Arrest is made after couple in their 70s go missing from California nudist community
The couple’s dog, Cuddles, is also missing
The latest headlines from our reporters across the US sent straight to your inbox each weekday
Your briefing on the latest headlines from across the US
Your briefing on the latest headlines from across the US
A 62-year-old man has been arrested for the murder of an elderly couple who disappeared from a California nudist community last weekend.
Michael Sparks was arrested late Thursday after 73-year-old Stephanie Menard and Daniel Menard, 79, were reported missing on Sunday, according to the Redlands Police Department. The elderly couple were last seen at their home on Olive Dell Ranch, a self-described “family-friendly” nudist resort in southern California.
Sparks is in custody at the West Valley Detention Center and will appear in court on Tuesday, according to public records. He has been charged with murder.
The couple was last seen on Saturday morning. Later that day, their unlocked car was found down the road from their home. The couple’s cell phones, along with Stephanie’s purse, were found in their house.
Their white shih tzu, Cuddles, is also missing.
After the Menards were reported missing, the Redlands Police Department said they were tipped off that foul play could have been involved in their disappearance.
This led them to investigate Sparks, who lives nearby, as a potential suspect. In an attempt to locate Sparks on Thursday, police breached his home with a Tac Cat, a vehicle used by SWAT teams to navigate hazardous environments, the Redlands Police Department said.
Officers eventually found the 63-year-old underneath his home, and he surrendered after negotiating with officers, ABC News reports.
Officers are searching for the Menards’ bodies on Sparks’s property using cadaver dogs, the Redlands Police Department said. Cuddles is still missing.
The cadaver dogs have already alerted police to at least one body on the property, but officials are still evaluating whether it is safe to enter due to “extensive damage,” the department said.
The Independent has contacted the Redlands Police Department for comment.