A 33-year-old CAL FIRE firefighter from Coalinga has been missing for four months. Michael Jacinto Cetz was last seen on June 5 and later contacted relatives on June 11 to say he planned to travel to San Francisco. California Highway Patrol officers found his backpack containing personal belongings on the Golden Gate Bridge on June 12. He has not been located since.
According to KRON4, Cetz worked as a firefighter at Coalinga Station within CAL FIRE's Fresno-Kings Unit, and authorities are asking the public for any information that could help bring him home. The station notes he is described as 5 feet 10 inches tall and around 170 pounds, with green eyes, black hair, and Hispanic/Latino and African American heritage. CaseTrace lists June 11, 2026, as his last contact date and says the California Highway Patrol recovered his backpack on the bridge the following day, per CaseTrace.
Public Appeal for Information
A social-media appeal urged anyone with information about Cetz to contact law enforcement.
What the Golden Gate Bridge Recovery Does and Doesn't Mean
The discovery of personal effects on the Golden Gate Bridge often raises fears of a jump, but the structure's safety profile changed significantly in recent years. The Golden Gate Bridge Highway and Transportation District completed a full-length, $224 million stainless-steel suicide deterrent net in January 2024, installed 20 feet below the sidewalks and extending 20 feet out over the water along both sides of the 1.7-mile span.
Whether surveillance footage captured Cetz's movements on the bridge, or whether marine or foot searches were conducted around it, remains among the open questions in his case.
How California Tracks a Missing Persons Case
California law requires law enforcement agencies to accept missing person reports without delay, with no mandatory waiting period before a report can be filed, per the California Department of Justice, Office of the Attorney General.
The California Department of Justice reports an average of around 20,000 active missing person cases in the state. Separately, California's Missing Persons DNA Program uses comparative DNA profiling to help identify missing or unidentified individuals.
Hoodline has followed several other cases involving missing or deceased wildland firefighters in recent months, including the search for a missing firefighter-hiker and the discovery of a retired firefighter found dead in a submerged vehicle. Those cases, along with the ongoing effort to locate Cetz, underscore how unresolved a missing persons search can remain even months after the initial report. Authorities continue to ask that anyone with information about Michael Jacinto Cetz's location contact local law enforcement.
