Authorities continued to search Sunday for a motive in the disappearance — and suspected murder — of an elderly couple who vanished from a San Bernardino County nudist ranch.
Daniel Menard, 79, and his wife, Stephanie Menard, 73, of Olive Dell Ranch were last seen leaving their Olive Dell Ranch home and then reported missing Aug. 25 after missing a church service, according to neighbors and police.
On Thursday, Redlands police arrested a neighbor of theirs, 62-year-old Michael Royce Sparkswho was barricaded in a concrete bunker under his home when police 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.”
Underneath the house, which is next door to the Menards, authorities say they found human remains that they are now identifying.
The Menards and their dog, a miniature shih tzu named Cuddles, were reported missing by a friend Sunday, police said.
Menard’s car was found unlocked in the driveway of their home, and Stephanie’s purse was found inside the home along with her and Daniel’s cell phones, authorities said.
Redlands police spokesman Carl Baker did not immediately respond to an email seeking updates on the case. He earlier said at a news conference Friday that authorities were still “trying to locate the victims,” but that they were confident the Menards were “deceased and they are still here on the property.”
Baker did not comment on a possible motive Friday. But resident Tammie Wilkerson, who lives next door to Sparks, told several local TV stations like Sparks hated the couple. The apparent feud between Menards and Sparks involving a tree between their properties, Wilkerson told Fox 11, saying Sparks “said many times he hated them.”
Other neighbors told the news station that Sparks was a quiet man who largely kept to himself.
According to its website, Olive Dell Ranch is a family and couple-friendly nudist resort in Colton, California that is an “ideal place to enjoy the nudist/naturist lifestyle whether you’re visiting for the day or overnight.”