Missing: Where is Joseph Aranda?

Who is Joseph?

Joseph was born on December 28th 1992 in California, where he was raised and has lived all his life. His mother Lori was only 18 when she had him and during his early years they were a tight knit team, just Lori and Joseph against the world. Joseph later became the big brother to four sisters and took his role as brother and protector seriously. He regularly reminded his mom to lock the door and on Halloween would inspect the candy haul of his sisters. Family, friends and work colleagues all describe Joseph as being gentle, playful, intelligent, loyal and hardworking.

Joseph had a range of interests and hobbies; he loved football and was a Raider’s fan (even painting his room in the team colours,) was a big foodie with pupusas and his sister Ariana’s Mexican macaroni being amongst his favourites, and had a strong faith and love for God, reading his Bible everyday. Joseph was also known for his love for music, often carrying around his beloved banjo or playing the harmonica.

Aged 21, Joseph became a father for the first time and is now a father of four. His early experiences stayed with him and before anything else Joseph was a father, devoted and family oriented. He always came home, had usual routines that he stuck to and was in regular contact with friends and family. Although he was living with Lori and his sisters he FaceTimed his children every night and was always there for them. Joseph was fearless and loving in all aspects of his parenting role.

Joseph with his children

Joseph's Disappearance

In July 2025 things were going well for Joseph, although he had recently experienced the loss of his grandfather. He had a good steady job and was close to paying off his car loan. There was nothing to suggest Joseph was unhappy or had any reasons to disappear.

July 10th 2025 was like any other day. Joseph had plans for the upcoming days and was preparing for his grandfather’s funeral. At some stage in the afternoon he left the house and at around 3:30pm was last sighted by his sister Angeleah near the family home close to the intersection of Stoddard Wells Road and Dante Street. Angeleah was driving home with her fiancé when she spotted him walking back to his car which was parked next to the local Emmanuel Temple CME church, she gave Joseph some food and carried on towards home. She later reported that he appeared to be in good spirits. Joseph did not return home that day and has not been heard from since.

When Joseph did not return home on the evening of July 10th, Lori headed to the church where he had parked his car, a Toyota Rav4 to see if he needed any help. Joseph had previously had some car troubles and it was thought maybe it had broken down again, explaining his absence. When she arrived his car was still in the lot next to the church on Stoddard Wells Road but Joseph was not there and the gates had already been locked. From her viewpoint outside of the gates Lori did not witness anyone standing around Joseph’s car.

The following day Joseph’s mother discovers his car still abandoned in the parking lot. The vehicle was discovered with the windows rolled down, the doors unlocked, it had been parked erratically, keys were inside the trunk and Joseph’s phone, wallet and a tan NRA backpack that he owned all missing. Joseph’s sisters are clear that walking away from the vehicle with the windows rolled down and belongings inside is not something he would ever do. The car was not out of gas, there were no flat tires and it was in working condition so there is no explanation for why the car was abandoned. They were even able to drive the car away, back to the house when a church employee told the family it was going to be towed.

911 was first called at 12pm that day. Staff with the Victorville Sheriff’s Department suggested waiting until the funeral to make any reports, just in case Joseph appeared. He was officially reported missing on July 14th

The Investigation

The investigation is ongoing, detectives are still trying to piece together a better picture of Joseph’s movements before his disappearance. Detectives were able to obtain a search warrant for Joseph’s phone and found no evidence that he had plans to meet anyone nor were they unable to find any indication of what may have led to his disappearance. They were able to confirm that Joseph’s phone ran out of battery prior to his last confirmed sighting, having gone offline around 1:00pm. Joseph’s phone remains missing and was searched by accessing data.

Extensive efforts have been carried out to locate Joseph through a combination of family, volunteer and law enforcement official searches on land, water and air. Helicopters, drones, ATV’s, horses and dogs have all been brought in to assist alongside traditional foot searches. Law enforcement also completed a review of available surveillance footage. The church where Joseph’s car was located reportedly only has live feed footage and were therefore unable to provide any footage. The church has been unable to explain how the car came to be on their property and have given conflicting stories relating to this.

Jails, hospitals, immigration detention centres, morgues have all been contacted and Joseph is not present at any nor have they come into contact with him, there are also no John Doe’s matching his description. Joseph has distinctive tattoos which would make it extremely difficult to not recognise him in these settings.

The clothing Joseph was last known to be wearing

Where is the case now?

Joseph remains missing and there is an active, ongoing investigation with a detective assigned. The circumstances leading up to his disappearance are unclear with no evidence of any plans to meet up with anyone.

One thing that is known and that both the family and investigators can agree on is that Joseph’s disappearance is extremely uncharacteristic and makes no sense. Joseph was not depressed, had not been involved in anything that could make him want to go into hiding and seemingly had no reasons to walk away from his life or his family.

Unfortunately, for reasons that are not known, the family are having to contend with Joseph’s flyers constantly being ripped down, torn, drawn over, set on fire and spray painted.

The damage to Joseph's flyers

They are desperately working to increase public knowledge and awareness of Joseph’s disappearance through media outlets, social media pages run by the family and distributing flyers.

Joseph is a son, brother, uncle, friend and father who has already missed so many ordinary moments, special occasions and family milestones. His children MaryJane, Samuel, Benjamin and Lorena miss him dearly and deserve to have their dad home. Joseph’s disappearance is extremely uncharacteristic and the family are extremely worried for his welfare. Joseph Aranda lived his life by being caring, loyal, protecting and looking out for others, now he needs someone to look out for him, could that be you?

If you have any information about the disappearance of Joseph Aranda please contact the Victorville Sheriff’s Department at (760) 956-5001.

Anonymous tips can made via WeTip.Com

The family can also be contacted @FindJosephAranda on all social media’s or by calling (422) 229-990