Barmaki disappeared from his home he shared with his mother, in Buena Park, California, on April 30, 2016. He left around 3:00 p.m. without telling his mother, taking his 15-year-old dog, Sandy, with him. Later that day, he was seen on surveillance footage buying pet supplies in Encinitas and shopping for clothes, toiletries, and a phone charger at a Target in National City. The following morning, he was recorded purchasing gas at a Valero station in National City. Eighteen hours after his disappearance, Border Patrol agents found Barmaki’s 2013 Honda Civic abandoned along Old Highway 80 near Jacumba Hot Springs, close to the Mexican border. The locked car had gas, and inside were his cellphone, Sandy, the pet supplies, and other belongings, though his keys and wallet were missing. Sandy had passed away, and footprints were found leading 70 feet from the car to the 25-foot-high border fence. Barmaki’s reasons for being in Jacumba Hot Springs remain unclear, as he was unfamiliar with the area.