加州一家四口失蹤3年 遺體驚現沙漠

The search is over for a California family who disappeared under mystifying circumstances three years ago.

Authorities confirmed the identity of two of four sets of remains found Monday in the California desert near Victorville as those of Joseph McStay and his wife Summer, San Bernardino County sheriff John McMahon said Friday.

They were identified through dental records, he said. Two other remains found nearby are believed to be those of their sons Joseph and Gianni, McMahon said.

He said positive identification will be done through DNA testing.

The four were killed, McMahon said. No suspects have been identified and the sheriff did not elaborate on how they died.

Some family members became emotional during Friday afternoon's news conference.

"It gives us courage to know they are together, and they're in a better place," said Joseph's younger brother Mike McStay, choking back tears. "It's been a tough road."

A motorcyclist reported finding possible skeletal remains Monday in an area not far from Interstate 15 near Victorville, according to the Sheriff's Department.

Police found two shallow grave sites, with two sets of remains in each grave, McMahon said.

February 4, 2010 was the last day anyone saw the family or heard from them. When police entered their Southern California house more than 10 days later, they found eggs on the kitchen counter and bowls of popcorn in the living room. Their two dogs were also in the home. But not a single trace of the McStays.

The McStays lived in Fallbrook, about 18 miles from the Pacific Coast and some 50 miles north of San Diego.

The family's locked and abandoned Isuzu Trooper was located February 8, 2010, in San Ysidro, California, just two blocks from the border. Surveillance video taken that night shows a family fitting the description of the McStays walking into Mexico. But from there the trail goes cold.

The sheriff said his office said it will look at this crime from the beginning, and will work with the FBI to find the suspects.

Although investigators said someone had been researching travel to Mexico on the family's home computer, the McStays' sudden disappearance and the fact that their credit cards and bank accounts went unused raised suspicions.

When they disappeared three years ago, Joseph was 40, his wife, Summer, was 43, and their children were 4 and 3 years old.

"I've been in this business for over 35 years, but I've never seen anything like this," Lt. Dennis Brugos of the San Diego Sheriff's Department told CNN shortly after the disappearance.據美國有線電視新聞網11月15日報道，美國加州麥克斯泰一家4口3年前神祕失蹤，警方日前在加州一處沙漠中發現4人的遺體。

11月11日，有人在加州維克多維爾附近沙漠發現遺骸。聖貝納迪諾郡警長約翰•麥克馬洪15日宣佈，當局分析遺體牙齒後確認，已發現的4具屍體中，有2具是約瑟夫•麥克斯泰和妻子薩默，剩下的2個很有可能是他們的孩子。另外，警方還會進一步分析DNA，確認死者身份。

麥克斯泰一家3年前失蹤的時候，約瑟夫和薩摩分別爲40歲和43歲，他們的2個孩子只有4歲和3歲。

麥克馬洪說，這一家4口死於他殺，但目前並沒有確認嫌疑人，警方也並未透露他們被殺害的細節。

死者家屬11月15日下午出席新聞發佈會。約瑟夫的弟弟麥克情緒激動地說："他們家人還在一起，去了更好的地方，這個消息給我們帶來勇氣。那段日子並不好過。"

據警方介紹，11月11日，有人騎着摩托車在維克多維爾市附近的15號州際公路不遠處發現了遺骸。警方後來發現了兩個淺淺的墓穴，麥克馬洪說，每個墓穴中各有兩具遺骸。

2010年2月4日以後，就沒有人再見過麥克斯泰一家。10天后，警方造訪麥克斯泰的住宅，發現廚房櫃檯上放着雞蛋，客廳的碗裏還有爆米花，寵物狗也在屋子裏，但一家四口卻不見蹤影。

2010年2月8日，警方在距離美國、墨西哥邊境僅2個街區處發現了麥克斯泰家的汽車。監視錄像顯示，當晚有一家人步行進入墨西哥，外形和麥克斯泰一家相似，但線索就此中斷。

警長麥克馬洪說，警方將重新調查此案，並將與聯邦調查局（FBI），找尋嫌疑人。