REWARD – Jin Fang Missing in Morongo Valley Area
Donation protected
Please help us with a reward to locate 47-year-old Jin Fang 金芳, who was last seen 7/21/23 with a man in or near Morongo Valley, CA. Her daughter and parents in China have no direct access to the U.S. and are helpless to locate Ms. Jin without your help. As Organizer, I’m assisting Ms. Jin’s daughter with this fundraising effort for a reward to find her mother.
Update 8/10/23
The Sheriff’s Office has now reported that the man (John Root Fitzpatrick) is also missing. But that late announcement presumably means that the man is running from the law, not that he went missing together with Ms. Jin. As mentioned below, Ms. Jin did due diligence on the man before coming to the U.S. In addition, with her previous experience living and doing business in Europe, Ms. Jin generally knew how to care for herself, unless she was a crime victim.
We have received donations from many kind people. Thank you all so much for your help and interest!
我们收到了很多好心人的捐款，感谢大家的帮助和关注。
After meeting a man online from Morongo Valley (John Root Fitzpatrick) and corresponding with him for 6 months, Ms. Jin came to Los Angeles on 7/14 (her 1st time to U.S.), expecting to spend time with the man visiting Joshua Tree Nat’l Park and exploring and camping at other sites in the area. Before coming to the U.S., Ms. 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.
After picking Ms. Jin up in Palm Springs on 7/15, the man took Ms. Jin to Joshua Tree Park and then supposedly went camping with her at “a small town in the desert.” But as of 7/22, the daily contact from Ms. Jin abruptly stopped. Her phone was no longer answered, her social media posts and phone calls stopped, and her phone finally showed as no longer in service on 7/25.
Because of this alarming situation, we reported Ms. Jin missing and the San Bernardino County Sheriff’s Office (Morongo Basin Station) opened a criminal investigation. A camera captured the man’s truck (blue Toyota truck, CA license #24478S1) in Thermal, CA on 7/22 and the man’s last cellphone activity was tracked to Julian, CA on 7/24. Since then, law enforcement has been unable to locate Ms. Jin, the man or his truck.
Ms. Jin’s family is scared that something terrible has happened to her and need help in locating Ms. Jin and bringing her home. All money raised will be used for a reward to attract tips from the public and possibly for other search and recovery efforts. Without a reward, it’s doubtful that Ms. Jin can be found anytime soon and brought home to her family.
Anyone who has info about Ms. Jin, the man, or his truck, please call Detective Bengard at the San Bernardino County Sheriff’s Office (Morongo Basin Station).
Organizer
Kyle Zhou (Family Friend)
Organizer
Pasadena, CA