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

There's still no sign of a family from Fallbrook that has been missing for almost two weeks.

Joseph and Summer McStay were last seen with their two kids earlier this month. Investigators found their car at the border. So far, there haven't been any solid leads.

In the meantime, Summer's family searched the McStays' home over the weekend trying to turn up clues.

A video of the McStays, along with dozens of photos have been posted on a new web site, with the hope that someone will see it and come forward with information to help locate the missing Fallbrook family.

I can't imagine where they are... I have no ideas. Where they would go?" Summer's mother Blanche Aranda said.

Aranda says it doesn't make sense that her daughter, sonin-law and two grandsons vanished without a trace.

"They were just a loving family. She was a wonderful mother to her children," Aranda said.

Joseph and Summer McStay, along with their two boys - four-year-old Gianni and three-year-old Joey - were last seen February 4. Four days later their car was found abandoned in San Ysidro.

"I don't understand why it was there. I know she didn't like Mexico," Aranda said.

Summer's family had a chance to go through the family's Fallbrook home over the weekend and says there were no obvious signs of a struggle, but there were signs that Summer had no plans to be gone long. The kitchen had obviously just been filled with groceries, the dogs were left outside with no food and Summer's prescription sunglasses were sitting on a counter.

"She would have taken them because she can't see without her glasses," Aranda said.

Family and friends say they can't think of any reason someone would want to hurt the McStays.

Sheriffs investigators say they still have no solid leads to go on.

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Back in December, the McStays were like any other family of four settling into a new home -- picking out paint swatches and comparing tile colors, according to friends. Now their Southern California community is keeping vigil as officials investigate the family's disappearance.

Homicide investigators with the San Diego County Sheriff's Department are searching for clues about the missing: Joseph McStay, 40, his wife, Summer, 43, and their two children, Gianni, 4, and Joseph, 3.

The Sheriff's Department said in a statement that the McStays have not been seen or heard from by family members or business contacts in their Fallbrook, Calif., community since Feb. 4. Four days later, their car was towed as an abandoned vehicle from a parking lot in San Ysidro, two blocks from the Mexican border, according to published reports.

"This is stuff you hear about on TV," Joseph's brother, Michael McStay, told the North County Times newspaper. "We are normal people. This is crazy."

The McStays, who recently moved to Fallbrook from their longtime home of San Clemente, were first reported missing by Michael McStay on Feb. 15. Michael McStay told the Times that three days earlier, one of his brother's co-workers said it had been days since he heard from Joseph, who owns a fountain and garden business called Earth Inspired Products. When Michael McStay found his brother's home empty on Feb. 13 and again on the 15th, he contacted authorities.

"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 told KTLA-TV.

Perhaps most notably, the family's two dogs, Bear and Baby Bear, a puppy, were left uncared for in their backyard.

"The dogs were left outside without food or water. They never would have left the dogs outside without telling their friends," Diane Cirignani, a family friend, told the Orange County Register. She said that Summer McStay called Bear her "first child."

The family's sudden disappearance has prompted much speculation, including reports that Joseph may have had business ties to Mexico, or that the couple, who married in 2007, were experiencing marital problems. Cirignani denies those charges, saying she does not believe the McStays skipped town voluntarily.

San Diego County Sheriff's Dept.
Joseph McStay owns a fountain and garden business called Earth Inspired Products. Summer McStay is a licensed real estate agent. The couple and their two children vanished on Feb. 4.

"We just want everyone to know how good a family this is," she told AOL News. "There were no domestic issues or anything else."

In the three weeks since the family was last heard from, their vanishing remains a mystery.

A search of the McStays' home and cars on Friday revealed no evidence of struggle or clear foul play. No ransom or other notes were discovered, according to the North County Times, which said the sheriff's department planned to search the family's bank and cell phone records, as well as work with federal officials to review video surveillance of border crossings. Authorities also planned to check Mexican hospitals, jails and even morgues.

Michael McStay, who has acted as a family spokesperson, said he would be establishing a Web site and reward fund for his missing family members.

The McStays were not a family who planned to abandon their southern California roots, according to Cirignani's interview with the Orange County Register. She said the McStays, who grew up in Orange County and had worked in San Clemente for several years, had plans. Summer, a licensed real estate agent, was preparing to get back into the business. Joseph was excited about a large order of commercial fountains. They had a housewarming party in the works.

"I just don't understand what happened," a McStay family friend told KTLA at a local prayer vigil. "I just want them to be back home."

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A Web site featuring photos and videos has been created to give people a place to find information about a missing family who recently moved from San Clemente.

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Joseph McStay has owned Earth Inspired Products, a water fountain and accessories business in San Clemente, since 1996, according to the company's Web site.
To view photos, home videos and information about the McStays. The site is still under construction by relatives, but the photos, links to news stories about the missing family and a guestbook are already available. The photos include shots of the children opening Christmas presents dressed in holiday-theme pajamas and the family at the beach.

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It is only with great difficulty that I've been able to watch the home videos of the McStay family. The family of four has been missing since Feb. 4th. Whereas before it was just another missing persons' case, now after watching the video it is becoming something quite personal. The video was shot on September 15, 2009 and shows the McStay family driving down the road to visit their prospective new home.

As they meander down the winding two lane road, San Diego County's I-15, Joseph jokes a bit and enjoys the beautiful mountain terrain. Joseph seems inspired by the neighborhood and his creativity spills out. He jokes: "Growers, fruits, flowers, tangerines, strawberries." Summer voices some concern about things when she sees a truck stop fairly close to the house. Summer does not seem quite as sold on this location, as quite as convinced that this is such a nice neighborhood.

The family makes a left turn and drives into the serene cul-de-sac in Bonsall, California. The homes are brand new and the Mountain View from the street is quite gorgeous. You vicariously sense the McStays' have found their dream house as the white Isuzu Trooper pulls into the driveway. This is a two story, five bedroom, three bath house that is priced at $300,000. A dream house if I ever saw one!


The McStays` 1996 white Isuzu Trooper, parked in front of 3473 Avocado Vista Lane. This Isuzu was left abandoned down on the Mexican border at San Ysidro.
The second half of the video, Avocado Road Prop, is a tour of the interior of the house. Joseph shows his knowledge of interior decorating when he says he will tear out one wall and will put hard wood floors in the kitchen and living room. Also, he says he will put granite countertops in the kitchen and replace the cabinets too. He is impressed with the house though, and he marvels at how large the master bedroom is.

There are several other videos that you can watch. One is of Summer playing with the two dogs, Bear and Digger. This one has a date of 2010, Jan. 23, and is only a month old. These are such ordinary family videos, nothing seems wrong or out of place. Another one is of San Clemente, Ca., on New Year's Eve of 2007. It just shows Summer riding her bike with a baby and the family walking a path down on the beach.

I watched these videos to see if there was anything unusual or that didn't fit in. The only thing that was a little odd is that Summer seemed a bit reluctant to move to San Diego. Not that you would necessarily need to red flag this, but I still wonder why they really felt a need to move out of San Clemente. Did they experience some kind of threat? Your imagination can play games with you when you think on this.

