Couple goes missing from nudist resort, California cops say. Neighbor accused of murder

A couple went missing, along with their dog, from a nudist resort, California officials said.

Now, a man has been arrested, according to an Aug. 30 Facebook post from the Redlands Police Department.

One of Daniel and Stephanie Menard’s friends reported them missing Aug. 25, McClatchy News reported.

During the investigation, police found the couple’s unlocked car down the street from their home, according to an Aug. 27 Facebook post by officials. The woman’s purse and both their cellphones were found inside the home, police said.

Detectives later went to the Olive Dell Ranch and learned someone who was at the resort may have been involved in the couple’s disappearance, officers said.

“They’re very sweet people. There’s not a mean bone in their body at all, which makes this very confusing,” Tammie Wilkerson, a friend of the couple, told KABC.

After hours of trying to reach 62-year-old Michael Royce Sparks on Aug. 29, police breached his home and searched for him, but he wasn’t home, authorities said.

Sparks is one of the neighbors of Daniel Menard, 79, and wife Stephanie Menard, 73, a spokesperson with the police department told McClatchy News in a statement.

The motive wasn’t made clear by police but officers believe the bodies are inside Sparks’ home, officials told the San Gabriel Valley Tribune.

Sparks was arrested and booked into the West Valley Detention Center on a murder charge, according to police.

Redlands is about a 60-mile drive east of Los Angeles.

This story was originally published August 30, 2024 at 8:42 AM with the headline "Couple goes missing from nudist resort, California cops say. Neighbor accused of murder."