Found Deceased CA - John Sturkie, 55, planned to go to the beach, Oceanside, San Diego County, 4 Jan 2019

[wary]

Why didn’t he ask his wife to accompany him?

Taking all stories at face value, maybe his wife had something of her own to do that evening, maybe it just wasn’t her kind of a thing, or maybe it was intended to be an all-men get-together—the Men’s Bible Study Outing.

Hmmm—do any North San Diego County beaches allow campfires?

 

[SoCalDavidS]

11

Taking all stories at face value, maybe his wife had something of her own to do that evening, maybe it just wasn’t her kind of a thing, or maybe it was intended to be an all-men get-together—the Men’s Bible Study Outing.

Hmmm—do any North San Diego County beaches allow campfires?

Even better would be to ask around as to whether he has gone with others to the beach for a bonfire in the past. It doesn't seem like something one would be so casual about, unless it was something they had done before, or even on a somewhat regular basis.

 

[wary]

11


Even better would be to ask around as to whether he has gone with others to the beach for a bonfire in the past. It doesn't seem like something one would be so casual about, unless it was something they had done before, or even on a somewhat regular basis.

I totally agree. If it was something he hadn’t done in the past, questions of: “you’re doing what? Where? With who?” would naturally pop up.

 

[TravelingBug]

<snip?

Hmmm—do any North San Diego County beaches allow campfires?

Yup.

Including Oceanside.

https://www.californiabeaches.com/beach-bonfire-san-diego-ca/

And for anyone who doubts that site, from the Oceanside Chamber of Commerce and City of Oceanside sites:

City of Oceanside, California - Beach Information

Fires are allowed in designated City fire rings ONLY. No fires are allowed from 11:00 p.m. to 6:00 a.m. daily. There is no curfew on fire rings at Harbor Beach.

WHAT EVERYONE OUGHT TO KNOW ABOUT BEACH BONFIRES IN OCEANSIDE, CA

The biggest thing at nearly all SD County beaches is that they must be in the fire pits and there are (almost always) restricted hours and restricted other things, plus assorted other requirements, nearly all of which vary slightly from beach to beach / city to city.

Oceanside allows them in the fire pits and:

First and foremost, bonfires MUST be kept within the specific Oceanside City fire rings ONLY. You cannot bring your own bonfire pit. With that said, fire pits are dispersed on a first come, first serve basis. <snip> Fires are only to be burning from 6:00 am – 11:00 pm and there must be a person in attendance at all times the fire is burning. The fires can only be put out with water, absolutely not sand!

And to your other point about maybe it being a men's Bible study / men's group thing, that WOULD NOT be uncommon at all IMO and is very possible.

MANY, MANY churches, especially those near the coastal areas (including Oceanside obviously) take advantage of natural open meeting spaces and do cookouts, small groups, baptisms, etc. at the beaches frequently, even including off season when it's cooler like now.

 

[SFDukie]

wow. Wonder how much the police have done to look. obviously LE could obtain his cell info, basically tracking him to El Cajon. Time of that location from finder app would be useful info. Case needs more attention. His truck is out there, somewhere.

 

[GraceG]

Why didn’t he ask his wife to accompany him?

This is just my opinion but if you look at their social media he was very active in both Scouting and their church's men's activities. It may have been one of those groups - I know my husband rushes off to a "Young Men's Night" at our church one Monday a month where they have snacks and Bible Study with just the men who are in their 20's and 30's.

 

[GraceG]

Yeah, I forgot about the phone thing. So when she went to the authorities, she happened to have the phone already, since she supposedly went to El Cajon to retrieve it? If I were a cop, my next question would be EXACTLY where in El Cajon did you find it? Take us to that spot. Of course, IF she did kill him, it wouldn't have been too difficult for her to locate the phone. Next step....scour that phone and the call records for the last activity. Watching too many of these "murder" shows is making me lean more and more to the spouse. Only thing that would sway me in the other direction, is if she had concrete answers to questions that a spouse would logically be able to answer about their partner of 20 years.

