Man arrested for murder after SWAT storms CA nudist ranch looking for missing couple
REDLANDS, Calif. -- A man has been arrested in connection to the disappearance of a missing Southern California couple after a SWAT team moved into a nudist ranch and ripped apart his home as part of their search for them.
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Michael Royce Sparks, 62, was arrested for murder overnight after authorities swarmed the neighborhood Thursday. Police said foul play was suspected in the disappearance of Stephanie Menard, 73, and her husband, Daniel, 79.
Sparks was booked at the West Valley Detention Center in Rancho Cucamonga. Additional details about their disappearance, or the suspect's connection to them were not immediately available.
Police used an armored vehicle with a hydraulic battering ram to tear down the home in the San Bernadino County city of Redlands. This is where Sparks lived, before the arrest was announced.
The entire ranch was locked down during the extensive search and late into the night, preventing some neighbors from getting back home.
Law enforcement also used a helicopter and K-9s to search for the missing couple.
Late Thursday evening, law enforcement fired some type of agent into the home. Investigators also deployed drones to get a closer look inside the man's property.
Before his arrest, Sparks was described by authorities as a "person of interest." One neighbor described the person of interest as a soft-spoken gentleman.
"Probably would be the last person that you would think would do something like this," Jim Hynd said.
Investigators returned to the area Thursday to follow up on a tip that led them to Sparks, who lives right next door to the Menards.
At one point during the standoff, the armored vehicle got stuck in a hole that formed in the ground and had to be pulled out. A deputy was inside the vehicle, but he appeared to be uninjured when he was rescued.
What happened to Stephanie and Daniel Menard?
The Menards were last seen Saturday morning leaving their home at the Olive Dell ranch in the 26000 block of Keissel Road, according to the Redlands Police Department. A friend reported them missing the next day.
The couple's vehicle was found unlocked down the road from their home Sunday. Stephanie's purse was found inside the home and both of their cellphones were also found at their home. Their dog, a small white shih tzu named Cuddles, is also missing.
"There's no way that Stephanie or Dan could have walked away from that car," friend Tammie Wilkerson told Eyewitness News Tuesday. "She has a cane. It was at home, her purse, their cellphones - things they would never have left at home."
Daniel Menard suffers from dementia and is diabetic, police say.
Friends say the couple, who is part of a possible lawsuit against the ranch, was being harassed and fear that may have had something to do with their sudden disappearance.
The couple is very active in their church and in the Olive Dell community.
"They're very sweet people. There's not a mean bone in their body at all, which makes this very confusing," Wilkerson said.
Anyone with information is asked to contact Redlands police at (909)798-7681 or Detective Thomas Williams at twilliams@redlandspolice.org. Please reference case No. 240032075
