I was stationed at Barstow in the early 70s and there were instances of mafia related body dumpings in old mine shafts etc in the area near Barstow. The desert is a vast area and it is easy to “lose” bodies out there and not have them found for many years.
I'm sure that enough criminals get away with it, but as a desert dweller for many years I know that trips to even remote desert sites aren't as anonymous as some people think.
It's not always the case, of course, but anyone tooling down a remote desert backroad thinking that there isn't a living soul around with eyes on them might be surprised to learn that there's a BLM ranger perched high atop a mountain pass miles away with a 20x spotting scope or night vision watching them, wondering 'Okay, what are these guys up to?' right before they get on a radio with direct access to their network of planes, helicopters, or local citizens in the area.
Desert law enforcement is pretty wise to shenanigans. Some of these guys are like Lawrence of Arabia where not very much goes on in their 500,000 square acre jurisdiction that they don't know about or won't find out about.