BajaNomad

McStay family

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MexicoTed - 2-18-2010 at 12:42 AM

A family (dad, mom & 2 children) from San Diego County has been missing since Feb. 4th, but they found one of their cars parked at the San Ysidro border. Seems possible they are across the border. Wondering if anyone in Baja have seen them.



Here's the link to the story:

Bonsall couple, 2 kids not seen since Feb. 4

[Edited on 2-18-2010 by MexicoTed]




[Edited on 2-6-2011 by BajaNomad]


[Edited on 11-16-2013 by BajaNomad]

Woooosh - 2-18-2010 at 11:44 AM

They left their beloved dogs behind with no one to care to care for them. No one does that. If they are in Mexico- they are in serious danger and won't be spotted out in public. They are locked inside a house somewhere.

DENNIS - 2-18-2010 at 11:53 AM

I've been following this on the news. It's mind boggling. They were either snatched or they're doing an insurance scam. Wonder who the beneficiary is.

Bajahowodd - 2-18-2010 at 11:54 AM

Although their web site lists an office in San Clemente and a factory in Pomona, it appears to be a strictly web-based business.

http://www.earthinspiredproducts.com/

Woooosh - 2-18-2010 at 11:55 AM

Quote:
Originally posted by DENNIS
I've been following this on the news. It's mind boggling. They were either snatched or they're doing an insurance scam. Wonder who the beneficiary is.


hope it's the dogs they left behind.

El Camote - 2-18-2010 at 02:12 PM

The McStays are McGone.






sorry. :(

fandango - 2-20-2010 at 04:45 PM

isn't this post about a missing family?
maybe this other info could be on its own thread.
i'm just sayin!!!!!!!!

k-rico - 2-20-2010 at 05:16 PM

Quote:
Originally posted by fandango
isn't this post about a missing family?
maybe this other info could be on its own thread.
i'm just sayin!!!!!!!!


You're right.

I was just reading the latest news about the missing family and the news is that there isn't any news, authorities are baffled.

One story reported that the man's father told reporters that they were remodeling their house and buying kitchen countertops either in south San Diego county or Tijuana. Could have something to do with it.

It's a mystery.

Marla Daily - 2-21-2010 at 09:21 AM

http://www.nctimes.com/news/local/sdcounty/article_a3a0efbf-...

Facts from the above article regarding the still-missing family of 4:

Summer McStay, a stay-at-home mom, is also known as Lisa Aranda-Martelli, according to homicide detectives. She is described as a Colombian woman with brown hair and brown eyes, about 5 feet 5 inches tall, and about 115 pounds.

County listings show that the four-bedroom, three-bathroom home was bought in November for $330,000.

Joseph McStay owns EIP, or Earth Inspired Products, in which he designs interior water features; He started the business in his garage, and in less than a year had so much success that he was able to move into a commercial building.

Woooosh - 2-21-2010 at 12:39 PM

Quote:
Originally posted by Marla Daily
http://www.nctimes.com/news/local/sdcounty/article_a3a0efbf-...

Facts from the above article regarding the still-missing family of 4:

Summer McStay, a stay-at-home mom, is also known as Lisa Aranda-Martelli, according to homicide detectives. She is described as a Colombian woman with brown hair and brown eyes, about 5 feet 5 inches tall, and about 115 pounds.

County listings show that the four-bedroom, three-bathroom home was bought in November for $330,000.

Joseph McStay owns EIP, or Earth Inspired Products, in which he designs interior water features; He started the business in his garage, and in less than a year had so much success that he was able to move into a commercial building.



Wonder why she bothered to change her name from Lisa to Summer? Neither sound very difficult or even Colombian to me. Why was this important to release- as though her full spanish name would trigger something to solve this crime south of the border?

http://www.earthinspiredproducts.com/

The company makes indoor water fountains. That her in the website photo? He doesn't look like an artsy water fountain type to me...

[Edited on 2-21-2010 by Woooosh]

Bajahowodd - 2-21-2010 at 01:10 PM

Personally, I wondered why they described her as "a Colombian woman". What is that supposed to mean? A citizen of Colombia?

arrowhead - 2-21-2010 at 01:32 PM

Isn't the new information that is relevant, that was unknown before, is that she is a Spanish speaker. Thus a stronger Mexico connection?

Woooosh - 2-21-2010 at 02:16 PM

Quote:
Originally posted by arrowhead
Isn't the new information that is relevant, that was unknown before, is that she is a Spanish speaker. Thus a stronger Mexico connection?


Yea, I guess. And their vehicle was found abandoned in San Ysidro. With a Colombian accent- she would def stick out in TJ.

Maybe those border-crossing cameras are a deterrent after all. We would have seen pics of the family walking into Mexico and if transferred against their will to another car- those parking lots all have multiple cameras- don't they?
:?:

BajaGuera - 2-21-2010 at 07:24 PM

You know we were just talking about this tonight. All theories presented here are good - including the Spanish speaking angle and the kitchen counters.

Whoosh - you have the very questions I have. A family crossing the border, with all the cameras...and the security cameras in the border lots. Makes a person wonder if the vehicle at the border was only used as means of transport for someone else - who is better off hidden in Mexico.

Disclaimer - I am not a detective, nor portray one on television. I just read too much Kellerman and Grafton.

[Edited on 2-22-2010 by BajaGuera]

MexicoTed - 2-23-2010 at 01:54 PM

The extended family of the McStay's has put up a website with photos and for information and updates.

www.mcstayfamily.com

ELINVESTIG8R - 2-23-2010 at 02:30 PM

Who knows what happened to this family. I only hope they wanted to find a new life elsewhere and gathered all their money and flew out of Tijuana to some undisclosed destination. The other scenario is very ugly to think about!

David K - 2-23-2010 at 05:03 PM

Quote:
Originally posted by ELINVESTIG8R
Who knows what happened to this family. I only hope they wanted to find a new life elsewhere and gathered all their money and flew out of Tijuana to some undisclosed destination. The other scenario is very ugly to think about!


They left their dogs at home with nobody to feed or care for them... I doubt such was planned by the family.

Woooosh - 2-23-2010 at 08:05 PM

Quote:
Originally posted by David K
Quote:
Originally posted by ELINVESTIG8R
Who knows what happened to this family. I only hope they wanted to find a new life elsewhere and gathered all their money and flew out of Tijuana to some undisclosed destination. The other scenario is very ugly to think about!


They left their dogs at home with nobody to feed or care for them... I doubt such was planned by the family.


Not an American family anyway.

I'm still bothered by the camera thing too. The video should be there- but most parking lot systems overwrite their hard drives every two weeks or so unless the operator intervenes to save a video clip.

There should be tape of this family enering the parking lot, and leaving the lot in another car (similar times at least). From the parking lot they probably entered mexico (second transfer car). If they can pick up the transfer car in the San Ysidro parking lot and follow it to the US cameras in the southbound border crossing lanes (those cement lane dividers) they have captured the cars license plates and the driver's pic.

I meant to look today for the dozens of security cameras that used to be on poles covering the Via Rapida (border fence free for all form Playas de Tijuana to the San Ysidro POE) lanes. They were intentionally installed from the border to the Rosarito toll road entry to make tourists safer.

