Fang Jin, a Chinese woman who went missing in southern California in July, was reportedly found dead last month in Anza-Borrego Desert State Park, the San Bernardino County Sheriff’s office told reporters this Friday after confirming the identity of the remains they found at the park.▲John Fitzpatrick and Fang Jin (Image via View Post Shanghai Daily/Facebook)Fang Jin traveled from China on July 14 to meet 52-year-old Navy SEAL veteran John Fitzpatrick after the two had met online. The duo went missing in late July at the Morongo Valley in San Bernardino County where Fitzpatrick lived.The body of Fang was found a month after the body of Fitzpatrick was discovered in September in the Anza-Borrego Desert State Park.Over a month after the two were reported missing, 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 identified as 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.According to public records and information shared online by family friend Kyle Zhou, Fang Jin flew from China to Los Angeles on July 14 after meeting 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.” Wrote Kyle.Police reported that Jin, who had hired the 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 two 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 sharing photos of her trip with her family in China.Jin’s friend filed a missing person’s report on July 26th after her phone showed that it was no longer in service.John Fitzpatrick, who was honorably 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.A search warrant cited from Daily Press shows that 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 the case is still under investigation, the circumstances surrounding their deaths still remain unclear. Nevertheless, the police are still soliciting more clues in order to get to the bottom of the case.References: San Bernardino County Sheriff’s Office, San Diego Union-Tribune *The opinions expressed in the article are solely those of the author.* Follow Us GBA Expats: Free services offered by BAFLA and Bay Area International Exchange Service Center