Police officers arrived at a Redlands nudist ranch Thursday and used a battering ram to break into the home of a suspect in the disappearance of a local couple.
The search is part of an ongoing search for Stephanie Menard, 73, and her 79-year-old husband, Daniel Menard, who went missing Sunday.
On Thursday morning, officers arrived at Olive Dell Ranch, where the couple owns a home, to conduct an investigation into the missing persons case. While there, they received a phone call that a man involved in her disappearance was located somewhere in the trailer park, according to Redlands spokesman Carl Baker.
Police officers closed off the park and obtained a search warrant for the suspect's home, which is next to the Menards' property. They entered using a battering ram and then used remote-controlled machines, including a drone and an assault vehicle, to search the premises, Baker said at a news conference Thursday.
Aerial footage from KTLA showed a police vehicle with a boom aggressively digging into the suspect's home, nearly knocking over a deck in the process.
Baker said police had not found the suspect but believed he was somewhere on the property, either at his home or elsewhere.
The couple was last seen at the nudist ranch on Saturday. Stephanie Menard's purse was found inside her home and her car was found unlocked at the end of the road on the property. Her dog, a small Shih Tzu named Cuddles, is also missing.
Daniel Menard is diabetic and suffers from dementia, police said.
Tammie Wilkerson, a friend of the couple, told KABC-TV that the Menards lived at the nudist ranch and were very active in the community.
“They are very sweet people,” Wilkerson said. “There is not a shred of malice in them, which makes this whole thing very confusing.”
