Shock twist in disappearance of elderly couple who vanished from nudist ranch

Police have arrested a suspect in connection with the disappearance of an elderly California couple who disappeared from a nudist community. 

Michael Sparks, 62, was arrested for murder late Thursday, days after Stephanie Menard, 73, and Daniel Menard, 79, were reported missing on Sunday. 

In a press briefing following the arrest, cops said Sparks was the couple's neighbor, and said foul play was suspected following a tip-off from someone in their neighborhood in Redlands, California. 

Authorities are continuing an urgent search for the couple, were last spotted leaving their home on the Olive Dell nudist ranch around 10am on Saturday, close to where their unlocked car was later found. 

According to the Redland Police Department, Sparks was found hiding underneath his home during his arrest, and was only taken into custody following a lengthy standoff with police. 

Authorities approached his home with remote video equipment, and images of the arrest showed a SWAT-style vehicle with a hydraulic battering ram smashed through the side of Sparks' property. 

Police say they are treating the Menard's disappearance as a homicide and are searching for their bodies, which they believe to be on Sparks' property. 

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. 

ABC News reported that police descended on the home following a tip-off from the public, who claimed that a person involved in their disappearance was at the home. 

Sparks' home was hit with significant damage during the dramatic arrest, with cops now working through the rubble in hopes of finding the couple's bodies. 

On the day the Menard's vanished, investigators said the couple's car was found unlocked not far from their residence in the Olive Dell Ranch nudist community. 

Cops added that Stephanie's purse was discovered in the home, as well as both her and Daniel's cellphones. 

The authorities said that Daniel is diagnosed with diabetes and suffers from dementia, complicating matters and lending a sense of urgency to the search as their bodies are yet to be found. 

As the search for the Menards drags on, friends and neighbors said they were agonizing over the couple's disappearance. 

'Each day just gets longer and longer, and I get more and more worried,' Sandy Marinelli, a friend of the couple's, told ABC.

'There's just nothing to go off of right now.'

Tammie Wilkerson, another friend pointed out that it wouldn't have made sense for the Menards to leave their car behind.

'There's no way that Stephanie or Dan could've walked away from that car. She has a cane. It was at home.'

The Menards, who are very active in their church and in the Olive Dell community, were described as kind people.

'They're very sweet,' Wilkerson said, tearfully. ' There's not a mean bone in their body at all, which makes this confusing.'

Friends of the Menards told ABC that the couple was being harassed, and that they fear this might be related to their disappearance.

Anyone with information about the disappearance is asked to contact Redlands police at (909)798-7681 or Detective Thomas Williams at twilliams@redlandspolice.org.