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

[masquerading]

UGH. I accidentally deleted the text. It was long. Essentially, I’m wondering: is there more than circumstantial evidence to suggest that JRF caused harm to JF? I wonder because a lot of speculation has been focused on him and he hasn’t really gotten the same level of respect considering he also went missing under suspicious circumstances and has now been found dead. JMO!!!

 

[Cedars]

UGH. I accidentally deleted the text. It was long. Essentially, I’m wondering: is there more than circumstantial evidence to suggest that JRF caused harm to JF? I wonder because a lot of speculation has been focused on him and he hasn’t really gotten the same level of respect considering he also went missing under suspicious circumstances and has now been found dead. JMO!!!

I agree, there is no evidence except, now, the 'odor' in the home shows LE has not been ignoring the possibility.

Taken at face value, her backpack being found would support the idea it was some sort of misadventure.

JMO

 

[acutename]

Since he has a Ring Camera installed, he must’ve been concerned about home security, so I would think he would normally make a practice of locking doors and windows when going out.
JMO

people were saying the pics of FangJ inside were from a ring. If so, there would possibly be data if anything was done inside by anyone other than JRF?

 

[slowpoke]

people were saying the pics of FangJ inside were from a ring. If so, there would possibly be data if anything was done inside by anyone other than JRF?

We know JRF’s home had a Ring camera, since the search warrant item list showed one was taken from there. But, it is only a guess if the Fang cleaning pics were from the Ring.

I’m sure that is the hope, that the Ring camera can tell a lot for what may have happened.

If that IS an interior Ring camera, I wonder if he had exterior ones, as well, which I think is the more common placements. I got Ring cameras only a few months ago, and ours are all on the outside—a doorbell one, and then four more placed around. Ours do not have SD cards like JRF’s apparently does, though.

 

[acutename]

We know JRF’s home had a Ring camera, since the search warrant item list showed one was taken from there. But, it is only a guess if the Fang cleaning pics were from the Ring.

I’m sure that is the hope, that the Ring camera can tell a lot for what may have happened.

If that IS an interior Ring camera, I wonder if he had exterior ones, as well, which I think is the more common placements. I got Ring cameras only a few months ago, and ours are all on the outside—a doorbell one, and then four more placed around. Ours do not have SD cards like JRF’s apparently does, though.

I did not recall that they said "one" ring camera was taken from the trailer. Most of the people I know with rings have the door bell one and it covers the entry- not the inside but I do know of inside cameras, esp with motion detectors.

 

[slowpoke]

I did not recall that they said "one" ring camera was taken from the trailer. Most of the people I know with rings have the door bell one and it covers the entry- not the inside but I do know of inside cameras, esp with motion detectors.

The search warrant item list just stated “SD card from Ring Camera (128”.

So, I don’t know how many cameras an SD card would be for—one? several?

Non-techy me

 

[AnyNameIWish]

I did not recall that they said "one" ring camera was taken from the trailer. Most of the people I know with rings have the door bell one and it covers the entry- not the inside but I do know of inside cameras, esp with motion detectors.

not to knitpick: but page 2 of the search warrant says

8- SD card from Ring Camera(128),

128 is the memory size, presumably..
So it's not the actual ring camera.. someone researched and Rings don't have actual memory cards, so it's likely a 'home security camera' of some type that Fitzpatrick has.

@slowpoke JINX!

 

[tarabull]

Can someone tell me what this location might be???

34°02'42.1"N 115°42'04.3"W · 34.045028, -115.701194

www.google.com

RBBM

I keep thinking of the Old Dale Mining District outing.

Bringing @mark1969 's timeline post forward again.

7/21 - Visited Ivanhoe Mine Rd. (Old Dale Mining District)
22hr15: sent out last video to family wechat group(group of 4 people including parents, Lin and FJ herself) from 29 Palms (Adobe Rd. going N from Whites Sands Dr. to Desert Sands Dr. to Palms Baptist Church); Together with this video there is a message saying that ‘this is a small town in the desert, there are quite many lights during this hour…….we plan to go camping. this is FJ’s last known location
22hr19: Same last video and same message was sent via Wechat messeger to wife of the chinese friend that picked her at airport. However that person said that in the past FJ never sent to her any wechat messege or video. this is FJ’s last phone message
22hr19: JRF entered MCAGCC 29palms, he registered for his own entrance

CA - CA - Fang Jin, 47, flew to LA from China, train to Palm Springs, Morongo Basin, 22 Jul 2023, w/ John Root Fitzpatrick, 55, (fnd dec.), 30 Jul ‘23 #2

JMVHO.

If I might respectfully ask--what is interesting about this particular location?

Just curious.

JMVHO.

Like you, I keep thinking of the Old Dale Mining District outing.

JF's last photo Ivanhoe Mine Rd. & last video being Twentynine Palms has had me scouring maps over the north end of JTNP & I kept coming back to that location...FWIW.

