Who were Fang Jin and John Fitzpatrick? Missing Chinese woman found dead alongside military veteran  in California Desert Park

Fang Jin, a Chinese woman missing in southern California since July, was reportedly found dead last month in Anza-Borrego Desert State Park, San Bernardino County Sheriff’s office told CBS 8 on Friday.

Fang Jin traveled from China on July 14 to meet 52-year-old former Navy SEAL John Fitzpatrick after the couple had met online. The duo had been missing since late July from Morongo Valley in San Bernardino County where Fitzpatrick lived.

The body of the missing Chinese woman was found a month after the body of Fitzpatrick was discovered in September in the Anza-Borrego Desert State Park.

Per multiple reports, over a month after the couple disappeared, Fitzpatrick’s Toyota Tacoma truck was found abandoned on September 4, with multiple flat tires, in the Harper Flat area of Anza Borrego.

Two weeks after the truck was found, a hiker discovered skeletal remains, later believed to be Fitzpatrick’s, in Harper Canyon in Anza-Borrego Desert State Park.

On Oct. 28, Fang Jin's remains were reportedly found at Harper Canyon trailhead, near the place where Fitzpatrick’s remains were found. As police continue to investigate the case, the circumstances surrounding their deaths remain unknown.

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What we know about Fang Jin's disappearance

According to a GoFundMe account set up by family friend Kyle Zhou, Fang Jin flew from China to Los Angeles on July 14 after meeting a man, John Fitzpatrick, online and corresponding with him for six months.

“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.”

Daily press citing the police reported Jin, who had hired a man for a tour of the Morongo Basin area, had planned to camp in an unknown area in the Morongo Basin, southeast of Lucerne and Johnson valleys in the High Desert.

On July 16, John Fitzpatrick and Fang Jin were reportedly seen on surveillance video purchasing supplies inside the Marine Corps Exchange at the Marine Corps Air Ground Combat Center in Twentynine Palm.

According to Jin’s family, the couple reportedly took at least one hiking trip to the desert. Concerns were raised after Jin, who was staying with Fitzpatrick at the Roadrunner Mobile Home Park in Morongo Valley, stopped sending photos to her family in China.

On July 26, Jin’s friend filed a missing person’s report after her phone showed that it was no longer in service.

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What we know about John Fitzpatrick's disappearance

John Fitzpatrick, who was honourably discharged from active service in 2010 as a chief petty officer and master parachutist and had completed multiple tours overseas, was reported missing on July 30.

According to Fitzpatrick’s longtime friend and military colleague, Darryl Hoss, cited in San Diego Union-Tribune, he reported Fitzpatrick missing after he didn’t return from an extended camping trip to the Anza-Borrego Desert State Park.

According to a search warrant cited in Daily Press, Fitzpatrick, who pleaded guilty to misdemeanor assault and was later placed in the veteran's treatment court over underlying undisclosed issues in 2020, was seen on a store security camera purchasing duct tape on July 3, 2023.

Police, who conducted a welfare check at Fitzpatrick’s mobile home on August 1, reportedly found the odor of decomposition at the time, along with the missing Chinese woman’s belongings.

As police continue to investigate the case, details surrounding the deaths remain unclear.