Search for missing Redlands couple concluded after more remains discovered

REDLANDS, Calif. (KABC) -- Authorities have concluded their search for a missing Redlands couple at their neighbor's home after recovering human remains from the property.

Police had returned to the home on Monday but by the afternoon reported that all personnel have cleared the search scene. The site is now fenced off for public safety and code enforcement is expected to red-tag the property Tuesday.

Stephanie Menard, 73, her 79-year-old husband Daniel and their dog were last seen Aug. 24, and authorities quickly mobilized to find them.

An arrest was made in a Redlands nudist ranch where SWAT ripped apart the home of a person of interest in the disappearance of a missing couple.

That search led them to their neighbor Michael Royce Sparks. The 62-year-old was arrested on suspicion of their murder Thursday after authorities swarmed the neighborhood and locked down the area surrounding the Olive Dell Ranch nudist resort.

Sparks was booked at the West Valley Detention Center in Rancho Cucamonga. He's expected to make his first court appearance on Tuesday.

He surrendered voluntarily after he was found underneath his home, which was torn down by a police armored vehicle with a hydraulic battering ram.

"He did have a rifle and he did attempt to kill himself when police discovered him," said City of Redlands spokesperson Carl Baker. "The weapon misfired ... it didn't go off."

Authorities believe the Menards are dead and that their bodies are somewhere on Sparks' property.

On Friday, human remains were found in what authorities described as a concrete bunker underneath Sparks' home. Police continued their search Sunday and recovered additional remains.

The remains, however, have not been identified.

The motive for the alleged killings remains unclear, but the community is heartbroken. They held a vigil over the weekend to remember the Menards.

"They were always together," said neighbor Tammie Wilkerson. "He was so sweet, gentle and always was concerned about everyone else."

She says it was clear the couple and Sparks hated each other. It likely started with a dispute over a pepper tree. Dan Menard asked Sparks to trim it and when he refused, Menard cut it himself, Wilkerson said. But there were probably other conflicts as well, she said.

A heartfelt vigil was held Saturday evening in Redlands to honor the lives of Stephanie and Dan Menard, a missing couple who are believed to be dead.