Can anyone do a visual and see if these cameras are still up? I actually went through downtown today and missed seeing them if they are still there. (I do remember news stories about the army guys and police using those cameras against each other - so maybe they are all gone. They were both caught shaking down cars for money with cash visibly changing hands.)


:?::?::?:

[Edited on 2-24-2010 by Woooosh]

DENNIS - 2-23-2010 at 09:46 PM

Fingerprints would probably be able to tell who did, or didn't, drive that car to the border. Has anybody seen anything on that?

AmoPescar - 2-24-2010 at 12:37 AM

MY GUESS IS....

They're now in the U.S. witness protection program. Probably due to something she/they knew related to the Colombian drug trade. They might even have been involved themselves.


Miguelamo :yawn: :yawn: :yawn:

arrowhead - 2-24-2010 at 01:00 AM

Quote:
Originally posted by AmoPescar
MY GUESS IS....

They're now in the U.S. witness protection program. Probably due to something she/they knew related to the Colombian drug trade. They might even have been involved themselves.


Well, if I had to guess, I don't think the government would plaster pictures of them all over the planet if they were trying to hide them.

torch - 2-24-2010 at 08:08 AM

Quote:
Originally posted by AmoPescar
MY GUESS IS....

They're now in the U.S. witness protection program. Probably due to something she/they knew related to the Colombian drug trade. They might even have been involved themselves.


Miguelamo :yawn: :yawn: :yawn:


what about the dogs, too hard to give them new identities?:(

BooJumMan - 2-24-2010 at 09:33 AM

Its weird that the police found something in the house that would signal a homicide? Or just the fact that they've been missing for 2 weeks at the time would signal looking into it.

I can see that they were not brought into Mexico, rather the guy who did it, or knows something about it is now in Baja after he dropped the car and fled.

Cyanide41 - 2-24-2010 at 09:44 AM

Quote:
Originally posted by Woooosh
With a Colombian accent- she would def stick out in TJ.


Since TJ is a dumping ground for deportees and a holding area for people waiting to cross, you get a lot of different accents. I doubt she sticks out THAT much.


What ever the case is, I hope the family is ok.

[Edited on 2-24-2010 by Cyanide41]

Woooosh - 2-24-2010 at 09:55 AM

Quote:
Originally posted by Cyanide41
Quote:
Originally posted by Woooosh
With a Colombian accent- she would def stick out in TJ.


Since TJ is a dumping ground for deportees and a holding area for people waiting to cross, you get a lot of different accents. I doubt she sticks out THAT much.


What ever the case is, I hope the family is ok.

[Edited on 2-24-2010 by Cyanide41]

Every deportee and non-pocho Spanish speaking person stands out in TJ- don't kid yourself. They look up and do take note. If would be like not noticing a Texas drawl in NYC.

ElFaro - 2-24-2010 at 01:22 PM

Is the guy's factory and assembly shop in TJ ? Maybe they were kidnapped. I assume the wife speaks fluent Spanish (?) and helped in setting up their factory in TJ? The fact that their SUV was found at the border makes me wonder about the TJ factory / cross border business dealings / kidnapping angle.

Bajahowodd - 2-24-2010 at 01:24 PM

His factory is in Pomona. Wrong direction. And fairly far from Bonsall, as well.

josie - 2-24-2010 at 07:38 PM

This story seems to be missing an important chapter that would probably help explain what happened to this family. It does seem very weird. Is there no more recent news on their welfare or whereabouts???

On TV

bajaguy - 2-24-2010 at 08:57 PM

On Nancy Grace, CNN tonight

DENNIS - 2-25-2010 at 07:35 AM

OK....So I didn't see this. Does Nancy Grace offer anything new?

Food

bajaguy - 2-25-2010 at 07:48 AM

Apparently, food was left out on the table instead of being in the refrigerator............

That and all of the hyped up drama that Nancy interjects into a show.

DENNIS - 2-25-2010 at 08:54 AM

Quote:
Originally posted by bajaguy
Apparently, food was left out on the table instead of being in the refrigerator............



That's it? Food on the table? Four people, including highly visible kids vanish without a trace except for food on the table?
C'mon, Terry. You're in LE. What's going on here? What is the FBI doing? All agencys have gone silent.

knuckles - 2-25-2010 at 09:09 AM

The only info that seemed of interest to me (based on the reports) is that the Mother used several different names/alias. Authorities have never elaborated why.

I am of the thought like a few others on this site.....Witness protection. It does seem like there is some missing gap of information.

Woooosh - 2-25-2010 at 09:13 AM

Quote:
Originally posted by DENNIS
Quote:
Originally posted by bajaguy
Apparently, food was left out on the table instead of being in the refrigerator............



That's it? Food on the table? Four people, including highly visible kids vanish without a trace except for food on the table?
C'mon, Terry. You're in LE. What's going on here? What is the FBI doing? All agencys have gone silent.


If I left my dogs behind with food left on the table... that evidence would have been long gone.
:rolleyes:

DENNIS - 2-25-2010 at 09:14 AM

Wouldn't a protection program be a little more dramatic so as to lead people to think another way?
I mean, the only other scenario that would be as mysterious would be alien abduction.
I don't see witness protection as the answer.

durrelllrobert - 2-25-2010 at 09:55 AM

what about the dogs, too hard to give them new identities
Right, not easy but modern vetrinarian medice could make the big dog, Bear, look like a Chihuahua. The puppy would be much harder:lol:

BajaNomad - 2-25-2010 at 08:53 PM

http://www.youtube.com/user/jbmcstay

New info????

bajaguy - 3-5-2010 at 01:24 PM

http://www.signonsandiego.com/news/2010/mar/05/border-video-...

ELINVESTIG8R - 3-5-2010 at 01:41 PM

Although I have no proof, I'm still of the opinion they took off to start a new life somewhere.

Voluntarily?

Bajahowodd - 3-5-2010 at 01:58 PM

Quote:
Originally posted by ELINVESTIG8R
Although I have no proof, I'm still of the opinion they took off to start a new life somewhere.



There are just so many odd aspects to this case. Reports were that business was good. They just bought a house. Yet, the food left on the table suggests a hurried exit, which wouldn't be necessary if they were entering wit pro. As was pointed out, I agree that if it was wit pro, leaving the dogs would make some sense. The recent report of video at the border seems vague so far. But let's just say that they are identified strolling through the gate hand in hand. WTF?:?:

ELINVESTIG8R - 3-5-2010 at 02:11 PM

Crime scene examination would reveal much. With the bits and pieces put out there it sounds staged to me. Again I could be wrong as I do not have all the facts. If it was them walking hand in hand at the border it was not a witness protection removal.

No KIdding!

Bajahowodd - 3-5-2010 at 02:27 PM

Quote:
Originally posted by ELINVESTIG8R
Crime scene examination would reveal much. With the bits and pieces put out there it sounds staged to me. Again I could be wrong as I do not have all the facts. If it was them walking hand in hand at the border it was not a witness protection removal.


At the same time, nothing that has been reported in the media seems to indicate any connection to Mexico by this family. On the other hand, after perusing the business web site, it does appear that a certain amount of the doodads, and parts of the doodads could be of Mexican origin. Maybe he had suppliers from South of the Border.

