Sunshine “Sunny” Stewart, a woman from Maine, was found dead two weeks ago after paddleboarding on a pond in Union. A 17-year-old boy has been arrested of her murder.
Maine State Police said Thursday morning that the suspect, who is also from Maine, was arrested in Union at about 10:30 p.m. Wednesday without any problems. It was also said by police that the suspect was taken to the Long Creek Youth Development Center in South Portland.
A person who knows about the probe said that the suspect takes his family on vacation every summer in the Crawford Pond area.
Thursday, police also said that the Office of the Chief Medical Examiner in Augusta confirmed that Stewart died from being strangled and hit hard.
A friend of Stewart’s who was living with her when she went missing said, “I am floored with joy and grief.”
A spokesperson for the Maine Attorney General’s Office said that the office does not have any more information to share at this time because of the state’s laws on youth crime.
Stewart, 48, of Tenants Harbor went out by herself on July 2 evening on Crawford Pond. Someone called the cops to report her missing after hours of not coming back.
The Union Fire Department and the Knox County Sheriff’s Office were the first groups to help with the search. Eventually, Maine game wardens were called in to help.
Early in the morning on July 3, Stewart’s body was found near 100 Acre Island, which is in the middle of Crawford Pond and can only be reached by boat.
Because of what happened with the finding, game wardens asked the Maine State Police Major Crimes Unit for help.
On July 5, state police said that Stewart’s death had been ruled a murder by the Office of the Chief Medical Examiner in Augusta.
Friends of Stewart’s who had seen her not long before she disappeared said she was getting ready to host family at the Mic Mac Cove Campground over the Fourth of July weekend. Investigators got to the crime scene by going to the campground, which is near Crawford Pond.
His sister Kim Ware said that Stewart was working as a contractor but had been a marine scientist, a lobsterman, and a boat captain in the past. Ware also said that her sister liked being outside and doing things like yoga, climbing, boating, and paddleboarding.
Police said that their probe into Stewart’s death is still going on. Police want anyone with important information about this case to call 207-624-7076.