At one point in Avo 1 Summer says: "I can't do this." Joseph responds: "This is beautiful." Not that you should read too much into this, but indeed, it's a little odd. It doesn't quite fit. I'm including a photo here that I took of the 1996 white Isuzu Trooper, when parked in front of 3473 Avocado Vista Lane. This is the vehicle that was left abandoned down on the Mexican border in San Ysidro. The car was towed on Feb. 8th after no one returned to drive it off a lot.

Please watch the McStay home videos and judge for yourself. To me they are wholly innocent and free of any portending signs, but I could have overlooked something. I'm sure detectives are playing these videos themselves, trying to find the missing piece of this puzzle. The videos were so ordinary, that it immediately raises suspicions. But I don't know why exactly?

With each viewing of these videos I now feel as if I know the family well and am even more curious about their whereabouts? The details of the story are ever closer in my grip? Not that I can see into a crystal ball, but vague scenarios play past my eyes. Know that whoever is behind their disappearance must have a motive that is so insane; we'll never be able to understand? Irrationality, that is all!





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The sheriffs have put out a bulletin with information on the family:
Joseph Bryan McStay
WMA, 40 years old
DOB: 11/20/69
5’09”, 175 lbs.
Brown Hair/Brown Eyes

Summer McStay
aka Lisa Aranda-Martelli
Columbian Female, 43 years old
The video starts with what is probably the McStay family driving their white Isuzu along a long two lane road that winds along and crosses San Diego County's I-15 towards the Pala Casino.

"Our house is over there at the base of this mountain…or our potential house." says a voice that is probably Joseph McStay's. In the background you can hear children chattering away, as their parents talk, asking questions or pointing things out along the way. The family drives through a busy intersection and then eventually turn down a street lined with houses.
You hear a female voice say, "I can't do this."
"This is beautiful," the male voice responds.

The video continues with the car, pulling up to a drive way and you can see the address of 3473 on the house. The next shot is across the street of the house and you see a white Isuzu sitting in the drive way, while the male voice continues to describe the neighborhood. Suddenly you recognize the house as the same one that is shown on the news as the McStays' residence. The camera then takes us inside the house and we see Joseph, with his raspberry birthmark, yelling "papa" as he runs towards the camera.

This video labeled "avo1" was posted on YouTube on September 15, 2009, along with 10 others. The videos were posted by jbmcstay. The profile reads that the page belongs to Joseph McStay, 40, and that he joined August 12, 2009. In the "About Me" section it reads, "God, My Wife & 3 kids, Surf, Soccer & all the beauty in the world make me who I am…"

This video labeled "avo1" (see video below) is followed with another video labeled "avo2" and continues where the other video left off. The male voice gives us a breakdown of the rooms as he walks through each room. Other videos are of the family dogs, Bear and Digger, his eldest son, Jonah, playing the piano and a video of the surf at San Clemente beach near the apartment that they lived in before moving to Fallbrook. The most recent video is of little Joseph helping make cappuccino for his mom.

Each of these videos give you a little glimpse of the life of the McStays and can only make you more curious as to what has befallen them.
The McStays were last seen February 4th. It is a mystery to the authorities, friends and family, where they are at or what has happened to them. They left the dogs in the back yard with no food and water, which would indicate they intended not to be gone long. Continued phone calls to Joseph's cell phone went unanswered.
After the police investigated the house, they took the families personal belongings including the families computers, along with a video camera. Police will search the family’s computers and look at their bank and cell phone records to search for clues. They will also start watching surveillance video at the border crossing. Authorities have contacted the Mexican government to check jails, hospitals and even the morgue for their whereabouts.
The sheriffs have put out a bulletin with information on the family:

Summer McStay
DOB: 12/27/66
5’05”, 115 lbs.
Brown Hair / Brown Eyes
Aranda maiden name Martelli is last name from first marriage
Summer is third generation American who was born and raised in the San Gabriel Valley of Los Angeles.
Gianni 4 years old and Joseph 3 years old

Award of $1,000.00 has been offered for any information relating to their disappearance. Call Crime Stoppers at 888-580-8477 and refer to San Diego Sherif's case 10018139

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Odd. I haven't looked at the videos yet, but it seems odd to me that there are so many recent videos that were posted. Almost as if he was trying to portray a normal, if not perfect, family life. Maybe I've seen too many LMN movies in the past, but it feels like he was planning something and carefully making everything appear normal. JMO.

Investigators sought today to track down a Bonsall couple and their two young children, who went missing nearly two weeks ago from their 3473 Avocado Vista Lane home.

Zillow.com shows that the Mcstay's home is for sale. It also shows that it was just purchased in November of 2009.

3473 Avocado Vista Ln Fallbrook CA 92028
Single family
5 beds
3.0 bath
2,782 sqft
Lot 7,405 sqft
Built in 2002

Very strange. The home was purchased for $330,000 and is for sale for $289,900.

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Because of the tarnished reputation.

Why would their house be up for sale already? I wonder when it was listed.

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*********************************************

Listing site:
listings.realbird.com
Listing Details:
Listing updated on: 12/18/2009
Days on Zillow: 172
MLS: 090038738

Virtual Tour of the house:
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Hmm something is really off about this story
but its hard to pinpint exactly what it is.

I heard on CNN HLN that the family didn't seem to be having financial problems, but LE was still investigating that aspect of the case. Why haven't we heard anything about their home being up for sale for less than what they paid for it a few months ago. Are we on VH the only people that know about it. I found the info when I searched their address on Zillow.com. I haven't read or heard about it anywhere else. There's something not right about this family going missing.

Summer McStay's actual birth name is Virginia Lisa Aranda. A review of public records shows the 43-year-old mother also uses the names Summer Martelli, Summer Aranda-Martelli, Lisa Aranda, Lisa Martelli and Lisa Aranda-Martelli.

Her first husband told News 8 he always knew her as Lisa until their divorce in 1994.

News 8 has also learned that detectives are taking a close look at Joseph McStay's business relationships.

Family members say McStay's business partner is a metal worker and welder named Chase Merritt, whose birth name is Charles Ray Merritt, age 52.

Merritt is an ex-con according to court records, who also was one of the first persons to notice the McStay's were missing.

Department of Corrections records show Merritt served time in prison for a burglary conviction in 1978. He was then sent back to prison in 1987 for receiving stolen property, according to State records.

An acquaintance who knew Merritt in the 1980s told News 8 he has a checkered past.

"I think police should look at him and anyone associated with him," the female acquaintance said. She asked not to be identified.

Reached by cell phone Monday, Merritt declined to discuss his criminal past and told News 8, "I would just prefer to have no comment to any press right now. We want to find Joseph."

Sheriff's officials say Merritt is one of several people they are speaking with and at this time he has not been named as a suspect in the case.

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Joseph McStay Facebook

Uh-oh...this thing with all the names...Why would she use so many different ones!? I fear for these little boys...Something shady is up with this man and woman...I hope it didn't come back to bite them, and the little ones got caught up in it.