ELINVESTIG8R - 3-5-2010 at 02:29 PM

I just hope it is what I think and they just flew away to a new life.

DENNIS - 3-5-2010 at 02:51 PM

We're certainly seeing a different community reaction to this case compared to the case of the young lady who disappeared a couple of weeks ago.

arrowhead - 3-5-2010 at 02:57 PM

Well, I could be wrong, but the first thing the police do in a case like this is put a watch on all their bank accounts, credit cards, cell phones, etc. It's hard to run away and start a new life with a wife and two kids with no home, clothes, money or transportation.

I would prepare for the worst.

DENNIS - 3-5-2010 at 03:01 PM

This whole thing is as bizarre as that baloon kid farse. Hope this isn't that type of nonsense.

[Edited on 3-5-2010 by DENNIS]

AmoPescar - 3-7-2010 at 03:16 PM

ANYONE ELSE NOTICE HOW THIS STORY HAS JUST DROPPED OFF ALL THE NEWS MEDIA'S?

One day it was every major TV channel news show's top story and on every newspaper's front page and now...it's GONE!

I'm still voting for the WITNESS PROTECTION program.


Miguelamo :?: :?:

Bajahowodd - 3-7-2010 at 03:29 PM

That's a good point. And as arrowhead mentioned, to flee on their own, it would be nearly impossible to cover their tracks.

bigjohn - 3-7-2010 at 10:16 PM

Just saw this posted on the internet regarding the family.

http://www.aolnews.com/nation/article/new-lead-in-case-of-mi...

Woooosh - 3-13-2010 at 12:35 PM

A little more info trickles in... The husband did do some business in Mexico. The grainy videos may be the family crossing into TJ at San Ysidro- still nothing definitive.

"Family friend Don McCutcheon said Joseph McStay, who operated an indoor fountain business from home, occasionally traveled to Mexico for business, but he didn’t take his family on those trips."

Bajahowodd - 3-13-2010 at 04:33 PM

And just how far do we have to stretch to consider that given the Colombian wife, and The type of business he had, with a location in Pomona that this dude may have been connected. Hate to post that, especially since they have little kids. But after perusing his business web site, I really have to scratch my head as to their financial bounty.

Two months later, and no trace of family

BajaNews - 3-25-2010 at 10:39 AM

http://www.signonsandiego.com/news/2010/mar/24/two-months-la...

By Leslie Berestein
March 24, 2010

Nearly two months after a Fallbrook family of four vanished with scarcely a trace, authorities continue to pursue leads in Mexico, while some relatives are skeptical as to whether they ever crossed the border in the first place.

A grainy Border Patrol video taken the evening of Feb. 8 shows two adults and two small children crossing on foot into Mexico at San Ysidro, which investigators think could be missing businessman Joseph McStay, his wife and their two young sons. The video has been enhanced for resolution by San Diego County Sheriff’s Department investigators, but it has yielded no better identification on the foursome than the original.

“Some family members are more certain that it is them than others,” said Lt. Dennis Brugos of the sheriff’s homicide unit, which has been working with Mexican authorities in hopes of finding the McStays.

McStay, 40, his wife Summer, 43, and their two children Gianni, 4, and Joseph Jr., 3, were last heard from Feb. 4. Since then, there has been no activity on their cell phones, said Mike McStay, 37. He said his missing older brother, who ran a custom indoor fountain business, was a frequent cell phone user who was on track to rack up 7,000 minutes that month.

McStay, who lives in Orange County, said he isn’t convinced that the people in the video are the missing family.

“I have analyzed that thing hundreds of times, I don’t know,” McStay said of the video, which authorities are hoping to enhance further. “The best I can come up with is that the children are the appropriate age and the appropriate size. The quality of the video is just very, very poor.”

He said the last time his brother traveled to Mexico was in 2003, and that he is the only member of the family who holds a current passport; his wife’s passport is expired, McStay said. In addition, their youngest child’s birth certificate, required for minors to cross back into the United States, is with the child’s grandmother.

John Cirignani, who with his wife is a longtime friend of Summer McStay’s from Orange County, said in a recent interview that said she had expressed unease with the idea of traveling to Mexico even as a possible vacation destination, saying she had concerns about safety.

Since the family disappeared, local investigators have teamed with Baja California state police, which have made inquiries about the family at airports, bus stations, hotels, shopping centers, hospitals, even the Tijuana morgue. Investigators checked with a family acquaintance in Los Cabos, who had not heard from them, according to Baja state police. In the United States, investigators from the state Department of Justice are also involved, Brugos said.

While there is still an investigation north of the border, “it seems as thought there is a high probability that they went south,” Brugos said, “We are going to look in that direction now.”

Mike McStay doesn’t think so, fearing something happened to the family in the four days between when they were last heard from and the night their SUV was found near the border — the same night the video shows the two adults and two children walking south.

“One of my biggest fears is could it be the kids, but that it could not be the adults,” said McStay, who worries that someone else may have driven the car to the border.

McStay, who has been working with a private investigation firm, said he and other family members remain stumped, and that as time goes by, are growing increasingly pessimistic. He said that a neighbor’s surveillance tape shows the family’s SUV leaving their home at 7:47 p.m. Feb. 4 and not returning that night. The family, which had recently moved in after relocating from San Clemente, appeared to have been painting the kitchen, he said, not planning a trip. Perishable food was left out, and their two dogs were left uncared for.

McStay said his brother had no reason to leave: His business had recently obtained some lucrative corporate contracts. After a bankruptcy several years ago, stemming from a lawsuit over a previous business the brothers shared, his brother had regained his financial footing and was and was excited about buying a new home. Joseph McStay also has an older son from a previous marriage that he was close to and would not abandon, his brother said.

“There is no crime scene at the house or in the car, but that does not mean there is not a crime scene,” Mike McStay said. “People don’t just fall off the face of the earth.”

E-mails link McStays to Mexico, authorities say

BajaNews - 3-29-2010 at 06:35 PM

http://www.signonsandiego.com/news/2010/mar/29/e-mails-link-...

By Leslie Berestein
March 29, 2010

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

Homicide Lt. Dennis Brugos said Monday that 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 were last seen Feb. 4. Their sport utility vehicle was found parked near the U.S.-Mexico 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 baffled by the McStays’ disappearance and are skeptical that the family is in Mexico. They said the couple had not given any indication to relatives that they were going anywhere.

Joseph McStay, 40, runs 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.

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 other places without 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 the people.

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

FBI joins search for McStays

BajaNews - 4-2-2010 at 06:26 AM

http://www.signonsandiego.com/news/2010/apr/02/fbi-joins-sea...

By Leslie Berestein
April 2, 2010

FALLBROOK — The FBI is joining the search for a Fallbrook family that has been missing for almost two months and is believed to be in Mexico.

Homicide Lt. Dennis Brugos of the San Diego Sheriff’s Department said the federal agents will be briefed on the case today. “They have more resources in Mexico,” he said.

Darrell Foxworth, an FBI special agent in San Diego, acknowledged the briefing but provided no other details about the agency’s involvement.

