Some tales just get weirder and weirder the longer go on. This week, a man has confessed to killing an elderly nudist couple before threatening to kill himself. But that is just the beginning.
Videos by Wide Open Country
After not showing up at their local church, a nudist couple living in Olive Dell Nudist Ranch was reported missing. Both Daniel Menard, 79, and his wife Stephanie, 73, were regulars at their nudist church, and their absence was noticed quickly.
For four days, police searched for the pair, but to no avail. However, on the fourth day, they received a phone call from the relative of the elderly pair's neighbor. They told the police that Michael Sparks, 62, had confessed to murdering the nudist couple.
According to the report, he had killed them both, and was prepared to kill himself. Carl Barker, the police spokesman, said, "He didn't say it was the Menards, but he said he had killed two people and was planning to commit suicide." It was safe to assume that the murdering nudist had killed the couple.
A Standoff Ensues With The Neighbor of Nudist Couple
The police were immediately on the scene, hopefully clothed. The community was put on lockdown, and people told to stay indoors. Although Sparks wouldn't respond to shouted commands over a loudspeaker, they presumed he had a cache of weapons.
Reports from others mentioned that the maddened nudist had built himself an underground bunker beneath his mobile home. Police didn't know exactly what this entailed. It could be booby trapped, it could be weaponised. Sparks was locked down, and refusing to come out.
The police needed to exercise caution due to the unknown nature of Sparks' defenses. First, they sent an unmanned drone through the front window to look for traps or any sign of the murdered nudist couple. However, this was unable to locate either Sparks or the bodies.
Next, the police pulled the weak front wall of the building off using a remote controlled battering ram. Barker noted that "There was some consideration that he had booby-trapped it, but we determined that the [armored vehicle] would've set off any kind of booby traps."
It's All Over For Sparks
By this point, Sparks house was little more than rubble. On investigation, he was found to be hiding underneath his home in a bunker, or pit, he had built for himself. The small space was described as "a little more than five feet deep - you could walk down there, but you might have to stoop."
On discovery, Sparks tried to shoot himself with a rifle, but it misfired, and he was taken into custody. The bodies of the murdered nudist couple were found in bags, also in the bunker. Their little dog is still at large.
The couple had been beaten to death. According to the family member, it was over a dispute to do with a tree that overhung Sparks' garden. The crazed, hole digging, nudist apparently "didn't like them. He hated them, and he told me many times."
