Chinese woman remains missing, while her boyfriend was found dead in San Diego County
The investigation continues into a missing Chinese national and her friend, a former Navy SEAL from Morongo Valley.
The most recent update in the case came in September, roughly two months after Fan Jin and John Root Fitzpatrick went missing.
San Bernardino County Sheriff’s officials reported that the body of veteran Fitzpatrick, 52, was found last month in the Anza-Borrego Desert State Park.
Sheriff’s spokesperson Mara Rodriguez told the Daily Press on Wednesday that there is no update on Jin's whereabouts, and the missing person's case remains open.
The 47-year-old woman was last heard from in July.
Fang Jin
After meeting a man, later identified as Fitzpatrick, online and corresponding with him for six months, Jin decided to meet him, her family said.
“Jin did her best to check into the man’s background, ordering a background report and verifying the man’s identity, military service, and employment record,” according to a GoFundMe account set up by family friend Kyle Zhou.
Jin flew from China to Los Angeles on July 14.
After arriving, she boarded a train from Los Angeles to the Palm Springs area. The following day, she was picked up by a man whom she hired for a tour of the Morongo Basin area, sheriff's officials stated.
Jin had planned to camp in an unknown area in the Morongo Basin, which is situated southeast of Lucerne and Johnson valleys in the High Desert, police stated.
On July 16, the couple was seen on surveillance video purchasing toiletries inside the Marine Corps Exchange at the Marine Corps Air Ground Combat Center in Twentynine Palms, according to a search warrant issued by San Bernardino County Superior Court.
The man took her to Joshua Tree National Park and then “supposedly went camping” with her at “a small town in the desert,” her family said.
The pair reportedly took at least one hiking trip to the desert. Jin also stayed with Fitzpatrick at the Roadrunner Mobile Home Park in Morongo Valley.
Jin continued to send photos to her family in China, including one of Fitzpatrick’s driver's license and another of him with his blue Toyota pickup, the search warrant revealed.
On July 22, photos and messages were no longer being received by Jin’s family, she wasn't answering her phone, and her social media posts stopped. Her phone showed that it was no longer in service on July 25, according to her family.
Jin’s friend filed a missing person’s report on July 26 with the sheriff’s department when she couldn’t contact her. Jin had booked a return flight in October, and her family said she did not intend to stay in the U.S.
John Fitzpatrick
Fitzpatrick was reported missing on July 30, according to the man’s longtime friend and military colleague, Darryl Hoss, the San Diego Union-Tribune reported.
Hoss reported his friend missing when Fitzpatrick didn’t return from an extended camping trip to the Anza-Borrego Desert State Park, the Union-Tribune stated.
According to military records reviewed by the Union-Tribune, Fitzpatrick was honorably discharged from active service in 2010 as a chief petty officer, master parachutist, and instructor who had completed multiple tours overseas.
In 2020, Fitzpatrick pleaded guilty to misdemeanor assault and was later placed in the veteran's treatment court, hinting at underlying issues, according to the Hi-Desert Star. He eventually completed the program, and the charge was dismissed this year.
Investigators stated that on July 22, Fitzpatrick’s vehicle, a blue Toyota Tacoma truck, was captured on camera in Thermal, just south of Indio and about 60 miles north of where his body would later be found.
Welfare check in Morongo Valley
On Aug. 1, deputies conducted a welfare check at Fitzpatrick’s mobile home located on 29 Palms Highway in Morongo Valley, according to the search warrant.
Detectives visited Fitzpatrick’s mobile home and found the front door open. Investigators entered to see if the couple were inside and found no one.
Detectives did find items belonging to Jin inside the home and the "odor of decomposition,” the court document stated.
Sheriff's officials also discovered and took a red suitcase that contained Jin’s property. Additionally, her straw hat, sandals, green shoes, an SD card from a Ring camera, a green helmet, and a white purse with her belongings.
Deputies also found receipts from the Marine Corps Exchange.
On July 3, Fitzpatrick was seen on a store security camera purchasing duct tape, according to the search warrant. At that time, he was seen with a white/Hispanic man, who left the store with the purchased items, the court document stated.
A month later, sheriff’s investigators served a second search warrant at the mobile home, where they took three iPhones.
Fitzpatrick’s body discovered
Law enforcement officials contacted Fitzpatrick’s family to inform them that his body was discovered in Harper Canyon, south of state Route 78, the Union-Tribune reported.
The San Diego County Medical Examiner’s Office has not disclosed information on the investigation.
Jin is described as Asian, standing 5 feet 4 inches tall and weighing nearly 110 pounds. She has black hair and brown eyes.
Anyone with information regarding this case is urged to call Detective Tyler Bengard at 760-366-4175 or sheriff’s dispatch at 909-387-8413.
Daily Press reporter Rene Ray De La Cruz may be reached at 760-951-6227 or RDeLaCruz@VVDailyPress.com. Follow him on Twitter @DP_ReneDeLaCruz.
This article originally appeared on Victorville Daily Press: Chinese woman still missing, boyfriend found dead in San Diego County