BJ in OR wrote:I heard on CNN HLN that the family didn't seem to be having financial problems, but LE was still investigating that aspect of the case. Why haven't we heard anything about their home being up for sale for less than what they paid for it a few months ago. Are we on VH the only people that know about it. I found the info when I searched their address on Zillow.com. I haven't read or heard about it anywhere else. There's something not right about this family going missing.

BJ, I was just wondering if you let LE know what you discovered about their house being up for sale. It doesn't seem like they have any idea. Maybe that would provide some additional leads?

I would think that LE would know about the house being up for sale. There is a virtual tour of the house on the internet and it would seem that there would be a for sale sign in the yard.....but maybe not???? It's very strange that they would put the house up for sale for thousands of $$ less than what they paid for it, just three months ago. How many of us could afford to do that? There is something about this family that we don't know yet IMO.

BJ in OR wrote:It's very strange that they would put the house up for sale for thousands of $$ less than what they paid for it, just three months ago. How many of us could afford to do that? There is something about this family that we don't know yet IMO.

I agree. The only time I've seen people do that is when they need to get the house sold quickly to move or something--Like a parent becomes very ill and they are moving to take care of that parent. They apparently wanted to sell this house quickly. That's why I still think there was some sort of plan in place. I don't think this family (at least Joseph anyways) is missing as much as they are in hiding for some reason. Just hope those beautiful boys are ok.

BJ in OR wrote:I would think that LE would know about the house being up for sale. There is a virtual tour of the house on the internet and it would seem that there would be a for sale sign in the yard.....but maybe not????

"Maybe not" is right. Unless the for sale sign in the yard jumped up and hit them over the head a few times and then plastered itself on the windshield of their cars and became the screen saver on their computers they couldn't remove and...Sorry I shouldn't bash LE so much. I know of many, many great people in LE, just seems like I've heard of quite a few lately who don't belong in that elite group.

I agree there is a lot about this family we have yet to learn.

laga wrote: "Maybe not" is right. Unless the for sale sign in the yard jumped up and hit them over the head a few times and then plastered itself on the windshield of their cars and became the screen saver on their computers they couldn't remove and...Sorry I shouldn't bash LE so much. I know of many, many great people in LE, just seems like I've heard of quite a few lately who don't belong in that elite group.

Laga that is funny! Thanks for the laugh this morning!

It looks like they knew something was coming down that would cause them to have to move soon, hence the house for sale at reduced price...BUT it happened much sooner than they thought, and they "hightailed" it to Mexico...At least, I hope for the boys' sake that this is true, and not that harm was done to them for something the parents were involved in..Or maybe just the father..I read somewhere that Summer hated Mexico, so perhaps she and the boys are just victims of the father's deals. :idk:

The National Center for Missing and Exploited Children has joined in the search effort for a missing Fallbrook family whose disappearance three weeks ago continues to baffle law enforcement.

The national group is expected to assign volunteers to the case to lend a hand to sheriff’s investigators, including helping sift through numerous hours of border surveillance tapes to determine if the family crossed into Mexico.

“There’s hours of video,” said sheriff’s Lt. Dennis Brugos. “It’s tedious to have one of my people assigned to do that when they could be chasing down other leads.”

The nonprofit organization released its own flier Wednesday with photos of Joseph McStay, 40, his wife Summer, 43, and their two boys, Gianni, 4, and Joseph, 3. The younger Joseph has a distinctive red birthmark on his forehead, and his father has tattoos on each shoulder.

No one has seen or heard from the foursome since Feb. 4. They were reported missing Feb. 15 when deputies conducted a welfare check at their Avocado Vista Lane home and found evidence suggesting the family had not planned to be away. Their two dogs were left uncared for.

Their white Isuzu Trooper was found abandoned in a San Ysidro parking lot near the border on Feb. 8.

Sheriff’s investigators who have combed through the home and car have released few details about possible evidence but said there were no signs of violence.

The disappearance has garnered national media attention, including interviews this week with the Sheriff’s Department on CNN and Inside Edition.

The missing children center, based in Alexandria, Va., has also helped with the search for Amber Dubois, a 15-year-old Escondido girl who has been missing for a year. Staff members came to San Diego County the first few weeks of her disappearance last February to help with the search and also helped review police reports and transcribe case notes into a computer.

Anyone with information on the McStays is asked to call the Sheriff’s Department at (858) 565-5200 or leave an anonymous tip with Crime Stoppers at (888) 580-8477 orsdcrimestoppers.com.

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by lisette Today at 1:01 pm It looks like they knew something was coming down that would cause them to have to move soon, hence the house for sale at reduced price...BUT it happened much sooner than they thought, and they "hightailed" it to Mexico...

You could be right. I think this family had secrets and I don't think this is an abduction. One of the articles I read talked about how they were so excited to be in their new home......not a mention that it's now up for sale. I don't understand that. I wonder if McStay's family knows something that they haven't told LE?

1) Missing Mother of Two, Was born Virginia Lisa Aranda
2) Lisa Aranda
3) Lisa Aranda-Martelli (last name from 1st marrage, divorced 1994)
4) Lisa Martelli
5) Summer Aranda-Martelli
6) Summer Martelli
7) Summer McStay

7 different names in 43 years.

Summer may use the alias date of birth January 1, 1978.

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BJ in OR wrote:Summer may use the alias date of birth January 1, 1978.

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An alias date of birth? I can sometimes see people using a different first or last name, but I don't understand any justifiable reason for someone to use a different dob. That just seems really odd and to me it screams that she is involved in something she shouldn't be--willingly or not. :idk:

BJ, watching NG last night I realized there was no mention of the house being for sale. Quite the contrary, the reporter she had on spoke about Joseph going to Mexico to get countertops for the remodel work on the house. Maybe you should contact LE regarding your find, seriously they may not have that info. Don't leave us for bigger things when you become famous for your detective work.

I looked on the sheriff's page to see if there is an email address but there isn't. I'm sure LE knows the house is up for sale and for some reason haven't told the media. I think LE sounds vague when they say they don't know of money problems or family discord......... Something isn't right.

I just talked to a detective in the Homicide Division at the San Diego Sheriff's Dept. He said he was unaware that the house was up for sale and he asked me for the website address etc so he could check it out. It could be that it's an old listing....IDK.

How could they not know the house was up for sale???

I am just getting caught up on this thread

Laga, your post upthread made me laugh out loud.

This case is very, very sad. I hope by BJ making the phone call, it will shed some light on this case!!

Thanks for calling them, BJ!

BJ in OR wrote:I just talked to a detective in the Homicide Division at the San Diego Sheriff's Dept. He said he was unaware that the house was up for sale and he asked me for the website address etc so he could check it out. It could be that it's an old listing....IDK.

