Business Associate Charles Merritt Arrested On Murder Charges! ~ Remains of Joseph, Summer McStay & children missing from San Diego since Feb of 2010 found in Victorville, CA

Wednesday marks six months since the McStay family vanished from their Fallbrook home. On Tuesday, relatives gathered at the abandoned house to clean it out in anticipation of an inevitable foreclosure.
Joseph and Summer McStay and their two boys, Gianni, 5, and Joey Jr., 3, were last heard from by friends and family on Feb. 4.
Since then, there has been no proof of life, no fresh clues for investigators to run down.
Blanche Almanza, Summer McStay's mother, spent Tuesday gathering up her daughter's clothing, her grandkids' items and some family photos in an otherwise empty home.
"It's just the hardest thing a parent has to do," Almanza said. "They are a loving family, and we just want them home."
Leads have been thin. Even an eight-minute segment about the missing family on "America's Most Wanted" in June turned up a scant 13 tips ---- none of which panned out, San Diego County Sheriff's Lt. Dennis Brugos said.
Phone records show no calls from the family's cell phones. Bank accounts show no movement. The family's car was found abandoned near the U.S.-Mexico border on Feb. 8.
Dark black-and-white border crossing surveillance video shows a family ---- maybe the McStays ---- walking toward Mexico.
And then, nothing.
"Time stopped for us," said Mike McStay, younger brother of Joseph McStay. "There is nothing but questions. But there is no answers.
"There is no peace, there is no resolution. Our lives are turned upside-down. It is a perpetual upside-down."
Mike McStay reported the family missing on Feb. 15, after finding their beloved dogs hungry, thirsty and abandoned and a carton of eggs out on the kitchen counter ---- and no sign that the family had intended to leave long-term.
A search of their computers perhaps yielded a clue: in late January, someone used the machine to send e-mail queries about travel and passport information for Mexico.
Leaving is not illegal, but authorities said the circumstances are such that foul play may be involved.
Disappearing without notice, leaving their pets uncared for and failing to contact anyone is simply out of character for Joseph or Summer McStay, their friends and family said.
"I have no words, no thoughts," said Summer's sister, Tracy Russell, as she helped their mother clear out personal items. "I'm just so depressed that their stuff is there and they are not here."
Greg Howell, segment producer with "America's Most Wanted," said Tuesday that TV show officials had followed the case from the early stages and called San Diego County Sheriff's detectives to ask if they could help by profiling the case.
"I've been working for AMW for seven years, and I have never seen a missing persons case like this, ever," Howell said.
The case is so odd, he said, that he plans to pitch a rebroadcast of the segment this fall.
As investigators dig for clues, Mike McStay does what he can to keep the missing family's story in the public eye.
He also fights to keep an eye on what remains of the life his brother left behind, paying for storage units housing the missing family's furniture and keeping track of all the logistics he can.
Mike McStay said he met with Summer McStay's mother and sister so they could clear out personal items the family left behind. He said he believes foreclosure may be imminent, since the mortgage on the home has gone unpaid since February.
He also has his own business to run, and his wife and three daughters to care for. And never far from his thoughts is his brother's son from a previous marriage, an Oceanside teenager left to wonder what happened to his dad.
Keeping busy, Mike McStay said, helps keep away the dark thoughts.
"Emotionally, I have to work," Mike McStay said. "I need to have something to do.
"Because when everything is quiet, I realize that they just disappeared, whether willingly or murdered. I just don't know."
Mike McStay has chronicled the search for the family on his website: [You must be registered and logged in to see this link.]
Call staff writer Teri Figueroa at 760-740-5442.

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I would love to know what everyone thinks happened here. Do you all think the family is alive? Was this pre-planned?

Wrap, I have been thinking about this family, and wondering what was going on...
I, at first, thought that they disappeared on purpose for some unknown reason, but, lately, with all the reports of violence and kidnapping in Mexico, I am starting to think that they just went there for a quick visit and got caught up in something..(.I watched the 48 Hours segment about the family that was kidnapped in Mexico and whose vehicles were stolen...Did anybody else see that? )But, on the other hand, it doesn't look like they would have left food out, even if it was going to be a quick jaunt across the border. It seems like they got a call that cause them to leave abruptly...IDK, it's a real mystery...I hope that we will get some answers sometime soon.

Michael McStay, left, his mother, Susan, and his daughter, Shekinah, pray for the safe return of his brother, Joseph McStay, 40, his brother's wife, Summer, 43, and their two young sons who went missing in early February from their San Diego home. The family held a candle light vigil and prayer service in Laguna Niguel for the missing family in February.

With no signs of life for six months and a looming foreclosure, relatives of a missing family collected items last week from a home that was left in disarray when the family disappeared.
Blanche Aranda-Martelli grabbed finger paintings and toy dinosaurs to hold onto something tangible when she thinks of her missing grandchildren. Michael McStay took his brother's guitar, the one they bought together years ago.

Michael McStay, left, his mother, Susan, and his daughter, Shekinah, pray for the safe return of his brother, Joseph McStay, 40, his brother's wife, Summer, 43, and their two young sons who went missing in early February from their San Diego home. The family held a candle light vigil and prayer service in Laguna Niguel for the missing family in February.

San Clemente businessman Joseph McStay, 40, his wife, Summer, 43, and their two children, Gianni, 5, and Joseph, 3, have been missing since Feb. 4, just months after moving from a San Clemente beach bungalow to a house on a cul-de-sac in Fallbrook.
"Unfortunately we have to do these types of things," said Michael, who helped clean out his brother's home. "It's very final. I could see Blanche working with her eyes all watery. The stress has been horrible. There's been no word, there's been nothing."

Back in February, items at the family's new home indicated a quick departure, with eggs left on the counter and paint rollers in pans. The family's two dogs, which are now being taken care of by friends and family, were left in the backyard without food or water.
On Feb. 8, the family's Isuzu was towed as an abandoned vehicle from a parking lot near the Mexican border. A video surveillance tape released a month later by police show a family of four that looked like the McStays—backs turned to the camera—crossing the border. Another surveillance video has surfaced and police are currently reviewing it, said Tracy Russell, Summer's sister.

Calls to police about the new tape were not immediately returned. The San Diego Sherriff's Department and the Federal Bureau of Investigation are working on the case, which will remain open until a conclusive discovery is made, Michael said. Summer was supposed to visit her newborn nephew for the first time the week she disappeared. She never got the chance.

Now the family's home may face foreclosure as the house payments were linked to automatically withdraw from the family's checking account, Michael said. Police have frozen the accounts and Michael expects a notice of default is on the way.

Since their disappearance, there has been no activity on the bank accounts or the family's cell phones.
The McStay's story has made national news, with an eight-minute feature on America's Most Wanted in June, which sparked about a dozen tips, coming from Michigan to mainland Mexico. None panned out. Aerial drone searches following the disappearance failed to find anything, too. An "endangered missing" flier created by the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children will continue to run in Mexican newspapers and future television specials are in the works, Michael said.

The house didn't have much in it as the McStays were in the middle of moving when they disappeared. Sentimental items have been collected, and remaining furniture and appliances sold. The money is going to support Joseph McStay's 14-year-old son from another mother. The teen took his father's surfboards and iPod a few weeks ago. His half-brother, Gianni, turned five in July, five months into the search.

"You have good days and you have bad days. You have strong ones and weak ones," Russell said. "You have to try and move on. It's so hard. It's a huge hole."

A business partner is taking care of Joseph's business, Earth Inspired Products, which sells outdoor water fountain accessories.
"We're keeping it afloat so Joey can have it when he comes back," his brother said.

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With no open leads and two TV shows planning to get the word out about his missing family members, Michael McStay says the nine months since their disappearance have been tough, but his brother's recent birthday and the holiday season are even more painful.
McStay's brother, Joseph, 41, Joseph's wife, Summer, 43, and their children, Gianni, 5, and Joseph, 3, disappeared Feb. 4 after moving to Fallbrook from San Clemente. The family's story will be told in January in an hourlong episode of the Investigation Discovery channel's show "Disappeared."