Businessman Joseph McStay, his wife, Summer, and their two young sons were last heard from Feb. 4. Their white Isuzu Trooper was found in a San Ysidro parking lot near the border four days later.

Brugos said that while the investigation continues in both countries, the primary focus is on Mexico. Earlier this week, investigators said the couple’s computer records revealed that the week before they disappeared, inquiries were made about passport requirements for traveling to Mexico with children. The McStays’ two children are Gianni, 4, and Joseph Jr., 3.

Sheriff’s homicide investigators have been working with the state Department of Justice and with law enforcement agencies in Mexico, including Tijuana police, Baja California state police and the Baja California attorney general’s office.

Investigators there have checked transportation centers, hotels, hospitals and other sources within Baja California and followed leads beyond the border region, including in the Los Cabos area.

Jesús Quiñones, an international liaison for the Baja California state attorney general’s office, said information about the missing family has been shared with state agencies throughout Mexico and with the national immigration service, which checks foreign travelers’ documents at airports and highway checkpoints.

While it’s presumed that they crossed the border, he said nothing has turned up.

“We are searching, but so far, there has been no indication that they are in Mexico,” Quiñones said.

Joseph McStay’s brother, Mike McStay, said the computer inquiries were made to About.com, a site where users can send in questions. The inquiries were made Jan. 27 and 28, he said.

McStay said he is glad the FBI will be joining the search. But the recent news that the family might have planned to go to Mexico has not put relatives any more at ease.

Relatives of both Joseph, 40, and Summer, 43, say it would be uncharacteristic of them to simply pick up and leave the country without telling family members.

“I know I should feel a little bit better, but I don’t,” said Summer McStay’s sister, Tracy Russell, 40. She last spoke to her sister on the phone Feb. 4.

“My mother is distraught. I don’t think my sister would torture my mom like that.”

Russell, who lives in Rancho Cucamonga, said her sister had told her during that last conversation that she was planning to visit her next week.

She said that her sister had visited Baja California many years ago, but that given the violence there in recent years, Summer McStay had no interest in returning and would not take her sons. Furthermore, Russell said, her sister is a stickler for proper use of car seats; the family Trooper was found with the children’s car seats inside.

Mike McStay, 37, who lives in Orange County, said the news this week has prompted more tips about possible sightings to a Web site he has set up, which he has forwarded to authorities. So far, he has heard no word from investigators as to any possible destination, if there was one.

Neither of the McStays is fluent in Spanish, according to relatives. And only Joseph McStay has a valid passport; his wife’s is expired. Their youngest son’s birth certificate, required for re-entry to the United States by minors under 16, is with a grandmother.

Mike McStay said he has applied for a passport so that he can travel to Mexico if necessary. He still has a hard time with the idea that the family would pick up and leave, but at least there is more direction to the investigation, he said.

“I don’t know that they are safe,” McStay said. “All I know is that I have a direction to go in with the case. If I have to go there myself, I am going there myself.”

McStay family relatives hand out fliers

BajaNews - 4-5-2010 at 05:23 PM

http://www.signonsandiego.com/news/2010/apr/03/mcstay-family...

By Michele Clock
April 3, 2010

SAN YSIDRO — Family and friends of a missing Fallbrook family fanned out Saturday near the area where the family’s sports utility vehicle was abandoned nearly two months ago in hopes of gathering any possible leads.

Armed with colorful, photo-filled fliers, Mike McStay, the brother of missing businessman Joseph McStay, said somebody had to have noticed something. The family of four hasn’t been seen since Feb. 4. Four days later their car turned up in a San Ysidro parking lot near the border.

“Did somebody, with all these people around, see something from here to the border?” said Mike McStay, 37, standing in the same shopping center parking lot where the family’s white 1996 Isuzu Trooper turned up.

A grainy video showed two adults and two young children approaching the San Ysidro border crossing on Feb. 8, though authorities haven’t been able to determine for sure whether it is the missing family.

McStay and more than a dozen family friends yesterday passed out more than 4,000 fliers with photos and descriptions of Joseph McStay, 40, his wife, Summer, 43, and two children, Gianni, 4, and Joseph, 3.

McStay and family friend Don McCutcheon, of Mission Viejo, said several leads pointing to sightings of the family in Mexico were passed along to authorities this week. The tips leads have placed the family across Mexico, from the Yucatan area on the Gulf of Mexico to the Jalisco area on the Pacific Coast.

Asked if he thinks the family is still alive and in Mexico, McStay said, “I’m leaning that way.”

Standing near stacks of fliers, McCutcheon insisted the family just had no reason to leave their lives.

“Nice house, cars paid off, business doing good and you leave?” McCutcheon said. “Doesn’t make sense...We believe they did not go on their own accord.”

San Diego Sheriff’s Department spokeswoman Jan Caldwell confirmed Friday that the FBI had been briefed on the case, joining an effort headed by sheriff’s investigators.

“The FBI has sources south of the border, and that is what we would like to tap into,” she said.

The McStay's 'Simple Plan'

BajaNews - 4-5-2010 at 05:31 PM

http://newsblaze.com/story/20100403100625kays.nb/topstory.ht...

By John Kays
April 03, 2010

I had my doubts before about the surveillance video of the McStays approaching the turnstile to cross over into Tijuana, Mexico. But now I have developed my own photo of the family in silhouette, and am more convinced than ever that this is indeed the McStays. The figure of Summer with her long black hair is the most recognizable.

The investigation into the February 4th disappearance of the McStay family is morphing in the direction of a flight into Mexico, and probably deliberately. This only muddies the waters all the more. My theory is that with their fleeing into Mexico by choice, they must have been trying to avoid someone. They left behind a beautiful brand new home and a very happy existence. Or so it would appear on the surface?

I am going to back up here and spell out a handful of new facts that cast this case in a different light. The best reporting is coming from the Union-Tribune in San Diego and specifically from staff writer Leslie Berestein. Leslie seems to have the inside scoop with the McStay family and with the San Diego Sheriff's Department, who is oh so selective in what clues they'll disclose to the public.

A primary new clue is that the McStay's were researching passport requirements for traveling to Mexico with children. These inquiries were found on their computer and were made on Jan. 27 and Jan. 28; they visited the site About.com. However, it doesn't look as if they followed through with obtaining the proper legal documents.

Joseph was the only one who had a valid passport. Summer's had expired and the youngest son's birth certificate, required for reentry into the United States, was left with a grandmother. Therefore, I believe that a sudden unexpected event or development (a third party intervention) hastened their plans to depart Fallbrook on February 4th.

A new fact that I find significant is that a neighbor's security camera shows a vehicle backing out of the McStay's driveway at exactly 7:47 P.M. on Feb. 4th. Why were the family of four leaving so late on their trip? Some event, perhaps a phone call, must have triggered an impetus to move up the clock of departure?

Why leave so late for Mexico? This makes no sense. And remember, it would be four more days until their car was towed from a strip mall parking lot in San Ysidro. Where were they during this time and what were they doing for those four days?

The last phone call made was by Joseph McStay, on his cell phone at 8:37 PM to his business partner. The call was for only one minute and was made one hour after their departure for an unknown destination. After this time the cell phones go dead. Also, bank activity completely drops off the earth.

