FBI taking over investigation of family's mysterious 2010 disappearance

[alp227]

Source: CNN

The family -- mom, dad and two kids -- left their home looking like they meant to be back in a few minutes. But surveillance video caught what appears to be the four of them walking across the border into Mexico. There's been no word of them since.

Now the investigation into the disappearance of the Southern California family in 2010 is being taken over by the FBI, authorities in California announced.

Since Joseph McStay, his wife, Summer, and their two young children, Gianni, and Joseph Mateo, vanished more than three years ago, the San Diego County Sheriff's Department has been leading the search.

"Due to the fact that the family is believed to be out of the country, and because minor children are involved, the primary investigative responsibility for the case is being transferred to the FBI," Lt. Glenn Giannantonio of the San Diego County's department said in a prepared statement Tuesday.

Read more: http://www.cnn.com/2013/04/10/justice/california-missing-family/index.html

[Sheldon Cooper]

1. I remember seeing a show about this on TV.

It really is a head-scratcher. I hope the FBI can figure out what happened to them.

[Demeter]

2. I fail to see anything criminal about leaving the country, on foot or otherwise

Why were they under surveillance in the first place?

Big Brother has too much free time and money.

[Xithras]

3. It's not that they left. It's that there's no evidence they left willingly.

The family dropped off the face of the Earth. No cell phone use, more than $100,000 left in the bank untouched, fresh groceries left on the kitchen counter, their two dogs left in the backyard without food, none of their clothing or luggage missing. The husband had even called a business associate the day they vanished to discuss some work related matters. They had a new house, they owned a business that was doing well and had no serious financial issues. There was absolutely nothing out of the ordinary.

And then they vanished. Their car was parked a few blocks from the border, with new kids toys sitting in the back. A security camera caught them walking toward the border crossing. And then...nothing.

Investigations did turn up a few interesting clues...like the fact that the mother bought a Rosetta Stone Spanish CD a week before they vanished, and that she'd looked up passport requirements at the border just a couple of days beforehand. So there's some indication that the trip was planned, but there's no indication that they planned on leaving for any extended period of time. In fact, most of the evidence indicates that they didn't.

Theories range from "they're living a hermits life on a beach somewhere" to "the mother killed them all and is hiding out in Mexico" to "they daytripped to Mexico and were kidnapped by drug gangs". There's also a theory that they were trying to illegally adopt a daughter in Mexico and that things went very, very wrong. The reality is that nobody has any idea what happened to them....which is why the police have been investigating it for years.

[Skittles]

4. ...

if I recall, the images were fuzzy and it was never conclusive that the four on the video was the family

[Xithras]

5. The police recently confirmed again that they're positive about the video identification.

They haven't explained why they're so certain, but have made it pretty clear that there's little doubt that the family on the video is the Mcstays. That, coupled with the computer searches for border crossing and passport requirements, along with the purchase only a week earlier of the Spanish language study materials, all seems to indicate that they're in Mexico. Why, how, and what happened after they crossed the border are the real questions.

Even if they decided to go off the grid and live a simpler life in Mexico, it doesn't make sense that they'd walk away from over $100,000 in cash in their bank accounts. The police have said that there were NO bank withdrawals in the months before their disappearance that suggested that they may have been pulling money to live on. And neither of them had any job skills that would have been particularly useful for off the grid living.

The whole thing just doesn't make any sense.

[Skittles]

7. they walked away from their families too

with whom they seemed to have been close - it truly does make no sense

[Xithras]

9. Well, nobody knows what the real family dynamic is.

I tend to be skeptical of claims like that one. I've known several people in my life who have simply walked away from their families for various reasons...a few without any warning whatsoever. The families they walked away from invariably described their families as close, and pinned the blame on the departure elsewhere.

People have the right to walk away, and nobody should attack them for doing so. The weird thing with this case is that it doesn't seem to fit the profile of a "walk-away". If someone was leaving of their own accord, you'd expect them to take cash with them...or at least some clothing.

If the McStays are permanently gone of their own accord, then they are trying very, very hard not to be found.

[Skittles]

10. I'm not attacking them

I simply saw interviews with siblings that were heartbreaking

[Xithras]

11. Oh, I know. Wasn't saying you were, but others have in the media.

I actually heard a lady on TV once say that they should be found and prosecuted for "putting their family through that". I've had discussions with people right here on DU about people walking away from their families, and there are plenty of people on this board who are horrified by the idea. Some people simply have no clue what it's like to live with an unbearable family, and see walking away as some type of horrible personality flaw.

I wasn't intending that comment for you, but for others who actually do believe that way.

[Sheldon Cooper]

8. I didn't know that the authorities had positively identified them.

What a strange story.

[warrior1]

6. I've been following this for some time

if you're interested in reading more check this site out.

http://www.websleuths.com/forums/forumdisplay.php?f=507