Found Deceased CA - Fang Jin, 47, flew to LA from China, train to Palm Springs, Morongo Basin, 21 Jul 2023, w/ JohnRoot Fitzpatrick, 55, missing, 30 Jul ‘23

[megs1477]

Where did 29 Palms come in? Fitzpatrick lives in Morongo Valley, CA. I assumed they were staying at his home between excursions/camping trips. Here’s a case map.

The road name vs the town. Just a mistake in wording.

 

[megs1477]

We don’t know if he was getting paid to show her around.

According to LE he was.

Sheriff confirms missing woman hired missing Morongo Valley man as guide

MORONGO BASIN — The San Bernardino County Sheriff’s Department confirmed late this week that missing woman Fang Jin and missing man John Root Fitzpatrick are still missing out of the

www.hidesertstar.com

 

[charminglane]

With the way people steal things, keeping all camping gear inside the vehicle is a smart move.
When the pepper jerky and diet cherry Pepsi craving hits, you don’t have to worry that things will be missing out of the bed while you are in the mini mart or rest stop.

 

[wary]

Last phone call on the phone associated with the missing man was in Julian, which is south of the other points he had been. Palm Springs/Morongo/Thermal/Julian is what I see. Moving south. At least, his phone was moving south. Thermal and Julian are desert tourism towns, for people who like the Inland Empire/Desert areas.

Julian is in San Diego County, south of San Bernardino County. Thermal is in Riverside County, north of San Diego County.

So three jurisdictions to coordinate here.

IMO

I don’t think of Julian as desert—4000+ ft. elevation, pine trees and substantial winter snow. But what worries me is—all the roads with substantial cliffs. If a truck went over the edge and buried itself in vegetation, it might be hard to find, unless there was a very focused search.

 

[megs1477]

I don’t think of Julian as desert—4000+ ft. elevation, pine trees and substantial winter snow. But what worries me is—all the roads with substantial cliffs. If a truck went over the edge and buried itself in vegetation, it might be hard to find, unless there was a very focused search.

You seem familiar with the area…any idea where they could be headed if she mentioned ‘a small town in the middle of the desert’?

 

[wary]

You seem familiar with the area…any idea where they could be headed if she mentioned ‘a small town in the middle of the desert’?

Borrego Springs comes to mind. It’s south of Palm Desert, on the west side of the Salton Sea. Small, attractive, tourist oriented.

 

[Lusitana]

If they were not friends or in a romantic relationship, it only makes sense that she was paying him. Those pictures show someone who seem to be having a fun time together though. I wonder if they became friends.

 

[ClaireNC]

According to LE he was.

Sheriff confirms missing woman hired missing Morongo Valley man as guide

MORONGO BASIN — The San Bernardino County Sheriff’s Department confirmed late this week that missing woman Fang Jin and missing man John Root Fitzpatrick are still missing out of the

www.hidesertstar.com

I’m taking what the sheriff‘s office said in that one interview with a grain of salt. IMO the family is giving a different version of events and the pictures we’ve seen tell a different story. All my opinion only.

 

[Lusitana]

I’m taking what the sheriff‘s office said in that one interview with a grain of salt. IMO the family is giving a different version of events and the pictures we’ve seen tell a different story. All my opinion only.

What story do you think the pictures tell? I think they look happy together...

 

[ClaireNC]

What story do you think the pictures tell? I think they look happy together...

I agree. They look like the kind of pictures a woman would take to show friends her new boyfriend. They do look happy.

 

[slowpoke]

Google Translate of portion from the World Journal article:

”After the police intervened in the investigation, a surveillance camera captured the truck of the suspicious man 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 activity was tracked in the Julian area of San Diego County on July 24.”

World Journal article, Google translate

Do you think the surveillance camera would capture who was in the pickup truck in Thermal on July 22, or only the image of the truck itself? Does the image look to be a license plate reader camera? The camera angle looks to be overhead facing downward, so maybe individual(s) inside can’t be seen.

Because I’m confused about the date of July 22. There is no consistent message regarding Fang Jin and that date. Some articles say she was last heard from, last seen, or last heard from during a phone chat on that date, OR even some say July 21. The date difference likely is due to the difference in the time zone, though, I’d guess.

I just wish we knew if Fang was in the truck at the time of the surveillance camera capture.

If JRF’s phone was tracked to the Julian area (on July 24), how much can the police know about details of this ‘phone activity’? For example, can LE tell if it was a call or text (and to who) or if it was a search through a browser, or looking up directions on a map?

 

[AnxiousandAgitated]

<modsnip - inappropriate> I dunno if they were a couple but they look great together….

 

[nao]

Moo..I've played tour guide to out of towners. They do say can I hire you to show us around. But what it means is...they cover...gas, food, flat tires, everything. And I get a free vacation But they don't actually pay by the hour...it is just a private agreement not a business deal...moo

 

[imstilla.grandma]

The Chinese Consulate General in Los Angeles released a message on August 12, "Reminding Chinese Citizens in the Consular District to Raise Security Risk Awareness and Effectively Strengthen Security Prevention".

In recent days, a Chinese national and an American man lost contact after meeting and traveling together in Southern California. After we learned of this incident, we immediately contacted the local police to find out her whereabouts and kept in touch with the family of the person concerned. Currently, the search is still in progress.

Since July this year, we have repeatedly issued consular reminders on strengthening security precautions. Remind Chinese citizens who plan to travel in the consular district again to raise awareness of safety risks, understand the local safety risks and public security situation in advance, do not easily associate with strangers, go with them or take a ride, and avoid going out alone or going to sparsely populated places with difficult natural conditions , Do not disclose personal information at will, do not show off wealth, keep in frequent contact with family members, and promptly inform them of the specific travel location, stay time, hotel phone number and other information

https://inf.news/en/world/265d7ca6b6c4adb190ca67bd0172f014.html

 

[ClaireNC]

The Chinese Consulate General in Los Angeles released a message on August 12, "Reminding Chinese Citizens in the Consular District to Raise Security Risk Awareness and Effectively Strengthen Security Prevention".