Another hourlong show is set to air in February, around the first anniversary of the disappearance, on Lifetime. The mother of Natalee Holloway, a teenager who disappeared in 2005 during a high school trip to Aruba, plans to host the Lifetime show, Michael McStay said.
This summer, "America's Most Wanted" aired a short segment about the McStays' disappearance. Michael McStay, who lives in San Clemente, said he hopes the longer shows will generate more leads for the San Diego County Sheriff's Department, which has been handling the case.
"Somebody knows something," McStay said Wednesday. "Somebody's seen something. We're going toward the year mark. Somebody saw something."
The family left food on the counter of their home and their two dogs unattended with no food, causing police to believe they left in a hurry. A family car was towed as an abandoned vehicle in San Ysidro, near the Mexico border. After searching the family's computer, police found evidence that someone had searched for information about going to Mexico with children without passports. A surveillance video shows a family of four walking across the border holding hands. While some think the group resembles the McStays, others disagree.
The family's friends and relatives have said they do not know why the McStays disappeared. Many have described them as happy and in good financial standing. Michael McStay said he never expected the family's disappearance to last this long.
The older Joseph McStay's 41st birthday was Saturday, and to commemorate it, friends shared their favorite stories about him on Facebook and other social-media sites.
As for Thanksgiving, which typically would include a visit with the missing family members, Michael McStay plans to lay low.
"It's going to be a very somber Thanksgiving and Christmas for us because we're missing half our family," he said. "My mom had just me and my brother.
"Everybody else that's mad at their parents or siblings over foolishness should be picking up the phone and just be grateful for the opportunity to hang out with them," McStay added. "I used to hang out with my brother all the time and now I can't."
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The McStays have been missing almost 11 months now.

I think of them all the time.

According to the San Diego Sheriff’s Office, “Investigation Discovery’s “Disappeared” is featuring the case of the McStay family. Relatives of the McStays hope the show will uncover new leads on what happened to Joseph, Summer and their two young boys Gianni, 4 and Joey Jr., 3 since they vanished from their Fallbrook home in February.

The one hour program is called Mystery at the Border. It will air on Monday, January 3, 2011 at 7:00 p.m. It will re-air on the same day at 10:00 p.m. and on January 4, 2011 at 1:00 a.m. Investigation Discovery in San Diego can be found on the following channels: COX – 104, DIRECT TV – 285, Time Warner – 214 and DISH – 192.

Homicide Detective Troy Dugal will be appearing on morning shows on Monday to bring attention to the case and the cable program.

Det. Dugal will be on NBC7/39 at 5:40 and on CW6 at 8:25. He will be appearing with the mother and brother of Joseph McStay. “

To see a short clip of Mystery at the Border please click on the following link or watch below:
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Yeah!!!
Let's find those two little boys.

Mike McStay tries to remain focused each day, being a good husband, raising three young daughters, running his fire-protection business in San Clemente and preparing the family for the adoption this summer of two young orphans from Ghana.

But for the past year, he has been haunted wondering what happened to his beloved older brother, who vanished a year ago Friday along with his wife and their two young sons.

Missing family case

Anyone with information about the disappearance of Joseph and Summer McStay of Fallbrook and their children, Gianni and Joseph Jr., are asked to call authorities.

The home of Joseph and Summer McStay on Avocado View Lane in Fallbrook is in foreclosure and empty, its contents distributed among family members. Nearly $100,000 remains untouched in a checking account that Joseph McStay had, his brother said.

The family’s young dog, a puppy when they disappeared, is being cared for by a friend. Summer McStay’s mom has the family’s older dog at her Big Bear home.

There have been no phone calls, text messages or e-mails from the family. The last credible lead on a possible sighting, which proved unfounded, came in October, Mike McStay said.

He maintains a website — mcstayfamily.com — with information about Joseph McStay, now 41; Summer, 44; and their children, Gianni, 5, and Joseph Jr., 4. The brother posts messages to them, like one Monday on the fourth birthday of his youngest nephew. Their disappearance baffles him.

“Joe just doesn’t do this kind of stuff,” McStay said. “He’s the guy that puts money away for a rainy day. He’s always been very wise with money, always good with people. ... He’s just steady.”

McStay said the website gets about 4,000 hits a day. Although most people have been compassionate, some feedback has been negative. People have speculated that the parents must have had ties to the Mafia, or to a religious cult, suggestions McStay finds absurd.

“These are just normal, everyday Americans,” he said. “This is a loving family.”

Sheriff’s homicide Detective Troy DuGal is in charge of the case, working with the FBI and law enforcement in Mexico, where it is believed the family might have traveled to when they disappeared. He said he receives several tips a week and follows up on all of them.

“I am very hopeful this case will resolve,” DuGal said Thursday. “I am also very hopeful that it resolves soon. The longer this case remains open, the more concerned I become that the McStays may be victims of foul play.”

Four days after the McStays disappeared, their white 1996 Isuzu Trooper was found abandoned in a parking lot near the San Ysidro border crossing, child seats inside. The vehicle was paid for, as was the truck Joseph McStay used for his custom water-fountain business.

Records on the family’s computer show that the week before they vanished inquiries were made about passport requirements for traveling with children to Mexico. They also had a Spanish-language educational disc, DuGal said.

A grainy U.S. Border Patrol surveillance video shows two adults with two young children walking toward a turnstile into Tijuana at the San Ysidro pedestrian crossing on Feb. 8, the same day the Trooper was found. McStay said it’s so fuzzy it’s impossible to say if it was his brother. DuGal said it is “likely” that it is the McStays.

“The physical evidence indicates it is probable the family left the residence voluntarily and traveled into Mexico” for unknown reasons, DuGal said. “I am confident the McStays have not traveled out of Mexico unless they are using an assumed name.”

In May, a restaurant worker in the central Baja California town of El Rosario thought the family dined there and left a map. The map did not have their fingerprints. In October, a family matching the description of the McStays was seen at an Ensenada hotel. They turned out to be from Canada.

Grasping for answers, McStay said he has not ruled out that the family might be hiding in protective custody for some unknown reason, though law enforcement officials have rejected that theory.

McStay said he accepts that the odds of the family being alive decrease by the day. But like DuGal, he won’t give up.

Relatives also still place ads about the McStays with newspapers and radio stations in Baja California.

“I don’t expect to stop until I find out what happened to my family, period,” McStay said. “We’re just asking for help, for someone that knows something to just come forward.”

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I think of them often Charming, it scares me, too. It could happen to anyone if it could happen to them. Those poor kids and parents. Lord knows what they went through.

I watched the show, Mystery on the Border, what a happy, normal family. Family said that Summer hated Mexico, would not even go there on vacation.
Wrap, Re: your question from Aug. I think this had to be pre -planned. The fact that Summer ordered software to learn Spanish tells a lot. IMO, wonder if the couple staged the house with the popcorn and eggs out? They could have been afraid of something or someone, possibly kept cash at home, which is why they would have left without the $100.000 that was in the bank. Thinking about this, possibly they were planning this new life out of fear, getting ready to leave, their fear escalated for some reason and they took off. With the home computer showing info on passports for children, etc. also indicates planning in advance to leave, for whatever. These are just just different theories I have.

A new show on Lifetime called "Vanished" is hosted by Beth Holloway and will feature the McStay family in the first episode to be aired on Monday, May 9 2011.

This case is very mysterious, no doubt. I've been thinking about the family and doing a lot of research lately. I believe that the family fled voluntarily and that Summer McStay or Virgina Lisa Aranda or Lisa Martelli (or the woman known by any of her 6 aliases that appear in public documents) is the key to solving the mystery. I don't know what happened to the McStays and constantly wish for the best outcome, but I believe there is a lot more to this family that is being intentionally withheld (by her family, possibly by LE for good reason, and possibly by his family).. I also believe that the woman now known as Summer McStay is/was hiding her identity intentionally.
Reference (aliases): [You must be registered and logged in to see this link.]

Following is the circumstantial evidence that leads me to believe that the family left voluntarily and that the reasons behind Summer's identity changes should continue to be investigated in order to figure out why the McStay family disappeared.

Recent Name Change:
Summer McStay only legally took that name just days prior to the disappearance. There will not be much of paper trail there under the name "Summer McStay". I'm sure LE is searching under Martelli, her most-used name which LE verifies is made up and not connected to anyone in her life (despite early inaccurate claims by family and friends that is was her stepfather's name, her ex husband's name, a result of identity theft...).
Reference ("Martelli" made-up alias): [You must be registered and logged in to see this link.]

Children's Identities?:
Summer McStay did not take her husband's name. Her children were born at home and she planned to home school them. Her youngest son was referred to as "Joseph Martelli" in a fluff piece about a Christmas party held in her former beach neighborhood in San Clemente. She is quoted, but not pictured, briefly in the article as "Summer Martelli". Do the children have birth certificates? Were they named as "Martelli" in birth certificates? Did they have their names changed just prior to the disappearance as well? I have been unable to find any answers in my research.
Reference (OC Register reference to child "Joseph Martelli"):
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Reference: (home birth and home school):
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False Birthdate/Certificate:
We're looking for a woman who had a false birth certificate which showed her year of birth to be 12 years earlier than her actual birth year (1966). We're looking for a woman who chose what appears to be a random name, Martelli, because she wanted to appear Italian rather than Hispanic. Early missing person posters distributed by LE showed her age as 32; this was not initially corrected by her family. During the second week of the investigation, it was discovered that the woman known as Summer McStay is actually 43. The false birth certificate was confirmed on Jane Velez-Mitchell in Feb 2010 and the missing persons fliers were updated to reflect her true age. Joseph McStay's mom was interviewed and indicated that she had always been led to believe Summer was 11 years younger. She didn't understand the deception, as she wouldn't have cared as long as her son was happy.
truthbtold note: I wonder if Joseph McStay knew his own wife's real name and age?
Reference: Jane Velez-Mitchell, 2/25/2010 (birth certificate and aliases) [You must be registered and logged in to see this link.]
Reference (Summer lied about age to McStay family): [You must be registered and logged in to see this link.]