Could they have been living on cash alone? They would have to. A sizeable withdrawal of cold cash is required to make this fit. Yet the police haven't mentioned any cash withdrawal such as this? This is the key to a fundamental hypothesis of mine that I will postulate for you shortly.

What I find most odd is why hasn't the business partner come out with a statement to the press? This partner of Joseph in his home fountain business has not even given his name. Is he hiding something? What did he discuss with Joseph in this last one minute phone conversation? If he has nothing to hide, why not just come out with a statement to the press? Perhaps he has a piece of information that could unravel this unsolved mystery?

Tim Miller of Texas Equusearch was a guest on Jane-Velez Mitchell on Wednesday, March 31st. When Tim looked over the McStay house, he observed that it appeared that many clothes were missing. This implies that the family packed these belongings with the idea of leaving on a planned trip. Maybe a trip of some length, I might add. There were only high heels for Summer, and where were Joseph's shoes and shirts? Packed in luggage, I would think.

And what about the notion that they staged their disappearance? What's for sure, is that they left in haste! Food was left out. And Summer forgot her prescription sunglasses! The dogs were left without food and water (most puzzling). Trays of paint and rollers were abandoned, as if some event altered Summer's flow of work, her painting of the kitchen, a dramatic gear shift. A statement of Summer's friend for ten years, Jesi Silveria, reinforces my theory of a rapid change in plans.

"I was one of the last people speaking to her and for three days straight it was all about moving in and setting in. There was no mention about hesitancy or challenges she was having. If she had any stress or strain or worry you could have heard it in her voice. It just doesn't make sense to anyone who personally knows them."

A life altering development occurred on February 4th. This event was reinforced by previous happenings, however. This is cause and effect here. Think of when you shoot a pool ball with a cue stick. The ball hits other balls and they move to a new location on the pool table. In turn, this affects the player's strategy on his next shot. The 'McStay Plan' was a work in progress. It shifted with the sifting sands of fate.

Testimony from Susan Blake, Joseph's mother, adds to my belief that something BIG went down on February 4th. Susan Blake felt as if something was out of place when she spoke to her son on that day. "Joe told me he wasn't feeling good that day. His equilibrium wasn't right and I felt something was wrong." I think that Joe knew it was time to get away. Not doing so would be a more negative decision for his family.

I'm going to lay out my theory, so don't scoff at me for idle speculation. I'm sure that the FBI is doing that very thing even as I type these words. But here goes nothing. A favorite movie of mine, 1998's A Simple Plan, directed by Sam Raimi, is my model for what happened to the McStays. In the film Hank Mitchell, his brother Jacob, and a friend Lou stumble upon a downed airplane. They find a dead man inside the crash and $4.4 million dollars in cash, stashed in cargo bags.

The brothers and the friend devise a 'simple plan' to lay low and to keep the money as a sort of retirement account for their old age. This is where the irony comes in, this is anything but a 'simple plan' as a rapid sequence of events put a tire iron in the spokes of a well-oiled scheme. In this parallel the McStays must have discovered some money that they weren't intended to have. I think it was a sum of more than a million dollars. This cash may have been hidden in one of the fountains that Joseph purchased from Mexico. Narco-traffickers may have been attempting to launder vast amounts of drug money by way of these fountain craftsmen on the other side of the border. The McStays were not supposed to be aware of this scheme.

As such their men on the American side would retrieve this money and smuggle it away to another safehouse. But Joseph accidentally discovered this money when he was working on one of these fountains. The amount was so great, that he decided to keep it after discussing the situation with Summer. In the film Bill Paxton does something similar with Bridgett Fonda. The money pushes their button. This is where a 'simple plan' comes into play.

And so this would explain why the bank accounts suddenly went dead. The McStays would operate strictly on a cash-only-basis, going forward. They figured that could hide out in Mexico undetected, maybe in some simple village up in the mountains, away from civilization. And their cash would stretch out as far as the eye can see.

Fitting in with my theory, the McStays had to hide out in the states from the 4th to the 8th. They didn't want to cross over into Mexico too rapidly, lest the traffickers might surprise them at the crossing. Why leave the white Isuzu Trooper in San Ysidro? Because the Bad Men knew of the vehicle from the news, so they had to get rid of it. And what about the last call to the business partner?

This is why I think he knew. He may have tipped off the McStays that 'they' were looking for them. This would also explain why he won't give his name or provide the media with a statement of some kind. Also, I believe the police know of his involvement and are providing him with a makeshift 'witness protection program.' This would also explain why it took so long to report the disappearance to the authorities. Enough time was allowed for the McStays to hide away in the remotest regions of Mexico.

And then you might wonder why the McStays didn't just return the money to these traffickers? The reason why is this wasn't even an option! Even if they did return the money, they would still be killed to silence them. This is how these ruthless criminals operate, in say, Ciudad Juarez. The McStays had no choice but to flee with the money in tow. They had but one choice-a permanent departure from their once beautiful life.

My theory of what might have happened to the McStays is the only one that fits all the known facts we that we have at our disposal. Today Michael McStay is distributing fliers down on the border. He intends to go to Mexico very soon, and has already gotten his passport. And now the FBI is taking a stake in this case.

This is further support for my theory. I don't believe they would get involved if they didn't believe their case had taken on wider parameters. As such maybe it's more international in scope, involving U.S. citizens and narco-traffickers, who operate without impunity on both sides of the borders.

You may think I'm spinning cotton candy here, but how can one juxtapose these disjointed facts into a cogent theorem that fits for their sudden disappearance? My theory works. And don't you look upon me as if I'm lingering on the Dark Side (I don't live in a Gingerbread House)!

I do believe that they are still alive! I'm an optimist. Two possible sightings have already been reported. The case may break tomorrow or it may remain unsolved. Words of Lt. Dennis Brugos best characterizes the McStay case: "I've never seen anything like this in over 35 years of experience in the business."

durrelllrobert - 4-6-2010 at 10:48 AM

Quote:
Originally posted by soulpatch
Wow! That is some serious speculation and you have certainly spent some time on this.


The article was written by John Kays for newsblaze.com. He also wrote this article about the 9 militia indicted for ploting to kill law enforcement agents:
Is The Hutaree Militia an 'outlier' or Part of a Growing National Trend?
In this article he states: The Hutaree believe that the feds are conspiring to create one-world government and so a war is at hand, that is, between Christians and the Antichrist. Exactly who is the Antichrist? This is unclear from 'Hutaree theology,' but I would think it must be Barack Obama, since he's the president of the federal government.
:?::?:

Bajahowodd - 4-6-2010 at 11:26 AM

Moreover, newsblaze is the handiwork of Alan Gray, a devout tea party advocate.

mtgoat666 - 4-6-2010 at 11:58 AM

Quote:
Originally posted by BajaNews
http://newsblaze.com/story/20100403100625kays.nb/topstory.ht...

By John Kays
April 03, 2010


That story is pure arm waving imagination run amock-- was not news.

