Found Deceased CA - Fang Jin, 47, flew to LA from China, train to Palm Springs, Morongo Basin, 21 Jul 2023, w/ John Root Fitzpatrick, 55, (fnd dec.), 30 Jul ‘23 #2

[slowpoke]

So, it seems like Fang sent that last nighttime video while she was with JRF at the base?

Maybe he was filling up the truck with gas, so while she was sitting and waiting, she sent the video.
MOO

No still a few miles before entrance ... and she was not checked by entrance ???

What I was going by:

Your statements:
“time of entering Marine base by John.... it is 22:19 or 10:19pm on 21st of july”

“The video is about 4minutes from entrance Marine base in 29 palms”

and from the World Journal article (translated):
“Ms. Cui said that this was the last video Jin Fang sent to her circle of friends before she lost contact. It was at 10:19 p.m. on July 21.”

So, 10:19pm on July 22 is the time you state for when JRF entered the military base,

but it’s also the time stated in the World Journal article for when Fang sent her video

to her circle of friends. I think I’m getting confused!

 

[MadMcGoo]

MOD NOTE:

As a reminder,

**AS OF THIS POST, BOTH FANG AND JOHN ARE CONSIDERED VICTIMS!**

Websleuths is a victim friendly forum. Attacking or bashing a victim is not allowed. Discussing known victim behavior, good or bad is fine, but do so in a civil and constructive way, and only when such behavior is known to be relevant to the case.

Members may reasonably discuss what is said in MSM by them or about them, but do not make random accusations, insinuations, suggest their involvement, trash, bash or attack them, or speculate negatively about them.

Carry on with respectful, civilized discussion of the case and please REPORT posts that you feel have violated a rule rather than responding to or complaining about them on the thread.

Thanks!
Mad

 

[megs1477]

I’m just speculating here on possibility suffered some type medical crises- he obviously experienced significant weight lossfrom time photo on missing persons online flier was taken (Driver’s License, likely) and Jin took selfie photos. From his criminal history charges involved alcohol with DUI’s. So, say someone was forced not to consume alcohol for say probation rules, would side effects from alcohol withdrawal over time cause significant weight loss and would that possibly result in weakening of the physical body condition to withstand high temperatures? All simply hypothetical scenarios.

Not everyone who stops drinking has alcohol withdrawal. Having a problem with alcohol has many different layers. One person can over indulge on the weekends and get out of control and be labeled as having a problem. Another can drink 24/7 and have the same label. The first would likely not experience withdrawal because they are not accustomed to having alcohol in their system 24/7 like the second. This is why I stated previously criminal convictions should not define a person because the circumstance can vary greatly.

In addition, many people do not realize how many calories are in most forms of alcohol. I have seen many times when someone stops drinking, especially beer, they lose a significant amount of weight.

 

[acutename]

@Ou41aw
Be aware there's a sheep guzzler and tanks at
Dave McCain Spring as a source for dire need
possible water, not too far out of the area you
may be moving about, if you go looking for FJ.
FYI.
33°03'01.1"N 116°14'18.4"W · Julian Union Elementary School District, CA
Another Journey Up Fish Creek with a Backpack trip - Completed Trips - Anza Borrego Desert

would people try to hike this in the night time because it would be cooler? Use a head lamp? seems odd to me but I am thinking it was so unbearably hot last summer that hiking in July in the desert would have been torture in daylight.

 

[mark1969]

What I was going by:

Your statements:
“time of entering Marine base by John.... it is 22:19 or 10:19pm on 21st of july”

“The video is about 4minutes from entrance Marine base in 29 palms”

and from the World Journal article (translated):
“Ms. Cui said that this was the last video Jin Fang sent to her circle of friends before she lost contact. It was at 10:19 p.m. on July 21.”

So, 10:19pm on July 22 is the time you state for when JRF entered the military base,

but it’s also the time stated in the World Journal article for when Fang sent her video

to her circle of friends. I think I’m getting confused!

To all of you living in USA.....last contact by Fang was around 22.15h on 21st of July.....so please forget 22nd of july unless you were living in another timezone such as Europe or Asia, Australia....
Also notice that all reports of missing Fang were done from Asia by Chinese people and friends who were thinking in their own timezone....
And if US press just translates this reports into English it appears to be 22nd....If you want to help finding Fang ....PLEASE STOP TALKING ABOUT LAST CONTACT WAS ON 22ND OF JULY......!!!!!

