Father Sought in Slayings of Sleeping Kin : Crime: His wife and three children were shot to death in their Rancho Santa Fe beds, possibly Sunday.

Sheriff’s deputies said Friday that a 46-year-old British national is being sought for questioning in the killings of his wife and three children as they lay sleeping in separate bedrooms of a posh home in one of the wealthiest areas of San Diego County.

Gail Spiro, 40, and her three children, all found shot to death late Thursday, lived in the 5200 block of Avenida Maravillas, near the Rancho Santa Fe Golf Club, where 2- to 3-acre sites are valued anywhere from $700,000 to $2 million.

Neighbors barely knew the family that lived among sprawling homes clustered on lush, green hills in an area where celebrities such as writer Joseph Wambaugh and Pete Rozelle, former commissioner of the National Football League, and dozens of film and TV stars also own homes.

A neighbor who had not seen the family for more than two days phoned sheriff’s deputies shortly after 7 p.m. Thursday. After gaining a search warrant, they found the four victims in separate bedrooms in bedclothes, each with at least a single gunshot to the head.

Sheriff’s Lt. John Tenwolde said Friday that neighbors reported hearing gunshots coming from the house as early as Sunday, leading investigators to conclude that the four have been dead for days.

Deputies identified the children as Sara, 16; Deana, 11, and Adam, 14.

Deputies said Ian Stuart Spiro, the father, and the family car are missing.

Investigators said Spiro is a businessman who moved to Rancho Santa Fe several months ago. He was last seen by residents in the area Sunday. He was described as white, 6-foot-2, 185 pounds, with graying black hair, hazel eyes and a walrus-type mustache.

No weapon was found at the scene, deputies said, nor was there evidence of forced entry. Investigators are looking for Spiro’s vehicle, a 1992 Ford Explorer, and are checking airports and train stations throughout the country.

“We would like very much to speak to Mr. Spiro,” Lt. Tenwolde said.

Although deputies publicly said they merely wanted to talk to Spiro, sources who asked not to be named described him as a prime suspect in the case.

Friday’s news had an immediate, devastating impact on the neighborhood, where residents said that “nothing like this” had ever happened, “nor had we dreamed that it could,” according to one.

“It was never a scary neighborhood,” resident Cory Scheibe said. “But when something like this happens, it’s really scary.”

“This is really big,” said the woman who called the Sheriff’s Department, who asked not to be quoted by name. “Nothing like this has ever happened around here. None of us wants to talk about it. It’s horrible.”

A man who lives about a mile away, who asked not to be quoted by name, said he had lived in the area a year and a half and did not know the victims’ names.

“We all live pretty far apart,” he said, “and most of us keep to ourselves. I didn’t know them, nor do I know anyone who did. But sheriff’s deputies are all over the place, trying to find out what happened. It’s grim.”

Investigators said the Spiros had been renting the four-bedroom, 3 1/2-bath estate, with 3,887 square feet, for $4,500 a month.

Times staff writer Mark Platte contributed to this report.