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

[Sundog]

It sounds like JRF and FJ were exploring possible opportunities to develop a tourism business that would bring Chinese tourists to the U.S. to experience the desert and possibly other venues (Grand Canyon, etc.). It sounds like they both had a lot of enthusiasm about the possibility (given the texts that were shown in the MSM article). This makes it all the more tragic and sad, since they may have had high hopes for their relationship as well as an interest in starting a fun adventure together in business.

If they did try to launch a business that included tourism in the desert, then they would have done it in the winter or when temperatures were appropriate. I think we read on this forum earlier that for some reason this was the only time (July-October) that FJ could make the trip - it seemed like JRF had other commitments scheduled, IIRC, so FJ made the trip in July.

Definitely sad and tragic, an unforeseen misadventure, it seems, for two people with dreams and potential plans for the future.

 

[ch_13]

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?

I checked before posting and it has the same license plate from JRF's missing poster.

 

[Herat]

The information that JRF lived in Borrego Springs as a boy is interesting.

Clearly things have changed a lot in the 45 or so years since he was there. Well, climate change has happened. Borrego Springs is now notorious for having a severely depleted water table because of unregulated agricultural draw-down.

I think JRF was not as familiar with the areas he was visiting as he thought. Likely roads and access to wilderness areas had changed. Did he know Harper Flat was a Wildlife Area with restricted vehicle access via a barbed wire fence? Was he trying to return to a specific area he had been to 45 years ago?

 

[Interested_But_Confused]

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

Toyota Tacoma - Wikipedia

en.wikipedia.org

I don't know much about cars so this may not be relevant, but the wiki for the Tacoma (based on a review by PCMag) says "2WD and 4WD models share the same suspension height and ground clearance."

 

[Centaurus]

Toyota Tacoma - Wikipedia

en.wikipedia.org

I don't know much about cars so this may not be relevant, but the wiki for the Tacoma (based on a review by PCMag) says "2WD and 4WD models share the same suspension height and ground clearance."

If we had the VIN (lol) we could find out for sure.

 

[tvscum]

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

If you run the plate on vehiclehistory dot com the specs say 4WD (free search)

 

[Centaurus]

If you run the plate on vehiclehistory dot com the specs say 4WD (free search)

Dear lord... I need to save that website lol. thank you!

 

[Herat]

The old desert traveler adage:

One flat tire is an inconvenience, two flat tires is a disaster.

 

[Sundog]

I would hope that LE is able to investigate the cause of the flat tires, to rule out anything suspicious. I personally doubt that anyone punctured their tires, but it would be good to have this ruled out and the tires examined to determine the cause.

 

[Herat]

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.

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

This might have worked in February, but clearly not in late July.

The water table in the Borrego Springs area has been severely depleted since he was a boy and it might be also changed in these wilderness areas.

I think the word is Hubris.

 

[acutename]

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.

I did look up the temps for AB both for Sept 17 (hiker discovery date) and the end of July. Sept was about 75/90 and July was 90/113-115... well over 100F the last 4 or 5 days of July.

Weather in Anza-Borrego Desert State Park in june: Temperature, Rainfall, Sunshine... for June 2026! - California

Is the climate in Anza-Borrego Desert State Park (in California) in june good? Discover the weather forecast in june 2026 to prepare your trip.

www.whereandwhen.net

 

[10ofRods]

I did look up the temps for AB both for Sept 17 (hiker discovery date) and the end of July. Sept was about 75/90 and July was 90/113-115... well over 100F the last 4 or 5 days of July.

Weather in Anza-Borrego Desert State Park in june: Temperature, Rainfall, Sunshine... for June 2026! - California

Is the climate in Anza-Borrego Desert State Park (in California) in june good? Discover the weather forecast in june 2026 to prepare your trip.

www.whereandwhen.net

And those are official temps - taken in the shade at weather stations. Even at 110F, one can experience heat stroke or heat exhaustion, depending on age and activity. It was probably 15-20% humidity (dry). Here's the AZ chart on effects of temperature in drier air.

When it's 115F (as it likely was in the late afternoon in late July) - walking outdoors should be non-strenuous and brief. For adults around age 50, that's 15-30 minutes, IMO.

If their truck was south of Harper Flat, they had a much longer and more strenuous walk ahead of them. Very little shade (although the truck itself would have provided some - they could have waited to try and walk out after 7 pm, but then, they'd have needed good headlamps or flashlights).

I do wonder whether JRF was actually well-prepared. For that hike, they both needed at least 60-80 ounces of water carried in a pack, sturdy shoes, trekking poles would have helped if they did it at night, etc.

Of course, waiting several hours for dusk just uses up more water in sweat, regardless of shade. So...they did what many would do and tried to get out ASAP.


