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 #3

[atomicsciencegal]

Access denied for the pdf documents, certainly because I'm not in the US...

Copies of the PDF documents are included in the CBS 8 article, if you can see them there? (The article appears to shadow all pages of communication, so there’s not more in the PDF you’re missing out on as far as I could see.)

 

[Interested_But_Confused]

Agencies block public release of info about bodies in desert

Relatives of victims were notified about the remains of loved ones found in the Anza-Borrego desert.

www.cbs8.com

https://interactive.cbs8.com/pdfs/S002935-101623_Message_History.pdf

https://interactive.cbs8.com/pdfs/23-668-Ranger-Logs-Gotfredson-10-24-23-resp.pdf

https://interactive.cbs8.com/pdfs/SAN-BERNARDINO.pdf

Quote from the article:

In January, while Jin was still in China, Fitzpatrick texted her a message saying, "I used to live in Borrego Springs in the desert as a kid." Then in June, he texted her, “We could start a camping channel taking Chinese out to the desert and I could teach them camping skills from a Navy SEAL. How to read maps for hiking and how to find water in the desert. Make all different types of shelters.”

If JRF took JF out to the desert for the exact kind of camping skills trip he discussed with her in June, it really does look like something went tragically wrong and he overestimated his abilities.

 

[atomicsciencegal]

Quote from the article:



If JRF took JF out to the desert for the exact kind of camping skills trip he discussed with her in June, it really does look like something went tragically wrong and he overestimated his abilities.

I really want to know more about the condition of the truck. I feel like JRF could have had the abilities from his history regarding survival, but that if the truck became unusable and trapped them there where they had no cell coverage, no through traffic to save them, and limited resources they would eventually have had no choice but to try and leave. Stay and perish or attempt to leave when it became clear there was no rescue other than self rescue.

 

[L'Eau_d'Hiver]

Copies of the PDF documents are included in the CBS 8 article, if you can see them there? (The article appears to shadow all pages of communication, so there’s not more in the PDF you’re missing out on as far as I could see.)

Unfortunately I can't get access to the CBS 8 article.

 

[ch_13]

Unfortunately I can't get access to the CBS 8 article.

Here's a youtube link to the story.

I'm not sure if there's any way to access the linked article internationally, but it's basically the same as the video report.

 

[Herat]

"Multiple flat tires"

 

[Interested_But_Confused]

I really want to know more about the condition of the truck. I feel like JRF could have had the abilities from his history regarding survival, but that if the truck became unusable and trapped them there where they had no cell coverage, no through traffic to save them, and limited resources they would eventually have had no choice but to try and leave. Stay and perish or attempt to leave when it became clear there was no rescue other than self rescue.

I do agree with this, and I don't mean to be critical of JRF for what does seem to have been a tragic accident.

It just seems to me that if he was telling JF about his camping abilities, and his abilities to find water and shelter in the desert, he either overestimated his own ability OR underestimated how bad the conditions in the desert actually were. If his plans relied on a functioning vehicle and/or cell coverage, and he ended up having neither...the best laid schemes o’ mice an’ men gang aft agley.

 

[iamshadow21]

"Multiple flat tires"

Yep, as I said some way back on the thread - one or more flat tyres and no spares or way to repair them, you can be royally screwed.

MOO

 

[Centaurus]

Access denied for the pdf documents, certainly because I'm not in the US...

Check your messages, I tried to send them to you. Hope it worked!

 

[Megnut]

Quote from the article:



If JRF took JF out to the desert for the exact kind of camping skills trip he discussed with her in June, it really does look like something went tragically wrong and he overestimated his abilities.

I really want to know more about the condition of the truck. I feel like JRF could have had the abilities from his history regarding survival, but that if the truck became unusable and trapped them there where they had no cell coverage, no through traffic to save them, and limited resources they would eventually have had no choice but to try and leave. Stay and perish or attempt to leave when it became clear there was no rescue other than self rescue.

Tragic indeed.

All the skills in the world aren't likely to save you if the vehicle that predicates your survival is disabled.

They may have survived a day or two. Me, I'd camp under that truck, for the shade alone.

New rule: open letter to the general public, if your vehicle is inoperable and you make the next decision to leave your vehicle, please first leave a note explaining what happened up to that point and the plan forward.

If this turns out to be a tragedy of the elements, I hope they were able to find some confort in being together at the end.

Why LE is so tight-lipped, I don't want to imagine.

JMO

 

[ch_13]

This photo from the Channel 8 report is the best picture of the truck we've gotten to date, apparently taken at the dealer's lot (unless the pic was posted before and I missed it).

It does confirm that the truck was a 2016 model, so 7-8 years old, which I think we already knew. Also, there's no decal on the side of the bed. My understanding is that all Tacoma 4WDs either have a decal or a 4x4 badge on the tailgate. We did see a shot of the back in the missing poster and the only badge said "V6".

While it's not definitive because some people do remove the badges, I think in all likelihood JRF's truck was a two wheel drive, not a 4WD.

