Police arrest neighbor of missing couple from California nudist resort on suspicion of murder
Redlands police have arrested a 62-year-old neighbor of the couple who went missing from a Redlands nudist resort over the weekend and will search the man’s home Friday, Aug. 30, for the bodies.
“We believe that they are deceased,” Carl Baker, a Police Department spokesman, said Friday morning. “We believe the couple is there on the site.”
The search will begin when the San Bernardino County sheriff’s cadaver K-9s arrive and crews are able to shore up the home, he said. First, police will ensure the building is safe to enter.
It was unclear where the murders occurred, or a possible motive for them.
Thursday afternoon, the home was damaged when the SWAT team used a battering ram to break into the home.
Baker declined to say why police believe the bodies of Dan Menard, 79, and his wife, Stephanie Menard, 73, are in the home of Michael Royce Sparks.
Sparks was found hiding beneath his home in the Olive Dell Ranch resort in Reche Canyon around 9:30 p.m. Thursday. He voluntarily came out after a lengthy negotiation, Baker said.
Sparks is being held without bail at West Valley Detention Center in Rancho Cucamonga, the county jail log shows.
There are no other suspects, Baker said.
Police had used a battering ram to smash their way into what is believed to be his home on Thursday afternoon in an attempt to find him.
Police had sent a robot with a camera into the home but initially did not see him.
Details on how he was found had not been revealed.
Police had gone door to door Thursday morning after they received a call that the tipster believed this man was responsible for whatever happened to the Menards. Police believe they were able to seal off the Olive Dell Ranch before the man could escape, Baker said.
Officers searched the property using K-9s and obtained a search warrant for the residence they broke into, Baker said.
The couple were last seen at their mobile home on the 26000 block of Keissel Road around 10 a.m. Saturday. The next day, a friend who often went to church with them reported them missing, Brian Cleland, a co-owner of Olive Dell Ranch has said.
The husband was diabetic and suffered from dementia, police said, while his wife required a cane to walk around, the co-owner said.
Also missing was Cuddles, their small dog. The Menards’ car was found down the street. Stephanie Menard’s purse was in their mobile home with her husband’s cell phone.
As of Friday morning, Cuddles had not been found.
Olive Dell Ranch is in a canyon with an address listed as being in Colton. Baker said the resort is accessed through a road that travels through Riverside County and then Colton, which is in San Bernardino County.
“I just want them back,” Sandy Marinelli, a neighbor who has been friends with the couple for more than a decade, told CBS LA. “They don’t deserve this. … They’re just good people. They go to church. They don’t deserve any of this.”
She said another neighbor went to the couple’s home on Sunday when they weren’t ready for church and saw Stephanie Menard’s purse and cane inside. She also said the TV and computer were left on, the station reported.
This is a developing story. Please check back for updates.