One Year Later: LE confirms no abduction from home or vehicle, not members of Witness Protection:
We're looking for a woman with a history of name changes and false birth documentation, who is also a notary public, and is now missing, along with her whole family. I wonder if brand new identity documents were obtained for all of the family members? As of Jan 2011, LE confirms they have ruled out abduction from the home, abduction from the vehicle, and Witness Protection Program. No leads have panned out; they are looking into family and business associates. No sign that anyone but the family had been in the vehicle left near the Mexico border (no unknown fingerprints, child car seats in place, position of front seats consistent with Joseph and Summer's sizes...).
Reference (ruled out by LE): [You must be registered and logged in to see this link.]
Reference (Summer Martelli Notary Public site): [You must be registered and logged in to see this link.]
Note: her notary public services are advertised on her husband's fountain business site

Other Circumstantial Evidence of Planned Departure to Mexico + Concern Factors:
We're looking for a woman whose home computer shows an about.com inquiry about passport/birth certificate requirements for children traveling to Mexico. This search could have been done by Summer or Joseph McStay, or both. Chances of anyone other than the parents performing the search are very minimal, imo. Just prior, Summer arranged a purchase of Spanish language learning software from CraigsList. I have found no statement from the family confirming that Summer did or did not speak Spanish herself, though they did express displeasure that her Colombian descent was featured in early press releases (later changed to "the whole family is white", or "Summer is third generation American"). On the last day of record before her disappearance (2/4/10), "homeopathic remedies" was searched on the home computer and Summer frantically called a supplier wanting to obtain the herb "ANGER" (wasn't available). It was her last phone call. We also learned from Joseph's mother, Susan Blake, that Joseph was complaining of dizziness and vertigo for a few weeks leading up to his disappearance. She and his health care providers assumed it was stress-related.
Reference ("Anger" herb search and phone call. Spanish language software purchase): [You must be registered and logged in to see this link.]
Reference (Joseph's recent health issues): [You must be registered and logged in to see this link.]

Video of Family Crossing Border:
LE believes that the woman and the two children in the border crossing video (same day as the vehicle was parked by the border) are Summer, Joey Jr and Gianni. The body sizes, mannerisms and distinct clothing (she in the Ugg boots she cherished and the boys in the knit surfer hats they wore much of the time) lead LE to believe that it is indeed the mother and children. However, there is lesser confidence that the man in the video is Joseph McStay. His family thinks it's possible that it's Summer and the boys, but they don't recognize the mannerisms of the man as Joseph's. There are inconsistent opinions between family members. The video is so grainy, who knows? I hope that if Summer and the boys crossed the video, that Joseph was with them or chose not to be with them. I hope he was physically well and had a choice...

Downplaying the Changing of Identity:
While her family continues to minimize the aliases as being "just Summer", it is highly unusual and suspicious, especially in the context of a non-abduction disappearance, imo. How many people have 6 known name variations in public documents, none of which are associated with marriage, adoption or divorce? How many people have a false birth certificate backing up a story that they are much younger than their true age? How many people apparently attempt to create an identity under a different ethnicity? These are huge red flags in a disappearance. After 15 months, I suspect LE is publicly minimizing these factors because focusing on Summer's identity deception and releasing too much information could endager the family, or hamper chances of apprehending the family. I don't think we'll learn anything new from the "Vanished" episode, but hoping it results in new leads/tips and that the family is found safe. JMO...

Very interesting, TBT! I learned a lot of info that I had not heard before. I remember reading about her numerous name changes and lie about her age (I don't think I had heard about an actual false birth certificate, though). I kinda skimmed over that before, but as you brought out, there has to be a REASON for that...It is just not a normal way to live your life. Was she running from somebody? Had she done something in her past that she had to cover up? Did somebody catch up with her and take her and the boys across the border? Did she plan to get rid of Joseph and meet someone else to go into Mexico with? So many questions! I hope we find the answers to this real mystery!

Joseph McStay had not been well

Blake has an added concern. She said her son hadn’t been feeling well for a few months before the family disappeared.

"My son had been sick since last August and he’s normally a very healthy person," said Blake. "He’s an excellent surfer and soccer player. I even went to the hospital with him to try and see what was wrong; we thought maybe it was stress."

Blake described Joseph’s symptoms as something similar to vertigo and said he complained of feeling "woozy."

"When I last talked to my son, on February 4, he said he still didn’t feel good," said Blake, adding that she has provided the Sheriff’s Dept with information she had on her son’s recent healthcare visits.

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On Feb. 4, the day of the disappearance, Summer made her last cell phone call at 2:11 p.m. to a homeopathic medicine company, and an employee remembered it well. It came minutes after an Internet search for the word "Anger" on the company website.
"Summer was adamant that she wanted to purchase a medication called Anger," DuGal said. "They said, 'Ma'am, it doesn't exist.'"

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This info makes me go Hmmmm...Could she have been drugging her husband? Or maybe she was trying to find something to make him feel better? Maybe they left and met up with somebody to get some type of homeopathic meds, but met foul play instead...or Joseph did. But the surveillance video doesn't show that she and the boys were being forced to walk across the border. The fact that relatives are not so sure that the man is Joseph but fairly certain that it is Summer and the boys makes me wonder about what she was up to...Where were they in the four days between leaving the house and crossing the border? Were they being held somewhere by force? Had Joseph already been disposed of and they were "getting their ducks in a row" to go into Mexico (she and another man)? Sorry, but with all those aliases and false birth certificate, you have to be suspicious of her. But I guess her family would know her background and if she had been into trouble for some reason in the past! SO Confusing!!

lisette,

The info is making me go "Hmmmmm" too and speculating about the same possibilities...

I wonder whether her family was in the dark about portions of her adult life, or if they have altered history a little for perception purposes? Here's why:

1. The first missing persons fliers were everywhere; they showed Summer McStay to be 32 years old. These fliers were printed and distributed by the sheriff's department 10 days after the family was reported missing. You'd think her family would have pointed out the error? His family did not know she'd lied about her age, but her family certainly knew how old she was. Makes we wonder if LE only found about the age discrepancy when they found the false birth certificate.

2. Also, 10 days into the investigation (on 2/25), Lt. Brugos reported that the last name Summer had been using up until days before the disappearance (Martelli) was her non-adoptive stepfather's name (yet her friend was quoted on 2/18 as stating that Martelli was her ex-husbands last name). Neither is true. LE and her family now confirm that it is a name she made up; not associated with anyone in her life. Her family would obviously know that the stepfather and ex-husband attributions were incorrect. Why did her family not correct the stepfather misinformation before it was published? I can see Summer fibbing to her friend about the ex-husband's last name to hide the true reason (and the friend passing on false information in good faith), but how did LE get the information about the non-existent stepfather? There was no mention of Lt. Brugo's source for the stepfather attribution in the interview. Did her family feed him that story or was it another fib she told a friend that got passed on to LE?

Imo, the family should want everything about the missing person's background to be accurate so the investigation could move forward as quickly as possible (and on the right path). LE was interviewing and working closely with both families when the missing persons fliers were being developed and when these early media interviews were conducted. The McStay family hadn't been heard from in 11 days before anyone called LE to investigate; so LE was racing to learn all that they could to make up for lost time. Odd that major glaring errors about Summer were either perpetuated or not corrected by her family, imo...

ETA: Not accusing the family of anything, just find the inconsistencies about Summer's life and the lack of proactive corrections odd...
----------------------------------------------------------Reference----------------------------------------------

The flier, describing the family as "endangered missing," is being distributed by sheriff's deputies and the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children.

Joseph McStay, 39, his wife Summer McStay, 32, and their sons, Gianni, 4, and Joseph Jr., 3, have not been seen since a family member asked deputies to do a welfare check at their Avocado Vista Lane...

Brugos confirmed that Summer McStay was previously known as Lisa Aranda and/or Lisa Martelli. He was uncertain when she changed her first name to "Summer," or if it was done legally. Brugos said her legal maiden name was Aranda, but at times she used her stepfather’s last name of Martelli, although she was never adopted by him.

