Latest news with #MicMacCampground
Fox News
22-07-2025
- Fox News
Teen murder suspect led police on 'wild goose chase' after paddleboarder's death in coastal town: report
Print Close By Julia Bonavita Published July 22, 2025 The teenage suspect accused in the brutal slaying of a Maine paddleboarder reportedly led police on a "wild goose chase" through the vacation destination as locals feared the possibility of a killer lurking within the remote campsite. The body of 48-year-old Sunshine "Sunny" Stewart was discovered on a remote island in Union's Crawford Pond earlier this month after departing for a solo paddleboarding trip, according to the Office of the Maine Attorney General. An autopsy determined Stewart's cause of death was strangulation and blunt force trauma, Maine State Police said. Nearly two weeks later, authorities announced a 17-year-old male had been arrested and charged in connection with Stewart's murder. NEW ENGLAND SERIAL KILLER FEARS GRIP COASTAL TOWN AFTER PADDLEBOARDER'S 'TERRIFYING' MURDER Both Stewart and the teenager were reportedly staying at Mic Mac Campground when the alleged killing occurred, ABC News reported. "It's not a place where these things happen," Katharine Lunt, the owner of Mic Mac, told ABC News. "It's not a place where we're suspect of each other." As authorities raced to find Stewart's killer, Lunt reportedly combed through surveillance footage from across the campground in search of anything suspicious. "I was looking for a stranger," Lunt said. "Somebody out of the ordinary. Absolutely nobody was looking for a child. We were looking for an adult." NEW ENGLAND SERIAL KILLER FEARS REIGNITED AFTER PADDLEBOARDER'S MURDER IN QUIET COASTAL TOWN The search continued, with Maine State Police reportedly zeroing in on a remote area where Stewart's paddleboard was found. "I was obsessed with finding out who did this," Lunt said. "Because it was terrifying for everybody." Meanwhile, the teenager, who was visiting the campground with his parents, was reportedly eager to aid in the hunt for Stewart's killer. He would often offer to help fellow campers with their pets or yard work, and enjoyed doling out wooden crafts and taking his little boat out on the water, according to Lunt. PADDLEBOARDER'S MYSTERIOUS KILLING ROCKS QUIET SUMMER VACATION AREA "He volunteered," Lunt said. "He said he had some information, and he took them in the opposite direction of where Sunny was found. He had said he had something to show them, and took them out on the lake on pretty much a wild goose chase." As the two-week-long search continued, the teenager was "acting totally normal," Lunt told ABC News. "He acted like nothing ever happened." "It's haunting," she added. "He was not on anybody's radar." Police reportedly spoke with the teenager for several hours before leaving the campsite. Later that evening, authorities returned to arrest him. "Just thinking, 'no way, this cannot be happening,'" Lunt said. "Then I went back to [the] surveillance cameras to see where he was at the time [of the killing], and those surveillance videos indicated he was on the lake at the time." NEW ENGLAND SERIAL KILLER FEARS STOKED BY 13TH BODY FOUND IN SMALL TOWN The footage reportedly showed the suspect returning to land before sunset on the evening of Stewart's alleged murder. "We have a lot of kids, and they do a lot of things," Lunt told ABC News. "But not anything that would make you think that any child was going to murder somebody here. I have nothing nice to say. It's disgusting." In a brief court appearance on Friday, the teenager entered a denial to the charge and is currently being held at a youth detention facility in the Portland area ahead of his status conference on Aug. 22. The suspect's attorney declined Fox News Digital's request for comment. The state attorney general's office is asking the court to try the teenager as an adult, a spokesperson confirmed to Fox News Digital. If convicted as an adult, the teenager would face a maximum prison sentence of 25 years to life. CLICK HERE TO GET THE FOX NEWS APP The state attorney general's office and Lunt did not immediately respond to Fox News Digital's request for comment. As the investigation into a possible motive surrounding the alleged slaying of Stewart remains ongoing, her loved ones are still clinging to their memories of the avid fisher, carpenter and captain. "She was just a wonderful friend," Bethany Leach Parmley, a lifelong friend of Stewart's, said. "A really loyal, wonderful friend. She was just so fun and funny, and you couldn't help but have a good time around her." The Associated Press contributed to this report. Print Close URL
Yahoo
21-07-2025
- Yahoo
Maine paddleboarder murder suspect acted 'totally normal': Campground owner
No one expected their summer on the lush, serene banks of Crawford Pond, Maine, to be upended by a heinous killing. That peace was shattered this July when camp newcomer Sunshine "Sunny" Stewart had gone paddleboarding -- and never came back. Police found the 48-year-old strangled and bludgeoned to death the next morning. A two-week hunt for a killer ensued. It was even more shocking when that search stopped -- and authorities were able to make an arrest, and the suspect turned out to be a 17-year-old staying at the camp. In her first interview since police charged Deven Young with Stewart's murder on Friday, Mic Mac Campground owner Katharine Lunt explained to ABC News the horror that engulfed her idyllic corner of rural Maine since July 2, and how fiercely driven she's been to protect it. "It's not a place where these things happen," Lunt said. "It's not a place where we're suspect of each other," she said, describing the grounds as a "haven for all of us." MORE: Teen suspected of killing Maine paddleboarder charged with murder Lunt first met Stewart at the beginning of May