Thanks BJ! Hopefully, it's an old add, but if it's not, then there is definitely much more to this story that may be broke open by following this lead--and you are the one that found it and led LE to it!
:clapping:

A high-profile search-and-rescue team is joining the hunt for a missing Fallbrook family and bringing some high-tech equipment with them.
Over the next several days, a drone will be used to search for the McStay family, who have been missing since Feb. 4.
Joseph McStay, his wife Summer and sons Gianni and Joseph Jr. have not been seen or heard from in almost a month. Family members reached out to Texas Equusearch, the same agency that helped in the search for Natalee Holloway and Jesse Davis.

"Generally, if there's an abduction or if there's a murder most time I do not take them very far they don't want to be traveling with a body in a vehicle," said Tim Miller of Texas Equusearch.
Miller said the search would stretch from the family's Fallbrook home to the San Ysidro parking lot where their white Isuzu Trooper SUV was found.
Drone pilot Mike Hennig said, "As we fly, digital camera systems on board … high-resolution, 9- or 10-megapixel digital cameras on board to do still imagery. We also use streaming video from the aircraft."
The radio-controlled drone aircraft are based out of San Diego State University. When they are launched, they can search every inch of a 15-mile area in a matter of minutes. The drones feed high-resolution digital images and GPS locations back to the search team.
"If we find something of particular interest in an image, all the material that is recorded in the aircraft is GPS logged so we can sit there, find the image, pull the GPS data and be able to direct people on the ground to search specific areas," said Hennig.
Texas Equusearch claimed one search with a drone aircraft can take the place of 100 ground searches. In the past three-and-a-half years, seven bodies were found, and two people who were still alive. With science on their side, the group hopes to find the McStay family alive.
Anything that's found during the search this weekend will be turned over to San Diego County Sheriff's investigators on Monday.
The searchers and drone pilots are all volunteers, and SDSU helps program some of the software used in the search-and-rescue missions.

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Tim Miller knows what it's like to have a child go missing, so when the father of a San Clemente businessman who has been missing three weeks called him for help, he decided to involve his search agency in the hunt for Joseph McStay and his family.
Miller said his nonprofit organization called Texas Equusearch didn't plan on jumping into any new cases because of tough economic times. But "when I hear a father's or mother's voice at the other end of the phone, I can't say no," he said.

Images provided by the San Diego Police Department shows members of the McStay family whose abandoned SUV was found near the Mexico border near San Diego. Authorities say the McStays' white Isuzu Trooper was found Feb. 8, 2010 in San Ysidro, Calif., and there are no signs of a struggle at their house.
Patrick McStay, Joseph's father, knew about Miller's agency because he lives in Texas and the group has made a name for itself there, Miller said.
Texas Equusearch has been involved in several high-profile cases. It offered its free services to help search for Natalee Holloway, who went missing in 2005 during a high school graduation trip to Aruba, and Caylee Anthony, a Florida 2-year-old who was missing and later found slain. Her mother is awaiting trial on murder charges.
Miller's group spent $108,000 on the Anthony case and $2 million in the search for Holloway, who has not been found. The group is funded through donations and sponsorships, according to its Web site.
Joseph McStay, 40, his wife, Summer, 43, and their two sons, Gianni, 4, and Joseph, 3, were last heard from Feb. 4, according to police. The family, who had lived in San Clemente for years, moved to Fallbrook in December. Joseph McStay operated a water-fountain business in San Clemente called Earth Inspired Products. The family's car was towed as an abandoned vehicle from a San Ysidro parking lot near the Mexican border Feb. 8. A worried family member reported them missing Feb. 15. Police have searched their Fallbrook home and said it looked like the family left in a hurry because they left their cell phones behind and their two dogs outside without food or water.
As authorities continue to mine phone and financial records, Miller's group will be carrying out ground searches. Miller plans to fly to California on Friday from the nonprofit's headquarters in Dickinson, Texas. He said Texas Equusearch takes cases only if a family member asks for help and law enforcement agrees.
"We talked to the detectives for a long time on the phone about the case," Miller said. "They're scratching their heads, too. They're really frustrated."
Miller's group uses state-of-the art aerial and sonar technology to help find missing people. Miller plans to use a drone airplane that weighs about 4 pounds and is flown remotely. It flies at about 500 feet and captures thousands of high-resolution images. The group will then piece those images together to search for clues.
"If we know the person was wearing blue jeans and a red shirt, we can wash out all the colors except red and blue and find the GPS coordinates for all the spots that show red and blue," Miller said. The technology is made by RP Flight Systems.
Michael Hennig, RP's West Coast director, said he plans to fly the drones this weekend over the off-road areas in the roughly 60-mile distance between the McStays' home to where their car was found. He said the drones can capture infrared imagery that highlights man-made materials.
Miller said his group may take its search over the border, as San Diego County law enforcement has asked for help from Mexican officials. Texas Equusearch also will be looking for any mounds or graves.
"I pray to God they're OK, but I'm not going to sugarcoat anything," Miller said. "This does not look good."
The National Center for Exploited & Missing Children also is helping with the case and has circulated a flier about the family. The center focuses more on spreading awareness, while Texas Equusearch is more hands-on, Miller said.
Lt. Dennis Brugos, a spokesman for the San Diego County Sheriff's Department, which is leading the investigation, said Texas Equusearch will not be working under his department's direction. When asked whether police plan to use search technology similar to that used by Texas Equusearch, Brugos said, "We're not doing that."
In 1984, Miller's daughter Laura went missing. Her remains were found months later about two blocks from Miller's Texas home. In 2000, Miller started helping families search for missing loved ones using his horses. That small operation has grown into a team of thousands of volunteers that has carried out about 1,100 searches. About 300 missing people have been found with the group's help, many of them dead, Miller said.
"If someone told you they wanted to help bring your family home, would you say no?" said Joseph McStay's brother, Michael, 37, who lives in San Clemente.
Some have said the McStays bought granite for their new home from a store close to where their car was found. But Michael McStay said he doesn't think that's why the car was there.
Summer McStay's white Isuzu Trooper was found near the border with child seats inside, while Joseph McStay's pickup was left in the family's driveway.
"If you needed to pick up materials, would you take a little SUV or a pickup truck?" Michael McStay said.
Before Joseph McStay operated Earth Inspired Products, he owned a store called Naturally Dana Point, which has been closed for years, Michael McStay said. His mother and stepfather (who have since divorced) operated a deli in Dana Point while Michael and Joseph attended Dana Hills High School. The brothers grew up in Texas but moved to Dana Point during their high school years, Michael McStay said.
Family members have organized a fund that may be used as a reward or for other purposes, depending on what happens. Donations can be made through [You must be registered and logged in to see this link.]
Michael McStay said he doubts his brother would just pick up and leave his business behind, jeopardizing his source of income, because he had three children to support. In addition to the missing boys, Joseph McStay has a 14-year-old son, Jonah, from a previous marriage.
"This just absolutely drains me emotionally," Michael McStay said. "Everybody's leaning on me. My mom is devastated. My dad is rattled. All his friends are rattled. I don't know what the future holds. I just got to keep my legs moving and my ear to the ground."

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The cell phones were probably left behind so they could not be traced...either because they didn't want to be or because someone else forced them to leave them behind...This is a real mystery!

