Authorities on Sunday continued to search for a motive in the disappearance, and suspected murders, of an elderly couple who vanished from a nudist ranch in San Bernardino County.
Daniel Menard, 79, and his wife, Stephanie Menard, 73, of Olive Dell Ranch, were last seen leaving their home in Olive Dell Ranch and then reported missing on Aug. 25 after missing a church service, according to neighbors and police.
On Thursday, Redlands police arrested a neighbor, Michael Royce Sparks, 62, who was barricaded in a concrete bunker beneath his home when officers arrived. Sparks was arrested on suspicion of murder and booked into the West Valley Detention Center.
Police said Sparks was uncooperative and surrendered to authorities only after “lengthy negotiations.”
Beneath the home, which is next door to the Menards', authorities say they found human remains that they are now in the process of identifying.
The Menards and their dog, a small shih tzu named Cuddles, were reported missing by a friend on Sunday, police said.
The Menards' car was found unlocked down the street from their home, and Stephanie's purse was found inside the home along with her and Daniel's cellphones, authorities said.
Redlands police spokesman Carl Baker did not immediately respond to an email seeking updates on the case. Earlier, at a news conference Friday, he said authorities were still “trying to locate the victims” but were certain the Menards were “deceased and still here on the property.”
Baker would not comment on a possible motive Friday. But one resident, Tammie Wilkerson, who lives next door to Sparks, told several local television stations that Sparks hated the couple. The apparent dispute between the Menards and Sparks involves a tree between their properties, Wilkerson told Fox 11, saying Sparks “said many times that she hated them.”
Other neighbors told the news station that Sparks was a quiet and reserved man.
According to its website, Olive Dell Ranch is a family- and couples-friendly nudist resort in Colton, California that is an “ideal place to enjoy the nudist/naturist lifestyle, whether visiting for the day or staying overnight.”
