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Days after a couple went missing from their home at the Olive Dell Ranch, a nudist community in California, police have announced that they believe the couple is dead.

The couple was last seen leaving their home on August 25, 2024, with their Shih Tzu, Cuddles. 

 Human remains were discovered beneath the home of their neighbor, Michael Royce Sparks, raising concerns that these remains could belong to the missing couple.

The Redlands Police Department recovered the remains from a concrete bunker under Sparks’ home, but it has yet to be confirmed whether they belong to the missing couple, Dan Menard, 79, and Stephanie Menard, 73.

"Members of the Redlands fire department, certified in confined space operations, entered the space beneath the suspect’s home and began to remove bags of evidence," said Redlands Police spokesman Carl Baker during a press conference.

On Thursday night, the Redlands Police Department arrested Michael Royce Sparks, 62, in connection with the disappearance of the Menards. 

Sparks has now been charged with murder and is currently booked at the West Valley Detention Center.

Sparks Hated the Menards

As the investigation continues, the discovery of the human remains is shocking to the Olive Dell Ranch community. 

Most residents at the nudist community knew and liked both the Menards and Sparks.

According to Tammie Wilkerson, a member of the nudist resort, Sparks harbored a deep-seated hatred for his elderly neighbors. "He didn’t like them," Wilkerson told KCAL. "He hated them, and he told me that many times."

Wilkerson explained that Sparks' animosity stemmed from a seemingly trivial issue involving a tree on the property line. 

"It’s such a stupid reason," she said. "They had a tree that was on their property line, and Dan used to go trim the limbs, and [Sparks] hated that. That formed his hatred towards them." 

She also revealed that she had driven Sparks, known by his neighbors as "Sparky," to the store several times to buy materials for constructing an underground shelter. The human remains were found in the concrete shelter.

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Couple Missing from Nudist Community

The disappearance of the Menards prompted a missing person investigation from law enforcement.

 After Sparks was taken into custody, police launched an extensive search for the couple's bodies, believing that their remains might be on Sparks' property.

 A cadaver dog was brought to the scene, guiding investigators to the area where the suspect was apprehended. According to the Redlands Police Department (RPD), the dog indicated that there was at least one body present.

The investigation revealed troubling details about the Menards’ last known whereabouts. Their car was found parked down the street from their house, while Mrs. Menard's purse and the keys to the vehicle were left inside their home. This discovery added to the urgency of the search efforts.

Suspect Barricaded in His Home

When police entered Sparks' home on Friday, they found a concrete space about five feet deep beneath the house, which extended to the back of the property.

 Carl Baker, the public information officer for the RPD, described the space as a bunker-like area. RPD officers, along with fire personnel, forensic teams, and members of the San Bernardino County Coroner's Office, began removing bags of evidence from the scene.

Coroner's officials confirmed that the evidence included human remains, which will be examined to determine their identity. 

The operation hit a snag when the space began to show signs of potential collapse, forcing all personnel to evacuate. Heavy equipment was brought in on Saturday morning to remove debris and ensure the safety of the area before the evidence retrieval could continue.

Sparks arrest was not without incident. 

Police used armored vehicles to breach the front of the house, causing significant damage in the process. Officers had first attempted to contact Sparks but received no response for an “extended period of time”. 

They even broke a window and deployed a drone inside the house but were unable to maneuver it effectively.

"We had reason to believe the suspect was barricaded and armed, and we wanted to protect the safety of our officers, that's why the front of the house was removed," Baker explained to reporters on Friday.

"In fact, the suspect was barricaded, and he was armed with a rifle."