Couple Missing At Nudist Ranch Allegedly Killed By Neighbor Who Was Found Beneath His House

A Southern California man was arrested Thursday night on suspicion of murder in connection with the disappearance of his neighbors, who were last seen at their home at a nudist ranch in San Bernardino County.

Michael Royce Sparks, 62, was booked and jailed in the disappearance of Daniel Menard, 79, and Stephanie Menard, 73, who were reported missing by a friend on Sunday and are now presumed dead, Carl Baker, the public information officer for the Redlands Police Department, told reporters Friday morning.

Baker told reporters later Friday that human remains had been found inside bags in a concrete bunker under Sparks’ home, KNBC-TV in Los Angeles reported. The remains have yet to be identified.

The Menards and their dog, Cuddles, who is also missing, were last seen Saturday at their home at Olive Dell Ranch, Redlands police said in an earlier news release. The couple’s unlocked car was parked across the street. Stephanie Menard’s purse and the couples’ cellphones were found inside their home, according to the Los Angeles Times.

Authorities searching the neighborhood on Thursday received information from a local resident that identified Sparks as a person of interest in the case, Baker said. Police immediately put the neighborhood under lockdown as they sought to find and contact Sparks.

After several hours of attempts to reach Sparks, Baker said, authorities used a Tac Cat, a highly equipped armored vehicle, to breach his house, next to the Menards’ home.

Photos captured by KTLA-TV in Los Angeles show the armored vehicle colliding with Sparks’ home, demolishing a portion of the structure.

Police eventually found Sparks underneath his home, and he voluntarily surrendered after negotiations, Baker said. When a reporter asked whether officers knew that Sparks was there when they damaged the structure, Baker responded, “We believed that he was in the home and as a precaution we used the equipment to make the entry and search the home.”

It’s unclear if Sparks is now cooperating with the investigation. It is also not clear if Sparks has an attorney. The San Bernardino County District Attorney’s Office did not immediately respond to HuffPost’s request for information.

No motive was mentioned, and the investigation is ongoing. However, friends of the couple say they were involved in a lawsuit against the nudist ranch and recently complained about a neighbor harassing them, KTTV in Los Angeles reported.