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WOW!! I am extremely impressed by both you and Lisette with all this information. You two have really done your homework and both of you should be PI's IMO.

I think "Summer" is either extremely delusional and/or a psychopath.

And, yep...I think she was giving her husband some kind of herb that made him ill. She sounds like some people I knew in California that were all about changing their first name to something unusual, were into homeopathic herbs and lifestyle. This in itself is different but not crazy. Summer, IMO, is not mentally well. I worry for her children and for Joseph.

Where exactly did they cross the border into Mexico?

And, TBT, I tried many times to click on this link to no avail.
Reference (aliases): [You must be registered and logged in to see this link.]

In all reality, many American's choose to live in Mexico. In fact, a member of VH has a very good friend who lives there and Loves it..says everything is cheaper and life is good.

So, simply crossing the border into another country is not a huge deal. It's all the new identities, the fact that she is/was a notary & was able to make counterfeit documents. It's the fact that no one knows where Joseph is and he was not well when they went missing. It's the fact that she tried getting an herb called "Anger" which either doesn't exist or did exist at one time and was taken off the herb market, OR she is so delusional that she thought there was an herb by that name.

My goodness, what a life this girl has led. She really needs intense mental help in a facility and her kids (if they are still alive) need to be taken from her. And Joseph? Who knows what that man has been through.

Hi Wrap,

Here is the good link for the one that was broken...
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P.s. I'll edit my original post to correct the link...

Thank you, TBT!!

Do you know where Summer and the kids crossed the border? I have to admit, I knew of this case..but not all the particulars. Between you and Lisette, I have had a crash course and it was a doozy!!

You all are awesome! :cheering:

Wrap,

The McStays walked into Tijuana from the California border, which is near San Diego. They lived within an hour of the border, IIRC... I am from Southern California and have crossed the border on foot a number of times. You can still enter Mexico on foot without passports, but you now need documentation to cross back into California...

TBT, Thanks so much for clarifying!

I've been to TJ (as it's called) several times. Also, Juarez near El Paso. I wouldn't enter those two cities anymore if you handed me a million dollars.

OMG, for all we know..they are all dead. That city is just like Juarez now...drug cartels and violence.

p.s. I thought you had to have a passport to Enter into Mexico on foot. Thank you for that information!

Wrapitup wrote:TBT, Thanks so much for clarifying!

I've been to TJ (as it's called) several times. Also, Juarez near El Paso. I wouldn't enter those two cities anymore if you handed me a million dollars.

OMG, for all we know..they are all dead. That city is just like Juarez now...drug cartels and violence.

p.s. I thought you had to have a passport to Enter into Mexico on foot. Thank you for that information!

I too hope that they didn't meet with foul play if they did indeed cross the border. Lots of violent horror stories there. I haven't gone in years either...

I've been aware of this story but had no idea about all the info you provided today TBT!
It sure sounds like Summer might have drugged her husband, especially with his Mother taking him to the Dr who couldn't find anything wrong but he continued not to feel well. I had read about a couple of Summer's alias but not all of them and certainly not w/ the explanation you described today.
I hope Joseph and the kids are still alive, this now sounds so much worse than I thought it was.

raine1953 wrote:I've been aware of this story but had no idea about all the info you provided today TBT!
It sure sounds like Summer might have drugged her husband, especially with his Mother taking him to the Dr who couldn't find anything wrong but he continued not to feel well. I had read about a couple of Summer's alias but not all of them and certainly not w/ the explanation you described today.
I hope Joseph and the kids are still alive, this now sounds so much worse than I thought it was.

The circumstances surrounding Summer are very concerning when you put it all together in its totality. It is possible that Summer was simply very deceptive due to insecurity or some kind of identity crisis that has nothing to do with the disappearance. But, without more facts, the aliases and age change lead me to believe that the family fled in a hurry to avoid something or someone catching up to them (or one of the adults had a total "break" with reality). I don't know if Summer would harm her husband, or perhaps he was "angry" over the stress and she feared he would harm her. Hopefully, neither is the case and they simply planned and staged the scene and started up a new life somewhere; cold and inconsiderate to the folks who love them, but the best case scenario for the children, imo.

There are interesting points surrounding his business and family as well, imo. I don't have links for all of them, but I've listed what I've compiled below. The reasons for the family's departure could revolve more around one/some of these than Summer's identity. But, LE has been investigating the business and families for a year, with no named POIs or suspects.

-The couple has filed for bankruptcy only a couple of years back and were reportedly evicted from their beach bungalow, yet they qualified for a mortgage loan?
-Joseph's partner and webmaster has two convictions and jail time for burglary and theft related charges.
- Joseph had just secured a contract to make fountains for a national company and his family reports that the business, which he started from his garage a couple of years prior, was just taking off...
-Joseph's father, the original investor in his fountain business, EIP, says Joseph occasionally went to Mexico for supplies, and went fairly recently for granite kitchen tops for the house. His brother, Michael, now running the business, says Joseph had not been to Mexico in years. (Note: if he went before June of 2009, his passport would not have been necessary to cross the border - LE has his passport but has released no information.)
-Tim Miller was called in early on by Joseph's father Patrick (who lives in Houston) and Tim reported that the house did not look set up for family life at all, even considering a recent move and renovations. Clothes were strewn across the floors and they were still, after a couple of months, living out of boxes. The only thing that was hanging up in the closet were 2 new men's shirts and several women's fur coats. Summer reportedly had an obsession with Ugg boots and fur coats.There were only two pairs of shoes in the house. Weird...
-They drove a 13 year old car and had past financial problems, but left a 100k in the bank? Some speculate that was left for his teen-age son from a previous marriage.
-Summer (known as Lisa at the time) has an ex-husband who is reportedly no stranger to law enforcement and had recently been living in Southern California.
-There are reports that both Michael McStay (the family's most active spokesperson) and Patrick McStay had recently faced legal action for mortgage fraud. Both Joseph and Summer had real estate licenses and she was reportedly planning to do real estate work from home..

While the two families are united publicly, I sense some tension in interviews. It would be natural, I think, considering the age deception Joseph's mother found out about after the disappearance. It's not so much learning that your daughter-in-law had gone through great lengths to lie about her age, but realizing that there may be more deception you don't know about someone who has disappeared with your son and your grandchildren, imo. There is a recent Nancy Grace interview (Feb 2011) with Michael McStay. He doesn't seem overly confident in Summer, to me... I will post it in this thread.

Whatever happened, it's been 15 months since this couple left their home, their dogs, their business and their families. I hope this mystery is solved soon and the family members are all alive...Maybe we'll learn something new from the "Vanished" episode on Monday night...

February 1 2011 - Nancy Grace interview with Joseph's brother, Michael McStay
Bolded by me

GRACE (on-camera): We are taking your calls. Where are the McStays? I want to go back to Joseph McStay`s brother, Michael McStay, joining us tonight. Let`s see that video, again, Dana. I want to see the video of the family crossing the border. Michael, you said that you may be able to make out the mom or the children, but it was not your brother. Do you believe that was the mother? Summer?

MICHAEL MCSTAY, BROTHER OF MISSING DAD/HUSBAND, JOSEPH MCSTAY: It`s kind of hard to tell. After they did the video enhancement, they thought they could make out what appears to be UGG boots, and Summer did always wear UGG boots. So, you know --

GRACE: But other than the boots --

MCSTAY: It kind of goes that direction. Yes. I mean, you saw the video. It`s terrible.

GRACE: I`m looking at it right now. I can`t make a thing out. I mean, that is of no evidentiary value to me, but I thought maybe you -- let me ask you this.

MCSTAY: Sure.

GRACE: If it were her and the two children, had she had marital discord with your brother? Is there some reason she would have taken the children to Mexico?

MCSTAY: I sure hope not. There`s no evidence of that. I mean, you know, they were together for over five years. They got married about three years ago. They kind of got a little -- I guess they`re excited, but anyway, they loved each other.

GRACE: Excited. I`m sorry, I couldn`t hear you. Excited about what?

MCSTAY: Each other, you know? I was making a joke. How they kind of got the cart before the horse, you know, but --

GRACE: But they look so happy.

MCSTAY: They are happy. And that`s part of the mystery.

GRACE: So, let me get this straight. One more time. Michael McStay, you can`t even say 50/50 that was them in the silhouette?

MCSTAY: I would actually go lower than that. My first -- the first time I saw it, I said, I hope this isn`t the best you have. Possibly, the children look age and size appropriate. Maybe that`s Summer. Maybe, it`s --

GRACE: That could be anybody. That could be anybody, then.

MCSTAY: I know.

GRACE: OK. All right. Let`s go back to what we know. The car that was parked in that strip mall, did none of those stores have video surveillance of the car getting parked and who got out of the car?