Just like the other thread I'm hooked on, with the cops playing RR, what seems logical? Does it pass the smell test? Sure, to convict, evidence & motive are key, but does it add up? None of my friends who have been married 20+ years, would just say they were going to a nighttime beach party with some friends, without Much More detail. And not to bring seasons into the situation, but a beach bonfire in January? What exactly was the temperature that night?

Playing defense attorney now....if the authorities were to figure out there was no beach party, that in no way proves she is deserving of conviction beyond a reasonable doubt. Her next move would be to say that's just what he told her. She can easily say that she thought he was being honest about where he was going, and thus she has no real idea what happened to him. This is because the person telling the lie is not her. The person telling the lie is the dead guy, who is not here to contradict her.

I understand your theories and you've thought through them quite well but there is nowhere on the news that stated she physically had his phone - she simply used an app to see where it last pinged. I'm sure she probably drove down there and looked for the truck (hopefully taking someone with her as El Cajon has a seriously high violent crime rate compared to other parts of the state). As far as a bonfire in January - it's southern California - When I was still playing airline pilot I was based in LA and Orange County and you can have temps in the low 50's in the winter, not often, but it happens. I saw her on the news - after a second career in law enforcement IMO she's either telling the truth or should get an Oscar for acting. She appeared seriously heartbroken as to his being missing.

 

[Concernedmamaof3]

I understand your theories and you've thought through them quite well but there is nowhere on the news that stated she physically had his phone - she simply used an app to see where it last pinged. I'm sure she probably drove down there and looked for the truck (hopefully taking someone with her as El Cajon has a seriously high violent crime rate compared to other parts of the state). As far as a bonfire in January - it's southern California - When I was still playing airline pilot I was based in LA and Orange County and you can have temps in the low 50's in the winter, not often, but it happens. I saw her on the news - after a second career in law enforcement IMO she's either telling the truth or should get an Oscar for acting. She appeared seriously heartbroken as to his being missing.

I don’t mean any disrespect but your post has a few inaccuracies and generalizations that aren’t true. Possibly things have changed a bit since you were based in Southern California? The lows actually have been getting into the low 40s in San Diego just this week. Not nearly as cold as other places, but still quite a bit colder than the 50s.

Your saying El Cajon had some of the worst crime in the state of California also seemed different than I remember. In California, places like Compton and Oakland are known for being a bit dicey, but I’ve never heard that about El Cajon. I looked it up and it appears Oceanside actually has a higher crime rate than El Cajon. Both rates are well below cities in Los Angeles (Compton), Fresno, Oakland and Sacramento, etc. Some cities actually have more than double the violent crime rate to either Oceanside or El Cajon (California locations by crime rate - Wikipedia).

This is not to say something didn’t happen to this poor man, just that the El Cajon phone location may not be as meaningful of a hint of foul play as if it were found in Compton for example. MOO

 

[moonriverfarm]

Why did she get his scapular and bless him? That is odd as heck to me.

Theresa recalls the last conversation she had with her husband.

“I’m Catholic so I said, 'let me get your scapular and let me bless you,'" she said through tears. "I said, 'OK, now you bless me' and he did."

 

[meanmaryjean]

Why did she get his scapular and bless him? That is odd as heck to me.

Theresa recalls the last conversation she had with her husband.

“I’m Catholic so I said, 'let me get your scapular and let me bless you,'" she said through tears. "I said, 'OK, now you bless me' and he did."

This is what struck me as EXTREMELY odd. MOO and all...

 

[GraceG]

I don’t mean any disrespect but your post has a few inaccuracies and generalizations that aren’t true. Possibly things have changed a bit since you were based in Southern California? The lows actually have been getting into the low 40s in San Diego just this week. Not nearly as cold as other places, but still quite a bit colder than the 50s.

