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Public Safety

Discovery Channel Show Features Missing Fallbrook Family

A Fallbrook family who disappeared in February 2010 will be featured Monday night on an episode of the Discovery Channel program "Disappeared."

The episode was filmed in September, focusing on the mysterious disappearance of Joseph and Summer McStay, and their boys Gianni and Joey Jr., who were aged 4 and 3 when the family vanished.

The family's home was found empty -- seemingly vacated in a hurry -- on Feb. 15, 2010. McStay's younger brother, Mike, asked authorities to go to the home because he hadn't heard from them in more than 10 days.

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Deputies found the family's two dogs at the house. Nothing inside the home suggested the family had gone on a trip. A carton of eggs was left on a kitchen counter.

The couple's white Isuzu Trooper had turned up near the San Ysidro border crossing a few days earlier. One of the boys' asthma medicine was inside it.

The family's banks accounts have not been accessed since their disappearance, and they have had no known contacts with any friends or relatives.

A Feb. 8 surveillance video from the border showed a family resembling the McStays walking into Mexico. But Mike McStay has said he doesn't believe the video shows his brother and family.

The show, which will feature interviews with detectives and friends and relatives of the family, is scheduled to air at 7 and 10 p.m., then again at 1 a.m. Tuesday. The show will air on Cox cable channel 104, DirecTV channel 285, Time Warner Cable channel 214 and Dish Network channel 192.

KPBS has created a public safety coverage policy to guide decisions on what stories we prioritize, as well as whose narratives we need to include to tell complete stories that best serve our audiences. This policy was shaped through months of training with the Poynter Institute and feedback from the community. You can read the full policy here.