MCSTAY: There were video cameras, actually, everywhere on that. There was a bank right there. There was -- I mean, I went down there. I went and talked to the security guard, but no, nothing was caught.

GRACE: Oh, man.

MCSTAY: And we tried to do, you know, we had Texas Equusearch out, and we tried to do -- we even had -- they had connections through the NASA. They tried to do satellite digital imaging, but that night was extremely cold. It was about 50 degrees, and there was such a heavy marine layer. There was no way to do any video imaging to see when the car arrived, when, who got out of the car.

GRACE: Got it.

MCSTAY: The detectives tell me that all the seats were appropriate to the size of, you know, the McStay Family, but still nothing.

GRACE: And what about the sighting, this alleged sighting in Baja at a restaurant?

MCSTAY: That`s Mama Espinosa`s. That was in actually Guerrero Negro. There`s a good friend of mine that was willing to go down to the Baja Peninsula three times already and pass out fliers, talk to people. And that waiter is still convinced to this day that he even said, you know, what happened, did she bump her head? Did she hit her head? You know --

GRACE: What are you talking about?

MCSTAY: Chubba is the nickname that we have for the littlest one, Baby G and Baby J, but J has a birthmark on his forehead. And the waiter said to my friend, said, what happened to her? Did she bump her head? To me that was the most credible that that resonated with me. But when they checked the map that supposedly they left, there was the fingerprints didn`t line up. So, was it a good lead? Maybe. But, you know, there was no --

GRACE: You really do not believe, Michael, you really do not believe your brother, what about your sister-in-law? Would she bump off your brother and take the children to Mexico? Is she capable of that?

MCSTAY: I sure hope not. I don`t believe so.

GRACE: No, no, no. Do you think she is or not?

MCSTAY: I hope not. No.

Snipped from:
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I keep looking for answers, and ending up with more questions!

Missing Person Database:
The NamUs National Missing and Unidentified database has listings for Summer McStay, Gianni Mateo Martelli McStay (age 5) and Joseph Mateo Martelli McStay (age 4). No listing for Joseph McStay (husband/father). NamUs is open for LE and public entry; not sure who entered the information, but guessing it would be based on the most recent public documents/identification information attached to the individuals?

The info for the boys was entered on 12/17/10. The info for Summer McStay was entered recently, on 4/18/11. There is no entry for Summer, Lisa or Virginia Martelli or Aranda.

Summer's age is listed as 33, no aliases are listed, and her nationality is listed as "Asian or Pacific Islander". We know /the actual age is now 44 and the alias Martelli is well established. Early press releases and interviews noted she was "Colombian" or of "Colombian descent". Wonder if this information is based on what she provided in her last name change documentation? More questions than answers, again...

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Happy Mother's Day to all the great moms at VH....

For those mothers whose children are missing, wishing you strength and peace on this day...

Fallbrook family, the McStays, disappear

Joseph and Summer McStay's home sat on a quiet cul-de-sac, beneath a mountain thick with avocado trees. The fenced backyard was perfect for Bear, Summer McStay's Akita, and there was plenty of room upstairs for their two toddlers.

Soon after they moved in, in late 2009, Summer McStay had launched a big renovation: paint, tile flooring and granite countertops. She also adopted a puppy.

Six weeks later, on a chilly Thursday evening in February, the family piled into their Isuzu Trooper and drove away. Then they vanished.

When Detective Troy Dugal walked into their living room 11 days later, he saw two bowls of popcorn sitting on futons in front of the TV. A half-empty popcorn bag was beneath the microwave. On the counter was a carton of eggs and a banana, which had gone bad.

"It looked like somebody left in a hurry," he recalled. "Not frantically, but in a hurry."

There were no signs of a struggle or forced entry. They couldn't have intended to be gone long.

It is exceedingly rare for a family of four to disappear in America.

Most missing-persons cases involve children. When adults go missing, they get less attention from police departments - absent signs of dementia or foul play. It's not illegal, after all, for adults to take themselves and their children away without telling anyone.

About 1 million people are reported missing every year in the United States, and 95 percent of those cases are resolved in the first 24 hours. The likelihood of being found shrinks with every day, every week, every month that passes.

The McStay mystery began with a call to the San Diego County Sheriff's Department on Feb. 10, 2010, six days after the family's last contact with friends and relatives.

It was from Dan Kavanaugh, who ran the website for Joseph McStay's business, Earth Inspired Products, which installs water fountains. He hadn't been able to reach him for several days. The McStays occasionally had gone away for a weekend without telling anyone, but it was unusual for him to be out of touch for this long.

Four days later, McStay's brother, Mike, also called the sheriff's office. By then, the family had been out of touch for 10 days. The next morning, sheriff's detectives met Mike McStay at the Fallbrook house. Dugal, 50, a homicide detective and the son of a career policeman, was the lead investigator.

They found paintbrushes and cans in the living room. Most of the furniture, the brother told him, was in storage, and the family appeared to be living out of suitcases.

Dugal didn't see any obvious sign of a struggle.

He went door to door in the neighborhood. No one had seen the McStays in more than a week. Neighbors said they'd grown worried about the dogs and started feeding them.

He interviewed friends and family, all of whom had the same story: "The bottom line," he concluded, "was that life was normal for the McStays up to Feb. 4, and on that day, they just vanished."

Dugal ran a check on the family's vehicles. Their green truck was parked in the driveway, but their Isuzu Trooper was missing. Investigators examined a surveillance recording from a neighbor's security camera. It showed an Isuzu Trooper driving away from the McStays' house at 7:47 p.m. on Feb. 4.

Within hours, Dugal found the Trooper. The SUV had been towed on Feb. 8, four days after the family disappeared, from the parking lot of a strip mall in San Ysidro, an hour's drive from the McStay home and a short walk from a pedestrian crossing into Mexico.

Dugal spoke with the two security guards who had been on duty that night. They had first noticed the vehicle in the lot shortly after dark and, because the hood was cold, concluded that it had arrived around 5 p.m. When it was still there at 11 p.m., they called a tow truck.

The SUV yielded few clues. It was found locked, and fingerprints found on it matched the McStays. Two child-restraint seats were in the back and some new toys, most still in their packaging, were in the rear storage area. Family members said one of the boys had a birthday a week before the disappearance.

Had the McStays parked and walked into Tijuana? Dugal thought it was a possibility.

He got surveillance footage from the border crossing. Volunteers from the National Center for Missing & Exploited Children helped him study hours of video, looking for the family among the 100,000 people who walked across the border that Monday. They all agreed that one particular clip, with a time stamp of 7 p.m., was worth closer examination.

It was a rear view of a man holding the hand of a young boy in a beanie cap. Walking behind them was a woman holding the hand of a smaller boy, also in a beanie cap. All four were walking toward the border gate.

The woman had a small handbag draped over her shoulder, and the man carried what appeared to be a small plastic grocery sack in his free hand.

Relatives looked at the video clip, but no one was certain that it was the family. The woman wore a white jacket with a fur lining similar to one Summer owned. Summer also often wore Uggs, just like the woman in the video. But Joseph's mother and brother thought the man seemed too tall and slim.

Over the next few weeks, Dugal had the computers in the house analyzed by the FBI forensic lab and came up with a piece of circumstantial evidence.

A week before the family disappeared, someone used the desktop computer to research travel to Mexico. One search specifically asked: "What documents do children need for traveling to Mexico?"

"The family didn't want to believe it. I didn't want to believe it," Dugal said. "But the truth is, it was evidence. A possibility had changed into a probability."

But even if the family did enter Mexico, where had they been the previous four days?

Dugal thought it likely that the family had spent those four days in Southern California. But what were they doing? Why didn't they answer their cell phones?

By this point in a missing-persons investigation, detectives would expect to have some solid evidence of what happened. But this "was one of those head-scratchers," Dugal said. "The totality of it didn't make sense."

Dugal thinks it's most likely that the family left their home voluntarily on Feb. 4 and intended to return. But he doesn't think the McStays would break off contact with family members for 15 months. He now suspects foul play.

Family members can only speculate. Did someone force the family to go to Mexico? Did someone hurt Joseph McStay and then abduct Summer and the kids? Were both parents attacked and the kids abducted?

Weeds grow knee-high in the front yard of the McStays' home on Avocado Vista Lane.

On the welcome mat by the front door recently was a letter: a foreclosure specialist offering his services. When the bank learned the couple were missing, it froze their accounts, pushing the house into foreclosure.

It's due to be auctioned off this month.