 

[slowpoke]

To all of you living in USA.....last contact by Fang was around 22.15h on 21st of July.....so please forget 22nd of july unless you were living in another timezone such as Europe or Asia, Australia....
Also notice that all reports of missing Fang were done from Asia by Chinese people and friends who were thinking in their own timezone....
And if US press just translates this reports into English it appears to be 22nd....If you want to help finding Fang ....PLEASE STOP TALKING ABOUT LAST CONTACT WAS ON 22ND OF JULY......!!!!!

I‘m so sorry, @mark1969. I’m sorry I upset you. That was a typo on my part.
I do know it was the 21st.

 

[10ofRods]

To all of you living in USA.....last contact by Fang was around 22.15h on 21st of July.....so please forget 22nd of july unless you were living in another timezone such as Europe or Asia, Australia....
Also notice that all reports of missing Fang were done from Asia by Chinese people and friends who were thinking in their own timezone....
And if US press just translates this reports into English it appears to be 22nd....If you want to help finding Fang ....PLEASE STOP TALKING ABOUT LAST CONTACT WAS ON 22ND OF JULY......!!!!!

Thank you for the clear message. It's that 3 day gap between her last contact with family and his ping in Julian that is concerning. I assume that LE will now get data from his truck and figure out where the truck had been during those three days. It will be very telling if that truck was parked up at the trailhead since the 24th.

Do you have any more information about the supposed sighting of JFR's truck at the Thermal campground? Did your PI go out there to that campground?

 

[crhedBngr]

@mark1969 :

I apologize as well if I said anything that upset You or any of Fang's Family or Friends.

You must be frantic with worry. I can't even imagine what you're going through.

JMVHO.

 

[tarabull]

@mark1969

Are we certain that it was LJ behind the camera lense for the 9 photos and 2 videos dated 7.21 that she shared???

FWIW, There's a single silhouette in the pic 7.21-6 IMHO

ETA: i'm certain there is no way of knowing...but what i really wonder is did the pics come before the communication with Fang, IIRC you said via WeChat?

 

[Sarah McGregor]

I've been following this heartbreaking story for a while now but have been a little too intimidated to post here. But I keep wondering about the information regarding the sighting of the truck via surveillance camera on July 22 in Thermal, and the last "ping" from JRF's phone on July 24 in Julian.* I can't find a source that has LE making a statement about either of these things. I did some digging and the earliest sources of both pieces of info that I can find are the family's fundraising page (created August 5) and this article (seems to be Chinese media source--translation below of relevant statements) that was posted on August 11 in part 1 of this discussion about FJ and JRF. (Please forgive me if anything I'm saying here is not factual or is against the rules! Since the article above was allowed to be posted and google-translated at least twice in the early days of this thread, I figured it would be ok here.)

Very sorry if this has been posted here before, but does anyone have an official, first-hand source for either the surveillance info or the last ping?

(relevant quotes from article linked in first paragraph: "After the police intervened in the investigation, a surveillance camera captured the man's truck in the Thermal area on July 22. It was a blue Toyota Tacoma light truck with the license plate #24478S1.... At the same time, the man's mobile phone activities were tracked in the Julian area of San Diego County on July 24.")

<modsnip - not approved sources>

 

[BlaiseFinlay]

Thank you for the clear message. It's that 3 day gap between her last contact with family and his ping in Julian that is concerning. I assume that LE will now get data from his truck and figure out where the truck had been during those three days. It will be very telling if that truck was parked up at the trailhead since the 24th.

Do you have any more information about the supposed sighting of JFR's truck at the Thermal campground? Did your PI go out there to that campground?

This is going to be key. The inferences from the truck being there since the 22nd are different from the truck being there since the 24th, based on what we know. In the former scenario, misadventure becomes a more likely theory, with the phone ping presumably resulting from lingering battery life rather than active use.

 

[tarabull]

Welcome Sarah McGregor!!!

 

[10ofRods]

I've been following this heartbreaking story for a while now but have been a little too intimidated to post here. But I keep wondering about the information regarding the sighting of the truck via surveillance camera on July 22 in Thermal, and the last "ping" from JRF's phone on July 24 in Julian.* I can't find a source that has LE making a statement about either of these things. I did some digging and the earliest sources of both pieces of info that I can find are the family's fundraising page (created August 5) and this article (seems to be Chinese media source--translation below of relevant statements) that was posted on August 11 in part 1 of this discussion about FJ and JRF. (Please forgive me if anything I'm saying here is not factual or is against the rules! Since the article above was allowed to be posted and google-translated at least twice in the early days of this thread, I figured it would be ok here.)

