Mystery in California state park as man found dead, woman still missing

With a woman still missing under mysterious circumstances, more questions than answers remain after the man she may have been traveling with was found dead in a California state park in September.

In July, Chinese tourist Fang Jin and San Bernardino County resident John Fitzpatrick were separately reported missing in Anza-Borrego Desert State Park. According to the San Bernardino County Sheriff’s Department, Jin, 47, flew from China to Los Angeles on July 14. From there, she took a train to Palm Springs and was “picked up by a male subject who was supposed to show her around the Morongo Basin area”; officials have not identified that male subject. On July 26, they began seeking Jin as a missing person. A friend said their last contact with her was via telephone on July 22.

A missing persons flier for Fitzpatrick, 52, said the former Navy SEAL was reported missing on July 30. He was believed to be driving a blue Toyota Tacoma with California plates and was supposed to be in the Morongo Basin area. In response to the missing person report filed for Fitzpatrick, the Victorville Daily Press reports a welfare check was made at his mobile home in Morongo Valley. A search warrant reviewed by the Daily Press reportedly noted detectives smelled “the odor of decomposition” in the mobile home and found a suitcase with some items that belonged to Jin.

There are differing accounts of the relationship between Jinand Fitzpatrick. The Hi-Desert Star reported in early August that the pair had a business arrangement. “Fitzpatrick was hired to be Jin’s tour guide of the Morongo Basin area,” Sheriff’s Department spokesperson Gloria Huerta told the outlet. “They were supposed to go camping, but the amount of time was not disclosed.”

But a friend who spoke with the San Diego Union-Tribune told the newspaper that the pair met online about six months prior and were burgeoning romantic partners. This was said to be their first meeting in person. At least one photograph released by Jin’s family appears to show Fitzpatrick and Jin together in a truck.

In September, Fitzpatrick’s body was reportedly discovered in Anza-Borrego state park, although investigators have declined to provide further details. It’s not clear who found the body, how long he had been dead or how he died. The Union-Tribune, citing one of Fitzpatrick’s friends, reported the body was discovered around the Harper Canyon area near state Route 78. Jin is still missing.

The same contact is listed on both Jin and Fitzpatrick’s missing posters: San Bernardino County Sheriff’s Department Det. Tyler Bengard. Anyone with information is asked to call Bengard at 760-366-4175 or sheriff’s dispatch at 909-387-8313.