A 76-year-old man reported missing from California City in early August has been confirmed dead, and the man accused of killing him is now behind bars without bail after being tracked down in Las Vegas. Umar Faheem Waldron, 45, faces a first-degree murder charge in the death of James Craig Turner, whose disappearance triggered a silver alert and a search across two states before investigators say he was killed sometime between August 7 and August 8.
Turner was reported missing on August 7 while driving a silver 2013 Kia Sportage with California license plate 7BST307, according to official missing person records from the California Department of Justice. The California City Police Department led the investigation into his death, and as KGET 17 News reports, a silver alert was issued for Turner the same day he vanished. His death is believed by the Kern County District Attorney's Office to have occurred between August 7 and August 8 in California City, per the DA's press release cited in that reporting.
Waldron was found and taken into custody in Las Vegas, Nevada, on August 18, roughly ten days after Turner's disappearance. During his first court appearance on Tuesday, September 8, 2026, according to the outlet's reporting, Waldron reportedly said, “I'm guilty, so,” before being formally charged with first-degree murder in Turner's death. He has since been extradited to Kern County and made his first court appearance there on Tuesday, where he is being held without bail.
A Multi-Agency Manhunt Across State Lines
Solving the case required an extraordinary coalition of law enforcement. Per a statement from the Kern County District Attorney's Office reported on Facebook, eight separate local, state, and federal law enforcement agencies were involved in the investigation into Turner's death. Alongside the California City Police Department, KGET's reporting names the Kern County District Attorney's Office, the Lancaster Police Department, the Bakersfield Police Department, the California Highway Patrol, the Las Vegas Metropolitan Police Department, and the Federal Bureau of Investigation as agencies that assisted. The Kern Regional Crime Laboratory also assisted with forensic work in the case.
That sprawling response reflects the geography investigators were up against. California City spans over 203 square miles, making it the third-largest city in California by land area despite housing under 15,000 residents, according to the City of California City. It is patrolled by a police department of just 11 sworn officers.
Waldron was extradited to California and now faces trial in Kern County.
Additional Charges and a Prior Violent Strike
The first-degree murder charge is the allegation against Waldron in connection with Turner's death.
Waldron's criminal record predates this case by decades. He served time in prison for a prior attempted murder conviction in Los Angeles County, one that the DA's office has described as involving a particularly vulnerable victim and great violence, per attribution in KGET's report.
That prior conviction is part of the background to the current case, while the first-degree murder charge remains pending.
Support for Turner's Family Moving Forward
As the case moves through Kern County Superior Court, Turner's family faces the ongoing prosecution.
The exact relationship, if any, between Waldron and Turner has not been disclosed, and the motive behind the killing remains unclear. For now, Waldron remains in custody without bail as the case against him unfolds in Kern County court.