I truly don't think they went across the border. WAY too dangerous in Tijuana any more. Not with their children. I haven't been in 4 years and I used to go a couple of times a year.

The "woman of many names" intrigues me--what did she get this family into?

The last time Tracy Russell talked to her sister, Summer McStay, was Feb. 4.
The two discussed a possible San Bernardino visit so that the McStay family could see Russell and her husband, and their newborn baby.
Since that talk, Russell has not heard from Summer, 43, and her husband Joseph, 40, and their two children, Gianni, 4, and Joseph Jr., 3.
The McStay family has vanished from their Fallbrook home, and police have no clues about their whereabouts.
Four days after Russell's phone call to her sister, the family's 1996 Isuzu Trooper was found unattended a few blocks from the U.S.-Mexico border.
Information was not available as to why the family's car was found Feb. 8, and the family was not reported missing until Feb. 15.
Russell and authorities with the San Diego County sheriff's homicide division are puzzled by the family's disappearance and are asking the public's for help to find the family.
The McStays were reported missing after Joseph McStay's brother, Michael McStay, went to the family's home on Feb. 14 and found only their two dogs, Bear and Digger.
A notice from the city's Animal Control division hung on the McStay's property after neighbors complained about the dogs' excessive barking. Bear and Digger were left with no food or water.
"My sister is a huge dog lover, the biggest one there is. She would never leave them unattended," Russell said.
Russell said
the McStays had just moved to Fallbrook in November after relocating from San Clemente. They were in the process of remodeling their home before they disappeared.
Summer McStay and her husband have been married for three years but have been together for seven, Russell said.
"They had no problems with their relationship, and their boys are definitely active," she said.
She said her sister was known to shop close to the border, but due to the raging violence in Mexico, Russell said Summer McStay would never risk her family's safety by crossing the border.
Authorities have talked to neighbors, friends and those working on the house, Russell said, with no luck.
Investigators are working with authorities in Mexico and have contacted Interpol for help. They also are checking border-crossing surveillance tapes for clues.
Meanwhile, Russell sits by her telephone, anxiously awaiting a call with information about her family.
"It's a horrible, empty feeling. I'm freaking out over here," Russell said. "You have your highs and lows; you just try to stay positive."
The family has created a Web site, [You must be registered and logged in to see this link.] loaded with hundreds of family photos and movies, with the hope someone recognizes the family and calls authorities.
Anyone with information can contact San Diego County sheriff's investigators at 858-974-2321.

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There's a Hidden Version of Events in The McStay Missing Persons' Case!

I reviewed everything I had last night. Two dozen articles, photos, a half dozen videos, the McStay web site and some notes of my own, mostly random speculation or theories of mine about what might have happened. There have been very few new developments in the past two weeks, but rather only a consolidation of what we already know.

Tim Miller with Texas Equusearch is conducting a search of the nearly 40 miles of isolated terrain between San Diego and the Mexican border of San Ysidro, where the McStay vehicle had been parked. Note that it's 80 miles from the McStay house that is in Bonsall, Ca., north of San Diego.

It was reported yesterday that Lt. Dennis Brugos of the San Diego Sheriff's Office wanted to interview the brother again, Michael McStay. Perhaps there are still loose ends that could use some tying up. Michael was interviewed by phone on Jane Velez-Mitchell on Monday, February 22nd. Michael's theory is: "I think my family was kidnapped!"

Jane asked him about the large gap of time from when the family seemingly disappeared, and when family members became aware enough of this problem that it was time to report it to the police. This is an 11 day gap of time, from Feb, 4th to Feb. 15th. On the 6th the cell phones went dead. The Isuzu trooper was towed on the 8th, but connecting the vehicle with the family occurred much later.

The McStay Family missing persons' flier. Did they ever drive to San Ysidro and park their Isuzu Trooper?
Again, why wasn't there more panic in the family or friends right after the 4th? It's been said that family members were close to the McStay's? Yet no action was taken until 11 days later. Michael gives us a timeline, but it's incomplete. He says that by the 9th they were calling the house constantly. This would include the business partner of Joseph, whose name I haven't heard mentioned so far.

Michael says the house was checked on the 9th and again on the 12th. Does this just mean that the doorbell was rung? If no one was home and they wouldn't answer their cell phones, I don't see why they weren't reported missing, at least by the 9th? I don't believe family considered it feasible that they had gone on vacation and yet didn't tell anyone.

As far as the vehicle being left in a parking lot of a popular shopping center strip mall in San Ysidro, I don't believe it was Joseph and his family that drove that vehicle there and parked it. What I'd like to know, is what fingerprints did the police find on the steering wheel or anywhere on the car? Granted, there were two child safety seats intact in the Isuzu, but those could have already been there.

The reason I don't believe that the family ever drove down to the border, is that they wouldn't have left the dogs, Bear and Digger, without food and water. The mother, Summer would have put the fruit and vegetables back in the refrigerator. And the most telling sign that they never drove away on a short day trip, is that Summer left her prescription sunglasses on the counter. This just didn't happen!

Therefore, the culprit or culprits must have planted the car in San Ysidro to make it look like the family went to Mexico. The perpetrator probably wore gloves so as to not leave any fingerprints. I'm sure San Diego detectives are working this angle, but will not reveal these vital clues to the public. The McStay's never left Falbrook/Bonsall!

I've heard also that the mother Summer changed her name around frequently. Was she hiding something from her past? Or was there someone who she was trying to avoid? For one thing, it's been reported (on Jane Velez-Mitchell) that she had a fake birth certificate. Her age is 42, but I've seen it different in various articles I've read.

Here are some mutations of her name: Lisa Aranda, Virginia Lisa Aranda, Summer Martelli, Summer McStay and Lisa Aranda Martelli. On Jane's show Issues, Dale Archer said that if we can answer why she changed her name, we will have the key to the whole mystery. The question of a changing name does make you wonder why 'Summer' would want to do this, if she wasn't trying to dodge someone?

So we don't really have any new hard facts that will help us solve this missing persons case. What could the motive possibly be to cause some bad people to do such a bad thing? Sex, drugs and money are the usual reasons given for such misdeeds. Drugs and money can be tied together as one and the same, in a sense.

And yet this family seems so normal, wholesome and happy! It does not fit. Yet there is another story under the surface. It's our job to expose that story that's sequestered between the lines of the 'public version.' What we're hearing now is not the True Version. It can't be because it does not jive with what we know has happened.

Michael's theory is that it's economic. He knows the family best, so I'll agree with him. "With what's going on in today's economy and how close his car was found to the border, the first thing I'm thinking is that it has something to do with money." More of the brother's words: "People do stupid stuff for money, but I'm praying for the best."

Aren't we all!

