Officials believe all four McStay family members found

By Staff Reports SAN BERNARDINO • San Bernardino County Sheriff's Department officials have confirmed that Joseph and Summer McStay were found in shallow graves near Victorville this week, and they believe that the couple's two young sons were also found there.

In a Friday press conference, Sheriff John McMahon said the department has confirmed that two sets of bones found in the graves are those of the Fallbrook couple, and the other two sets of bones found in the graves are believed to be their two sons.

McMahon said DNA tests will confirm if the boys have been found, and those results are expected as early as today.

The manner of death has been determined to be homicide, authorities said. The Sheriff's Department has not released the cause of death to protect the investigation.

Joseph, 40, his wife Summer, 43, and their two young boys Gianni, 4, and Joseph Jr., 3, were last heard from on Feb. 4, 2010 authorities said.

Investigators said the family appeared to have left their home in northern San Diego County abruptly, leaving food to spoil on the kitchen counter and leaving the family dogs unattended.

Investigators said the family's SUV was found days later near the Mexican border in San Ysidro. Grainy surveillance video showed a family, two parents and two small children, walking into Mexico.

Some in law enforcement believed the family purposely crossed the border into Mexico and something went wrong there, but leads never panned out.

Several months after the family went missing the case was featured on the television show "America's Most Wanted."

Victorville Sheriff’s Station deputies were dispatched to a remote desert area in the vicinity of Quarry Road and Interstate 15, north of Stoddard Wells Road, on Monday after a man who was riding his motorcycle off-road spotted what he thought might be human remains, sheriff’s spokeswoman Jodi Miller said.

The bodies were located in two shallow graves, six to eight feet apart, with some of the remains located outside the area, possibly due to animal activity. The graves were located in an unincorporated desert area within Victorville's sphere of influence.

The San Bernardino County Sheriff’s Homicide Detail is conducting a homicide investigation. According to a sheriff's news release, investigators are working with the San Diego County Sheriff’s Department and the FBI.

“Every available resource will be utilized in this investigation to identify the suspects involved in this heinous crime and bring them to justice,” McMahon stated in the release.

The investigation is ongoing, and authorities ask anyone with information to call Homicide Detective Armando Avila at 909-387-3589. Callers wishing to remain anonymous can call the WeTip Hotline at 800-782-7463 or leave information on the WeTip Hotline at www.wetip.com.