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The Daily Insight

What Happened To Steven Stayner Dad Del Stayner & Where Is He Today?

Author

Olivia House

Published Feb 25, 2026

Del Stayner, Steven’s dad, suffered from depression and suicidal thoughts following his disappearance. Dig in to learn more. 

When Steven Stayner, then 7 years old, disappeared into thin air in 1972, his parents were left with many unanswered concerns.

The narrative of Steven Stayner portrays the anguish and suffering that the family experienced in their lives. In 1972, a seven-year-old boy was kidnapped 200 miles away in Mendocino County.

However, the Stayners’ wishes were finally fulfilled in 1980 when Steven came home after a seven-year absence. ‘Captive Audience’ on Hulu probes into a topic that is both intriguing and terrifying.

What Happened To Steven Stayner’s Dad Del Stayner?

Delbert Stayner, Steven’s father, suffered in the wake of his son’s disappearance, as did the rest of the family.

Similarly, Del struggled with anxiety and suicidal ideation in the aftermath of Steven’s abduction.

At Cary’s Steven’s brother) trial, he, like Kay, pleaded with the jury not to condemn him to death. The jury, on the other hand, came to a different conclusion.

Furthermore, he worked at numerous sawmills after serving in the Military and then moved into the canning industry. In 1995, he departed from a canning facility in Atwater, California.

Del Stayner Today: Is He Dead?

Del, Steven’s father, died on April 9, 2013, at his house in Winton, California. He died at the age of 79, and the reason for his death has not been publicly disclosed as far as we can ascertain.

Following the family tragedy, Steven Stayner’s mother, Kay, has decided to live a quiet life.

Kay appears to spend her post-retirement life in California with her grandkids and other loved ones, based on what we’ve learned.

A Look At Del Stayner’s Family

Del Stayner and his family lived on Betty Street, a lower-middle-class neighborhood in the quiet agricultural town of Merced, California, under the shade of Yosemite National Park.

As per the Cinemaholic, their family included Cary and Steven Stayner, their three sisters, and their parents, Kay and Delbert Stayner, in the 1970s.

Despite the fact that the two brothers were approximately four years apart in age, with Cary being the oldest of the five siblings, they looked extraordinarily close.

However, after pedophile Kenneth Parnell kidnapped Steven in 1972, the Stayners reportedly began to mistreat their children.

Furthermore, according to his 2002 testimony, after Steven mysteriously vanished, he became concentrated on locating him and ignored his four other children, notably Cary, in the process. Delbert even called Steven his “true son” and shoved the other aside.