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San Diego County Sheriff's investigators have a new lead in the case of the Fallbrook family last seen by relatives more than a month ago.
Joseph McStay, 40; his wife Summer, 43; and their two young children, Gianni and Joey Jr. left their dogs unattended and rotting food in their home. There were no signs of a struggle at their house.
Now, deputies say they've spotted images of a group of people similar to the McStay family going hand in hand into Mexico through the pedestrian gate. The video is dated around 7 p.m. Feb. 8, the same day the family's white Isuzu Trooper was and towed from San Ysidro.
Investigators aren't sure if the people in the video are the McStay family but consider it a positive lead. They are working to enhance the image so it can be released to the public.
Acquaintances told investigators the McStays never would have left on vacation or for any other reason without telling someone.
Authorities say they are baffled about the disappearance.
"Quite frankly, I've never seen a case like this before," said San Diego County Sheriff's Lt. Dennis Brugos.
The San Diego County Sheriff's Department said it had contacted a liaison in Baja California and asked for a search of airports, bus stations and other major travel hubs.

Brugos also said that when a family is missing, the people are usually found either safe or victimized within a day or so. He added that since the case is so unusual, he is not sure how long the investigation will remain open.

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A surveillance camera captured footage of a man, woman and two children resembling a missing Fallbrook family as they crossed the U.S.-Mexico border into Tijuana on foot last month, around the time they dropped out of contact with family, friends and business associates, a sheriff’s investigator said Friday.

The video images were shot at the San Ysidro Port of Entry about 7 p.m. on Feb. 8 — four days after the disappearance of Joseph McStay, 40, his wife, Summer, 43, and their sons, Gianni, 4, and 3-year-old Joseph Jr., homicide Sgt. Roy Frank said. The people on the surveillance tape seemed to be casually strolling into Mexico, with each adult holding hands with one of the toddlers, according to Frank.

There was no signs that the four, who match the general descriptions of the McStays, were distressed in any way or leaving the United States against their will, he said. Roughly four hours after the footage was recorded, security personnel towed an apparently abandoned vehicle from a commercial parking lot on Camino de la Plaza, about a five-minute walk from the border. The white 1996 Isuzu Trooper turned out to belong to the McStays.

On Feb. 15, deputies conducting a welfare check at the McStays’ Avocado Vista Lane home at the request of a concerned relative found their two dogs in the back yard and no signs of a struggle.

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Early Monday morning, myself and Tim Miller from Texas Equusearch were met by Mike McStay, the younger brother of Joseph McStay to try to piece together what happened to his brothers family.

Joseph, along with his wife, Summer, and their 2 children, Gianna, 4, and Joseph, 3. vanished from their home Feb 4th and have not been seen or heard from since. We were joined by Kenneth Aranda, the younger brother of Summer, who flew in from Hawaii, where he lives. They allowed myself and Tim Miller from Texas EquuSearch inside the McStay family home. The brothers, bonded together through this tragedy, then take us to the location where the family’s car was found — just minutes from the Mexican border — all in hopes of digging up answers as to what happened to the McStays.

Entering the McStay house in Fallbrook, a nice middle-class suburb of San Diego, you can’t help but notice the eerie silence of an empty home, and ponder; what happened here in those minutes before the family left and literally vanished?

The home, which they had just moved to in Nov 2009, was being remodeled, so there was minimal furnishings. The stark white kitchen was almost finished being remodeled, except for a few unattached kitchen cupboard doors. According to Mike, their furniture was still in a container, awaiting the painting and re-tiling to be completed. But still, something seemed odd. Kenneth, a handsome kind guy, had not been in the house since his sister disappeared, and he appeared uneasy as he quickly darted from room to room.

What the house revealed was a busy family just moving in, living in slight disarray, but it also revealed that Summer was not the best housekeeper in the world. A dirty baby diaper lay on the floor, inside a morning jumper, beside the toilet in the bathroom off the kitchen. Piles of unwashed clothes were scattered about. “Something ain’t right here,” Miller says.

We headed upstairs to the master bedroom. The beds had been stripped, exposing blow up mattresses, one queen and one single. It looks like the whole family was sleeping in the master room. In what would be considered the kids’ rooms, there was a lot of new items, mirrors, etc. that had been purchased but not hung up. Although the house was in renovation, it was still oddly disorderly, cloths piled up in the master closet, not on hangers, actually there was no hangers at all. Except for 2 pairs of extremely high heel shoes, and a pair of never worn “Uggs,” there were no other shoes. Two new men’s shirts hung on what would be his side of the closet, and 4 fur coats were the only items hanging on her side of the large walk in closet. As Tim Miller from TES poked around the house, he was also struck by the lack of shoes. “Where are all the damn shoes? And where are their clothes and underwear, there’s no underwear here. Somethings not right here.”

The kid’s room looked barley used. His office was neat and full of papers. The garage was packed with clutter. We could barley walk around it most of the stuff looked new. “She was a bit of a hermit, so she bought alot of stuff online, she was a big online shopper” Mike said. “She was a bit of a recluse. Things were always arriving via UPS or Fedex, it drove my brother nuts.”

In defense of the condition of the McStay’s house, Police had also been through the house several times, and they have a tendency to be a little disruptive, to say the least.

The house was not homey, it was cold and unfinished…”You can still be renovating and have some sense of order.” Miller says. “There’s no order here, clothes piled everywhere.” Perhaps this disorder is a window into what was happening inside the lives of the McStay family.

Our next stop was to meet with law enforcement. Kenneth said goodbye — he had to return to Hawaii to tend to his wife and children, and continue on with his business.

Law enforcement had some evidence they needed Miller and Mike to see. I cannot, at this time, reveal what was discussed as it is part on the ongoing investigation. I can tell you this — it is crucial evidence, and as soon as I can release the information, I will. You will get it here first.

We then continued on to the place where the car was found. It was a nice, touristy strip mall, walking distance from the border…they allegedly parked there sometime late in the afternoon on the 8th, the mall closed at 9:00pm, and by 11:00pm that same evening, their car had been towed. The car could not have been there since the fourth because cars are towed from that mall nightly, so a car could not sit there for four days. So the big mystery is; Where were they prior to leaving their house on the 4th and parking the car sometime on the 8th??? We walked the short distance to the border entrance.

No signs of a struggle in the home, no ransom, no phone calls, no activity on their bank accounts. Nothing. Did they simply vanish on their own? Walk across the border? Or were they abducted and/or murdered.

Puzzled, we stand on the freeway over the border crossing into Mexico, I ask Miller, “so how do you start searching?” Miller replies “One of our resources is currently analyzing satellite photos from the border crossing” Perhaps that will begin to confirm or deny that the family even went into Mexico, willingly or unwillingly. “But, law enforcement has alot more investigating to do before TES can conduct an effective search.”

And that’s where the story ends for now..or is this where it begins? A family of 4 has literally vanished. Did they leave willingly? Are they the victims of a horrific crime, or is there something else going on?

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A San Clemente businessman and his family remain missing after more than a month, and a videotape of a family of four thought to be the family crossing the border is inconclusive, said the missing man’s brother. Joseph McStay, his wife Summer and their two young children Gianni and Joseph have been missing since early February. Authorities found the family’s SUV near the San Ysidro border crossing with Mexico, but other than the video have turned up few clues.