BajaNews: As a news compiler and poster, you should add to your signature that you make no attempt to filter news with respect to reliable vs unreliable sources, or filter news from internet conspiracy theories.

anywho, thast was not a news article, but was an entertaing tabloid theory piece. perhaps yopu need another posting-name: "BajaNews-tabloid edition" to distiguish your pieces from regular news.

bajabeachbabe - 5-13-2010 at 12:12 PM

New information from CNN - may be in Baja


Gabriel Falcon
AC360° Writer

The brother of a Southern California man who disappeared along with his entire family reported a possible new lead in the three-month-old mystery.

Michael McStay said he learned through an investigator that a waiter believed he served Joseph McStay, his wife, Summer McStay, and their children, Gianni, 4, and Jospeh, 3, at a restaurant in Guerrero Negro, Mexico in late February or early March.

Guerrero Negro is a city in the Mexican state of Baja California Sur.

According to Michael McStay, he recalled that the family left behind a map. McStay said he did not know any further details about the map. He said it was handed over to the FBI, who did not return calls for a comment.


McStay also said the waiter commented at the time on what he thought was a bump on the little boy’s head. It was actually a birthmark, Mcstay said.

McStay told CNN that the waiter remembered that Joseph McStay “looked ill, he looked sick.”
“My understanding was in the last year he’d been having these vertigo type symptoms,” McStay said. “He was in the hospital for a couple of weeks, and on the (February) 4, he was talking to my mother and he had to pull over when he was driving home because he felt vertigo type symptoms.”

The Mcstays have not been seen or heard from since February 4.

Information gathered on the McStay's home computer reveal the couple was making travel inquires about Mexico on the internet a week before they were reported missing, authorities said.

“It had to do with travel in Mexico with children and whether you needed to have passports for children,” Lt. Dennis Brugos, of the San Diego Sheriff’s Department said. “It looks as if there were some planning.”

Their two dogs were found unattended without food or water in the Mcstay’s San Diego house, investigators said.

An SUV belonging to the McStays was found abandoned on February 8 just two blocks from the San Ysidro border checkpoint, authorities said.

Surveillance video taken that evening appears to show the family “casually” walking into Mexico, the sheriff’s department said.

Michael McStay does not understand why his brother would, it appears, voluntarily abandon their life in the U.S.

“It’s like they are afraid of something,” he said. “That’s what to me it appears to me.”

“What I can’t gather is what’s compelling him to go down there…I can’t figure it out.”

Joseph McStay is 5 feet 9 inches tall and weighs 175 pounds. He has brown hair and brown eyes. Summer McStay, also known as Lisa Aranda-Martelli, is 5 feet 5 inches tall and 115 pounds, with brown hair and brown eyes.

Anyone with information on the whereabouts of the McStay family is urged to contact the San Diego County Sheriff's Department at 858-565-5200. Anonymous calls can be made to 888-580-8477.

mtgoat666 - 5-13-2010 at 12:22 PM

according to the UT, the restaurant was mama espinosas. perhaps they died from bad food?

Cypress - 5-13-2010 at 12:30 PM

Summer McStay AKA Lisa Aranda-Martelli? That's a clue. Look for her family contacts.:bounce:

Bajahowodd - 5-13-2010 at 02:07 PM

Quote:
Originally posted by mtgoat666
according to the UT, the restaurant was mama espinosas. perhaps they died from bad food?


That's only 222 miles from Guerrero Negro. And now, watch out for the wrath of David!:lol:

[Edited on 5-13-2010 by Bajahowodd]

DENNIS - 5-13-2010 at 02:13 PM

Quote:
Originally posted by Cypress
Summer McStay AKA Lisa Aranda-Martelli? That's a clue. Look for her family contacts.:bounce:


It's been mentioned that they are in Colombia. No red flag there.:lol:

toneart - 5-13-2010 at 02:25 PM

Quote:
Originally posted by bajabeachbabe
New information from CNN - may be in Baja


Gabriel Falcon
AC360° Writer

The brother of a Southern California man who disappeared along with his entire family reported a possible new lead in the three-month-old mystery.

Michael McStay said he learned through an investigator that a waiter believed he served Joseph McStay, his wife, Summer McStay, and their children, Gianni, 4, and Jospeh, 3, at a restaurant in Guerrero Negro, Mexico in late February or early March.

Guerrero Negro is a city in the Mexican state of Baja California Sur.



I wonder in which restaurant they were maybe served in G.N.?

The owner of the El Remedio Restaurant (not the managing partner, Noel) was murdered in his bedroom there around that time. The perp was never found. Who knows if there may be any connection? Surely the FBI investigator would be on that if there were a possible connection. :?:

David K - 5-13-2010 at 09:05 PM

Sounds like every restaurant in Baja is going to use this as a publicity stunt to get more business!

The local San Diego radio station news blipped that the search was ending by Mexican authorities after a lead they got in El Rosario turned up nothing.

BajaNews - 5-16-2010 at 09:55 PM

http://www.nctimes.com/news/local/sdcounty/article_acf74a4f-...

By TERI FIGUEROA
May 12, 2010

Nearly three months after a family of four disappeared from their Fallbrook home, a relative said Wednesday there has been a "credible" tip that places the missing people in central Baja California.

A waiter in the Mexican town of El Rosario reportedly saw the McStay family twice in late February, serving them dinner and then a brunch the following morning, said Michael McStay.

The tip is the latest turn in the mystery of what happened to Joseph and Summer McStay and their two boys, Gianni, 4, and Joey Jr., 3. The last time anyone heard from them was Feb. 4, and Joseph's brother Michael said he and other family members are confused and sick with worry.

Agent Darrell Foxworth, of the San Diego offices of the FBI, told NBC 7/39 on Wednesday that investigators were looking into a recent tip from Baja, but declined to give further details. The FBI is assisting the San Diego Sheriff's Department in the investigation into the family's disappearance.

Michael McStay said a friend who was searching for the family in Mexico and passing out fliers last month spoke to a waiter from a restaurant known as Mama Espinosa's.

The "most compelling" piece of information "without a doubt," Michael McStay said, was that the waiter mentioned, without prompting, that one of the children he saw had a big red mark on his head.

Joey McStay Jr., 3, has a large birthmark on his forehead.

"To me, that was big," McStay said. "This tip is pretty good ---- but it's still just hearsay."

Michael McStay said the waiter also reported that the father in the family appeared to be ailing.

The waiter said that the family he served left behind a map of some sort. They restaurant had saved the map ---- and now that map has now been turned over to investigators., Michael McStay said.

The worried brother said he is hopeful authorities will be able to lift fingerprints from the paper.

"If the authorities can extract something from it, that's good," Michael McStay said.

Michael McStay reported the family missing Feb. 15, after finding their dogs unattended, a carton of eggs on the kitchen counter and no sign of what happened.

Their bank accounts, e-mail and cell phones have had no activity since they vanished, according to the San Diego County Sheriff's Department.

Detectives have long raised the possibility that the family headed south of the border.

The family's car was found abandoned blocks from the San Ysidro crossing, and border crossing surveillance video shows a family ---- thought possibly to be the McStays ---- walking toward Mexico.

But vanishing 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.

Leaving is not illegal, but authorities said they are investigating the possibility that something is amiss or foul play may be involved.