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A family member of the missing a family from Fallbrook is convinced that they are the victims of foul play.
Mike McStay said that he still has hope his brother Joseph, his sister in law Summer and nephews Gianni and Joseph Mateo are still alive, but he can't deny the strong evidence that they are not.
"My brother would not disappear like this," Mike said.
In February 2010, Joseph and his family suddenly vanished from their home in Fallbrook, leaving virtually no clues to what happened to them.
The family's Izusu trooper was found illegally parked at the border a short time after the McStays were reported missing.
Mike says the family has about $100,000 in their bank accounts and to this day, not one penny has been withdrawn.
"What does it take for a family of four to survive right now where ever they are at?" Mike said. "It takes money."
Mike says he still contacts the San Diego County Sheriff's homicide team every week to see if there are any new leads, but there are none. The only explanation may have been found on grainy surveillance video taken at the San Ysidro border crossing which shows a family of four resembling the McStays as they walk into Mexico.
But Mike is not convinced by it.
"Possibly the boys, possibly Summer, I never felt like it was my brother, but that thing just raised more questions than anything."
Mike admits the evidence is too strong that something horrible happened to the McStays and it has been difficult for him and other family members to accept that reality.
"Once they cross that border, if that's them, then all bets are off," Mike said.
Mike also says Joseph has a 15-year-old son from a previous marriage that he would never leave behind or stop contacting for that matter.
Mike is hoping someone will come forward with information about what happened so he and his family can have some type of closure.
"For me, the last 20 months have been an up and down roller-coaster emotionally."
Mike also says the case is open and active but detectives need something to point them toward the truth about the disappearance. He's asking anyone with information to call Crimestoppers. The cable show, "E Investigates" is now putting together an episode about the McStay family which is set to air in December.

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BJ, I was just going to post the above but you beat me to it.
What a horrible thing for the son of Joseph to go thru' as well as the family.

The internationally-aired program E! Investigates came to Fallbrook in mid-October to begin filming a segment it will produce on the McStay family of four that has now been missing from their home here for over 21 months. The family, last seen Feb. 4, 2010, includes Joseph McStay, 40, his wife Summer McStay, 43, and sons Gianni McStay, 4, and Joseph McStay Jr., 3.

Unless something dramatically changes between now and mid-December when the segment will air, the piece is destined to create intrigue over the family’s mysterious disappearance rather than provide new information that has been learned, as law enforcement doesn’t seem any closer to solving the case than they were at the very beginning.

The film crew has been working throughout the county interviewing individuals they feel could relate the disturbing story to their viewers. One of those they interviewed was Village News Editor Debbie Ramsey.

"I told [E! network associates] that I didn’t know anything that anyone else didn’t know at this time, but I agreed to be interviewed about the details of the case as I understood them," said Ramsey. "I am glad they are doing the segment because I am hoping in keeping the public aware of it, it could possibly ultimately turn up some new leads for law enforcement. This is a very troubling situation. Law enforcement has diligently followed up on all leads they have received and reached dead end after dead end."

The Village News has also shared all stories staff members have written relating to the case with the E! Network.

San Diego County Sheriff’s Department Homicide Detective Troy DuGal has been the lead on the case since the beginning.

"It is still a very open and active case; it always has been," said DuGal. "Nothing has ever changed on the status of the case, however. I continue to get what appear to be new leads and we exhaust every one of those possibilities."

DuGal said his team continues to work on it.

"We are current on all leads we have received to date; we have followed up on leads people have called in saying they’ve seen one or more of the family members all across America and south of the border," said DuGal.

The family, who was living in a house they had purchased in the Lake Rancho Viejo development in Fallbrook, just east of Interstate 15, was reported missing by Michael McStay, Joseph’s brother. The family’s car, a 1996 Isuzu Trooper, was found in an impound yard just north of the Mexican border four days after they were last seen. The vehicle had been towed from a strip mall parking lot.

Officials, when reviewing tapes of the United States/Mexico border crossing point at San Ysidro, thought an image of the family walking across the international boundary had been captured on tape, but relatives didn’t agree on whether it was indeed the McStay family.

Reports of possible sightings of the family in Mexico turned out to be unsubstantiated, DuGal said.

DuGal is determined to resolve the case and makes a point of keeping McStay family members in the loop.

"I try to keep the family members informed of the leads we have followed up on, even if they aren’t that credible, I want to keep them informed," said DuGal. "Most of the calls I receive are from Joseph’s brother, Michael, but I reach out to both sides [of the family.]" Michael McStay has created a website, [You must be registered and logged in to see this link.] to receive incoming tips from anyone who feels they might have a lead as well as to post updates for those interested in keeping abreast of the latest news on the case.

The E! Investigates segment on the family is also welcomed by DuGal.

"I am glad to see media attention still focusing on the case and keeping it in the spotlight," he said. "I always tend to get new leads after one airs or something new is published. Then I go to work trying to prove or disprove the tip. To this point, unfortunately, no tip has given us any real direction in the case. It’s baffling."

The segment being produced by E! Investigates is tentatively set to air on Dec. 15 and will be available to viewers nationally and internationally. To verify air date and be aware of any programming changes, go to E! Online and look under "shows" an E! Investigates option.

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I simply don't know what to think of this case.

This is one case that has really held my interest. I hope someday there is an answer what happened to the McStay's.

I hope they are alive and well and in Mexico. But, something here just isn't 'right".

Thanks for keeping up on this very disturbing and confusing case, BJ!!

Search Continues for Missing Fallbrook Family
A family member of the McStays is still searching for evidence to find them

It's been two years since a Fallbrook family of four went missing and one of their relatives is still looking for clues in their disappearance.
In February 2010, Joseph McStay, his wife Summer and two sons suddenly vanished from their home in Fallbrook, leaving virtually no clues as to what happened to them.
In an exclusive interview with NBC 7, Joseph’s brother, Mike McStay, said he has been desperately searching from day one and that it has become an obsession.
Sitting at the computer for hours on end, Mike McStay checks the website he created for his brother Joseph and his family which features pictures of Joseph's wife and two small sons Gianni and Joseph Junior.
People from nearly everywhere have been sending Mike McStay information on possible sightings.
"You think you're on a trail and the door just gets shut in your face," McStay said.
The frustration over the case also weighs heavily on homicide detectives.
Detective Sergeant Dave Martinez says all investigators found at the McStays home in Fallbrook were eggs on the counter and the family dogs, who were left unfed.
"There was no evidence of a struggle and there was no evidence of a forced entry," Martinez said.
Investigators did get one clue from Joseph's cellphone. At about 8:30, an hour after the family left the home, a call went through a cell tower in the Bonsall area. According the show E investigates, the call appears to have been made near the old Bonsall Bridge.
"I've always wanted to search that area," said McStay, "now there were a lot of rains that year, wash outs and stuff, and I'm not sure what we'll find, but to me personally that's something that is plausible." I don't remember hearing this detail before. I do remember that he made a call but didn't know where from. I believe that if authorities had not searched that area before now, I certainly would have!
However, investigators say it appears the McStays went willingly to Mexico.
In a grainy video taken at the border, a family who resembles the McStays can be seen walking across the border.
"It's compelling. It tells you that it could be them," McStay said. But he has his doubts.
Mctsay says the man in the video appears to be carrying an infant on his chest possibly in a baby byorn. Furthermore, he said his brother has a teenage son from a previous marriage and would never willingly cut off their relationship.
"They're not cruel people they wouldn't put their families through this," McStay said. "I know them. I don't think they would behave that way."

Posted Feb 4, 2012

Source: Search Continues for Missing Fallbrook Family | NBC San Diego

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At about 8:30, an hour after the family left the home, a call went through a cell tower in the Bonsall area. According the show E investigates, the call appears to have been made near the old Bonsall Bridge.
"I've always wanted to search that area," said McStay, "now there were a lot of rains that year, wash outs and stuff, and I'm not sure what we'll find, but to me personally that's something that is plausible."

Lisette said:
I don't remember hearing this detail before. I do remember that he made a call but didn't know where from. I believe that if authorities had not searched that area before now, I certainly would have!

I could NOT agree more!! Two years where McStay's cell phone pinged and no one has EVER searched the area? WHY? I am like you, Lisette! Damn the weather, I would have been out there searching immediately.

And, the $100 Grand is untouched. Nothing adds up in this case! Maybe that wasn't them crossing the border as it shows an infant around Joseph's neck and he apparently has another child from a previous marriage in the US that he's had NO contact with. I do not think this family is alive, and I am doubting the entire "Mexico" thinking. MOO.

FALLBROOK, Calif. - The author of an explosive new book about the disappearance of a Fallbrook family three years ago said he believes Summer McStay killed her husband and took off with the couple's boys.

"I personally believe that Summer probably killed Joseph and we should be looking for Summer and the two kids, rather than a family of four that decided to just flee on their own," said author Rick Baker.

