UPDATED: Remains Found Near Victorville Confirmed as Missing McStays

Last updated at 12:35 p.m. Nov. 15; originally posted at 11:50 p.m. Nov. 14.

San Bernardino County Sheriff John McMahon confirmed Friday that the remains of two of four bodies buried in the Mojave Desert near Victorville have been identified as missing husband and wife Joseph and Summer McStay of Fallbrook.

They were identified through dental records, and are believed to have been murdered.

The sheriff in a mid-morning news conference declined to disclose to reporters how the McStays might have been killed and released no information on possible suspects.

Officials believe the two other bodies found are those of their two sons, Gianni and Joseph Jr., but said it may take weeks to positively identify them through the use of DNA testing.

The McStays,—Joseph, 40, Summer, 43, and their boys, 3 and 4 years old—went missing from their home in Fallbrook in February 2010. The family's 1996 Isuzu Trooper was found abandoned four days later in San Ysidro, near the U.S.-Mexico border.

Following an exhaustive three-year search involving hundreds of tips, the San Diego Sheriff's Department had turned its investigation into their disappearance over to the FBI in May of this year.

On Monday, the skeletal remains of four people were found in and near two shallow graves by a motorcyclist, sheriff's officials said.

Sheriff's officials said a forensic anthropologist assisted in conducting the autopsies to determine the causes of death, ages and gender.

The news that the remains were believed to be those of the missing family came out late Thursday when someone close to the McStay family gave News10 the information reportedly received from a detective with the San Bernardino Sheriff's Department.

On Friday, Joseph McStay's brother, Mike McStay, spoke to reporters at press conference held at sheriff's headquarters.

"It is not really the outcome we were looking for but it gives us courage to know they are together and they are in a better place," Mike said. "It has been a tough road."

Joseph, who owned a decorative-fountain company, and his family appeared to have left their northern San Diego County home Feb. 4, 2010, in haste, according to investigators.

Deputies found the family's two dogs at the house, and nothing inside suggested the family had gone on a trip. A carton of eggs was left on a kitchen counter, according to sheriff's officials.

Asthma medicine belonging to one of the boys was found in their abandoned SUV.

Among few possible pieces of evidence in the case was a blurry Feb. 8, 2010, video showing four people resembling the family walking into Mexico.

Sheriff McMahon said Friday that his department is continuing to work with the San Diego County Sheriff’s Department and the FBI in an effort to solve the crime.

“Every available resource will be utilized in this investigation to identify the suspects involved in this heinous crime and bring them to justice,” McMahon said.

Though the manner of their deaths has been determined homicide, the cause of death would not be released to protect the investigation, authorities said.

Anyone with information was urged to contact the Homicide Detail, Detective Armando Avila at 909-387-3589. Callers wishing to remain anonymous were urged to call the We-tip Hotline at 1-800-78-CRIME (27463) or leave information on the We-Tip website at www.wetip.com.