A peaceful summer night on a Maine pond turned into a horrifying tragedy—and now, a 17-year-old has been arrested in connection with the killing of 48-year-old Sunshine Stewart.
Stewart vanished on the evening of July 2 while paddleboarding on Crawford Pond in Union, Maine. She never returned to her campsite, and hours later, police found her body on 100 Acre Island, located in the middle of the pond. Authorities later ruled her death a homicide, citing strangulation and blunt force trauma as the cause.
On July 10, Maine State Police confirmed that a local teenage boy had been taken into custody the night before and is currently being held at a juvenile detention center in South Portland. His name has not been released, and it’s unclear what charges he may face.
The arrest came after a week of growing fear and tension in the small town of Union, home to just over 2,000 people. Investigators had asked local men living near the pond to voluntarily submit DNA samples, and residents were on edge as the investigation intensified.
Sunshine had left her campsite at Mic Mac Campground between 6 and 9 p.m. to paddleboard. When she didn’t return, concerned friends called authorities, who discovered her body around 1 a.m. not far from her paddleboard.
Reporter Stephen Betts of the Midcoast Villager said the pond is mostly surrounded by private land, making access limited unless someone owns property or pays a fee to use the campground’s boat launch. He described the situation as “the most unusual case I’ve ever dealt with in 44 years of reporting.”
100 Acre Island, where Sunshine was found, is almost entirely owned by the Georges River Land Trust, which allows daytime visits but requires special permission for overnight camping. A family of four happened to be camping there the night of the murder, and while they were questioned by police, they were reportedly told it was safe to stay.
Police credited “relentless investigative work” for the teen’s arrest and acknowledged the wave of anxiety the case brought to the tight-knit community. “The Maine State Police recognizes the fear and discomfort this incident has brought to the town of Union and the Crawford Pond community,” the agency said in a public statement.
Anyone with information related to Sunshine Stewart’s death is still encouraged to contact authorities as the investigation continues.
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Author: thedailycrime1
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