McStay’s brother, Michael, is not convinced the footage—which was shot Feb. 8 at the San Ysidro Border Crossing—is of the missing family. “My brother is the only one in the family with a valid passport,” he said. “Summer’s passport is expired and the two boys don’t even have passports.” Michael also added that the footage was of poor quality and that his brother “doesn’t walk like that.”

According to ABC’s affiliate KGTV in San Diego, a San Diego Sheriff’s Department spokesperson has confirmed that Interpol is assisting the investigation along with U.S. Border Patrol.

A charity has been set up for the family to hire a private investigator and to fund other operations to ensure the missing family comes home. “We’ve raised about $1,500 so far,” Michael said. “It’s not enough to hire a private investigator, but it’s a start.”

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For the first time, relatives take the media inside the McStay's house.
Joseph and Summer McStay and their two boys -- Gianni, 4, and Joey, 3 -- have been missing since Feb. 4.
Mike McStay, Joseph's brother gave reporters a tour of the home located on the 3400 block of Avocado Vista Lane in North County. He said the home has been cleaned and vacuumed in the time since the family disappeared.
Inside, the house is in a moderate level of disarray -- mostly because the home was in the process of being remodeled, according to Mike. Four upstairs bedrooms are, for the most part, empty. Several children's toys, including a large playhouse remain in the house.
The master bedroom is empty. Furniture had yet to be delivered, said Mike McStay. In a walk-in closet, Mike Mcstay said, several purses were found but did not appear to be currently being used. Downstairs, strips of masking tape protect the edgings of several walls --- the kitchen was being repainted. Two sets of sunglasses, one of which has prescription lenses, were found on a counter.
In the garage, a double stroller sits with several wetsuits resting on top of it. Mike McStay said his brother would always take the stroller on planned trips.
Earlier this month, the San Diego County Sheriff’s Dept released surveillance video that may have captured the McStay family entering Mexico.
The video was recorded at the San Ysidro border crossing Feb. 8, the same day the Mcstay's white Isuzu Trooper was found illegally parked at a nearby strip mall.
At the bottom left corner of the video, you can see a man walking hand in hand with a child. Following him is a woman in a white jacket, holding the hand of another child.
San Diego County Sheriff's investigators say this could be Joseph McStay and his wife Summer with their two kids, crossing the border into Tijuana.
"There's a very high probability it's them,” said Sheriff's homicide Lt. Dennis Brugos.
Detectives showed the video to their family. 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.
"It's very grainy, overshadowed, there's no definition to shape,” said Mike McStay.
Since their disappearance, investigators said, the McStays haven't used their bank accounts, credit cards or cell phones.
"They could be down there on their own volition, and just wanted to drop out for awhile, that's one theory,” said Brugos. "They could have gone down there for the evening and got into a situation they couldn't get out of."
Anyone with information about the case is being urged to call deputies at 858-974-2321 or 858-565-5200 after-hours. Tips can also be called in anonymously to CrimeStoppers at 888-580-TIPS(8477). A reward of up to $1,000 is being offered by CrimeStoppers for information leading to an arrest.

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A Fallbrook man is speaking out about the disappearance of his brother and his family.

Joseph and Summer McStay and their two small children vanished in early February. Surveillance video later showed what may have been the family crossing the border into Mexico.

Michael McStay is desperate for answers.

"I'm like a pit bull, I'm not going to let this thing go until I find out they're either OK or I found out what happened," he said.

His brother Joseph, sister-in-law Summer and two nephews - three-year-old Joseph Jr. and four-year-old Gianni disappeared Feb. 4.

"An entire family fell off the earth," Michael said. "It's not logical. It doesn't make any sense."

Investigators found their white Isuzu Trooper in a San Ysidro parking lot Feb. 8. A surveillance video shows a family of four walking across the border, but Michael is convinced it is not his family.

"As I've analyzed it hundreds and hundreds, hundreds of times, even still the best I can come up with is that the children are age-appropriate and size-appropriate, but I've got no proof that it's my brother and sister, and I've got no proof that it's them," he said.

Phone records show activity stopped on the couple's phones Feb. 4. Bank records reveal no suspicious activity or large withdrawals. At the McStays' Fallbrook home, eggs were left on the counter, new flooring was left waiting to be installed and suitcases, clothes and toys all left inside - clear signs, according to Michael, that the McStays weren't planning on going anywhere.

"The double stroller is here, the two-push stroller is here, everything is here except them," Michael said.

Michael says his brother's indoor fountain business was doing well and he had no enemies. If he was having problems, Michael insists Joseph would have called him for help.

With flyers now being distributed by the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children, Michael is determined to keep this case in the spotlight.

"I'm just trying to get some resolution to this thing, so if anyone knows anything or if anyone saw something, just call the sheriff's department or email the site and we'll pass it on," he said.

