Days after a couple and their dog went missing at from California nudist resort, their neighbor was arrested for murder — after police demolished his home and found him “under” it.
A suspect has been arrested after Stephanie and Daniel Menard were reported missing from a California nudist resort earlier this week.
On Friday morning, the Redlands Police Department announced Michael Royce Sparks, 62, was arrested for murder and booked at West Valley Detention Center.
Sparks was apprehended on Thursday night at the Olive Dell Nudist Ranch in Redlands — where the Menards and the suspect called home — after police conducting a search of the ranch “received information from a source that a person who was involved in their disappearance was here on the property,” PIO Carl Baker revealed in a press conference Friday.
Per Baker, police tried “several attempted to contact [Sparks] with no contact whosoever,” before a Tac Cat from the Riverside County Sheriff’s Department was used to breach the home. Video from FOX 11 shows an arial view of the department knocking through the front of the home, leaving it in shambles.
“There was significant damage done to the suspect’s residence when we broke in to search it,” confirmed Baker, saying they’ve been working to secure the scene before sending cadaver dogs to the location today.
“We will be using those to try and locate the victims Dan and Stephanie. We are confident they are deceased and that they are still here on the property,” he added, “We believe the bodies are on the site of his home.”
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Last night, remote video equipment was then used to search the home, before Sparks was located “underneath the home” and authorities “negotiated with him to exit.” He eventually “surrendered voluntarily,” said Baker, who would only confirm Sparks was the couple’s neighbor, while not revealing any other details about their relationship.
The Menards were last seen by a neighbor on Saturday morning, around 10am, by a friend. Per police, their vehicle was found unlocked down the road from their home, with the keys still inside. Their cell phones were both still inside their house, as was Stephanie’s purse.
Friends expressed concern for the couple, as Stephanie allegedly used a cane to walk and her husband was diagnosed with both dementia and diabetes. Per neighbors, the pair were allegedly part of a lawsuit against the nudist ranch and complained someone was harassing them about it.
The couple’s small shih tzu Cuddles was also reported missing; per Baker, there’s no update on the dog’s location at this time.
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