True Crime Society - The Menard Murders

Daniel Menard (79), his wife Stephanie (73) and their dog Cuddles were reported missing from their home in Colton, California on August 25, 2024.

They were last seen on Saturday August 24 leaving their home at the Olive Dell ranch in the 26000 block of Keissel Road in Colton. The Olive Dell ranch is described online as:

FAMILY NUDIST RESORT
Olive Dell Ranch is an RV Park located in Colton, CA 92324. We are a residential RV park with a variety of RV space options. Our amenities include pool, jacuzzi, restaurant. We also have a clubhouse where activities are held as well as special events.
See our calendar of events for more info. There are 5 miles of hiking trails on the property. Plenty of privacy as we are on 100 acres surrounded by beautiful mountain views.

Resident space rentals start at $800 per month. We also provide nightly and weekly RV rentals, as well as cabins and tent camping.

In terms of the background of the couple and any possible family, nothing has been confirmed online yet.

The couple’s vehicle was found unlocked down the road from their home on Sunday, August 25.

Stephanie’s purse was found inside the home and both of their cellphones were also found at their home. Their dog, a small white shih tzu named Cuddles, was also missing.

“There’s no way that Stephanie or Dan could have walked away from that car,” friend Tammie Wilkerson told Eyewitness News. “She has a cane. It was at home, her purse, their cellphones – things they would never have left at home.”

Police said that Daniel suffered from dementia and is diabetic.

At the time, friends of the Menards’ said they were part of a possible lawsuit against the ranch. They had allegedly told friends that they were being harassed.

The couple was said to be very active in their church and in the Olive Dell community.

“They’re very sweet people. There’s not a mean bone in their body at all, which makes this very confusing,” Tammie said.

This seemed like just a missing person case until Thursday August 29. A SWAT team entered the Olive Dell Ranch and raided the home of a neighbor of the Menards.

Police used an armored vehicle with a hydraulic battering ram to tear down the person of interest’s home. Despite removing walls, the person was not found at that time. We did not know the identity of the person of interest at this point.

“We made several attempts to contact the subject with no response,” Redlands city spokesperson Carl Baker said during a press conference. “So at that point we had a search warrant and went into the home, and for the officers’ safety, we used a battering ram and remote cameras in order to conduct that search.”

The entire ranch was locked down during the extensive search and late into the night, preventing some neighbors from getting back home.

Police used a helicopter and dogs to search for the Menards.

During the raid, police fired some type of agent into the person of interest’s home. Investigators also deployed drones to get a closer look inside the man’s property.

“Probably would be the last person that you would think would do something like this,” neighbor Jim Hynd said about the person of interest.

Investigators returned to the area Thursday to follow up on a tip that led them to the person of interest, who lives right next door to the Menards.

There was some extra drama when the tank got stuck in a hole that formed in the ground and had to be pulled out. A deputy was inside the vehicle but was rescued and did not appear to be injured.

Later that night, we learned the identity of the person of interest.

He is Michael Royce Sparks (62). Police released his mugshot and in the photo, he appears to be covered in dirt.

Police said that Michael surrendered after lengthy negotiations after he was found underneath his home. There are rumors that he had made a series of tunnels/bunkers in his home and online chatter also speculates that he may be a prepper.

We learned that Michael attempted to take his life when he was approached by law enforcement. “He did have a rifle and he did attempt to kill himself when police discovered him,” said Carl Baker, from the City of Redlands. “The weapon misfired…it didn’t go off.”

After the arrest, police took cadaver dogs to the destroyed property. A dog had apparently detected at least one body at the scene.

“We are confident that they are deceased and that they are still here on the property.” Carl Baker said.

Tammie spoke to the media again at the time. “I don’t know, people just don’t dig tunnels under their house and behind their house,” she said. “If I had known, I would have told the cops right away, ‘Hey, that guy had tunnels.'”

Tammie also said that she had taken Michael to Home Depot multiple times so that he could buy concrete.

Other neighbors have spoken to the media and said that Michael was quiet and generally kept to himself.

On Sunday August 31, Carl Baker confirmed that human remains had been found in a space in the home. “We had a city crew with a camera that we use to evaluate sewer blockages. They were able to run that camera into that space and verify the presence of the evidence,” he said.

“There were no tunnels that we can tell,” he added. “There is a space about five feet deep…and it goes back maybe to the back of the property, which is a mobile home.”

The remains were found in bags.

By September 1, the remains had still not been identified. This entry appeared on the San Bernardino Coroner’s Website.

There has been no confirmed motive for the murders as of September 1.

Tammie has told several local TV stations that Michael apparently hated the Menards. The hatred was fuelled by a fight they had been having that involved a tree between their homes. Tammie told Fox that Michael “said it many times that he hated them.”

“When I first moved here, he told me how much he hated them, and he hated Dan specifically because Dan would cut the tree … trim the tree down,” she said.