ETA:

Morongo Unified School District to MCAGCC Front Gate

maps.app.goo.gl

ETA2: i can't find Desert Sands Drive to add into the route from video breakdown on www.

 

[crhedBngr]

Like you, I keep thinking of the Old Dale Mining District outing.

JF's last photo Ivanhoe Mine Rd. & last video being Twentynine Palms has had me scouring maps over the north end of JTNP & I kept coming back to that location...FWIW.

ETA:

Morongo Unified School District to MCAGCC Front Gate

maps.app.goo.gl

ETA2: i can't find Desert Sands Drive to add into the route from video breakdown on www.

Thank you.

JMHVO.

 

[NeverPersonal]

Park Ranger Miles from Joshua Tree confirmed to friend of Lin the pinging of the phone in Julian at 24th of July

One wonders if the phone was traveling without her, given the strange WeChat message followed by radio silence.

detailed exact update to all of Fangs first days in USA :

7/14
Midnight- Arrived at LAX Terminal 3, picked up by friend Chinese friend

7/15
01hr00 – Chinese friend dropped off FJ @ Freehand Hotel in downtown L.A.
09hr13 – Wechat audio talk with Belgian Chinese friend who was traveling in US E coast then. This talk last for 26minutes.
12hr00 - went to Union Station, took a bus & arrived at Agua Caliente Casino, Palm Springs bus stop, where she was picked up by John Root Fitzpatrick

7/16 – Visited JT Park, keeping in contact w/family & friends by phone & social media

7/17
10hr26 – exchange Wechat messages with daughter Lin
Made a phone call to her Chinese friend who picked her up at airport, talked over 10 minutes & stated “everything is ok”
(by Decalaration of Daryl Hoss we know that Daryl visited the trailer home where John and Fang were staying)

7/18 - No contact, photos or videos this day

7/19 - Visited more scenic sites in the area, sending videos & photos. Fang tried to contact her daughter Emma in Belgium but Emma was not able to answer her call.

7/20 - Same as 7/19

7/21 - Visited Ivanhoe Mine Rd. (Old Dale Mining District)
22hr15: sent out last video to family wechat group(group of 4 people including parents, Lin and FJ herself) from 29 Palms (Adobe Rd. going N from Whites Sands Dr. to Desert Sands Dr. to Palms Baptist Church); Together with this video there is a message saying that ‘this is a small town in the desert, there are quite many lights during this hour…….we plan to go camping. this is FJ’s last known location
22hr19: Same last video and same message was sent via Wechat messeger to wife of the chinese friend that picked her at airport. However that person said that in the past FJ never sent to her any wechat messege or video. this is FJ’s last phone message
22hr19: JRF entered MCAGCC 29palms, he registered for his own entrance

B/IBM
Poor Emma... I cannot imagine how she (and you all, Mark) must feel.

 

[Interested_But_Confused]

The search warrant item list just stated “SD card from Ring Camera (128”.

So, I don’t know how many cameras an SD card would be for—one? several?

Non-techy me

Without knowing JRF's precise setup it's impossible to know. He appears to have had more than just a Ring doorbell because pictures were being taken of the inside of the house. But how many cameras he had is an unknown.

An older style of security camera setup would usually have only one recorder for multiple cameras, mostly for the convenience of having everything wired back to a single console. But wireless cameras and the ability to access the cameras using a phone app have changed the need for that.

If only one SD card was taken from JRF's camera(s) I would assume he only had one. But I have to say, 128GB doesn't sound like a very big storage device for multiple cameras over multiple days. If the footage was being saved to the cloud it's possible there wouldn't even be much on the SD card.

 

[NeverPersonal]

Long-time friend of JRF, from military days.
Mystery surrounds missing San Bernardino man found dead in Anza-Borrego state park

I found this part interesting -
Hoss said he reported his friend missing when Fitzpatrick didn’t return from an extended camping trip to the desert state park. He said he usually wouldn’t be worried because his friend was well trained to survive in rough terrain.
-
What sounded the alarm for Hoss, then, if he "usually wouldn't be worried"?

 

[AnyNameIWish]

2.5 months after her disappearance, it has FINALLY made the news in another major city (not in the LA times yet though?)

Mystery in California state park as man found dead, woman still missing

With a woman still missing, there are more questions than answers after a man she may have been traveling with was found dead in Anza-Borrego Desert State Park.

www.sfgate.com

Unfortunately

"From there, she took a train to Palm Springs" - we know it was a bus, not train...

And again

"A friend said their last contact with her was via telephone on July 22."- we keep going over this, the last video sent to friends from Fang's phone was sent out around 10pm on July 21, not 22.

And this too

“Fitzpatrick was hired to be Jin’s tour guide of the Morongo Basin area,” Sheriff’s Department spokesperson Gloria Huerta told the outlet."- oh come ON... we know that's not true and they had a budding friendship/relationship.

