Members of the family of Delfino Guadalupe Lopez Fajardo, “Lupe” to his
many friends, spoke with the Crier to share with the community details
about his August 15 disappearance and the ongoing search.

Lupe’s wife Rose, and their two children, Eddy and Fatima, said that the
Sheriff’s department has told them that there was surveillance video
from the Pit Stop gas station on Highway 74 where Lupe was last seen,
but did not show that video to the family. They were told that the video
showed Lupe pulling into the station and being pursued by another man,
then jumping a fence behind the station and heading onto the Santa Rosa
Indian Reservation. They said they have been told that tribal
authorities are cooperating with the Sheriff’s office. They also
confirmed that Lupe’s truck was found a short distance from the Pit
Stop, ransacked. Photos showed the steering column damaged as if the
truck had been “hot-wired.”

Rose also confirmed that a suspect had been detained in the theft of
Lupe’s truck, a man named Alfonso Sandoval. RSO’s inmate information
system confirms that 37 year-old Alfonso Juan Sandoval Jr was arrested
on August 20, on charges of taking a vehicle without the owner’s consent
and possession of a stolen vehicle, as well as being under the influence
of a controlled substance. He was released the next day and has a court
date on October 3.

Rosa echoed the statements of RSO: that the search continues, that dogs,
drones and helicopters as well as ground search teams like RMRU have
been used, but nothing has been found. Lupe’s family has begun to
communicate with other families of missing persons on our mountain,
hoping to get the FBI involved. She mentioned Mike Bacon, the uncle of
Scott Herr, who disappeared in July.

Rosa told us that Lupe has been in Idyllwild for about 30 years, and has
15 siblings, 11 of whom live nearby. He has worked for over 20 years at
the Red Kettle and is well known for the many ways he helps neighbors:
gardening, firewood, and snow removal. Locals who have stopped into our
office have all described Lupe as an excellent human being, always
helpful, always smiling, and beloved.