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The uncle of two missing Fallbrook children said Thursday that he's not convinced their parents, Joseph and Summer McStay, are the two adults shown on a grainy video crossing into Mexico last month.
The McStay family vanished last month from their Fallbrook home, triggering an international search. The video, which was released by authorities nearly two weeks ago, is dark, grainy and unclear, but it could contain images of the missing family crossing the U.S.-Mexico border in San Ysidro.
Sheriff's investigators say there is a "high probability" that the four people caught on tape strolling into Mexico at about 7 p.m. on Feb. 8 are Joseph and Summer McStay and their two boys Gianni, 4, and Joey Jr., 3.
But Joseph McStay's brother doesn't think it is his brother and sister-in-law. The kids, he fears, look like his missing nephews. He just can't tell.
"That video is not unequivocable evidence to me," Michael McStay said.
His brother's bank accounts remain untouched, and he worries that his family are victims of a horrible crime. Noting that Internet videos posted by the family showed the children and included their home address, he speculated that his nephews could have been grabbed by sex traffickers.
On Thursday, six weeks to the day since his brother's family last contacted friends or relatives on Feb. 4, Michael McStay spent the morning leading reporters and camera crews through his brother's nearly empty Fallbrook home, which is no longer closed by police.
It offered one of the first public looks into the suburban tract home of a family whose disappearance made national headlines.
The home is nearly empty, as it had been when the family was there. They had just moved into the Avocado Vista Lane home from Orange County in December, and much of their furniture and other belongings remained in storage when they disappeared.
The questions are many. Is that the McStays on the surveillance video? Were they victims of foul play? And what happened in the four days between their last phone contact and the time they went into Mexico ----- if it is even them on the video.
Michael McStay said his brother did not have any reason to go south of the border, and says his sister-in-law was far too protective of the children to have taken them there. He said he is frustrated by the lack of solid leads in the case. He's getting his passport, in case he needs to search in Mexico.
As he made his case to reporters, Michael McStay walked through the home and pointed out key areas of interest, including the kitchen counter where he found perishables left out in the days after his family vanished.
He also set his laptop on that counter and played the surveillance video frame by frame, indicating details that he said show the man on tape really cannot be the older brother he has known his whole life.
"Could that be my nephews? Yes," he said later. "Do I think the profile of the man is my brother? No. Look at the hair.
"Could it be a possibility that is someone else with my nephews? That is a possibility. I can't make a positive ID from the video."
They disappeared
Friends and family said they last heard from the McStays on Feb. 4, and that nothing seemed amiss.
Four days later, on Feb. 8, the McStays' white Isuzu Trooper was spotted in a parking lot in San Ysidro near the U.S.-Mexico border. It was towed that night as an abandoned vehicle. But at that time, no one was aware the family was missing, so the abandoned sport utility vehicle didn't raise any red flags with law enforcement.
On Feb. 15 Michael McStay, reported that the family could not be found and had been out of contact for days. E-mail and phone messages went unanswered. Their dogs were left unattended and a carton of eggs was left out on kitchen counter.
Within hours, investigators were concerned enough to issue a bulletin to the press that the family had vanished.
Investigators combed through the home on Feb. 19, looking for any clues to what happened to the McStays.
The search warrant was sealed, but a two-page receipt detailing what investigators took was not sealed. The inventory included computers, phones and documents, although the documents themselves are not detailed on the list.
The search of the home turned up nothing; no signs of struggle or an obvious crime scene, investigators said.
That doesn't mean there wasn't foul play, the frustrated and grieving brother said.
"Just because there is no crime scene here (at the home), doesn't mean there isn't one somewhere else," Michael McStay said.
Over the last few weeks, investigators have been through the McStay family's bank accounts, their phone records. They have contacted officials in Belize, where Joseph owned a property. They have found no clues, they said.
Then authorities examined the border crossing video.
"We believe there is a high probability that they crossed into Mexico of their own volition, and we are focusing our investigation into that direction," Sheriff's homicide Lt. Dennis Brugos said Thursday.
He said the department's liaisons have worked with Mexican authorities, but "as of this point, there is nothing to suggest foul play is involved. We have a family missing under very unusual circumstances.
"If it comes to our attention that this family fell prey to violence while out of the country, we would notify the FBI."
'I am not naive'
The story has fallen off the front pages, replaced by the slaying of Cheslea King, 17, and the discovery of the remains of missing Escondido teenager Amber Dubois.
Less than two weeks after the McStays went missing, media and public attention turned to the disappearance of Chelsea, a Poway teen who vanished Feb. 25 during a run near Lake Hodges. Her body was found in the area five days later. And five days after that, the remains of missing Escondido teen Amber Dubois were found.
Registered sex offender John Albert Gardner III, 30, is charged with murder in Chelsea's slaying, and is a focus of the investigation into the death of Amber, 14, who went missing in February 2009.
Michael McStay said he attended the public memorial last weekend for Chelsea, and said he will also go to Amber's public memorial next week. He did not know the girls or their families. But he said he shares the pain that comes when children go missing.
Michael McStay noted that his brother had posted on YouTube a home video of his young sons dancing on a clip titled "Boyz Dancing." Also on the same site, Joseph McStay had posted a different video recorded as the family drove east on Highway 76 and up to the Fallbrook house ---- where the address is clearly visible.
"The videos direct people to the house," Michael McStay said. He later added, "There is a possibility that my nephews are being trafficked (for sex). Yes, it is a possibility."
But he knows that is pure speculation, saying, "Do I have any proof of that at this point? No."
"What I do know is that my family is missing," he said. "There is no movement on the funds, nothing on the phone records after the 4th."
"I'm hoping for the best, but I am not naive," he said. "I know that after seeing what happened with the Duboises and the Kings that there are freaks in this world."

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New leads have been uncovered in the disappearance of the McStay family. Joseph McStay, his wife, Summer, and two children went missing on Feb. 4 and authorities are still having a difficult time tracking them down. Even with the help of aerial drones, no new leads have surfaced until last week when a surveillance tape from a neighbor’s home security system was released. According to McStay’s brother, Michael, the tape shows the family heading out together. “The tape shows everyone getting in the car at 7:47 p.m.,” he said. “They actually went out to eat that evening, and I am positive that the car in the driveway is the Isuzu.”

Michael also has his brother’s phone records for that evening. “The last call my brother made was at 8:28 p.m. to an associate of his and that lasted for a minute,” he said. “After that there are no further pings and no other minutes that are used by my brother’s phone or Summer’s phone.”

Michael McStay fears the worst. “I can’t sleep at night,” he said. “I’m constantly thinking about my brother and his family. Is there a possibility that there was foul play outside the house? Yes, it’s definitely plausible. There’s been no ransom and that makes me think that the worst has happened to Joey and Summer and that my nephews are kidnapped.”

Michael mentioned that his brother was an avid fan of YouTube, and would often broadcast his family’s escapades and celebrations and post them online. “Joey had a YouTube account. It’s possible some sick criminal pedophile saw his profile and tracked him down,” he said. “In one of the videos you can literally see where the house is located and its address.”

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Sheriff’s investigators say a missing Fallbrook family’s computer records indicate they had been looking into passport rules for children traveling to Mexico.

Homicide Lt. Dennis Brugos said investigators found e-mails sent to unspecified recipients in late January that indicated Joseph and Summer McStay were asking about entry into Mexico.

The couple and their two small children, who lived in Fallbrook, were last seen Feb. 4. Their sport utility vehicle was found parked near the border four days later.

“It appears they went into Mexico of their own volition,” said Brugos, who would not say to whom the e-mails were sent. “There is nothing to suggest any coercion or anything like that, at least that we have uncovered…this still isn’t a criminal investigation.”

Relatives, however, say they are worried and baffled as to their disappearance. They said the family had not given any indication to relatives that they were going anywhere.

Joseph McStay, 40, is a businessman who operated an indoor water fountain business.

“The whole thing does not make any sense to me at all,” said Joseph’s brother, Mike McStay, who lives in Orange County.

Friends and relatives have also said that Summer McStay, 43, had expressed concerns about safety in Mexico in the past. While her husband had traveled there, she wasn’t interested in going with the children, Gianni, 4, and Joseph Jr., 3.

Their home showed no signs of a planned trip: Perishable food had been left out in the kitchen, their two dogs were left uncared for, and Summer McStay’s passport was expired. Investigators confirmed that Joseph McStay had a valid passport, though the children did not. Mike McStay said that a grandmother had their youngest son’s birth certificate, required for re-entry to the United States for minors under 16.

Sherriff’s investigators have been working with Baja California state police, which has followed up on tips and checked hotels, transportation centers, hospitals, the Tijuana morgue and and other sources with no success.

The McStays’ white Isuzu Trooper was found in a parking lot by the border in San Ysidro Feb. 8, the same night a Border Patrol video recorded two adults and two small children walking toward the border turnstile into Mexico. However, investigators have not been able to enhance the video enough to identify its subjects.

Investigators have also viewed a surveillance video taken by a neighbor’s security camera Feb 4. that shows a vehicle backing out of the McStays’ driveway at 7:47 p.m. The tape ended at about midnight, said Mike McStay, who has also seen it, and there is no sign of the car returning before then.

Brugos said that because of its angle, the surveillance tape does not show people getting into the car, and that it is also difficult to identify the vehicle.

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