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Map possibly left behind by missing family studied

By Leslie Berestein
UNION-TRIBUNE STAFF WRITER
Tuesday, May 11, 2010 at 2 a.m.

A map allegedly left behind at a Baja California restaurant, where two waiters think they may have served a missing Fallbrook family, has been turned over to authorities, the missing man’s brother said.

Michael McStay said family friends have traveled to Mexico to distribute fliers with photos of missing businessman Joseph McStay, his wife and two young sons. In the course of that effort, a friend learned last month from waiters at a restaurant about halfway down the Baja California peninsula that a family the waiters thought resembled the McStays dined there in late February, he said.

The family has been missing since

Feb. 4. Their SUV was found in a parking lot near the border in San Ysidro four days later.

McStay said the waiter described the father as looking “ill and kind of stressed” and commented on a mark on the youngest child’s forehead — the couple’s youngest son, Joseph Jr., has a birthmark. McStay said that the waiters saved a map left at the restaurant by these diners, and that it has since been turned in to authorities.

Lt. Dennis Brugos of the San Diego County Sheriff’s Department would not confirm any developments in the case, saying only that the investigation into the missing family continues. Mexican law enforcement agencies have participated in the search, and the Federal Bureau of Investigation joined in last month.


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Investigators sent to El Rosario, Baja Mexico in McStay search

Fliers with color photos of the missing McStay family handed out by family on Saturday April 3, 2010, in San Ysidro. The McStay family's vehicle, a white 1996 Isuzu Trooper, was found abandoned in a San Ysidro parking lot on Feb. 8.
Nelvin C. Cepeda / Union-Tribune

By Leslie Berestein
May 12, 2010 at 3:28 p.m.

Investigators from Baja California’s state police have been dispatched to a small town in the central part of the state to follow up on a possible sighting of missing Fallbrook businessman Joseph McStay, his wife and their two children.

Alfredo Arenas, an international liaison with the state police, who are collaborating with U.S. authorities, said that seven investigators arrived Tuesday night in the town of El Rosario, long a popular pit stop for tourists and surfers headed south along the peninsula’s main highway. It is there, Arenas said, that a family resembling the McStays, missing since early February, was allegedly seen later that month by staff at a local restaurant.

“Seven of my best agents are in that location right now, looking for the family,” Arenas said. “This morning I got an early message from them saying they were up and doing the investigation. They had a six-pack of pictures they were going to show around.”

The information came to authorities by way of McStay’s relatives and friends. Brother Michael McStay, who lives in Orange County, said a family friend who has traveled to Baja California to distribute fliers happened upon the restaurant last month and spoke to waiters there, who said they recognized the family as diners who had eaten a couple of meals there around late February.

One waiter mentioned a mark on the youngest child’s forehead, McStay said – the couple’s youngest son has a prominent birthmark on his forehead. According to Michael McStay, the staff had held onto a map that these diners had supposedly left behind, and which has since been handed to U.S. authorities.

A staff member contacted at the restaurant, Mama Espinosa’s, said she had not personally seen the family but that there was a flier with their photographs affixed to the door. She also said police had been there making inquiries today.

The restaurant, which has a small motel next door, is an institution among U.S. travelers who for years have stopped in for lobster burritos and fresh seafood. El Rosario, which lies roughly 200 miles north of the boundary with Baja California Sur, is also near some hard-to-access but well known surf spots.

Joseph and Summer McStay, along with their sons Gianni, 4, and Joseph Jr., 3, have been missing since Feb. 4, the last day friends and relatives say they heard from them. Their white Isuzu Trooper was found in a San Ysidro parking lot near the border four days later, the same day that a grainy Border Patrol video shows two adults and two small children walking hand in hand toward the turnstile leading into Tijuana.

Some family members have said the woman’s light-colored jacket and the children’s hats look familiar, though efforts made by the San Diego County Sheriff’s Department to enhance the video have failed to yield positive identification. The subjects are shown from behind, and the video was taken at night.

Family members have said they are baffled as to why and how the family disappeared, and that the couple gave them no warning they might leave. McStay, 40, who ran an indoor water fountain business, and his wife had recently purchased their Fallbrook home after relocating from Orange County. Summer McStay, 43, who worked in real estate before becoming a stay-at-home mom, had told former colleagues that she was planning to resume her career in San Diego County.

A forensic search of the couple’s computer records indicates that shortly before they went missing, they made inquiries about traveling with children in Mexico. However, only Joseph McStay held a valid passport. His wife’s passport was expired.

Since early in the investigation and especially following the computer search, it has been presumed that the family is in Mexico. While there have been previous reports of sightings elsewhere, Michael McStay said this latest sighting in Baja California has given him more hope.

“It sounds like this is more substantial,” he said. “It is way more substantial than the first two. It seems more credible. He wasn’t prompted to make a comment about the birthmark.”

Arenas said that state agents would spend the next two days combing the region surrounding El Rosario, which sits inland from the Pacific. The area, which is dotted with small ranches, tends to attract a few U.S. retirees, he said, though most northerners just pass through. While it’s unlikely the family is still there, he said the hope is that there will at least be more concrete evidence that they indeed passed through, and if so, pointers as to their whereabouts.

