“Foul play” is suspected in the disappearance of a elderly couple from a California nudist resort, police say.
Daniel Menard, 79, his wife, Stephanie Menard, 73, and their Shih Tzu named Cuddles went missing from the Olive Dell Ranch nudist resort and RV park in Redlands on Saturday around 10 a.m., according to officials.
Redlands is a town of roughly 73,000 about 60 miles east of Los Angeles in San Bernardino County.
Investigators said Thursday there may be a person potentially involved in their disappearance.
“We suspect that there may have been foul play,” Carl Baker, a spokesman for the city of Redlands and Redlands Police Department, told reporters at a news conference.
The possible suspect’s identity was not released, but police said the person is the couple’s next-door neighbor.
“While we were here, knocking on doors and canvassing the area, we got information that a person who is potentially involved in the disappearance of the couple was here,” Baker said. “We are attempting to make contact and doing further investigation.”
“We obtained a search warrant to try and locate the suspect,” Baker said. A SWAT team stormed the home at one point, but did not immediately find the suspect.
Baker did not say whether a homicide investigation was underway.
“All I can say is that we got information that he may be involved in their disappearance,” Baker said. “We received a phone call from somebody with information that a person potentially involved in their disappearance is here at the [resort].”
After the couple vanished, their car, cellphones and Stephanie Menard’s purse, among other possession, were found at the couple’s home in Redlands. Searchers have since used horses, helicopters and on-foot volunteers to unsuccessfully search for the couple.
A neighbor who reported the couple missing said their TV and computer were still on in their empty home Sunday morning.
“It was just very suspicious for them to be gone,” longtime friend and neighbor Sandy Marinelli told KCAL News.
Friends said it would be unusual for them to travel on foot since Stephanie Menard has mobility issues and Daniel Menard has dementia and diabetes.