The body of a 57-year-old man who was kidnapped from a Central Valley Sikh temple earlier this month was located approximately 100 miles north in Napa County, according to the San Joaquin County Sheriff’s Office.
Atvar Singh, a resident of Tracy where he worked as the temple’s head cook for 23 years, was reported missing on Feb. 17, the sheriff’s officials said in a news release.
The 57-year-old lived on the temple property with his wife and their 6-month-old triplets. When his wife returned home from work that afternoon and found their children alone, she asked other temple members if they had seen him, but no one was able to locate him.
Surveillance footage reviewed by investigators showed three unidentified men in a white SUV pull into the temple’s parking lot around 2:30 p.m., KTLA’s Bay Area sister station KRON reported.
The body of Atvar Singh, 57, was found near Lake Berryessa nearly 100 miles from his home in Tracy on Feb. 20, 2026. (Rasleen Kaur and Gurdwara Gur Nanak parkash via GoFundMe)
The Sikh temple Kaur and Gurdwara Gur Nanak parkash in Tracy where Atvar Singh, 57, was abducted from on Feb. 17, 2026. (Google Maps)
One man knocked on the door to the temple’s laundry, knocking on Singh’s door. According to the Los Angeles Times, Singh may have been mistaken for someone else because, after a brief exchange and a phone call, the man attempted to push him into the SUV, though Singh was able to stave the man off.
The two other men were then seen exiting the vehicle, assaulting the 57-year-old and loading him into the SUV.
“We believe a different individual was a target and that Mr. Singh was mistakenly taken,” Heather Brent, a spokesperson for the San Joaquin County Sheriff’s Office, told The Times.
Lake Berryessa is seen with parts of California’s newest national monument in the background, near Berryessa Snow Mountain National Monument, Calif. (AP Photo/Eric Risberg)
Investigators said that on Feb. 20, a fisherman spotted Singh’s body near Lake Berryessa and called local law enforcement.
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“Our detectives are working tirelessly to investigate this case and identify those responsible for this terrible act,” sheriff’s officials said. “Based on the information known at this time, this appears to be an isolated incident, and there is no known ongoing threat to the community.”
In a GoFundMe organized for the family, Singh was remembered as a dedicated member of the community and a devoted husband and father.
“He was known for his humility, quiet dedication, and loving nature that made everyone feel like family,” organizers wrote. “His seva, sincerity, and unwavering faith touched countless lives, and his absence leaves a profound void in our community.”
Authorities have not yet released the exact cause of Singh’s death.
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