A family of four vanished without a trace more than three years ago. Earlier this week, the remains of four bodies were found in shallow graves in the desert near Victorville.
Sources on Thursday night confirmed to our sister station in San Diego that skeletal remains found in the Mojave Desert are those of Joseph and Summer McStay. It's unknown if the other two bodies are those of their two children.
On home video, the McStay family seemed to be living the American dream: a husband, wife, and two little boys riding bikes outside their newly renovated home in suburban San Diego.
But in February 2010, all four disappeared without a trace from Fallbrook. Joseph McStay, 40, his 43-year-old wife Summer and their sons, 4-year-old Gianni and 3-year-old Joey, simply vanished.
Their SUV was found parked near the border. There was a time investigators in San Diego thought surveillance video showed the McStay family making their way into Mexico.
But relatives discounted that theory. They suspected foul play. The McStays left money in their bank accounts and the family's two dogs were found wandering in their backyard.
"As time goes by, it's more and more overwhelming," said Joseph McStay's brother, Michael Mcstay, said about his brother's disappearance back in 2010. "To leave the eggs out on the counter, they left the house in haste."
Now, our affiliate in San Diego reports that Michael McStay has been contacted by investigators from the San Bernardino County Sheriff's Department.
A motorcyclist came across the remains of four people in two shallow graves on Monday. Authorities have not released the identities of the four victims.
The sheriff's department is planning to hold a news conference at 11 a.m. Friday to discuss the case.
