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Search continues for elderly couple missing from Inland Empire nudist resort for several days
The search continues for an elderly couple who went missing from the Olive Dell Ranch nudist resort in San Bernardino County over the weekend.
Stephanie Menard, 73, and her husband, Daniel Menard, 79, were last seen on Saturday at their home in the 26000 block of Keissel Road at around 10 a.m., according to the Redlands Police Department. Also missing is their dog Cuddles, a small white Shih Tzu.
Redlands Police Department
Shortly after they were reported missing, police located the Menards’ unlocked car down the street from where they lived. They also discovered Stephanie’s purse and both of their cell phones at their home.
Police say Daniel suffers from dementia and is diabetic, adding urgency to their search for the missing couple. Friends say the two did not get around on foot very well, so it would be unusual for them to leave their home without their car.
Friends of the Menards are desperately hoping for their return.
“I just want them back,” said Sandy Marinelli, who has been friends with the couple for more than a decade. “They don’t deserve this. … They’re just good people. They go to church. They don’t deserve any of this.”
She says that another neighbor was the first to become concerned when they found the couple wasn’t ready for church on Sunday like they usually are.
“(They) went inside their home to see if they would be OK inside and they didn’t find them in there,” Marinelli said. “But, they found Stephanie’s purse was in there, (her0 cane was in there. … (The) TV was left on, (the) computer was left on. It was just very suspicious for them to be gone.”
Sandy Marinelli
The circumstances have many in the community fearing the worst, especially while the area experiences a rash of unusual crimes like vandalism and break-ins.
“Dan was funny and he was sweet. It just plagues me. I can’t believe somebody would do something like this to them,” Tammie Wilkerson said. “It hurts my heart ’cause they didn’t deserve it.”
The recent events already had many living on edge, uneasy with the sudden change happening around their homes.
“I’m terrified. I haven’t slept since this happened,” said Wilkerson. “I’m terrified that I’m gonna be next.”
Despite the public belief that something was done to the Menards, police have not mentioned any indication of foul play being involved.
“I can’t really speak to that; we’re certainly investigating every avenue,” said Carl Baker, spokesperson for the City of Redlands. “We did have search dogs from Riverside Sheriff’s Office and a helicopter from the San Bernardino County Sheriff’s Office.”
On top of that, neighbors have scoured the nearby Reche Canyon area on foot and horseback, to no avail.
“Dan, Stephanie, if you’re seeing this, find some way to get us some information so you can come back, we miss you,” Wilkerson said. “We love you and we miss you and we need you to come back.”
Anyone who may know more is asked to contact RPD detectives at (909) 798-7681.
BALTIMORE — One person was killed and nine others injured in a shooting and fiery crash in the Baltimore suburb of Towson Tuesday night, authorities said.
Law enforcement responded at around 7:15 p.m. in the 8500 block of Loch Raven Boulevard, Baltimore County Police Chief Robert McCullough said in a news briefing.
“It appears to be a mass shooting incident,” McCullough told reporters. “We have multiple persons who were shot. Right now, we are determining the circumstances and the conditions in this case.”
The first arriving officer found a vehicle on its side in flames near a funeral home, McCullough said, and then several gunshot victims were found in the area.
“There appears to be some type of incident that led to the vehicle crashing and catching on fire,” McCollough said. “Investigators are looking into the circumstances leading up to that.”
The name of the person killed and the manner of death was not released, nor were the conditions of the nine people injured. McCollough did not specify how many of the nine people injured were gunshot victims.
At this time, investigators believe this was an isolated and targeted incident, with no further threat to the community, he added. It’s unclear if any suspects have been arrested. There was no word on a possible motive.
“We will leave no stone unturned and we will dedicate every resource to this,” McCullough said. “We don’t generally see incidents like this in our community in Baltimore County. I assure you as your police chief that we will put all resources toward trying to clear this case.”
The Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives was at the scene assisting police, as was the Baltimore County Fire Department.
“This is an incident that is shocking, particularly for those of us in Baltimore County,” said Baltimore County Executive Johnny Olszewski. “These types of incidents are unheard of here, so it really shocks the conscience. However, we want our residents to know that we are, as always, fully committed to ensuring that both our fire and police departments have the full support and all the resources they need from the Baltimore County government to ensure that they bring this investigation to a conclusion.”
Anyone with information is asked to call Baltimore County Police at 410-887-4636.
President-elect Donald Trump announced he will nominate Herschel Walker, the former football player whose 2022 Senate run was plagued by controversy, to serve as U.S. ambassador to the Bahamas.
“Herschel has spent decades serving as an Ambassador to our Nation’s youth, our men and women in the Military, and athletes at home and abroad,” Trump said on social media Tuesday night.
Walker would need to be confirmed by the Senate to assume the role. The Senate has not confirmed a U.S. ambassador to the Bahamas in over a decade. Former President Barack Obama had nominated Cassandra Butts for the role in 2014, but the Senate never even brought her nomination up for a vote, according to The Associated Press. She died in 2016.
Trump in his first term nominated Doug Manchester in 2017 for the ambassador role, but his nomination stalled for over two years. CBS News in 2019 also uncovered evidence of a possible pay-to-play scheme for the role. He eventually withdrew and Trump went on to nominate William Douglass in 2020. Douglass’ nomination was withdrawn by President Biden when he took office, and Mr. Biden in turn nominated Calvin Smyre, who has not been confirmed by the Senate.
Absent an official ambassador to the Bahamas, Kimberly Furnish currently serves in the role of Chargé d’Affaires.
Walker rose to national prominence as a star running back for the Georgia Bulldogs, winning the Heisman trophy in 1982. He spent his first few years of professional ball in the United States Football League before it folded, and then moved on to the NFL.
Walker reentered the national spotlight when, at Trump’s urging, he challenged Georgia’s Democratic Senator Raphael Warnock for his seat in 2022. The race featured several controversies, including two women claiming that Walker — who was running as an anti-abortion candidate — had paid for them to get abortions.
Walker denied both allegations.
In one instance, Walker admitted to writing a check for a woman who said he paid for her to get an abortion in 2009, but he said he hadn’t known what the money was for.
Another woman claimed Walker paid her to get an abortion while the two carried out a six-year relationship while he was married to another woman and playing in the NFL. During a news conference back in 2022, she said she couldn’t go through with the procedure when she went to get it herself, so Walker took her to a clinic in the Dallas area the next day and waited for her while she got the abortion.
“This was a lie a week ago and it is a lie today,” Walker said at the time following an interview the woman gave a week after the initial news conference.
Warnock would go on to win the election in a runoff after neither candidate received more than 50% of the vote on election day.
Aaron Navarro and
contributed to this report.
BALTIMORE — One person was killed and nine others injured in a mass shooting in the Baltimore suburb of Towson Tuesday night, authorities said.
Law enforcement responded at around 7:15 p.m. in the 8500 block of Loch Raven Boulevard, Baltimore County Police Chief Robert McCullough said in a news briefing.
“It appears to be a mass shooting incident,” Baltimore County Police Chief Robert McCullough told reporters. “We have multiple persons who were shot. Right now, we are determining the circumstances and the conditions in this case.”
The first arriving officer found a vehicle on its side in flames, McCullough said, and then several gunshot victims were found in the area. The name of the person killed was not released, and the conditions of the nine people injured was unknown.
At this time, investigators believe this was an isolated and targeted incident, with no further threat to community at this point, he added. It’s unclear if any suspects have been arrested.
The Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives is at the scene assisting police, as was the Baltimore County Fire Department.
Anyone with information is asked to call Baltimore County Police at 410-887-4636.
This is a developing story and will be updated.
