As detectives remain to look for leads in the murder of a paddleboarder in Maine previously this month, pals claim the catastrophe in the little, tight-knit neighborhood has actually terrified them.
Sunlight “Sunny” Stewart was located dead at Crawford Fish pond in Union recently. There are still no suspects in the murder, resources informed ABC Information.
” It’s a frightening idea that someone around below has actually done something actually dreadful to someone, and they require closure, the household requires closure. It’s wrong and it simply injures in my heart a great deal,” Smith stated.
Sunlight “Sunny” Stewart was located dead after she went paddleboarding on a lake in Maine, and her fatality has actually been ruled as a murder, authorities stated.
Kim Ware
Stewart leased a camp website at Mic Mac Household Camping site for the summertime period on Might 1. She had actually just remained on the premises for 2 or 3 evenings before her loss on the night of July 2. The proprietor of the camping area stated she has actually offered hours of video clip to authorities in situation it can offer valuable.
Mic Mac Camping site has a durable protection device, proprietor Katherine Lunt informed ABC Information. She has 16 protection video cameras on the 60-acre home, every one of which have face acknowledgment innovation, she stated. The camping area on Crawford Fish pond, which is mainly a mix of Motor homes and outdoors tents peppered among the 8 cabins, additionally has activity detectors, she stated. Lunt stated she makes certain she understands every person that is available in and out.
Stewart’s fatality has actually left some sensation “troubled,” her good friend Meredith Smith, informed ABC Information.
” I was really surprised. This things does not take place below. Not to us. Not to this little neighborhood. I have actually matured below– absolutely nothing occurs below,” Smith stated.
Smith stated she had actually constantly really felt secure in their location.
” I constantly leave my doors open, my home windows open, and I have not been. I have actually been securing my doors and my home windows to my residence at nighttime,” Smith stated.
Detectives have actually not disclosed Stewart’s reason of fatality, yet her body was located under “uncommon situations,” according to authorities knowledgeable about the examination.
Crawford Fish Pond in Union, Maine, July 9, 2025.
Robert F. Bukaty/AP
Smith, that recognized Stewart from when they were young youngsters, stated both shed touch throughout their adolescent years and very early the adult years, yet when Stewart returned to Maine, it resembled she had actually never ever left.
” It resembles we grabbed right where we ended– like no time at all had actually passed, a day hasn’t passed– the very same smile, the very same laugh. Whenever, it was so wonderful to see her. She makes me seem like I’m experiencing my childhood years when I see her. Which’s constantly care free and rejuvenating,” Smith informed ABC Information.
” She was constantly a serious individual in the water, treking, whatever outdoors. She enjoyed the outdoors. She’s one with nature, even more than I ever before was,” Smith stated.
Alicia Simonti, a pal of Stewart, stated both came to be immediate friends in their very early 20s. She stated Stewart was a female filled with kindness, compassion, toughness and love that was taken from family and friends that like her.
” Sunny was greater than simply a buddy to me, she was my spirit sibling. I recognize there are several others that really felt similarly. Sunny had this astonishing capability to bring individuals with each other, share her love for all points– whether it was woodworking job she depended on, dealing with her captain’s permit, a tasty seared tuna, some conscious time on or in the water, or just merely sharing life experiences,” Simonti stated in a declaration to ABC Information.
Campers ride a golf cart to the Mic Mac Cove Camping Area, July 9, 2025, in Union, Maine, where cops have actually made use of the camping area to gain access to Crawford Fish pond to explore the murder of a female last seen paddleboarding on the fish pond.
Robert F. Bukaty/AP
” Sunny was an amazingly solid individual, literally and emotionally. She took battles and obstacles encounter on with toughness and determination. She increasingly counted on and sustained her family and friends and those much less blessed than us,” Simonti stated.
Currently greater than a week considering that Stewart’s body was located, Maine State Cops investigatives remain to act on every lead they obtain, a speaker stated. The general public is still asked to “continue to be cautious” and “knowledgeable about their environments” and to report anything dubious to cops.
” Our emphasis stays on getting the answer for the target’s household and holding the individual liable answerable,” the agent stated.
