Delfino Guadalupe Lopez Fajardo, 47, was last seen August 15, 2024, in Mountain Center, California. A father of two and a long-time Idyllwild resident, he worked as a cook at the Red Kettle Restaurant for more than two decades. That evening he had visited his sister in the hospital and was driving home when a near-accident triggered a road rage confrontation.

Surveillance footage from a gas station in the 63000 block of Highway 74 shows the other driver following Fajardo, confronting and pushing him at about 6:30 p.m. Frightened, Fajardo ran, jumped a fence and went into the woods while the other driver pursued him. He never returned. Days later his truck was found abandoned and ransacked near the Santa Rosa Reservation.

Riverside County Sheriff’s investigators searched the areas where he was last seen and where the vehicle was recovered but have not located him. Fajardo is described as Hispanic, 5 feet 7 inches, about 200 pounds, with black hair and brown eyes; he was last seen in a blue shirt, gray shorts and black shoes. If anyone has information about that evening or his whereabouts, please contact the Riverside County Sheriff’s Office.