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.
据美国有线电视新闻网11月15日报道，美国加州麦克斯泰一家4口3年前神秘失踪，警方日前在加州一处沙漠中发现4人的遗体。
11月11日，有人在加州维克多维尔附近沙漠发现遗骸。圣贝纳迪诺郡警长约翰•麦克马洪15日宣布，当局分析遗体牙齿后确认，已发现的4具尸体中，有2具是约瑟夫•麦克斯泰和妻子萨默，剩下的2个很有可能是他们的孩子。另外，警方还会进一步分析DNA，确认死者身份。
麦克斯泰一家3年前失踪的时候，约瑟夫和萨摩分别为40岁和43岁，他们的2个孩子只有4岁和3岁。
麦克马洪说，这一家4口死于他杀，但目前并没有确认嫌疑人，警方也并未透露他们被杀害的细节。
死者家属11月15日下午出席新闻发布会。约瑟夫的弟弟麦克情绪激动地说："他们家人还在一起，去了更好的地方，这个消息给我们带来勇气。那段日子并不好过。"
据警方介绍，11月11日，有人骑着摩托车在维克多维尔市附近的15号州际公路不远处发现了遗骸。警方后来发现了两个浅浅的墓穴，麦克马洪说，每个墓穴中各有两具遗骸。
2010年2月4日以后，就没有人再见过麦克斯泰一家。10天后，警方造访麦克斯泰的住宅，发现厨房柜台上放着鸡蛋，客厅的碗里还有爆米花，宠物狗也在屋子里，但一家四口却不见踪影。
2010年2月8日，警方在距离美国、墨西哥边境仅2个街区处发现了麦克斯泰家的汽车。监视录像显示，当晚有一家人步行进入墨西哥，外形和麦克斯泰一家相似，但线索就此中断。
警长麦克马洪说，警方将重新调查此案，并将与联邦调查局（FBI），找寻嫌疑人。