'I Just Want My Wife Back:' Husband Denies Involvement In Wife's Disappearance During Mojave Hike

LOS ANGELES (CBSLA) — The husband of an Arizona woman missing in the Mojave Desert for five days insists he was "absolutely not" involved in her disappearance.

Robert Thomas says he was on a two-mile hike with his 69-year-old wife, Barbara, when he stopped to take a picture and she went ahead, turned a corner then vanished.

"I hollered her name and waved my arms and looked around the area and saw that she wasn't anywhere around. She didn't respond," he remembered.

Robert hoped he'd see her back at the camper but she wasn't there.

Searchers in the air and on the ground have been looking for Barbara in the rugged desert terrain. Surviving in 100-degree heat for close to a week is an incredible challenge.

Meanwhile, Robert says, investigators have zeroed in on him.

"Police consider me the prime suspect because it was just the two of us," he said.

Robert believes someone abducted his wife as she walked to the camper. He says Barbara was wearing a bikini, wearing socks, hiking boots and a red and white baseball cap. She had no supplies and no cell phone.

"Someone picked her up because she was wearing a bikini. She had a beer in her hand and she had to cross that road," he said.

Barbara's step-daughter, Tracy, agrees.

"It's possible that some one picked her up from the road. It's the only thing that makes sense," she said.

Robert meanwhile insists he was "absolutely not" involved in his wife's disappearance despite failing the test.

"I took a polygraph test. They told me I was being deceptive." Thomas said he was simply tired when the test was administered, adding: "I just want my wife back."