IMO

 

[charminglane]

I'm interested in whether the gas tank was empty from using the air conditioner, waiting for the little bit of coolness that would happen in the late afternoon.

 

[Dhighsmith]

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.

Preparedness and Flexibility

Statement by Mark Divine:
“The SEALs are a perfect example of how, when excellence through flexibility is baked into the organization, the team, and the individuals as a standard, then a flexible, adaptable system of excellence results. And a flexible system allows the team to lean into rapidly changing, risk-infected situations instead of freezing in the face of them. This level of flexibility is proving to be one of the most important skills to have in today’s explosively evolving world.”

It seems the Scouts offered required critical skills for this situation- “Be Prepared”.

 

[10ofRods]

I'm interested in whether the gas tank was empty from using the air conditioner, waiting for the little bit of coolness that would happen in the late afternoon.

I wonder that too - but late afternoon is actually the hottest time, with temps peaking through the region at around 3 pm. Time of day of their tire problem would be a crucial piece of info. I assume that LE has the telematics of the truck by now or at least a theory.

It starts getting toward peak temps from 1pm-3 pm, then usually a plateau until at 4 pm, it's about 1 degree cooler than at 3, and no significant cooling. I can't find historical data for this year at Anza-Borrego, but the temps were similar at Ocotillo Wells and Borrego Springs to what it was in Palm Springs - so here's the data for Palm Springs:

Palm Springs, CA Weather History | Weather Underground

At 6 pm, it was still 112F. At 7 pm, it was 108F. This is the daily pattern of summer desert weather and to me, personally, 108F is still very uncomfortable, outside of the shade it is even hotter. By 9 pm, at 102F, I could definitely do a walk but wouldn't be thrilled or happy about it, at all. I'd see a possible 4-5 hour walk at night, in temps above or at 100F to be an extreme survival situation.

Headlamp with extra batteries would be a wilderness essential for this area, IMO. And lots and lots of water.

IMO

 

[atomicsciencegal]

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

So sorry friend, Im not quite skilled enough to figure how to attach all the pages part from as screenshots. Would hate to break TOS, so maybe someone more knowledgeable could help here?

 

[Centaurus]

So sorry friend, Im not quite skilled enough to figure how to attach all the pages part from as screenshots. Would hate to break TOS, so maybe someone more knowledgeable could help here?

I sent the .PDF's a bit ago, they were able to open them.

 

[atomicsciencegal]

I would hope that LE is able to investigate the cause of the flat tires, to rule out anything suspicious. I personally doubt that anyone punctured their tires, but it would be good to have this ruled out and the tires examined to determine the cause.

I wonder if the tyres were flat because that’s what you do if you get stuck in sand - reduce tyre pressure.

 

[atomicsciencegal]

Also I’d like to make the unfortunate point here that all we know is that JFG and FG felt they HAD to make the dangerous walk out. They weren’t stupid, and JFR did have training.

What we don’t know is how long they waited there. How long they waited for rescue before being that desperate.

And those two unfortunate things together make me think that they stayed there with whatever their water supply was, until to stay there meant to die anyhow. I think they ended up there for at least two days waiting for help, using up their water, until they were too incapacitated to finally leave successfully.

 

[10ofRods]

I wonder if the tyres were flat because that’s what you do if you get stuck in sand - reduce tyre pressure.

Well, if he reduced the tire pressure to the point where the tyres were actually flat (as described), that was too much deflation. You also reduce pressure if you're going over rocks embedded in sand. And if it's very hot, obviously, you have to let a little more out - but never to the point where the tyre is actually flat.

OTOH, if he did *not* reduce tyre pressure, then his chances of getting a flat on sharp rocks was real. Or from bouncing from on top of a rock to the rocks lower in a rutted dirt road. These are really sketchy roads up there.

We carry our own tyre inflater, which is operated from our truck's battery and we can reinflate anywhere (and have done so, after being on rocky roads). So a truly prepared desert driver doesn't just deflate tires and hope for the best - they have a system for reinflating. At any rate, "flat" means "no longer operable, wheel/rim basically on the ground, it's flat).

15-25 PSI is recommended for roads like that. I wonder if he even had a pressure gauge (we have two of them, just in case). I live a ways from where I work and should a freeway commute be impossible, I have seriously considered having to cross a couple of sandy river bottoms (with a bit of water) in my quest to get home after an earthquake (or during a fire). Our kids have the same equipment in their vehicles too (well, not the reinflator, but the gauges, and tyre repair goop). One of them does have the reinflator (she's the more adventurous one and drives a Jeep - the other one is not going off road unless she absolutely is forced to).

IMO.