Very sorry if this has been posted here before, but does anyone have an official, first-hand source for either the surveillance info or the last ping?

(relevant quotes from article linked in first paragraph: "After the police intervened in the investigation, a surveillance camera captured the man's truck in the Thermal area on July 22. It was a blue Toyota Tacoma light truck with the license plate #24478S1.... At the same time, the man's mobile phone activities were tracked in the Julian area of San Diego County on July 24.")

<modsnip - not approved sources>

Welcome to Websleuths!!
​

We really are a diverse crew. Thank you so much for the link to that article.

As far as I know, the ping on the tower at Julian was the 24th. We do not have verification from LE, but it was reported here in smaller newspapers and the person who submitted the photo of deceased JRF knew of that date. It does matter, of course. But since the records are sealed, it may be a while before we know.

 

[Knitty]

MOD NOTE:

Something we're running into lately - Yahoo, Microsoft and MSN (and others, but these are the biggies) are aggregating articles from all over the place. The link looks like a Y or M or M article, but at the top of the page is the attribution, and many, many of them are NOT approved sources. Some are content scrapers, and some are written by AI.

Not everything at those sites is a bad source, so look to see who the article ACTUALLY came from before you post it. If you aren't sure something is MSM, check with us by using "report" below any post to send us a link and we'll get back to you.

Thanks,

Knitty,
Moderator

 

[Trublue21]

Looks like the local news here in San Diego has picked up the story. It’s the first time I’ve seen it broadcast.

 

[tvscum]

Family notified ex Navy SEAL found dead in desert, female companion still missing

Bones found in the Harper Canyon area of Anza-Borrego on September 17.

www.cbs8.com

 

[imstilla.grandma]

On August 1, investigators served a search warrant on Fitzpatrick's mobile home looking for evidence. CBS 8 obtained a copy of the search warrant, affidavit, and inventory from the Joshua Tree District courthouse in San Bernardino County.

The warrant said officers seized suitcases belonging to Jin, a straw hat, and Jin’s white purse with her belongings inside. Officers also smelled something disturbing inside the mobile home, the odor of decomposition.

On August 3, San Bernardino County Sheriff’s investigators served a second search warrant at Fitzpatrick’s mobile home, seizing three iPhone cell phones, according to an inventory list left at the home. That second search warrant remains sealed at the Joshua Tree courthouse.

Family notified ex Navy SEAL found dead in desert, female companion still missing

Bones found in the Harper Canyon area of Anza-Borrego on September 17.

www.cbs8.com

 

[crhedBngr]

On August 1, investigators served a search warrant on Fitzpatrick's mobile home looking for evidence. CBS 8 obtained a copy of the search warrant, affidavit, and inventory from the Joshua Tree District courthouse in San Bernardino County.

The warrant said officers seized suitcases belonging to Jin, a straw hat, and Jin’s white purse with her belongings inside. Officers also smelled something disturbing inside the mobile home, the odor of decomposition.

On August 3, San Bernardino County Sheriff’s investigators served a second search warrant at Fitzpatrick’s mobile home, seizing three iPhone cell phones, according to an inventory list left at the home. That second search warrant remains sealed at the Joshua Tree courthouse.

Family notified ex Navy SEAL found dead in desert, female companion still missing

Bones found in the Harper Canyon area of Anza-Borrego on September 17.

www.cbs8.com

RBBM

Hmmmm.

JMVHO.

 

[ifindedout]

On August 1, investigators served a search warrant on Fitzpatrick's mobile home looking for evidence. CBS 8 obtained a copy of the search warrant, affidavit, and inventory from the Joshua Tree District courthouse in San Bernardino County.

The warrant said officers seized suitcases belonging to Jin, a straw hat, and Jin’s white purse with her belongings inside. Officers also smelled something disturbing inside the mobile home, the odor of decomposition.

What was decomposing? Were no remains found?
Was the refrigerator running? (i.e. decaying food)
Did JRF have any pets?

 

[crhedBngr]

What was decomposing? Were no remains found?
Was the refrigerator running? (decaying food)
Did JRF have any pets?

We don't know yet.

One question has been answered--whether or not she was inside the Marine Corps Base.

On July 16, the couple was seen on surveillance video purchasing toiletries inside the Marine Corps Exchange at the Marine Corps Air Ground Combat Center, a military base in Twentynine Palms.

Family notified ex Navy SEAL found dead in desert, female companion still missing

JMVHO.