Full Notification

On June 15, 2010 at about 3:30 PM, John Farfan walked away from Le Ellen board and care facility located on Old Redwood Highway in the Larkfield area of unincorporated Sonoma County. The care providers called the Sheriff’s Office the following morning when Farfan had not returned.

Sonoma County Sheriff’s Deputies searched the area and contacted Farfan’s family members. He had not been in contact with them recently. They checked the local hospitals, to no avail. The Deputies checked various possible locations throughout the county, yet no one had seen him or heard from him lately. It was not suspected that Farfan had been a victim of foul play, as he voluntarily left the facility on his own accord.

The 56 year old Farfan was neither ill nor suicidal and did not have any known enemies. He was in general good health and only occasionally took medication. Deputies collected surveillance video from local area merchants capturing the approximate time in which he might have been nearby.

The Sheriff’s Office sent out a county-wide Be On the Look Out for anyone matching Farfan’s description. They created a flyer with details and his description and sent it directly to our adjoining counties. They also entered Farfan’s information into the California Missing and Unidentified Persons System.

The Violent Crimes Detective unit was assigned the report, as they receive and investigate Missing Persons cases. They stayed in contact with various state agencies and other organizations who might have had even peripheral contact with Farfan. He had not presented at any office, hospital or detention facility.

Farfan’s name and description remain active in the national database. VCI learned that there were no dental records for him. With assistance from other law enforcement agencies, DNA samples were collected from Farfan’s family members who live in various locations in California. These DNA samples were uploaded into the national database as comparison and cross-matching should Farfan’s DNA be entered into the database at some point.

On December 8, 2013, a citizen in Shiloh Park in Windsor, called the Sonoma County Sheriff’s Office and reported seeing possibly human bones. This was in a heavily wooded area of the park with a naturally flowing creek bed running through it. Crime Scene Investigations Unit Detectives responded and collected a shoe and some fabric. CSI also recovered a skull, vertebrae, pelvis, ribs, femur and lower leg.

DNA from the bones was collected and sent to the California Department of Justice laboratory.

Coroner Detectives sent the bones to the Forensic Anthropology Laboratory in Chico. Their lab specializes in human identification of remains. The forensic pathologist was able to determine the possible gender, age, height and possible ancestry of the remains. Additionally, the condition of the bones suggested that the person died less than three years prior and that there had been no evidence of trauma.

In the intervening time, Coroner Detectives compared the information to other missing person reports throughout the county and state. The manner of death was undetermined and the person remain unidentified. The case remained open and active with the Detectives in the Violent Crimes Investigation unit.

On May 18, 2015 the California DOJ laboratory reported that they had made a positive identification of the deceased person from the DNA sample extracted from the bones. The bones were that of John Farfan. They determined that by comparing the samples provided by his close family members.

On May 22, 2015 Sonoma County Coroner Detectives located Farfan’s family members and told them of the new information and confirmation of the DNA samples. They were notified of his death.

The DNA process is laborious and time-consuming, but in the end, was the only means of positively identifying Fafan as deceased. It is paramount that the information is definitive and the deceased’s family is contacted before releasing a name to the public. Through complicated and determined work, the Sonoma County Sheriff Coroner’s Office was finally able to bring closure for John Farfan’s family.

Cases #100616-010, 131208-013, 13-001462

Prepared by Sergeant Cecile Focha
Media Relations/PIO