BajaNews - 5-16-2010 at 09:57 PM

http://ac360.blogs.cnn.com/2010/05/12/missing-family-seen-wi...

...the waiter remembered that Joseph McStay “looked ill, he looked sick.”
“My understanding was in the last year he’d been having these vertigo type symptoms,” McStay said. “He was in the hospital for a couple of weeks, and on the (February) 4, he was talking to my mother and he had to pull over when he was driving home because he felt vertigo type symptoms.”

The Mcstays have not been seen or heard from since February 4.

Information gathered on the McStay's home computer reveal the couple was making travel inquires about Mexico on the internet a week before they were reported missing, authorities said.

“It had to do with travel in Mexico with children and whether you needed to have passports for children,” Lt. Dennis Brugos, of the San Diego Sheriff’s Department said. “It looks as if there were some planning.”

BajaNews - 5-16-2010 at 10:00 PM

http://www.10news.com/news/23536548/detail.html

The ray of hope is a map that the family may have left behind. Staff at Mama Espinosa’s restaurant said the family that resembled the McStays left the map after they ate.

Michael McStay said the FBI is now testing fingerprints found on the map and expects the results within a few days.

“If they can get a partial or anything then I’m gonna know they definitely had their hands on it,” said McStay.

BajaNews - 5-16-2010 at 10:02 PM

http://www.nbcsandiego.com/news/local-beat/McStay-Family-Spo...

Neither Joseph nor Summer McStay is fluent in Spanish, according to relatives. Summer McStay's passport is expired. Their youngest son's birth certificate, required for re-entry to the United States by minors under 16, is with a grandmother, relatives said.

BajaNews - 5-16-2010 at 10:06 PM

http://www.signonsandiego.com/news/2010/may/12/investigators...

By Leslie Berestein
May 12, 2010

Since early in the investigation and especially following the computer search, it has been presumed that the family is in Mexico. While there have been previous reports of sightings elsewhere, Michael McStay said this latest sighting in Baja California has given him more hope.

“It sounds like this is more substantial,” he said. “It is way more substantial than the first two. It seems more credible. He wasn’t prompted to make a comment about the birthmark.”

Arenas said that state agents would spend the next two days combing the region surrounding El Rosario, which sits inland from the Pacific. The area, which is dotted with small ranches, tends to attract a few U.S. retirees, he said, though most northerners just pass through. While it’s unlikely the family is still there, he said the hope is that there will at least be more concrete evidence that they indeed passed through, and if so, pointers as to their whereabouts.

“We are being hopeful that they bring back some positive identification, that they were there,” Arenas said. “Or even better, that they find them.”

Michael McStay said that according to the friend who stopped at the restaurant, one staff member had mentioned that the father in the family looked unwell, and this worries him.

shari - 5-17-2010 at 06:36 AM

we had an interesting visit from a friend of the family yesterday who is searching the small villages for this family. There are now flyers up everywhere and it's the talk of the town as it is possible they were seen in central baja as well....so keep your eyes out Nomads particularly for the little boy with the red birthmark on his forehead.

durrelllrobert - 5-17-2010 at 07:38 AM

what ever happened to the theory that they were surviving a a large quantity of cash that was smuggled into his factory inside a large concrete fountain from Mexico:?::?:

BajaNomad - 5-17-2010 at 08:17 AM

Quote:
Originally posted by shari
.. it is possible they were seen in central baja as well


Here's my take on being seen in "Central Baja"...

- It was initially reported by some news sources that they were seen at Mama Espinosa's in El Rosario.
- After that, it was then reported by others (same incident) they were seen in "Central Baja".
- After than, it was then reported by CNN (same incident) they were seen in Guerrero Negro.

http://ac360.blogs.cnn.com/2010/05/12/missing-family-seen-wi...

Bajahowodd - 5-17-2010 at 02:33 PM

It's just about as clear as Virginia Lisa Aranda-Martelli Summer McStay.:light:

vandenberg - 5-17-2010 at 02:45 PM

Trying to find a family of four, with a kid with a very visible birthmark, can't be that much of a task. But, then again, maybe the same investigators/CIA agents/FBI, that were trying to find Bin Laden are on the case.:no::no:

Bajahowodd - 5-17-2010 at 03:26 PM

So, should we invade a country that isn't a threat to us, instead of looking for this family?:lol:

k-rico - 5-17-2010 at 04:24 PM

I saw several posters along the way on my trip to Mulege and back last month. I don't remember a cash reward for info leading to them. Seems like a logical thing to do.

Is there one?

DENNIS - 5-19-2010 at 12:42 PM

I think the noose is tightening around this family. I mean, where can they go on the Peninsula and not be recognized?

Bajahowodd - 5-19-2010 at 01:32 PM

You bring up a point. Assuming that they did flee to Baja, it just seems to me that they would have had a better chance for anonymity if they went to the mainland.

mtgoat666 - 5-19-2010 at 02:00 PM

Quote:
Originally posted by DENNIS
I think the noose is tightening around this family. I mean, where can they go on the Peninsula and not be recognized?


Dennis the menace:
The "authorities" have not alleged a crime has occured. If it is tru they were seen, then it sounds like they want to be left alone.

I am wondering, why don't y'all bugger off and leave them alone?

Trueheart - 5-19-2010 at 02:04 PM

I have seen two references made to a restaurant they were served in ... one says GN and the other says El Rosario (Momma Espinosas). More info seems to be geared to Momma Espinosas, so I'm gonna guess that the reference to GN was not accurate, or less accurate? More detail is connected to Momma Espinosas.

Anyway, to the McStay family, if the sighting was in Momma Espinosas (where the map was left) please consider speaking with the people at the Baja Cactus Hotel just a couple hundred feet to the north. Maybe they stayed there for a night? The owner, Antonio Munoz, knows an unbelievable number of people and always has lots of information about things "Baja", as well as countless contacts. He is one well connected man, a very nice and helpful guy as well, and he just might have an insight into how to further your investigation. Worth a shot if you or your investigators haven't spoken with him already.

Good luck!

Steve

DENNIS - 5-19-2010 at 02:11 PM

Quote:
Originally posted by mtgoat666
Dennis the menace:
The "authorities" have not alleged a crime has occured. If it is tru they were seen, then it sounds like they want to be left alone.

I am wondering, why don't y'all bugger off and leave them alone?


I guess you'll have to ask why the FBI and other agencies are curious as to their whereabouts.
It's comforting, in a way, that someone would be concerned with a persons disappearance...doncha think, Goat? The search would be confined to just a few specialty establishments if you were the disappeared party. They would have to look no further than the corner stool at "The Treated Sewage Tavern." SALUD

shari - 5-19-2010 at 02:15 PM

the investigators have spoken to the hotels in El Rosario....what puzzles me...apart from everything...is that if one was trying to keep a low profile, Mama Espinosas doesnt seem like the most logical choice for food...particularly if one is on a tight budget.
There was a sighting in GN at a very popular restaurant/hotel...also pricey...I wont say which one as they were just checking things out the last few days...I'm sure it will come out soon in the news...but certainly sounded like a positive ID.

DENNIS - 5-19-2010 at 02:15 PM

Quote:
Originally posted by Trueheart
Worth a shot if you or your investigators haven't spoken with him already.