when she registered for a seasonal campsite with a friend. "Sunny was very excited to be on the lake and paddleboard," Lunt said. Just before America's birthday, Stewart set out on the pond for a quiet evening swim and paddle. She left her purse in her car, its windows open, Lunt said. Just before midnight, Lunt noticed on her security camera system that Stewart's friend was searching the waterfront with a flashlight -- prompting Lunt to check it out. Stewart's board and paddle were missing. She was nowhere to be found. Lunt called local police, and the search ensued. "We first thought that maybe she was hurt," Lunt said. "Maybe she had been hit by a boat. We had no idea why she hadn't returned." State and local agencies and even locals helped look for Stewart by land, water and air with the help of a drone. Dense fog sat on the banks of the 600-acre pond. Two local residents found a blue paddleboard -- which then helped direct police's attention to the area where her body would be found. As police combed through evidence day after day at the campground, Lunt was determined to help crack the case. She combed over footage from her robust surveillance apparatus around camp, with a total of 16 security cameras, that authorities say was in fact key to the investigation. "I was looking for a stranger, somebody out of the ordinary," Lunt said. "Absolutely nobody was looking for a child. We were looking for an adult." It created an atmosphere of suspicion, according to Lunt. "When we didn't know what had happened, and we felt there was a stranger amongst us, so every day I was up at dawn till dusk at the gate of the campground, making sure that we were not allowing any strangers in our community," she said. MORE: 'This stuff doesn't happen here': Murdered paddleboarder sparks concern in small town Lunt helped rally campers to offer their footage if it might have something, and even volunteer their DNA. "I was obsessed with finding out who did this -- because it was terrifying for everybody," she said. One young man staying with his parents at Mic Mac that summer seemed eager to help, too: a 17-year-old always offering to help others with their yard work or loose pets. He'd even made wood crafts to give to other campers, Lunt said. He liked to go out on his little boat. Deven Young had something to show police that might help, Lunt recalled Young said. He took an investigator and the warden out on the water. "He volunteered, he said he had some information, and he took them in the opposite direction of where Sunny was found," Lunt said. "He had said he had something to show them, and took them out on the lake on pretty much a wild goose chase." MORE: Missing Maine paddleboarder was murdered, suspect unknown: Police For two weeks, the suspect was "acting totally normal," Lunt said. "He acted like nothing ever happened." She shook her head. "It's haunting. He was not on anybody's radar." Lunt believes that perhaps Young "said something" that caught investigators' attention and made them scrutinize him more closely. After speaking with him for a couple more hours, police left, only to return that evening and head directly for the Young family's site. He was arrested the evening of July 16. Young has been charged with Stewart's murder and is currently in custody at a juvenile detention facility. State prosecutors have moved to charge him as an adult, according to a spokesperson for the Maine Attorney General's office. That request has not yet been ruled on. At his first court appearance Friday, Young entered a denial on the charge which will be addressed at a later hearing. His attorney had no comment. As police were at the Youngs' door the night of his arrest, Lunt pored over any surveillance footage she could find that might give a clue. "Just thinking, no way, this cannot be happening," Lunt said. "Then I went back to surveillance cameras to see where he was at the time [of the killing] -- and those surveillance videos indicated he was on the lake at the time." Young returned to land before it was dark on the night of the killing, according to Lunt's surveillance footage. Though Lunt didn't know Young well, she knows one thing: she never saw him and Stewart interact. Young's family had first camped at Mic Mac during the 2024 summer season, and returned this year. His grandparents had a site previously and he had visited them sometimes, too. Stewart had only been there for a few days. "They hadn't crossed paths," she said. "I think she was at the wrong place at the wrong time." Lunt recalls Young as perhaps an "awkward boy," but polite with no particular red flags she could recall. "We have a lot of kids, and they do a lot of things -- but not anything that would make you think that any child was going to murder somebody here," she said. "I have nothing nice to say. It's disgusting." At his first court appearance on Friday, Young entered a denial -- a procedural move disputing the allegations -- and arguments will be heard at a later hearing. The next hearing has been set for Aug. 22 in the Rockland District Court. In the meantime, Young will be kept in custody at a juvenile facility to ensure he'll appear at future court appearances and "to prevent the juvenile from inflicting bodily harm on others," Judge Eric Walker ruled Friday. Moving forward, Lunt wants to help the healing process by remembering Stewart as a "true ray of sunshine." "She was a force to be reckoned with," Lunt said, noting that her radiant energy will live on, but a difficult healing process has just begun. "A beautiful individual was just going out for a paddle and never came back. It's not fair." The Mic Mac family and entire Midcoast Maine community plan to hold a celebration of life on Sunday, Aug. 10. Lobster boats from the surrounding area are invited to take part in a "captain's salute" to honor Stewart.