“We are being hopeful that they bring back some positive identification, that they were there,” Arenas said. “Or even better, that they find them.”

Arenas said the agency will share any evidence gathered with the FBI, which joined the Sheriff’s Department in the investigation last month.

Lt. Dennis Brugos of the Sheriff’s Department would not comment on details of the search for the McStays, only saying that the investigation is ongoing.

Michael McStay said that according to the friend who stopped at the restaurant, one staff member had mentioned that the father in the family looked unwell, and this worries him.

“If they went down there and everything is peachy, that’s fine, but I need to know,” he said.

Aside for the free publicity for Mama Espinosa's restaurant, this case just continues to baffle me from several standpoints. I recall that when this case first broke, I went to McStay's business website and came away scratching my head over the idea that such a niche business could provide the amount of revenue to allow them to buy such an expensive home. I also recall that Mrs. McStay was of Colombian origin and went by a completely different name at one time. What now appears, coming from these recent articles is the waiters referring to the family eating a couple of meals. Dinner and breakfast? With so few lodging options in town, one would think that someone at reception in those places might have recognized them as well.

Was in the United States Consulate on Thursday the 13th of May.. in Tijuana, for renewal... of our Passports.. they are located off Agua Caliente

Heavy security, had to leave: my cigar, lighter, Swiss army knife, computer, and just about everything else, went through a metal detector, (women don't wear bra with wire) .....

But, did see a statement:

If you are traveling in Mexico, leave you're traveling plans with the Consulate.. one can do that with a computer online... they have an address for that... just go on line I did not write it down, my writing tablet had be taken from me... I still had my "space pen" they took that apart completely also.. but, let me keep it...

Bottom line, you can leave a record with the U.S. Government on who you are, and all the rest.. with dates and all the rest... seemed to be a very good service... if your into letting people know about you....

Would have help a great deal in this situation....

It's good advice, except when someone doesn't want to be found.

Yep, thats where I'd be if I was trying to run away... the United States Consulate with camera's and audio rolling.... probably run DNA scans' while your there...

But, guess your point is valid, for absolute morons

It is an extremely bizarre case, whatever the reason behind their disappearance...

Originally Posted by wessongroup

Yep, thats where I'd be if I was trying to run away... the United States Consulate with camera's and audio rolling.... probably run DNA scans' while your there...

But, guess your point is valid, for absolute morons

There are two popular theories about this disappearance, and they are both somewhat unsavory. But they both would support the idea that they would not register with the consulate. Both involve trafficking with the cartels. One theory is that his business was either a safe haven for the receipt of drugs. ( I previously mentioned that his business did not appear to be something in which a proprietor would stand to become wealthy) Second, is that his business was a money laundering location for the cartels. Some have posited that he and his family absconded with a ton of money. The weak aspect to that theory is that if you stole cartel money, the last place you would flee to would be Mexico. Unless, their flight was not voluntary. Some have posited that he received drugs and sold them, without providing the proceeds to the cartel. Either way, no sane perp would flee into the arms of their potential assassins.

Supposedly, Mrs. McStay was of Colombian heritage. Information on her past is somewhat spare in detail. One news report does state that neither she nor her husband are fluent in Spanish. She has a somewhat sketchy background, having been known by several names. In combination, her names are or have been Virginia Lisa Aranda-Martelli Summer McStay. Or as Joe would call her, honey.

There have been some that would support the idea that, especially since the entire family unit disappeared together, That their disappearance, with their vehicle found by the border, and their pets left behind, was nothing less than a cover-up for their placement in a witness protection program.

As BG said, bizarre.

Originally Posted by Bajahowodd

There are two popular theories about this disappearance, and they are both somewhat unsavory. But they both would support the idea that they would not register with the consulate. Both involve trafficking with the cartels. One theory is that his business was either a safe haven for the receipt of drugs. ( I previously mentioned that his business did not appear to be something in which a proprietor would stand to become wealthy) Second, is that his business was a money laundering location for the cartels. Some have posited that he and his family absconded with a ton of money. The weak aspect to that theory is that if you stole cartel money, the last place you would flee to would be Mexico. Unless, their flight was not voluntary. Some have posited that he received drugs and sold them, without providing the proceeds to the cartel. Either way, no sane perp would flee into the arms of their potential assassins.

Supposedly, Mrs. McStay was of Colombian heritage. Information on her past is somewhat spare in detail. One news report does state that neither she nor her husband are fluent in Spanish. She has a somewhat sketchy background, having been known by several names. In combination, her names are or have been Virginia Lisa Aranda-Martelli Summer McStay. Or as Joe would call her, honey.

There have been some that would support the idea that, especially since the entire family unit disappeared together, That their disappearance, with their vehicle found by the border, and their pets left behind, was nothing less than a cover-up for their placement in a witness protection program.

As BG said, bizarre.

Just in case you did not notice... I was not talking about that at all....