McStays Episode 1: 11 Days

In November 2009, Joseph and Summer McStay moved their two young sons into a large Spanish-style home on Avocado Vista Lane in the hills of San Diego County. Home videos from the time show an active, fun-loving family—the boys biking to the beach, swinging side by side at a playground, their mother Summer pushing them higher. By February 2010, the house had gone quiet. A carton of eggs sat out on the counter. Summer’s prescription sunglasses were left behind. The family dogs were abandoned in the backyard. It was as if the McStays had simply vanished into thin air.

The missed Friday call

Joseph McStay—Joey to his family—had a weekly ritual with his younger brother Michael. Every Friday, Joseph would call on his way to play pickup soccer. “Hey, how’s things going? How’s your business? What’s going on?” Michael recalled in a 2011 interview. He didn’t get that call one Friday in early February 2010. “I didn’t think a whole lot of it,” Michael said. But then several days passed without a word—no calls, texts, or emails. At Joseph’s business, which sold high-end decorative fountains for hotel lobbies, customer emails went unanswered. “That’s not like Joe,” a colleague said. Joseph’s wife Summer wasn’t returning calls either.