Online Romance Gone Wrong: Woman Who Met Chat Partner Found Dead in Joshua Tree Desert

Mr. A and Mr. B / China Hongseong Newspaper

A woman who went to meet a man she met through online chatting has been found dead in the American desert three months after she went missing.

The China Hongseong Newspaper reported on the 2nd (local time) that a woman, Mrs. A (47), who was an ordinary housewife, was found dead in the desert near Joshua Tree National Park in Los Angeles (L.A.), USA, three months after she went missing on the 31st of last month.

Here’s the inside story. Mrs. A boarded a flight to the U.S. on July 14th to meet Mr. B (52), an American man she had known through online chatting for six months. However, after meeting Mr. B, Mrs. A lost contact, and her family reported her missing to the local police on July 25th.

According to Mrs. A’s daughter, the last contact with Mrs. A was on July 21st. At that time, Mrs. A and Mr. B planned to enjoy camping in the desert near Joshua Tree National Park. However, when Mrs. A, who usually wants social media, suddenly stopped posting pictures, her suspicious daughter reported her missing to the local police.

While the investigation into Mrs. A’s disappearance was in progress, Mr. B was found dead in the desert with his vehicle about two months after the disappearance in September. Mr. B was a former U.S. Navy Special Forces member who retired in 2010. He had been punished for an assault-related misdemeanor in 2020 and committed another crime during his probation period.

The local police have not disclosed specific details about the cause or time of death of Mrs. A and Mr. B.

Mrs. A’s lawyer, David Schmidt, claimed that “there are many unresolved doubts in this case” and said, “Although the body was found in the desert, the coroner did not officially confirm the identity of the body, and the police directly informed Mrs. A’s family of her death.”

He added, “In the case of missing accidents, public investigations are usually conducted, but the U.S. police are not providing any particular information about this case,” and revealed, “They are not ruling out the possibility of murder, so the investigation is likely to proceed as a criminal case.”

Desert, Stock Photo / Elena Sineglazova-shutterstock.com