Purposeful disappearance on Barbara's part, with or without the aid of Jim. It would really be helpful if we could locate the two potential witnesses who could at least say if they saw her on the trail. Why involve his cousin and Jim and risk that they might let something slip to the police, and why should Jim be willing to fall under suspicion and potentially be convicted of murder?
The hiking "disappearance" is a coverup for Barbara's previous accidental or purposeful death, and the husband, husband's cousin, and Jim know what happened to her.īut if the husband wanted to get rid of Barbara, it would be much simpler for him to stage a hiking accident when they're alone.
Maybe he made sexual advances on Barbara (or worse) on the hike, there was a struggle, and he killed her without planning it beforehand? That could explain the flimsy coverup story. If Jim killed Barbara, it seems really spur-of-the-moment and opportunistic for no good reason.īut the circumstances are very suspicious. Why should he randomly kill his hostess, whom he may not even know very well, when he is alone with her in an isolated place and must know he's bound to fall under suspicion?Īlso, the husband's cousin was supposed to go hiking with them but didn't because she was hungover. We also don't have any evidence that he is anything other than an ordinary, law-abiding person. If so, why is there no physical evidence, and why has a body not been found? But a poster on Websleuths pointed out convincingly that a lot of mysterious deaths/disappearances can be explained by people with head injuries wandering off, disoriented, to seek shelter or find somewhere to die.Īn article says Jim was a "trusted family acquaintance," and another article says that he was actually dating Barbara's husband's cousin, but I don't know how well he really knew Barbara. Mountain lion carried her off or she fell. Sadly, I am certain that Barbara is deceased, but what happened to her?Īccident. But then, maybe that's exactly what he'd want us to think. Surely someone who had killed a woman could think up a better story. Jim's story is ridiculous.but that almost makes me think that he must be innocent. How can a person just disappear into thin air? Other witnesses can confirm the young men were on the trail, but despite the police offering a $10,000 reward to identify these two men, the two potential witnesses have not been located. Jim says that he and Barbara spoke to two young men who were also on the trail. There is no independent corroboration that Barbara was ever on the trail that day. He looked away from Barbara for no more than a minute, and when he looked back, she was gone. Jim stated that on their hike, Barbara was 20 to 30 feet away when he turned away to look at the scenery. Barbara was supposed to take her husband's cousin and Jim out for a hike, but the husband's cousin was hungover, so only Jim and Barbara went hiking. On July 18, 2007, her husband's cousin, and the cousin's friend/significant other, Jim, were visiting from California. She lived with her husband, who had previously had a heart attack and didn't hike. Barbara Bolick, age 55, lived in Montana and enjoyed hiking, especially taking visitors to the local Bear Creek Overlook trail.