Arrest Made in Connection to Couple’s Disappearance From Nudist Resort

An arrest has been made in connection to a couple’s disappearance from a nudist resort in Southern California, police said on Friday.

Stephanie Menard, 73, and her husband, Daniel, a 79-year-old diabetic with dementia, were reported missing by a friend last Sunday. The elderly couple lives at the Olive Dell Ranch, a residential RV park and family-friendly nudist resort in Redlands, about an hour’s drive east of Los Angeles. They were last seen at their home on Saturday morning and their disappearance is being treated as a homicide.

On Friday, law enforcement announced that the couple’s next-door neighbor, Michael Royce Sparks, 62, was arrested in connection with their disappearance. He is being held on murder charges.

The man was arrested and booked into jail Thursday night after a lengthy search that day.

“We received information from a source that a person who was involved in their disappearance was here on the property,” said Carl Baker, a spokesperson for the Redlands Police Department. “At that point, we locked down the property.”

Authorities used a tactical vehicle with a battering ram to break into Sparks’ home and used video equipment to search for him. The man was found underneath his house.

Baker said of the suspect: “He surrendered voluntarily—I won’t say he’s been cooperative—after lengthy negotiations.”

Video footage from the media showed debris scattered on Sparks’ property.

“Due to extensive damage, the structure will need to be made safe before searchers can enter,” the department said on social media Friday morning.

Baker said the Menards are believed to be dead somewhere on Sparks’ property.

“We are confident that they are deceased and that they are still here on the property,” Baker said.

After the Menards were reported missing, police said the couple’s unlocked car was found not far from their home later Sunday. Both of the couple’s phones and Stephanie Menard’s purse were still inside their home. The Menards’ dog, Cuddles, is also missing.

“There’s no way that Stephanie or Dan could have walked away from that car,” Tammie Wilkerson, a friend of the couple, told local news outlet KABC. “She has a cane. It was at home, her purse, their cellphones—things they would never have left at home.”

The Menards’ friend described the couple as nice people.

“They’re very sweet people. There’s not a mean bone in their body at all, which makes this very confusing,” Wilkerson said.