John Jefferson
Background: Redlands (Calif.) police raid a home in connection with the disappearance of Daniel and Stephanie Menard (Redlands Police Dept.). Inset: Dan and Stephanie Menard with their dog, Cuddles (KABC).
Police in California have arrested the man they say is behind the disappearance of a married couple — and their little dog — living in a community for nudists.
The Redlands Police Department announced Friday that Michael Royce Sparks, 62, was arrested for murder in connection with the disappearance of Daniel Menard, 79, and Stephanie Menard, 73.
The Menards were last seen at their residence at around 10 a.m. on Aug. 24, 2024, police said. Their car was found unlocked down the road from their home that same day. Stephanie Menard’s purse was found in the home, as well as both of the couple’s cellphones.
Police noted that “the Menards’ dog, a small white Shih Tzu named Cuddles, is also missing.”
The couple lived in Colton, California, at the Olive Dell Ranch, an RV park that bills itself as a “favorite nudist resort for families and couples.” Colton is around 55 miles east of downtown Los Angeles.
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The Menards are not likely to have walked off on their own, police say.
“Daniel suffers from dementia and is diabetic,” a Facebook updated noted. Stephanie Menard uses a cane to walk.
“There’s no way that Stephanie or Dan could have walked away from that car,” friend Tammie Wilkerson told Los Angeles ABC affiliate KABC. “She has a cane. It was at home, her purse, their cellphones — things they would never have left at home.”
Police raided a neighboring home on Thursday after learning that someone who “may have been involved” was at that location. Overhead footage shows armed officers and heavy-duty equipment moving in on the home.
“A short time ago, after trying for several hours unsuccessfully to contact the subject with no response, police used a Tac Cat from the Riverside County Sheriff’s Department to breach the subject’s home and conduct a search using remote video equipment,” Redlands police announced at the time.
“No one has been located,” the statement added.
It was not immediately clear how Sparks was ultimately apprehended.
Friends of the Menards said the couple is part of a lawsuit against the ranch and had been facing harassment, and worry that may be linked to their disappearance, KABC reported.
According to the San Bernardino Sheriff’s Office, Sparks is being held without bond at the West Valley Detention Center. He has a court appearance scheduled for Sept. 3.
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