Summary based on the NamUs case record (MP151663)
Matthew Patrick Artesani is a white, 60-year-old man who was last known to be in San Diego, California, on July 1, 2023. At the time he went missing, he was described as a slender man, about 5 feet 10 inches tall and approximately 150 pounds, with brown eyes and balding brown hair. He has since been entered into the National Missing and Unidentified Persons System the United States’ central repository for missing person cases, which allows law enforcement agencies and families to document and share critical details in hopes of generating leads and ultimately locating the missing individual. NamUs is widely used by investigators and families as a secure, national database for these cases, giving them access to tools and resources that support long-term investigations.
In the period leading up to his disappearance, Matthew was in contact with his family during 2023 and is noted as someone who frequently traveled between San Diego and Mexico.
This pattern of movement appears to have been a normal part of his life, suggesting that he was comfortable crossing the border and spending time in both countries. At some point after his last verified contact in July 2023, communication with him stopped, and he did not reestablish contact with relatives or friends. With mounting concern and no verifiable sightings, his disappearance was formally reported to authorities, who then opened a missing person investigation and entered his information into NamUs to broaden the search and to ensure that any potential matches to unidentified remains or other records could be recognized.
In the months after he was last heard from, Matthew’s family received deeply distressing rumors that he and his girlfriend, a woman referred to as Francessca, may have been killed in Tijuana, Mexico, around August 2024. These accounts have been characterized as rumors rather than confirmed findings, meaning there has been no publicly documented, definitive evidence that the alleged violence occurred or that it explains his disappearance. Cross-border cases like this are often especially complex: information can be fragmented between different jurisdictions, investigative resources may be limited, and crucial witnesses or documents may be located in another country. Federal criminal justice agencies have noted that resolving missing and unidentified persons cases generally requires sustained information-sharing, coordination across borders, and the careful comparison of data over long periods of time, all of which can slow progress while families continue to wait for answers.
Matthew’s case is being handled by the San Diego Police Department, which maintains a dedicated Missing Persons Unit to investigate disappearances and coordinate with other agencies when necessary. His NamUs entry connects that local investigation with a broader national framework, making it possible for investigators to utilize forensic and analytical services provided through NamUs, including dental, DNA, and anthropological support where appropriate. NamUs resources are deliberately structured to bridge gaps between local, state, tribal, and federal entities and to give investigators a centralized place to store, compare, and update information as new tips or evidence emerge. Information entered into NamUs undergoes verification before it is made public, helping ensure that the details families and the public see about a missing person, such as identifying characteristics and investigative status, are as accurate and reliable as possible.
Behind these factual details is an ongoing human story of uncertainty and love. Matthew’s family has endured a prolonged period in which ordinary milestones and daily routines have been overshadowed by his absence and by the frightening possibility that the rumors about his fate could be true. National programs like NamUs were created in recognition of exactly this kind of pain, with the goal of ensuring that people who vanish are not forgotten in administrative backlogs or scattered records, but instead remain part of an active, searchable system designed to connect the missing with any available information. Matthew’s listing and the continued involvement of law enforcement stand as a testament to his worth as a person and to his family’s hope that, whether through a safe recovery or through answers that bring some measure of closure, his story will one day have a clearer ending than the uncertainty they live with now.Last Seen: Jul 1, 2023
