Elderly couple missing from California nudist ranch believed dead as neighbor is charged with murder
An arrest has been made in connection with the disappearance of an elderly couple who vanished from the Olive Dell Ranch nudist resort in San Bernardino County on Saturday.
Redlands police said at a news conference Friday that they arrested Michael Royce Sparks, 62, the neighbor of Daniel Menard, 79, and his wife, Stephanie Menard, 73. Sparks was charged with murder and booked at the West Valley Detention Center in Rancho Cucamonga.
Carl Baker, a spokesman for the city of Redlands and Redlands Police Department, said that around 9:30 p.m. Thursday, Sparks was found underneath his home and surrendered to police.
"Let me say he surrendered voluntarily. I won't say he's been cooperative, but he did surrender voluntarily last night after lengthy negotiations," Baker said.
On Thursday, police said the Menards' neighbor was a person of interest in the couple's disappearance, but did not identify Sparks by name.
The Menards were last seen at the Olive Dell Ranch around 10 a.m. Saturday, according to police. Their dog, a small white Shih Tzu named Cuddles, was with them.
A cadaver dog was used to search for the couple's bodies at Sparks' residence Friday morning. Baker said at an 11 a.m. news conference that "the dog did alert, indicating the presence of a body somewhere underneath the house."
He said police investigators have not been able to enter the home yet, as it was destroyed during Thursday's efforts to locate Sparks.
"At this point, Redlands police are working with city assets to assure that the structure is safe for search parties to enter. So we have not yet made entrance into the structure, and we have not located any bodies," Baker said. "But as I said, the cadaver dog did alert this morning."
"We are confident that they are deceased"
In the days following the Menards' disappearance, friends expressed concern as police dispatched dogs and a sheriff's office helicopter to aid in the search.
"We suspect that there may have been foul play," Baker said during a brief news conference Thursday afternoon.
Police said that a tip had been called into investigators, prompting them to search the home of the Menards' neighbor.
"We obtained a search warrant to try and locate the suspect," Baker said.
SWAT teams used armored vehicles to tear down walls of the neighbor's house instead of entering it "for the officer's safety," according to police.
Baker said Friday that police will continue investigating the dismantled home to search for the couple. He said there are no details on where the Menards may have been killed, but police believe their bodies will be found at the Olive Dell Ranch.
"We are confident that they are deceased and that they are still here on the property," he said.
"Very suspicious for them to be gone"
Shortly after the couple was last seen, their unlocked car was found down the street from their home in the 26000 block of Keissel Road in Redlands. Some of their possessions, including their cellphones and Stephanie Menard's purse, were found at the home.
The circumstances of their disappearance had led to concerns from friends.
"I just want them back," said Sandy Marinelli, who has been friends with the couple for more than a decade. "They don't deserve this. ... They're just good people. They go to church. They don't deserve any of this."
Marinelli said another neighbor went to the couple's home on Sunday when they weren't ready for church and discovered Stephanie Menard's cane inside. She also said a TV and computer were left on.
But the couple was nowhere to be found.
"It was just very suspicious for them to be gone," Marinelli said.