17-year-old boy arrested in connection with paddleboarder's killing in Maine
Police did not identify the suspect or provide details on what charges he is facing. Other details, such as a possible motive or whether the teen knew Stewart, were not provided.
Stewart, 48, was found dead on July 3 during a search of Crawford Pond in the town of Union, Maine, state police said in a previous statement. An autopsy by the state medical examiner's office determined her death was a homicide, and the Office of Chief Medical Examiner in Augusta later said the cause of death was strangulation and blunt force trauma, according to CBS affiliate WGME-TV.
Stewart had gone on a solo paddleboarding trip a day earlier, but never returned, according WGME. Police said her body was found under "unusual circumstances" around 1 a.m., WGME reported.
Kathy Lunt, the owner of Mic Mac campground near Crawford Pond, told WGME that Stewart was a seasonal resident there.
Some Union residents expressed a sense of relief over the arrest.
"There was all kinds of rumors circulating about the New England serial killer. And I'm glad there's been an arrest. I hope they can make it stick. I hope he's guilty, because then we know," Susan Creighton told WGME.
Peter Exkardt, another Union resident told the station, "You just don't know. Just taking a walk and all that, not realizing who's going to be around the corner and all that. I think they did a good job in finding the person."
Meredith Smith, a resident of Union who knew Stewart, described her as "a great, great person all-around."
"To know Sunny, I don't think she had a bad bone in her body, and anyone that knew her was just in awe of her," Smith said, WGME reported.
A GoFundMe launched for Stewart had raised more than $33,000.Sarah Lynch Baldwin
contributed to this report.
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