Steve



Thanks, Steve. Are you directing this to anyone in particular? Sounds as though you are. Just curious.

Antonio, by the way, is a Nomad and fairly well known here. Thanks for your suggestion.

Trueheart - 5-19-2010 at 02:59 PM

Dennis:

Yep, directed at the McStay family (beginning of paragraph). I would imagine they follow this thread just in case anything useful pops up.

Steve

DENNIS - 5-19-2010 at 03:07 PM

Quote:
Originally posted by Trueheart

Yep, directed at the McStay family (beginning of paragraph). I would imagine they follow this thread just in case anything useful pops up.

Steve



Come to think of it, I'll bet you're right.

You're Being a Tease

Bajahowodd - 5-20-2010 at 02:24 PM

Quote:
Originally posted by shari
the investigators have spoken to the hotels in El Rosario....what puzzles me...apart from everything...is that if one was trying to keep a low profile, Mama Espinosas doesnt seem like the most logical choice for food...particularly if one is on a tight budget.
There was a sighting in GN at a very popular restaurant/hotel...also pricey...I wont say which one as they were just checking things out the last few days...I'm sure it will come out soon in the news...but certainly sounded like a positive ID.

ELINVESTIG8R - 5-22-2010 at 08:10 AM

While I was visiting at Mama Espinoza's Restaurant several PEP Agents came into the restaurant with a photo spread of the McStay family asking if we had seen them. I told them I had only just arrived at Mama Espinoza's on May 3, 2010 and had not seen them. They asked me to give my name address and telephone number on the photo spread and sign that I had not seen them. Two other people from the restaurant who I was talking to were also questioned and indicated they had not seen the McStays at the restaurant. They too had to give the same information and signed that they had not seen them. The PEP Agents placed the McStay family picture around the restaurant and Motel area and left. We were told they were not in trouble and that they were only looking for them to repatriate them to the USA. A day or so later local the Policia Municipal came to Mama's Alberque de Niños with a search warrant and search it too. That is all I know. I hope they are safe somewhere.

mtgoat666 - 5-22-2010 at 08:17 AM

Quote:
Originally posted by ELINVESTIG8R
While I was visiting at Mama Espinoza's Restaurant several PEP Agents came into the restaurant with a photo spread of the McStay family asking if we had seen them. I told them I had only just arrived at Mama Espinoza's on May 3, 2010 and had not seen them. They asked me to give my name address and telephone number on the photo spread and sign that I had not seen them. Two other people from the restaurant who I was talking to were also questioned and indicated they had not seen the McStays at the restaurant. They too had to give the same information and signed that they had not seen them. The PEP Agents placed the McStay family picture around the restaurant and Motel area and left. We were told they were not in trouble and that they were only looking for them to repatriate them to the USA. A day or so later local the Policia Municipal came to Mama's Alberque de Niños with a search warrant and search it too. That is all I know. I hope they are safe somewhere.


why would you sign something? and why would they want you to sign something?

and why would coppers use a search warrant?

sounds like something shady happened at mama espinosas

ELINVESTIG8R - 5-22-2010 at 01:19 PM

Goat. The PEP Agents wanted us to sign so they could show their bosses they actually travelled from Mexicali to El Rosario to do their investigation. The PEP Agents never asked to conduct a search of Mama's Alberque de Niños. It was only later that the Municipal Police did the search with a search warrant because the owners of the property were not available to give their consent. I certainly could not give it. No conspiracy here Goat!

Baja lead about missing family goes nowhere

BajaNews - 5-25-2010 at 04:20 PM

http://www.signonsandiego.com/news/2010/may/25/lead-about-fa...

No one in Baja town can identify McStays

By Leslie Berestein
May 25, 2010

FALLBROOK — A lead that relatives of a missing Fallbrook family said had given them hope went nowhere.

This month, Baja California state police sent investigators to a small town in central Baja where businessman Joseph McStay, his wife and two young sons were allegedly seen in late February. The family went missing Feb. 4.

The tip came from a family friend who, in the course of distributing fliers there, had reportedly talked to staff at a restaurant who said they saw diners who resembled the McStays.

A map left behind by those diners was handed over to U.S. authorities, but it did not yield the McStays’ fingerprints, said Don McCutcheon, a family friend in Orange County.

The restaurant worker was unable to identify the family members in photographs, said Alfredo Arenas, a spokesman for the Baja California state police.

He said that after combing the town of El Rosario, investigators came up empty-handed.

“They interviewed the entire population — the hotels, the restaurants, the stores, and nothing,” Arenas said.

Hook - 5-25-2010 at 04:38 PM

Hasn't anyone questioned Gotta Peso yet???????

Bajahowodd - 5-25-2010 at 04:45 PM

Good thing El Pozolero is is custody, no?

BajaBlanca - 5-25-2010 at 06:53 PM

Some guests who were here at our B & B left some flyers .... the word sure is getting around ... I amazed that they havent been seen by any of us

Mexicorn - 5-25-2010 at 07:00 PM

I think I saw the woman at Cantiles about a year ago before they came up missing. She came across as wanitng to be the center of attention. Dont remember they guy to much- not my cup of tea ya know. She was kinda of attacative if it was her.

Missing McStay Family On America's Most Wanted

noproblemo2 - 6-19-2010 at 06:18 PM

Missing McStay Family On America's Most Wanted
The missing McStay family from Fallbrook will be featured Saturday night on America's Most Wanted.

The shows airs at 9 p.m. on Fox.

10news spoke with Joseph mcstay's brother Mike, who told us they hope the show generates new leads, and helps the authorities track down the missing family.


Friends and family of the Mcstays are already placing ads in newspapers across Baja.

The mcstays have been missing since early February. Last month a waiter in a Baja restaurant told authorities he had seen the family.

He said the family left behind a map, which he turned over to the authorities so it could be dusted for prints. But according to Mike McStay, the map was unable to yield results, and is now being re-tested.

A Border Patrol video taken at the San Ysidro Port Of Entry was also unable to positively identify the family, after claims they were seen crossing the border into Mexico.

fishabductor - 6-19-2010 at 08:44 PM

Is this the family with the Trooper(?) found abandonded at the border San Isidro with the 2 little kids?

I saw a flyer at the old Santa Rosilia Pemex, a few months back?

I'd be curious as to why someone would kidknap them and not seek a randsom in all this time. At the time I saw the flyer, I thought that the dad probably murdered the family and ran for the border. I hope this is not the case.

Maybe he was involved in some sort of Illegal activities?

I just can't figure out why someone would kidnapp them on the US and side and then risk smuggling them across the border. It seemed more likely to me that he walked across the border.

[Edited on 6-20-2010 by fishabductor]

DENNIS - 6-20-2010 at 06:01 AM

Quote:
Originally posted by fishabductor
It seemed more likely to me that he walked across the border.



I think that's the general concensus. They'll show up one of these days.

Haven't heard anything new about that Black Schizoid woman either.

ocnena - 7-9-2010 at 10:05 PM

Hi there....have you guys heard anything else about this family? There was supposed to be something in the newspapers down there but I haven't been able to find it.
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