Shop Owner Missing, Police Discover Signs of a Struggle

Bloodstains and signs of a struggle have been found in a Vista yogurt shop whose 52-year-old owner has not been seen since Wednesday morning, police said Thursday.

John Rustan Nielsen followed his “normal routine” Wednesday, going first to the Jack in the Box for coffee about 7:30 a.m. and then, presumably to Honey Rus Yogurt Shop, according to his wife, Patricia. He has not been seen since.

Patricia Nielsen said she has no idea what might have happened to her husband. She said she is unsure if money was missing from the shop.

When an employee showed up for work Wednesday before 10 a.m., the store’s opening time, Nielsen wasn’t there and the store was closed, investigators said. When sheriff’s homicide investigators arrived, they found bloodstains inside. Other signs indicated that Nielsen had left suddenly and unexpectedly, authorities said.

His 1982 white Nissan Sentra with blue pinstripes, California license plate 1FEJ867, was missing from the parking lot, investigators said. The car had a blue and gold Northern Arizona University decal in the lower rear window.

Nielsen is described as white, 5 feet, 10 inches tall, 165 pounds, with reddish-brown hair, graying at the temples. He was last seen wearing light-colored shorts and a short-sleeved pullover.