The McStay Family Disappearance and Murder

A Decade Long Story that Continues to Unfold

Photo provided by Mike McStay, for ‘missing posters’ during the search for missing family

February 4, 2010, was the last day anyone could contact a member of the McStay family. In Fallbrook, CA, their home was fifty miles north of San Diego and twenty miles inland from the Pacific coast. The family consisted of Joseph McStay, 40, the father and co-owner of a company that built custom, high-end water features and structures for businesses worldwide. His stay-at-home wife, Summer, and their two sons, Gianni, 4, and Joseph Jr., 3.

Authorities Original Theory

According to authorities, the family left voluntarily and traveled to Mexico based on two facts. First, the family’s vehicle was found two blocks from the Mexico border in a parking lot. Security guards said the SUV was parked in the lot between 5:30 and 7 pm on February 8. At 7 pm, authorities believe border tape shows a family closely resembling the McStays crossing into Mexico. Second, internet searches on Summer McStay’s home computer related to getting a passport for a child and travel information about Mexico were turned up by a police investigation. The voluntary part of their disappearance was questionable. When their home was finally searched, authorities found bowls of popcorn that had not been eaten. The family dogs were home alone, without sufficient food or water. Although relatives of the McStay’s did not believe the voluntary journey to Mexico narrative pieced together by law enforcement, their disappearance was considered voluntary without signs of foul play, and the case was closed. The McStay family was left for missing.

A Motorcycle Ride Through the Dessert Changed Everything

It was Veteran’s Day 2013. More than 45 months had passed since the police theorized the McStay family made their trip to Mexico. John Bluth, a motorcycle enthusiast with no ties to the McStay family, was riding through the desert near Victorville, CA, in San Bernardino County when he noticed something that was out of place. It is 150 miles from the Mexico border to Victorville, 100 miles south of the McStay family home. He found a bone and what appeared to be shallow graves when he stopped, then dialed 911. San Bernardino County authorities were dispatched to the scene of the call. They found four decomposing human remains that were eventually…