Mikey called me: “They’re all gone,” he said. The four McStay bodies were found buried in two graves. 11 (my birthday) 2013, an off-road motorcyclist noticed human bones in the desert near Victorville, CA, and notified authorities. The mystery of the family’s whereabouts lasted nearly four years. I recall naively thinking perhaps Joey would call me one day and say, “Hey, Tom, can you come down to the border to pick us up? We want to come home.” Food had been left on the table, their beloved dogs were left without food or water and there was $80,000 in a bank account. That wasn’t the Joey that I had helped raise, albeit for just five years. People and authorities were baffled I sure was. Five days later, their car was found abandoned in a parking lot near the Mexican border, giving an impression that their disappearance may have been voluntary. 4, 2010, Joey, his new wife, Summer, and their sons, Gianni, 4, and Joseph Jr., 3, went missing from their Fallbrook home. I recall Greta and me seeing Joey and his family at Sonny’s Pizza & Pasta. From time to time, we’d see one or more of the McStays around town. In 2001, I leased my Dana Point home and moved to San Clemente to live with Greta. She once said to me, “Blood is thicker than water.” She and the boys moved to San Clemente. We moved again, this time to Monarch Beach, even closer to the ocean so the boys could walk to Salt Creek Beach to surf. Joey part-timed at Costco in Capistrano Beach. In 1988, I opened Tutor and Spunky’s Deli in Dana Point. Joey and Mikey graduated from Dana Hills High School. Our celebratory lunch that day was at Polly’s Pies in Laguna Hills. Following behind, in a Mercury Cougar, were Joey, Susan and dog Amy Lou.Ī few weeks later, Spunky and I married at the courthouse in Santa Ana. We moved our belongings in a U-Haul truck with me driving, and Mikey and dog Kira in the cab. I’m putting the San Rafael home on the market.” I called Spunky and said: “Pack your bags. I found a new home in Laguna Niguel and decided to buy it. I stopped to see the Mission in San Juan Capistrano. The temperature was 76 degrees at John Wayne Airport. I recall in February 1987 getting off a plane. In my business travels, I often flew to Orange County. I was ready for a location change as well. Her boys kept telling me they wanted to live in “SoCal,” where they could surf. Susan felt the people in Marin County weren’t as friendly as the people in Texas. Can you pick me up?” He had come to California without notice, entirely on his own. Less than 24 hours later, Joey called his mom. I got on the line, and said to Joey, “Someday, I hope to meet you,” having no idea when that would be. A few months later, Joey and Susan were talking on the phone. I nicknamed her “Spunky,” because that reflected her personality.Ībout a year later, Susan and Mikey moved to San Rafael to live with me. She had two teenage boys: Mikey, who lived with her, and Joey, who lived with his dad, Patrick, in Houston. A long-distance relationship began between Dallas and San Rafael, California, where I lived. In 1986, I met Susan McStay in Texas while on a business trip.
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