So, 3 pieces of info that aren't really true being reported by this local SF reporter, but I suppose it's better to get the word out than not. There is a huge Chinese American population here in SF so I expect they'll be discussing it more on subs starting tonight and tomorrow!

 

[slowpoke]

I found this part interesting -
Hoss said he reported his friend missing when Fitzpatrick didn’t return from an extended camping trip to the desert state park. He said he usually wouldn’t be worried because his friend was well trained to survive in rough terrain.
-
What sounded the alarm for Hoss, then, if he "usually wouldn't be worried"?

I think a lot of us were wondering that, too. The first thing I thought was maybe because Fang was reported missing on July 26, and DH knew the two of them were supposed to be together.

BUT—I just looked back for when the earliest news reports came out for Fang, and it looks like it was 8/2/23. So, then I looked for when her notice was posted to the Morongo Basin’s Sheriff’s Station FB page. It was on 8/1/23. Yet, DH filed the missing person report on 7/30—before those dates. So, it would seem he didn’t find out about Fang being missing via the media reports, as we here did.

Maybe—LE contacted DH, discovering or knowing he was a friend of JRF, in trying to locate where Fang might be. Then, DH tries to call and get ahold of JRF as a result, but JRF never answers his phone for days, and maybe that was unusual, so DH finally decides on 7/30 that JRF must be missing right along with Fang and files the missing report. JMO

 

[azure]

I found this part interesting -
Hoss said he reported his friend missing when Fitzpatrick didn’t return from an extended camping trip to the desert state park. He said he usually wouldn’t be worried because his friend was well trained to survive in rough terrain.
-
What sounded the alarm for Hoss, then, if he "usually wouldn't be worried"?

Realistically, probably the presence of another person. A person who was not only not well trained to survive in rough terrain, but was also in the US for a limited time and on a schedule.

 

[I'm Nobody]

RE: Ring SIM card
Not techie here either but a Ring doorbell user.

I'm wondering if JRF had his Ring camera attached to the door itself & not the door frame. Maybe his door frame was metal; he maybe was a renter? If on the door, unless Ring was turned off, the videos may show who came and went and if anyone was carried out.

My last entry door was wonky; the original wired doorbell was on the side wall facing another wall, not on the door frame. So a wired Ring would only work when somebody stood pretty close to the door / almost exactly in front of my door. But my door had a peephole. I looked into Ring's peephole camera which goes on the door over the peephole, didn't like that. Surprised to find a door bracket that fits Ring (Amazon) so you can install the camera on the door itself. I thought every time I open the door the camera would snap the inside of my house; didn't like that. I ended up going with the wedge kit to use existing wires & angle the doorbell for a better view of people walking to the door. Ring seems to have figured out all the angles.

According to Ring, there is Ring Edge & Ring Alarm Pro which uses a SIM card allowing owner to store video locally rather than in the cloud. Something about a base station.

Store and Process Videos Locally with Ring Edge and Ring Alarm Pro

Learn how Ring Edge lets you store and process videos captured on your Ring device on your local system rather than in the cloud.

support.ring.com

Speculation. JMO

 

[Sundog]

Realistically, probably the presence of another person. A person who was not only not well trained to survive in rough terrain, but was also in the US for a limited time and on a schedule.

Fang Jin was staying for approximately two-and-a-half to three months, so I don't think that in July there was already a concern about time constraints on her schedule and visit.

I do wonder why the friend was so concerned

 

[tarabull]

2.5 months after her disappearance, it has FINALLY made the news in another major city (not in the LA times yet though?)

Mystery in California state park as man found dead, woman still missing

With a woman still missing, there are more questions than answers after a man she may have been traveling with was found dead in Anza-Borrego Desert State Park.

www.sfgate.com

Unfortunately

"From there, she took a train to Palm Springs" - we know it was a bus, not train...

And again

"A friend said their last contact with her was via telephone on July 22."- we keep going over this, the last video sent to friends from Fang's phone was sent out around 10pm on July 21, not 22.

And this too

“Fitzpatrick was hired to be Jin’s tour guide of the Morongo Basin area,” Sheriff’s Department spokesperson Gloria Huerta told the outlet."- oh come ON... we know that's not true and they had a budding friendship/relationship.

So, 3 pieces of info that aren't really true being reported by this local SF reporter, but I suppose it's better to get the word out than not. There is a huge Chinese American population here in SF so I expect they'll be discussing it more on subs starting tonight and tomorrow!

Even this thread title is wrong (22nd!!)

ETA i requested the change

 

[AnyNameIWish]

@tarabull oh nice, never thought of doing that! Lmk if she responds or changes her article!

I am in the minority but I don't believe they are victims of an accident (doesn't explain the smell of decomposition at the trailer home).

 

[mark1969]

Tracebility and more camera surveillance proof of his car between 21st of july and 4th of august can lead to location of Fang ... We have a report that someone saw his car on 2nd of August in Morongo basin ...but LE could not find it at that moment ???? If you go for a day hiking in Harper Canyon what kind of shoes will you wear ?????