the only thing that makes sense' after searchers have found no sign of her. 

Video showed West Valley Search and Rescue coming through the area on Wednesday with K9s and helicopters overhead. 

Robert said the Bullhead City woman was not carrying a cell phone and on Tuesday authorities took on the help of off-road vehicles to cover a wider search area. 

Robert Thomas says they were hiking approximately 20 miles (32 kilometers) north of the I-40 freeway and east of Kelbaker Rd when they got separated and authorities have been searching around Kelbaker/Hidden Hills.

As he shared an image of his spouse, Arizona man described her as wearing a black bikini, a red baseball cap and tan hiking boots with black socks. 

In an earlier interview Robert cried: 'We always tell each other before we go to bed at night how much we love each other.' 

He had expressed he thinks she may have been taken 100 miles away to the Las Vegas area and asked people to remain vigilant. 

'I just want my wife back and if somebody out there has her, which I feel somebody does, please drop her off at a safe place where she can contact us and that’s it,' Robert cried during an interview with KTNV.

'Whoever has her, please release her,' he added.

Temperatures in the area climbed to more than 100 degrees (38 Celsius) over the weekend and are forecast to remain triple-digit throughout the week. 

Thomas is described as being 5'9, 130lbs, with blonde hair and green eyes. 

Anyone with information regarding Barbara's whereabouts is urged to contact the Colorado River Station at (760)326-9200 or Sheriff's Dispatch at (760)956-5001. 

Source: Daily Mail

Powered by NewsAPI.org

Keywords:

Hiking • Police • Polygraph • Mojave Desert • Police • Prime suspect • Hiking • Arizona • Robert Thomas (linebacker) • The Whole Truth (TV series) • Prime Suspect • Just the Two of Us (TV series) • Inside Edition • Polygraph • Polygraph • Polygraph • Love of My Life (An Ode to Hip-Hop) • Missing You (Brandy, Gladys Knight, Tamia, and Chaka Khan song) • No Questions Asked (album) • Bikini • The Searchers • Search and rescue • Bullhead City, Arizona • Mobile phone • Robert Thomas (fullback) • Interstate 40 • Controlled-access highway • Hidden Hills, California • Arizona • Bikini • Baseball cap • Hiking boot • Las Vegas Valley • Somebody Out There • Celsius • Colorado River •