 

[I'm Nobody]

I really want to know more about the condition of the truck. I feel like JRF could have had the abilities from his history regarding survival, but that if the truck became unusable and trapped them there where they had no cell coverage, no through traffic to save them, and limited resources they would eventually have had no choice but to try and leave. Stay and perish or attempt to leave when it became clear there was no rescue other thanF self rescue.

Right^^^^. Thank you @atomicsciencegal JRF could have had all the survivalist skills needed to run a business like they had talked about, if only his equipment had not failed. Reminds me, on a much much smaller scale, a wee bit like the Stockton Rush, Titan Submersible, failure. God bless the explorers but they really do need more than one backup/escape plan. Possibly multiple fixes / plans.
JMO

 

[vls12345]

Quote from the article:

In January, while Jin was still in China, Fitzpatrick texted her a message saying, "I used to live in Borrego Springs in the desert as a kid." Then in June, he texted her, “We could start a camping channel taking Chinese out to the desert and I could teach them camping skills from a Navy SEAL. How to read maps for hiking and how to find water in the desert. Make all different types of shelters.”

If JRF took JF out to the desert for the exact kind of camping skills trip he discussed with her in June, it really does look like something went tragically wrong and he overestimated his abilities.

And, being a kid there doesn't mean he actually knows desert survival skills (even if he was a seal). I would guess his childhood desert experience included a responsible adult or adults with him & maybe they had knowledge & skills. That doesn't necessarily mean he does though, kwim? (It's kind of like growing up in a very snowy area as a kid & the snow is fun. As an adult, it may be fun, but there are also way more responsibilities involved like shoveling, driving safely, backup plans in case of power loss, etc.)

MOO.

 

[Centaurus]

This photo from the Channel 8 report is the best picture of the truck we've gotten to date, apparently taken at the dealer's lot (unless the pic was posted before and I missed it).

It does confirm that the truck was a 2016 model, so 7-8 years old, which I think we already knew. Also, there's no decal on the side of the bed. My understanding is that all Tacoma 4WDs either have a decal or a 4x4 badge on the tailgate. We did see a shot of the back in the missing poster and the only badge said "V6".

While it's not definitive because some people do remove the badges, I think in all likelihood JRF's truck was a two wheel drive, not a 4WD.


View attachment 459129

Look at the distance between the top of the tire and the bottom of the wheel well. I don't think that's 2WD. Plus, I think I see front CV joints which 2WD/rearwheel vehicles do NOT have.

edit: grammar

 

[ch_13]

Look at the distance between the top of the tire and the bottom of the wheel well. I don't think that's 2WD. Plus, I think I see front CV joints which 2WD/rearwheel vehicles do NOT have.

edit: grammar

Good to know. I'll defer to your knowledge of vehicle engineering.

 

[patternsfinder]

You can't just...find water in the desert. That's not a real thing. There are a few hidden tiny known water sources in a few far off parts of the desert, mostly known to the local tribes and conservationists. Those spots are tiny, far off, hard to reach, and are not reliable as a water source, particularly in the summer. (I'll put MOO here, as I'm not going to link to any such site, as the local tribes and conservationists work hard to protect the locations, in part by not advertising where they are. I don't know of any such area near AB State Park, but that doesn't mean there isn't one. But none of the ones I do know about would ever serve as a "survival" tourism sort of option. Those who protect such sacred parts of desert land would be wildly offended by such a thing and would put an instant stop to it.)

Going out into late July weather with no water is a death wish. Taking others with you, telling them you can find water and build shelter, is just a wild ego lie.

 

[Centaurus]

Good to know. I'll defer to your knowledge of vehicle engineering.

I had my son take a look, too (he's a bit more mechanical than I am). He said "if I'm seeing what I think I'm seeing (CV Joints), then it can't be 2WD." But I'd love to have a car expert take a peek!

 

[Interested_But_Confused]

IMO, the kind of camping skills training JRF was talking about offering is what would be called "survival training."

I think saying JRF couldn't have planned for vehicle failure is somewhat missing the point: that's precisely what this kind of training is for. It's intended to keep you alive in exactly the kind of environment he and JF appear to have found themselves in, when all other means of escape or calling for help have failed.

I don't know what went wrong or why. But it does appear that when those survival skills were needed most, they weren't enough.

Mostly I'm just sad that this entire tragic situation seems to have been so avoidable and unnecessary.

 

[Sundog]

I had my son take a look, too (he's a bit more mechanical than I am). He said "if I'm seeing what I think I'm seeing (CV Joints), then it can't be 2WD." But I'd love to have a car expert take a peek!

Not directed at you, @Centaurus, but do we know if the photo of the truck that we are looking at is actually JRF's truck or just a photo of a similar truck used by the MSM for their article?

 

[Cedars]

IMO, that text he wrote to her in China was just ordinary seduction, any guy says all sorts of things to try to appeal to a woman. Normally, once he's won her over he forgets all about it. IMO, at the time, he was just interested in pleasing her by showing her the desert from the comfort of his truck, not thinking about survival at all, which is why he was caught off-guard. When people are in the throes of a new romance, the last thing they think about is dying.

JMO