Baker said he has spent the past three years investigating the case and reading personal and business emails written by Summer McStay.

"From the emails that she sent in the last year to family and friends and even business associates out of state from Arizona to North Carolina, we see a very different woman… I think, a very conflicted woman," explained Baker. "I use the word 'evil' because some of the thoughts that she put down on paper and emails and electronically sent to people show a very conflicted person... someone who was very unhappy, not just with her own personal life but with Joseph as well and with Joseph's extended family, and just not a very nice person."

Joseph and Summer McStay and their children Joseph and Gianni disappeared from their Fallbrook home on Feb. 4, 2010. There were no signs of a struggle, and no signs that the couple had financial problems. Their two dogs were left unattended and it was not until after neighbors complained about barking that family members and investigators realized the family had vanished.

The couple's SUV was found days later near the border crossing in San Ysidro and when investigators checked surveillance video, they saw dark images of what appeared to be the family walking into Mexico.

Several leads in Mexico proved to be false.

"I don't think they ever crossed the border. I don't believe law enforcement thinks that they crossed the border," said Baker, who called the video "staged."

He added, "The car was put there for a specific purpose and I don't believe they ever went to Mexico."

Baker admitted that his book, entitled "No Goodbyes," does not have all the answers about the bizarre disappearance but does offer enough evidence to show there was something "sinister" about what happened to the McStays.

"The reason why I wrote this book was to put the facts out there… that this wasn't just some happy family like Mayberry RFD and they chose to go to Mexico one day. That's not what happened," Baker said.

Joseph McStay's brother told 10News over the phone that his family does not share the thoughts and opinions of Baker.

"If he has proof, then let him produce it," said Mike McStay, who spent months searching for his brother.

Mike McStay said he believes Baker is twisting the truth so he can sell books.

Baker told 10News the money raised from book sales will go to Texas Equusearch, an organization dedicated to finding missing persons.

"No Goodbyes: The Mysterious Disappearance of the McStay Family" will be available on Feb. 4, which is the third anniversary of the family's disappearance.
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Thank you, Raine!

SAN DIEGO (AP) — Investigators said Tuesday they believe a couple abruptly and voluntarily left for Mexico with their two young boys, a statement that closes a chapter on an exhaustive search that began more than three years ago.

The search for Joseph and Summer McStay and their sons started in February 2010 when authorities found rotten eggs on the kitchen counter of the family's suburban home and two dogs in the backyard.
Neither Joseph, then 40, nor Summer, 43, told family or friends they were leaving, and the San Diego County Sheriff's Department responded with what it calls their most extensive missing persons search ever.
Department investigators now say they are convinced that four people seen on a dimly lit surveillance video walking into Tijuana, Mexico — four days after the unexplained disappearance — are the McStays.
The U.S. Customs and Border Protection video doesn't show anyone seeking help and there were no signs of forced entry at the McStay home in Fallbrook, about 70 miles north of the border. That has led investigators to believe they went to Mexico voluntarily, sheriff's Lt. Glenn Giannantonio said.
"The reasons behind it? Your guess is as good as mine," Giannantonio said. "It's very odd. We really have no idea what happened to them."
Some family members doubt that the video shows the couple and their 3- and 4-year-old boys. But the Sheriff's Department has turned the case over to the FBI because of that agency's extensive experience working outside the United States.
The department phoned relatives Tuesday shortly before issuing a statement that said the family likely went to Mexico "of their own free will."

A statement posted on a website set up by Joseph's brother, Michael, said the family was satisfied with the investigation.
"We simply want to know what happened to our missing loved ones," the statement read. "We are grateful that there has been so much love and support the past 3 years."
The family hasn't been seen or heard from since Feb. 4, 2010. A neighbor's surveillance tape shows the bottom of what looked like the McStays' Isuzu Trooper.
Less than an hour after the footage was taken, Joseph made his last known phone call to an employee to follow up on a business meeting earlier that day.
Four days later, their SUV was towed from a parking lot steps from the border that has a two-hour limit and is closely watched by guards. Investigators found a Pottery Barn Kids refrigerator and sink for a playhouse, with children's videos like "Franklin Goes to School" inside.
Ten days after the family was last seen, Michael McStay went to the home but only found the family's dogs. He called authorities the next day.
A detective who entered the home found the rotten eggs, as well as two cereal bowls full of popcorn on the living room futon.
There were no signs of a struggle and no arrangements had been made to care for the dogs. All of that suggested that the McStays left in a hurry.
Giannantonio said tens of thousands of dollars left in business bank accounts have not been claimed. Joseph ran a business from home designing and installing water fountains.
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WOW!!!!

FALLBROOK, Calif. — The FBI is taking over the search for a Southern California family that has been missing for 3 years, officials say.

Joseph McStay, his wife Summer, and their 2 young sons Gianni and Joseph were last heard from on February 4, 2010.

In a statement Tuesday, the San Diego County Sheriff’s Department said it pursued hundreds of leads to find Joseph and Summer McStay and their sons.

The investigation is being turned over to the FBI due to the agency’s experience working outside the United States.

Its believed the family likely went to Mexico voluntarily, but relatives aren’t convinced.

Investigators say that on Jan. 28, days before they disappeared, someone used the McStay’s computer to find information about travel to Mexico and passports for children.

The McStay’s white 1996 Izuzu Trooper was found abandoned February 8th in San Ysidro.

Detectives also uncovered video from a border crossing showing a group of people similar to the McStay family going into Mexico through the pedestrian gate.

The video is dated around 7 p.m. Feb. 8, the same day the Trooper was found.

Detectives showed the video to the McStay’s relatives.

Some recognized the white jacket that the woman is wearing in the video, but other family members aren’t sure it’s them because of the poor quality of the video.

Since their disappearance, investigators said, the McStays haven’t used their credit cards, cell phones or the $100,000 in their checking account.

Family members maintain the McStays would never have left on vacation or for any other reason without telling someone.

“Evidence at the family home suggested that the family had not left on a planned vacation and that the totality of the circumstances surrounding their disappearance was quite out of character for this family,” sheriff’s Lt. Dennis Brugos said.

The family dogs had been left without food or water.

Food was found on the kitchen counter and two cereal bowls full of popcorn were in the living room.

“Certainly it’s not against the law to be missing voluntarily but we are checking some things preliminarily such as their banking, cell phone use, to try to make a determination on what happened,” said Lt. Dennis Brugos.

McStay worked from home and ran an online business selling indoor fountain waterfalls called Earth Inspired Products since 1996.

Anyone with information on the case is asked to call Crime Stoppers at (888) 580-8477.
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Sources say investigators are looking into the possibility that the remains of four people found in San Bernardino County are those of the McStay family -- a family from Fallbrook missing since 2010.

10News learned a San Bernardino County sheriff's detective met with a relative of the missing family Thursday afternoon, but the details of that meeting were not disclosed.

San Bernardino County sheriff's investigators are continuing their probe and have not confirmed any identities, 10News learned.

On Monday, the San Bernardino County Sheriff's Department said a motorcyclist reported finding bones in the Mojave Desert near Victorville, 60 miles northeast of Los Angeles. Investigators confirmed that the remains were human.

Sheriff's investigators also confirmed at least two shallow graves with skeletal remains in it were found, as well as skeletal remains near the graves. No evidence was found at a third gravesite, sheriff's investigators said.

Sheriff's investigators said the remains of four people were recovered and will be analyzed by medical examiners to determine the causes of death, ages and gender.

The San Bernardino Sheriff's Department said it appeared the remains have been in the area for a long time.

Authorities said Joseph McStay, his wife Summer and their two young sons Joseph and Gianni, disappeared from their Fallbrook home on Feb. 4, 2010. There were no signs of a struggle and no signs that the couple had financial problems. Their two dogs were left unattended, and it was not until after neighbors complained about barking that family members and investigators realized the McStays had vanished.

The family's SUV was found days later near the border crossing in San Ysidro, and when investigators checked surveillance video, they saw dark images of what appeared to be the family walking into Mexico.

However, several leads in Mexico later proved to be unfounded.

The effort to find the McStays went national, including a profile on the show "America's Most Wanted" several months after they were reported missing.

Multiple theories have been raised regarding the family's disappearance, including one author's belief that Summer McStay killed her husband and fled with their children.

Earlier this year, the San Diego County Sheriff's Department said their investigation was handed over to the FBI.

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Authorities have scheduled a new conference to discuss the case at 11 a.m. Friday in San Bernardino.

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A source close to the family told 10News that the remains of Joseph and Summer McStay were found in San Bernardino County earlier this week.

However, the source did not disclose any information regarding the couple's two young sons, Joseph and Gianni.

The McStay family, from Fallbrook, has been missing since 2010.

