Human remains were found at the house of a suspect arrested in connection with the disappearance of an elderly California couple who vanished from a nudist community.
Michael Royce Sparks, 62, was arrested for murder on Thursday, days after Stephanie Menard, 73, and Daniel Menard, 79, were reported missing from Olive Dell Ranch in Redlands.
The Menards and their beloved dog, a small Shih Tzu named Cuddles, were last seen leaving their home on the nudist ranch around 10 a.m. on August 24, close to where their unlocked car was later found.
Authorities confirmed human remains were found at Sparks home on Friday after he was taken into custody following a lengthy standoff with police.
‘Members of the Redlands fire department certified in confined space operations, entered the space beneath the suspects house and began to removed bags of evidence that was in that space. At this time I can confirm the presence of human remains under the house,’ Redlands spokesman Carl Baker said.
The remains have not been identified by the coroners office, but police said they are treating the Menard’s disappearance as a homicide.
Video obtained by KABC showed cadaver dogs and search teams digging through the rubble at Sparks’ damaged home.
Police descended on the home following a tip-off from the public, who claimed that a person involved in their disappearance was at the home.
According to the Redland Police Department, Sparks was found hiding underneath his home during his arrest.
Authorities approached his home with remote video equipment, and images of the arrest showed a SWAT-style vehicle with a hydraulic battering ram smashed through the side of Sparks’ property.
‘He did have a rifle and he did attempt to kill himself when police discovered him,’ said Baker. ‘The weapon misfired… it didn’t go off.’
The motive for their disappearance is unclear, but neighbors told the local news station Sparks and the Menards were neighbors and there was tensions between them.
‘When I first moved here, he told me how much he hated them, and he hated Dan specifically because Dan would cut the tree… trim the tree down,’ said Tammie Wilkerson, who also lives in the community.
On the day the Menard’s vanished, investigators said the couple’s car was found unlocked not far from their residence in the Olive Dell Ranch nudist community.
Cops added that Stephanie’s purse was discovered in the home, as well as both her and Daniel’s cellphones.
The authorities said that Daniel is diagnosed with diabetes and suffers from dementia, complicating matters and lending a sense of urgency to the search.