Silver Alert CA - Stephanie Menard, 73, Daniel Menard, 79, & Cuddles, white Shih Tzu, Olive Dell Ranch nudist resort, unlocked car found, Redlands, 24 Aug 2024

[kuromiiiilove]

I guess I’m in the same boat as everyone else, wondering if hoarding was the exacerbating issue. I actually used to clean hoarded homes as part of my church ministry and I have seen first hand how emotions can get very high. I was assaulted by one woman who was completely panicked and felt as if she was losing her home by us cleaning, event though that was the only way she could keep her home. It’s not logical at all. MOO

 

[Snoopster]

Missing Redlands couple believed to be dead, suspect arrested after SWAT operation at nudist ranch

In this video the reporter said that one neighbor said that Sparks hated the Menards. One example he gave was that Sparks got very angry when Dan Menard chopped down a tree.

 

[truthfinder2019]

Cadaver dogs and search teams were seen at the home, with the Menard's dog also believed to be dead in the area, according to police.

Suspect arrested in disappearance of elderly couple from nudist ranch

California cops announced a major break in the case on Thursday, days after Stephanie Menard, 73, and Daniel Menard, 79, were reported missing on Sunday.

www.dailymail.co.uk

Poor little Cuddles

 

[charminglane]

This case is such a big friggen bummer.

 

[STLBlues]

No, I don't believe that is where their car was originally found. It was found about half a mile down the road. After police were done looking at the car a resident moved the car (since it was on private property) and back to it's normal parking spot in Dell Ranch. It was discussed earlier in the thread.

Bumping this earlier post for you @STLBlues

The location being shown isn't where it was originally found. It had been moved off the private property back into the community.

Thank you both for that. I must have missed that originally with how fast the thread is moving.

 

[LAhiker]

Here is a view from the back of their houses. (snipped from google maps)

View attachment 528008

I had some questions and thoughts about the site. In the quoted picture, Sparks's house is the one in the middle with a tan roof. Here is a Google Earth view of the houses from the front:

Question: Do we know if the Menards owned the larger house with the blue roof or the smaller RV or trailer on the other side of Sparks's house?

(Sparks's house has an extra part that goes towards the road that from other photos might be an RV incorporated into the house or might be something else. That part had a little fenced-in deck on top of it. I'm wondering whose home that looked down on.)

The area for those houses appears to have been dug out of the side of a hill made of soft rock or very hard dirt. I wonder if that rock or dirt continues under the houses and whether Sparks continued digging in beneath his house to create a sort of bunker or basement.

JMO

 

[truthfinder2019]

I had some questions and thoughts about the site. In the quoted picture, Sparks's house is the one in the middle with a tan roof. Here are the houses from the front:View attachment 528035

Question: Do we know if the Menards owned the larger house with the blue roof or the smaller RV or trailer on the other side of Sparks's house?

(Sparks's house has an extra part that goes towards the road that from other photos might be an RV incorporated into the house or might be something else. That part had a little fenced-in deck on top of it. I'm wondering whose home that looked down on.)

The area for the houses appears to have been dug out of an area with soft rock or very hard dirt. I wonder if that rock or dirt continues under the houses and whether Sparks continued digging in beneath his house to create a sort of bunker or basement.

JMO

The Menards’ house is the one on the left withnthe blue roof

Edit to add screenshot fron news video posted earlier, if Inremember well it is unit 45

 

[Knox]

Is the assumption now that their bodies were in the excavated area under the house, but he later moved them? Maybe due to odor issues? Is there a dumpster, transfer station or landfill nearby?

 

[Dotta]

IMO
this case is "neighbours' war" turned into tragedy.

Living next door to a seemingly unhinged/violent neighbour is a nightmare.

I guess the poor couple was complaining about hoarding habit of their neighbour.

Such a house full of junk is a fire hazard.
And it could pose danger to victims' house.

I think he might have lured them into his property under some pretext.

The poor dog went too.
And was allegedly killed not to draw attention by barking.

What a tragedy

JMO

 

[LAhiker]

The Menards’ house is the one on the left withnthe blue roof

Edit to add screenshot fron news video posted earlier, if Inremember well it is unit 45

View attachment 528036

View attachment 528037

Thanks! The Menards had a very nice house. I hadn't realized that their name was right on it.

In a KTLA report I just saw -- can't find it on the web yet -- a neighbor said that Sparks was mad at Dan Menard because he sometimes trimmed a tree between their homes. I'm guessing that's the tree next to the Menard's house in the upper photo.

JMO

 

[BenjaminJAndersonAlly]

IMO
this case is "neighbours' war" turned into tragedy.

Living next door to a seemingly unhinged/violent neighbour is a nightmare.

I guess the poor couple was complaining about hoarding habit of their neighbour.

Such a house full of junk is a fire hazard.
And it could pose danger to victims' house.

I think he might have lured them into his property under some pretext.

The poor dog went too.
And was allegedly killed not to draw attention by barking.

What a tragedy

JMO

Is it possible he could have dog-napped Cuddles to lure them?

 

[truthfinder2019]

Concerning the suspect, here s the public jail record with charge and court date

https://jimsnetil.shr.sbcounty.gov/PrintChargeInfo.aspx?bookno=2408342587

He was arrested 08/29/2024 @ 21:46

 

[Inthedetails]

Thanks! The Menards had a very nice house. I hadn't realized that their name was right on it.

In a KTLA report I just saw -- can't find it on the web yet -- a neighbor said that Sparks was mad at Dan Menard because he sometimes trimmed a tree between their homes. I'm guessing that's the tree next to the Menard's house in the upper photo.

JMO

It makes me sad looking at the home as I can picture Stephanie enjoying making that front porch cute and sitting out there with Dan and Cuddles. Of course, I'm just guessing that's what they did, but it looks like a happy home. jmo

 

[SophieRose]

So, from what I read last night in court documents....one of the lawsuits is regarding whether or not it is classified as a mobile home park or a recreational vehicle park which apparently have different rules & regulations. The complaint essentially said that the owners were charging residents additional fees and/or evicting them and I believe, that is where the harassment claims/restraining orders are stemming from. It is case #CIVSB2417577 if you want to look it up (San Bernardino Open Access)

This is the couple who filed the lawsuit.

Redlands police arrest neighbor of missing couple from nudist resort on suspicion of murder

The elderly couple went missing over the weekend.

www.pressenterprise.com

“I just want them back,” SM, a neighbor who has been friends with the couple for more than a decade, told CBS LA, before the arrest.

 

[truthfinder2019]

 

[Chimera]

Thanks everyone for the updates.
Trimming a tree that is partly on your property should not be a reason for murder.
The ongoing disputes seemed to be that the killer's hoarded collection was spilling over into the victim's yard ?
This is so sad.
Omo.

 

[Cryptic]

From what it looks like on the community's own website and from Yelp reviews, it sounds like some people own homes there, although it may more like mobile home park agreement since ownership records show the land actually belongs to the Olive Dell Ranch.

- "Truth can be dual natured. Each truth exists separately, yet they are both interwoven"

And faux Age of Aquarius mysticism aside.....

I think your reference to the standard mobile home agreement is key. The land is owned by the ranch. But.... some of the mobile homes on ranch land are individually owned. If a mobile home owners leaves for any reason, they need to either move the home (which can be hard-or even defacto impossible), or sell the home.

As a side note, SOCAL and Bay Area feature hyper expensive real estate even by California standards. It is not unheard of for solidly middle class families to live in elaborate mobile homes that are no longer truly mobile.

A need to sell a non-mobile mobile home could add to tensions if there was a dispute regarding an ability to continue to live at the Ranch.