Early Thursday evening, sources said investigators were looking into the possibility that the remains of four people found in the Mojave Desert near Victorville are those of the McStay family.

10News learned a San Bernardino County sheriff's detective met with a relative of the missing family Thursday afternoon, but the details of that meeting were not disclosed.

San Bernardino County sheriff's investigators are continuing their probe and have not confirmed any identities. Authorities will hold a press conference about the investigation at 11 a.m.

On Monday, the San Bernardino County Sheriff's Department said a motorcyclist reported finding bones in the Mojave Desert near Victorville, 60 miles northeast of Los Angeles. Investigators confirmed that the remains were human.

Sheriff's investigators also confirmed at least two shallow graves with skeletal remains in it were found, as well as skeletal remains near the graves. No evidence was found at a third gravesite, sheriff's investigators said.

Sheriff's investigators said the remains of four people were recovered and will be analyzed by medical examiners to determine the causes of death, ages and gender.

The San Bernardino Sheriff's Department said it appeared the remains have been in the area for a long time.

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Nearly four years ago, the McStays left their snug home in suburban San Diego County on a chilly February evening. Piling into their Isuzu Trooper, parents Joseph and Summer and young sons Gianni and Joseph Jr. left behind two dogs, two bowls of popcorn and, soon, a mystery.

Their car turned up four days later in the parking lot of a mini-mall near the Mexican border, with a few birthday toys for one of the boys tossed in back. But there was no sign of the McStays.

Some 1,374 days later and about 100 miles to the north, San Bernardino County sheriff's deputies uncovered the skeletal remains of the parents and two small bodies believed to be their boys, authorities said Friday. An off-road motorcyclist had noticed a few scattered bones four days earlier, near what turned out to be a pair of shallow graves on the edge of the desert outside Victorville.
After years of false leads and purported sightings from around the nation and into Mexico, San Bernardino County Sheriff John McMahon put part of the mystery to rest when he announced that the four McStays were homicide victims. But the sheriff said it would take more investigation before detectives would have any hope of saying how or why the family died.

"It's not really the outcome we were looking for," Joseph McStay's brother, Michael, said, pausing at the podium of a San Bernardino news conference as he began to cry. "But it gives us courage to know they're together and they're in a better place."
The brother described the "tough road" his family has endured and asked the media to give them space for grieving. A half dozen relatives sat nearby, holding back tears, several wearing dark glasses.

From the time the family disappeared in February 2010, detectives in San Diego County said they were baffled by the case. The 40-year-old husband and his wife, 43, appeared to have no enemies. Joseph McStay appeared to have plenty of work at his business, Earth Inspired Products, which installed water fountains.

The lead investigator in the case, Troy DuGal, said he found no signs of forced entry or a struggle at the McStays' home on a cul-de-sac in Fallbrook. A surveillance camera from a nearby home indicated the parents and their two boys, 3 and 4 years old, had left on Thursday, Feb. 4, 2010, at 7:47 p.m.

No one reported a trace of them until the following Monday, when security guards at the small shopping center in San Ysidro found the SUV. They had the car towed, seemingly just another one belonging to the visitors who illegally parked in the lot before taking the pedestrian overcrossing into Mexico.

The Isuzu yielded no significant clues. Investigators wondered if the McStays had simply walked over the border. That theory gained some traction when video from a surveillance camera at the border revealed pictures of a man and woman, each holding the hand of a small boy.

Family members looked at the video. The woman wore clothing that looked like it could be Summer's — a white, fur-lined jacket and Ugg boots. But the man seemed too tall and slender to be Joseph.

An FBI forensic lab had picked through the family computers and found other possible hints of an impending trip to Mexico.

Someone had searched: "What documents do children need for traveling to Mexico?" Another search indicated a possible interest in Spanish lessons.

But others close to the family said the McStays had talked about how the drug wars in Mexico made travel there too dangerous. They were sure the parents never would have gone voluntarily, especially with their boys.

"My son didn't walk away," Joseph's father, Patrick McStay, said Thursday. "They didn't walk into Mexico. They would never do that."
The disappearance of an entire family is a rare event. Of the 1 million people reported missing each year, 95% turn up within 24 hours. But the chances of being found decline with each passing day.

The case attracted big media attention. Each time another TV program aired pictures of the McStays, tips would flow in. Someone thought they spotted Summer at an Ikea in Burbank. Another report put the family at a restaurant in Mexico.

The leads came to nothing, but DuGal soon had four binders filled with evidence, each 4 inches thick. Still, family and friends could not come up with an explanation, or a motive that made any sense.

Jesi Silveria, a friend of Summer McStay's, recalled their conversations in the days leading up to the disappearance. The family had moved into the Fallbrook home just a few months earlier. The friends talked about remodeling and a new garden.

"There was a lot of happiness for them," Silveria said Friday. "There was this larger space for their children and their animals to grow into.... We are all heartbroken over what has happened."

It was about 10 a.m. Monday when sheriff's deputies got the report from the off-road biker. He didn't know if the bones he found were animal or human, but he felt compelled to report them.

Investigating a tumbleweed-strewn patch of desert near Quarry Road, within sight of Interstate 15, the deputies found two graves, about 2 feet deep and 20 feet apart. It appeared the remains had been there for "an extended period of time" and that animals had scattered some of the bones while leaving most of the skeletons intact.

Dental records helped identify the bodies of Joseph and Summer. The Department of Justice will conduct DNA analysis to confirm that the other bodies are Gianni and Joseph Jr.

Investigators also found clothing with the remains, though they declined to describe it or to say much else. McMahon would say only that there was "evidence at the scene that will help complete the investigation."

Patrick McStay has long complained that San Diego investigators should have done more, saying he was "livid" at the "inept" investigation. But he also acknowledged that his fury had bolstered his spirit: "By being mad, by going after, by trying to find out what happened to my family -- trying to get people to listen -- that's what keeps me going."

Friends began sending him links to stories about the discovery on Thursday. He had a hunch early on. "I got a cold chill," McStay said, "and I knew it was them."

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deleted

Michael Mikey McStay:
This is a Support Page...
I will NOT be talking about the specifics of the case until the court has sentenced the individuals to their fate. This is now an ongoing Homicide Investigation where details are precious. SBSD has asked to keep it quiet so we can catch these monsters.
If You want details, go speculate on WebSlueths, Nancy Grace, or another page or forum.
This is never again to be the place for that...

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11/16/2013

The father of murder victim Joseph McStay is criticizing the San Diego County Sheriff’s Department for its investigation into the McStay family disappearance.

The bodies of two adults were found Thursday in the desert outside Victorville, California and dental records confirmed they were the elder McStays. The bodies of two children were also found, presumed to be the McStay children. Investigators said they were all the victims of homicide.

The family had disappeared February 10, 2010.

Patrick McStay spoke to Fox 5 by phone Friday from his home in Texas. He said he always suspected foul play and never believed Joseph, his wife Summer, and their sons, Gianni and Joseph, were in Mexico.

McStay said he believes the San Diego County Sheriff’s Department failed to search for the truth.

“It just seemed that everything they were doing was done in a narrative just to solely fit crossing the border into Mexico,” said McStay. “And anything else that was found or discovered they didn’t want to hear it.”

Patrick McStay said he launched his own personal investigation after his family’s disappearance. He said he found inconsistencies with the Sheriff’s Department’s findings. Some of the inconsistency revolved around the family bank accounts.

“They’re out there saying there’s been no activity on their accounts, that everything stopped the day they left. I knew that was blatant lies,” said McStay. “$2000 was taken out on the 6th of February. $2000 was taken out on the 15th of February. Then another $3000 was taken out on the 18th.”

McStay said there were also inconsistencies with the time frame in which investigators found the family vehicle near the Mexico border. He said he was given conflicting stories.

He believes other evidence was ignored that could lead to the killer or killers, though he declined to say who or whom he might suspect.

“You start looking at the condition of the house, how it was found, and you start finding criminal backgrounds records of people,” said McStay.

Sheriff’s officials disagree and said they exhausted every resource on the case.

“We never stopped investigating this case,” said Jan Caldwell, San Diego County Sheriff’s Department spokesperson. “Never.”

McStay said the new developments in the case leave only more questions.

“Its kind of like one search ends and another one begins,” McStay said. “The only way you keep your sanity is to keep going, because you know you owe it to your children to not quit, to not give up.”

Moving forward, McStay hopes investigators will take a serious look at the case and work until justice is served.

“I just want them found and prosecuted. I want to see that my son and grandchildren get a proper burial,” he said. “I want them to be able to rest.”

McStay said he would always remember his son for being an amazing father to his two grandchildren.

“I wish I could have been half the father he was,” said McStay. “He was just really great.”

McStay said he’d remember his daughter-in-law for the love and dedication she had to the family.

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