Your saying El Cajon had some of the worst crime in the state of California also seemed different than I remember. In California, places like Compton and Oakland are known for being a bit dicey, but I’ve never heard that about El Cajon. I looked it up and it appears Oceanside actually has a higher crime rate than El Cajon. Both rates are well below cities in Los Angeles (Compton), Fresno, Oakland and Sacramento, etc. Some cities actually have more than double the violent crime rate to either Oceanside or El Cajon (California locations by crime rate - Wikipedia).

This is not to say something didn’t happen to this poor man, just that the El Cajon phone location may not be as meaningful of a hint of foul play as if it were found in Compton for example. MOO
https://www.neighborhoodscout.com/ca/el-cajon/crime

Thanks for the clarifications - yes it's been 30 years since I lived there. El Cajon might have improved with more families wanting a cheaper place to move and commute to San Diego.

 

[wary]

Oceanside, CA (92056) Monthly Weather Forecast - weather.com

So—the low on Jan 4th was in the 30s. That’s lower that I would have expected—but the low is usually in the early am hours. I’d still be surprised if the temperature at 5-6 pm was lower than in the 50s.

 

[Concernedmamaof3]

Thanks for the clarifications - yes it's been 30 years since I lived there. El Cajon might have improved with more families wanting a cheaper place to move and commute to San Diego.

That is definitely possible! A lot of younger families we know have moved further from the coast- San Marcos, Escondido, Temecula, etc. to get more for their dollar. They have also done a lot of revitalizing of the downtown area that has forced lower income elsewhere and I think this is happening throughout San Diego County.

I do wonder about why a stranger would travel about 80 miles (Oceanside to El Cajon) round trip to just steal a phone or worse. It seems much more likely to be someone he knew. Either he was meeting someone in El Cajon or someone from there met him. I hope they find answers soon. MOO

 

[SoCalDavidS]

It is still my opinion, that early January seems like a very weird time to have a nighttime beach bonfire. It would take something pretty important to make me hang out on a beach when temperatures are in the 50's, at best.

 

[KALI]

I live here. First of all, nobody I know heads out at 5pm anywhere of any distance. I mean to tell you the traffic is horrific. El Cajon is considered FAR. There are tons and tons of beaches between Oceanside and El Cajon. Why El Cajon? That's just crazy. Something is very very wrong. Imo

 

[Concernedmamaof3]

It is still my opinion, that early January seems like a very weird time to have a nighttime beach bonfire. It would take something pretty important to make me hang out on a beach when temperatures are in the 50's, at best.

Very true! 50s in San Diego people are wearing big jackets, scarves, hats and gloves. If it also got into the 30s that night, I would guess by sunset the temperatures were quickly dropping into the 40s, especially at the beach. The highs are around noon and steadily drop in the late afternoon.

 

[FlamingoLady]

Unfortunately I think we just don't have enough info to really work with. I've got a lot of unanswered questions that I hope the police have the answers to.
-Were the friends he was meeting interviewed? Or even contacted by his wife after he didn't make it home? What did they say? Was there a bonfire at all?
-Where does he work/how does he make a living?
Just a few to start with.........
I agree traffic is horrible that time of day. A trek to El Cajon had to be for something important or else it was totally unplanned, IMO. I will also stand by the idea that a bonfire in January is not uncommon. Try to get an available pit during the better weather---Impossible!, well at least difficult.

 

[GuyfromCanada]

Unfortunately I think we just don't have enough info to really work with. I've got a lot of unanswered questions that I hope the police have the answers to.
-Were the friends he was meeting interviewed? Or even contacted by his wife after he didn't make it home? What did they say? Was there a bonfire at all?
-Where does he work/how does he make a living?
Just a few to start with.........
I agree traffic is horrible that time of day. A trek to El Cajon had to be for something important or else it was totally unplanned, IMO. I will also stand by the idea that a bonfire in January is not uncommon. Try to get an available pit during the better weather---Impossible!, well at least difficult.

This article states that he is an electrician Search continues for California father of four, missing for nearly a month

 

[FlamingoLady]

This article states that he is an electrician Search continues for California father of four, missing for nearly a month

Thank you-yes, now I remember reading that.

 

[FlamingoLady]

Bumping