In recent days, a Chinese national and an American man lost contact after meeting and traveling together in Southern California. After we learned of this incident, we immediately contacted the local police to find out her whereabouts and kept in touch with the family of the person concerned. Currently, the search is still in progress.


Since July this year, we have repeatedly issued consular reminders on strengthening security precautions. Remind Chinese citizens who plan to travel in the consular district again to raise awareness of safety risks, understand the local safety risks and public security situation in advance, do not easily associate with strangers, go with them or take a ride, and avoid going out alone or going to sparsely populated places with difficult natural conditions , Do not disclose personal information at will, do not show off wealth, keep in frequent contact with family members, and promptly inform them of the specific travel location, stay time, hotel phone number and other information

https://inf.news/en/world/265d7ca6b6c4adb190ca67bd0172f014.html

That’s some pretty strong wording in the warning from the Consulate to its country’s citizens. Unfortunately it looks like Fang didn‘t take them to heart.

I‘m frustrated by the lack of attention this case is getting. I’m sure her family is very distressed. Is there anything they can do to get the local sheriff’s office to take action? The last quote from them said they were both considered voluntarily missing. Sheriff confirms missing woman hired missing Morongo Valley man as guide

How can the family, or us concerned outsiders, get this escalated? What agency does the SB Sheriff’s Dept report into? Should the family contact the state police or FBI? What about state or local politicians?

 

[richie2023]

John Root Fitzpatrick (and his Toyota Tacoma Truck?) is also missing.​

Does he live in Morongo Valley? Even if he took the money from Jin, a few thousand dollars won't last very long.

 

[Teche]

I hope LE has reached JRF’s family to help track him down.

 

[The Digger]

Having hiked/camped the Coachella Valley often, I've quite familiar with the area and surrounding parts. The Valley is divided into "different worlds" and a "world traveler" might want to explore them all, but they ARE very different. There is NO commonality between Joshua Tree (JT), Salton Sea, Slab City, Salvation Mountain, and Julian for example. JT is a National Park, and one might assume that a world traveler would have wanted to be in JT this past weekend for the shower. If Fitzpatrick was acting as a guide, I can't imagine he wouldn't have suggested he take her there (I was there, as was a historic turnout). Salton Sea is an experience, but it's more of a drive-through experience with possibly a stop or two for a photo, but that's it, and from there one might keep going to Salvation Mountain. I believe most visitors want to see Salvation Mountain, and only then learn down the road is Slab City. Curiosity might then take you to see Slab City, but it’s not a place one would normally spend too much time. Once you’re at Salvation Mountain/Slab City, the guess is you head back to the valley since there’s nothing else out that way. Julian and Idyllwild are two destinations (as is the Palm Springs Tram) that offers refuge from the searing temperatures in the Valley; with Julian being a small historic town where one came walk up and down Main Street, grab lunch or dinner and head down the hill before dark (unless you get a room there for the night), Idyllwild is the same; most people I know often visit these locations as day trips, with Salton Sea, Salvation Mountain/Slab City also day trips.

Fitzpatrick is the key to learning what happened to Jin. LE know much more than they are releasing, and I have to assume their focus is locating Fitzpatrick, who is local and in the civil and criminal system with ties to the area. LE should have an extensive history on Fitzpatrick and easily have located him by now, except for two reasons: he too is a victim or he's running because of what he did. His uncommon name also leads to a Family Law matter (Fitzpatrick Hong Huo v Fitzpatrick John Root filed Feb 2020) and LE would likely have reached out to LA County and asked them to contact the Female involved. All of this is more difficult with Fang Jin, whose footprint is limited to her time in the US.

Which brings me to my question… there’s been three photos posted here (has anyone posted the link to the social media where these were located): solid blue shirt, solid red shirt and blue/white stripped shirt; Jin does not appear to be disheveled or distressed in any of the three… so where are they spending their nights (she is not unkept in photos), how is he/she paying for rooms (my guess he’s not paying for rooms). I have to believe LE pulled his banking and credit history looking for transactions and/or bail records should lead to a source for funds for Fitzpatrick. It’s obvious in these situations, unless she is intentionally missing, every minute missing is extremely relevant.

 

[Lusitana]

Moo..I've played tour guide to out of towners. They do say can I hire you to show us around. But what it means is...they cover...gas, food, flat tires, everything. And I get a free vacation But they don't actually pay by the hour...it is just a private agreement not a business deal...moo

That's what I thought too. If they didn't develop a romantic relationship in the midst of preparing her trip, it would only make sense that she did cover those expenses. Why would he do all of that for free? I suspect they ended up forming at least a friendly relationship. They look so happy on those pictures lol.

 

[slowpoke]

“In addition, police officer Rodriguez told Nandu reporters that the two missing persons are listed as "voluntarily missing" by the police, and the two disappearances have not yet been included in criminal investigation cases.

On August 13, Ms. Lin, the daughter of the missing woman Jin Fang, confirmed to a reporter from Nandu that Jin Fang did not intend to stay in the United States on the Internet, and she had already booked a ticket to return to China.”

Southern Metrpolis Daily (Google Translate)

It must be so frustrating for Fang’s family. The disappearances are being called voluntary at this time, even though they must feel it has to be more than that, either criminal or some terrible misadventure, since Fang stopped communicating abruptly, and the man she was with has also disappeared.

So it states here Fang had already prearranged her return flight to China. I wonder what the date is/was. If the date has already passed, that should be yet another red flag that something is not right here.