LOS ANGELES (NewsNation) — Police used a tanklike vehicle with a battering ram to smash into a Southern California home and arrest the next-door neighbor of a couple living in a nudist community who were reported missing earlier this week, officials said Friday.
Officials believe the bodies of Stephanie Menard, 73, and her husband, Daniel, 79, are inside the residence, though they first have to shore up the home to make it safe to search, said Carl Baker, spokesperson for the Redlands Police Department.
Michael Royce Sparks, 62, was booked into jail for investigation of homicide Thursday night after being found underneath the house at Olive Dell Ranch, which is described as a residential RV park and family-friendly nudist resort on its website. The rustic community is in hill country about 60 miles east of Los Angeles.
Redlands Police Department spokesperson Carl Baker said Sparks surrendered voluntarily after a period of negotiations.
“I won’t say that he’s been cooperative,” Baker said.
The home, which was badly damaged during the breach Thursday, would need to be made safe before police and cadaver dogs could enter and search for the victims, Baker said.
NewsNation local affiliate KTLA in Los Angeles reports that concern initially grew for the Menards last week when personal items like cell phones and Stephanie’s purse were still inside their home. The Menard’s vehicle was found unlocked with the keys still inside, parked just down the road from their house.
Redlands police said the couple’s dog, a small white shih tzu named Cuddles, was also missing.
“We don’t have any word on Cuddles, their dog,” Baker said during the Friday morning news conference.
Baker did not comment on what may have led to the couple’s disappearance.
“I’m not going to speak to motive,” he said.
NewsNation affiliate KTLA in Los Angeles and The Associated Press contributed to this report.