Human remains found after couple vanish from family-friendly nudist resort

Human remains have been discovered at the home of a 62-year-old man who is thought to have killed an elderly couple that disappeared from a nudist resort in California.

Stephanie and Daniel Menard, 73 and 79 respectively, are presumed dead by police.

The suspect, Michael Royce Sparks, lived next door to the nudist ranch that the elderly couple disappeared from.

The couple failed to show up at church on August 25, sparking worry in the community and a four-day search ensued.

After identifying Sparks as the suspect following a tip, police used a vehicle to crash into his southern Californian home, and the suspect was inside and apprehended.

Sparks had armed himself with a rifle and attempted to prevent officers from entering.

Stephanie and Daniel Menard (Redlands Police Department)

This then led to the police to use a drone and a battering ram to gain entry.

He was successfully arrested after Sparks' gun misfired, so he was unable to shoot himself at the scene, according to investigators.

Following a search of the property, police found a bunker containing human remains.

After Sparks was apprehended, further searches uncovered further remains.

Police have confirmed that some of the remains are believed to be that of Stephanie and Daniel Menard.

Spokesperson for the Redlands Police Department, Carl Baker, said: "We are confident that they are deceased and that they are still here on the property."

Yesterday (2 September), the Redlands Police Department said in a statement: "A Sheriff's Department cadaver dog was deployed this morning at the site of the suspect's arrest.

Michael Royce Sparks has been charged with murder (Redland Police Department)

"The dog alerted on the area where the suspect was taken into custody, indicating the presence of at least one body.

"RPD currently has various resources on site to determine whether the structure is safe before teams enter to search for bodies."

Sparks was charged on suspicion of murder last Thursday.

The suspect was located under the house at Olive Dell Ranch, which bills itself as a 'family friendly nudist resort' on its website.

Police have confirmed 'more evidence' was found at the property, though offered no further explanation.

The couple's missing Shih Tzu, Cuddles, has not yet been found in the search.

The mobile phones of the couple were recovered in their own home.

It has been reported that Daniel was living with dementia, and Stephanie needed a cane to walk.

Tammie Wilkerson, a fellow neighbour of Sparks and the Menards, told KTLA that the three didn't get along.

She said: "[Sparks] was mad because Dan cut some tree limbs on a tree that belonged to him and he has held a grudge ever since then.

"That’s the only thing I can think of that was making him do what he did."

As per KTLA, Sparks is due to appear in court later today, 3 September.

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