On Thursday, police officials gathered on a Redlands nudist ranch and used a battering ram to storm into the home of a suspect in the abduction of a local couple.
The manhunt is part of the ongoing search for Stephanie Menard, 73, and her 79-year-old husband, Daniel Menard, who disappeared on Sunday.
On Thursday morning, officers arrived at Olive Dell Ranch, where the couple lives, to begin an investigation into the missing persons case. While there, they received a phone call that a man connected to their disappearance was in the RV park, according to Redlands spokesperson Carl Baker.
Police immediately secured the park and got a search warrant for the suspect’s residence, which is located close to the Menards property. They entered with a battering ram and searched the area with remote-controlled tools such as a drone and an assault vehicle, Baker said at a news conference on Thursday.
Aerial film from KTLA captured a police vehicle with an arm forcefully searching through the suspect’s property, nearly knocking over a deck in the process.
Baker said police had not found the suspect but suspected he was someplace on the site, possibly in his home or somewhere.
The couple was last spotted at the nudist ranch on Saturday. Stephanie Menard’s pocketbook was recovered inside their home, and their car was discovered unlocked down the road from the property. Their dog, Cuddles, a little Shih Tzu, is also missing.
Daniel Menard has diabetes and dementia, according to authorities.
Tammie Wilkerson, a friend of the couple, told KABC-TV that the Menards lived on the nudist ranch and were involved in the community.
“They’re very sweet people,” Wilkerson added. “There’s not a mean bone in their body at all, which makes this very confusing.”
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