Police review border tapes

Source – OC Register

The police are currently reviewing hours of video tape from the Mexican border and working with Mexican law enforcement as they continue to investigate the disappearance of a long-time San Clemente family who recently moved to Fallbrook, a police spokesman said.

The McStays’ car was towed as an abandoned vehicle from a parking lot in San Ysidro just blocks from the border on Feb. 8. Two car seats for their missing children Gianni Giuseppe, 4, and Joseph Mateo, 3, were also in the car, said police, who conducted the first welfare check on the McStays on Feb. 15 after being contacted by a worried family member.

The San Diego County Sheriff’s Department has also partnered with the National Center for Missing & Exploited Children as they search for Joseph McStay, 40, his wife Summer, 43, and their sons. Robert Acosta, the center’s manager for the case, said there is a chance the family may have walked into Tijuana and did not return, and that the theory is shared by law enforcement. The center has created a flier with a large header that reads “Endangered Missing” and features photos of the family. The flier has been sent out to fax machines within a 66 mile radius of the Fallbrook home and the center has asked stores in California, Oregon, Washington, Utah, Arizona and Nevada such as Walmart to post it. The center has also asked law enforcement connections in Tijuana to help with the case, Acosta said.

San Diego police are also working with Mexican law enforcement on the case, said Lt. Dennis Brugos, a police spokesman.

The McStays had lived in a small bungalow in San Clemente for years before moving to a four-bedroom house on a cul-de-sac in Fallbrook in December. Joseph McStay, owned a water fountain and accessories company, in San Clemente since 1996, according to the business’ Web site.

Police have pulled phone records and personal and business financial records for the case, Brugos said. When asked if the surveillance tapes from the border showed any indication that the family was there, Brugos said: “We are still reviewing them.”

“We haven’t drawn any conclusions,” he said. “We are looking over and analyzing what we have.”

But friends continue to say they don’t think the family would have gone to the Mexican border. If they did, it would have been done involuntarily, they say.

“I don’t think Summer would have taken her kids close to the border because of the danger factor,” said Jesi Silveria, an Irvine photographer who has known Summer since the 1990s. Summer McStay was very protective of her sons and would rarely hire a babysitter for fear of the children’s safety, Silveria said.

“We’ve known them for so many years. That would be very weird,” she said

The last time the family was heard from was Feb. 4, according to police. When asked if any records showed the family using their phone after that date, Brugos said one record may show a call on Feb. 5, but that police are still looking into it.

Friends said they have been using their Facebook pages to post news stories about the McStays and encourage others to do the same. Michael McStay, Joseph’s brother, created a Web site called www.McStayFamily.com for people to see photos of the family and share information. To view family videos, visit Joseph McStay’s YouTube channel at http://www.youtube.com/user/jbmcstay#p/a/A14EC217F6F8A59C/2/2O9gQM3RZQ4.

“We want to keep them at the front of people’s minds,” said Silveria, who was a bridesmaid at the McStay’s 2007 wedding. Several of her most recent Facebook posts are about the McStays. Family members have created a Facebook group called “Find the McStay Family,” which currently has about two dozen members.

Friends held a vigil last week at a Laguna Niguel park to pray for the family’s return. After a candlelit prayer service, a group of Joseph McStay’s friends played soccer, which is something they did together every week. Michael McStay, told newscasters he wore his brother’s jersey number to keep his spot warm.

Silveria said she spoke with Summer McStay for about an hour everyday from Feb. 1 through Feb. 4. The two talked about the family settling into their new home at 3473 Avocado Vista Lane in Fallbrook and Summer picking up real estate again. She used to be a real estate agent in Rancho Santa Margarita before becoming a stay at home mom. Joseph McStay was also a licensed realtor. On Feb. 5 Joseph McStay’s friend texted him about a soccer game that had been cancelled because of possible rain, Silveria said, but McStay never responded. Then another friend sent over important real estate papers on Feb. 10 and called Summer to see if she received them. Her call wasn’t returned.

On Feb. 13 Michael McStay visited the Fallbrook house to check on the family, but no one was home. He came again on Feb. 15 and knocked in the front window to get inside. He called police, who said they found the parent’s cell phones and food items left out that should have been refrigerated. The McStay’s two dogs Bear and Baby Bear had been left outside without food or water, something the family would have never done, friends said. The dogs are being cared for by family members.

An employee of another business at the office complex, which Joseph McStay lists as his company called Earth Inspired Products’ address, said he had not seen McStay in over a month. Silveria said she thinks he was planning to stop the lease on the office at 2377 S. El Camino Real and run the business from his Fallbrook home.

According to court records, Joseph McStay had a few civil cases brought against him in 1999 dealing with copyright infringement. Friends say the family did not have any known enemies.

If you have information about the case, call police at 858-565-5200 or the National Center for Missing & Exploited Children at 1-800-843-5678.