Joseph Aranda remains missing after disappearing in Victorville on July 10, 2025. His family says a detective told them the case now involves suspected foul play and suspicious circumstances after they met with the investigator on Monday. Victor Valley News reported the family’s account of the change; the information here does not independently confirm that characterization with the sheriff’s department.
Descriptions of Aranda differ among the reports cited in the original article. The family’s latest account gives his age as 33, while KTLA described him as 32, with black hair and brown eyes. NBC News described him as a father of four and gave his approximate height and weight. The family’s description, reported by Victor Valley News, says he is 5 feet 10 inches tall and weighs about 150 pounds. He has a scruffy beard, a chipped right front tooth, and tattoos reading Maryjane on his left forearm, IE on his right arm and Aranda across his upper back.
Aranda was last seen at about 3:30 p.m. near Stoddard Wells Road and Dante Street, wearing an orange LIUNA labor union shirt, blue jeans and black Nike Air Force shoes, according to the family’s account reported by Victor Valley News. His phone, wallet and backpack have not been located.
His vehicle was found the following day in the parking lot of Emmanuel Temple CME Church on Stoddard Wells Road. The family said the car was unlocked, its windows were down, and the keys and personal belongings were inside, as reported by Victor Valley News. Those details describe the family’s account; they do not establish why the vehicle was left there.
The family says there has been no confirmed activity connected to Aranda since he disappeared, including on his bank accounts, phone or social media, and that reported sightings investigated so far were not him. Relatives also report searches by land, air and water, use of a helicopter, examination of phone-location information and review of available surveillance footage. The family is asking anyone with information to come forward.
California missing-person reporting
The California Department of Justice says California averages around 20,000 active missing-person cases statewide; that figure does not describe or establish anything about Aranda’s case. The department also says there is no waiting period to report someone missing and that police and sheriffs’ departments must accept reports without delay.
The Victorville Sheriff’s Department is investigating. Anyone with information can call the department at (760) 956-5001 or submit an anonymous tip through wetip.com. The family can be reached through @findjosepharanda on social media or at (442) 229-9900.