Daily Mail
21-07-2025
- Daily Mail
Chilling social media posts of boy, 17, AFTER he ‘strangled' paddleboarder in murder that's terrified Maine town
A teenager accused of murdering a female paddleboarder continued posting on his social media days after her body was found - and even offered to help cops searching for her killer. Deven Young, 17, was arrested last week and charged with the murder of Sunshine Stewart, 48, who was found beaten and strangled to death in Union, Maine, on July 3. Young has denied involvement in her death. He is currently being held in a youth detention center in South Portland, where he'll be held until trial. The teen's arrest last Wednesday came exactly two weeks after Stewart was last seen alive. She set off from the Mic Mac Campground to paddleboard on nearby Crawford Pond on the evening of July 2. When Stewart hadn't returned after midnight, the campground's owner, Katherine Lunt, reported her missing to police. Shortly after, Stewart's body was found in what police cryptically called 'unusual circumstances' at a nature reserve at the center of the pond. News of her death stunned the quiet, close-knit community of Union. Amid mounting fears that a deranged killer - and possibly even a serial killer - could be lurking in their midst, police worked in relative silence, sharing few updates, as they searched for the culprit. During that time, Young continued posting on his Facebook page, seemingly unfazed by the commotion Stewart's death had caused. In his final post, dated July 12, Young shared an image of a lobster boat anchored on a lake at sunset. It's not clear where the image was taken. Asked by a friend in a comment beneath the post how he was, Young responded: 'I'm doing good how are you doing.' Young's Facebook page has since been deleted. His profile picture had shown him posing with a shotgun in a chair, staring slack-jawed at the camera, with a cartoon American flag superimposed at his feet. There was nothing untoward about Young's behavior in the days that followed Stewart's murder, according to Katherine Lunt, who told the Midcoast Villager his actions around the camp were 'never suspicious.' 'He would offer to assist other campers with their loose pets, yard work, and make wood crafts, which he gave to other campers. We as a campground community, are devastated that he continued camp life amongst us as normal and we suspected nothing,' said Lunt. 'It is heart-wrenching and terrifying that we had no idea the murderer was amongst us as we were looking for a stranger.' Police have not yet shared what evidence they have against Young. However, hours before his arrest was announced, Maine State Police were going door-to-door around Crawford Pond asking all men in the area to submit DNA samples for testing. It appears Young may have placed himself on law enforcement's radar. According to Lunt, on Wednesday, July 16, State Police returned to the campground to continue their investigation when Young approached investigators and vounteered that he had some information about Stewart's death. Stewart's remains were found along the southeast shore of 100 Acre Island, a nature preserve in the middle of the pond The teenager accompanied a group of officers and a game warden out on a boat on Crawford Pond, and reportedly led them to the opposite end of 100 Acre Island where Stewart's body was found. What Young shared with investigators is not known. However, he was interviewed by police after the excursion. Investigators then left the campground but returned later that night to interview Young and his parents. After two hours, Young was taken into custody. Earlier in their investigation, State Police had been reviewing hours of surveillance footage from around the campsite supplied to them by Lunt. Lunt told the Midcoast Villager she reviewed the footage after Young's arrest. The videos showed Young had gone out on Crawford Pond in an aluminum boat before Stewart. He could later be seen returning to the camp on his boat. Investigators have not yet announced a motive for the crime. Young, who is from Frankfort, Maine, has spent the last two summers vacationing with his family on Crawford Pond. Stewart was also a seasonal guest at the campsite. She'd arrived at Mic Mac only days before her death, with plans to spend her summer living out of a camper. Any connections Young had to Stewart are not yet known. Rumors have circulated on social media that Young was a known troublemaker at the site and his behavior had long raised concern - but Lunt denied any truth to the hearsay. 'They were never kicked out of the campground,' she said. 'Quite honestly, if any of this were true, the day this investigation started, he would have obviously been the first suspect in this case, and it would not have taken two weeks to solve.' The owner of the Mic Mac Campground, Katherine Lunt, said there was 'nothing suspicious' about Young's behavior in the aftermath of Stewart's murder Young was charged as a juvenile with murder last week, but the Maine Attorney General's Office has filed a motion to try him as an adult, which is yet to be ruled on. He appeared in a Knox County courtroom on Friday morning via Zoom, where he denied responsibility for Stewart's death. He spoke only to confirm he understood the charges and had conferred with his court-appointed attorney. Judge Eric Walker ordered Young to remain in custody on a charge that he caused Stewart's death either intentionally, knowingly, or with depraved indifference. Police affidavits and additional information regarding the evidence against Young will remain under seal until a status conference is held on August 22, Walker ruled. In the meantime, friends and loved ones of Stewart's have voiced their collective heartache over her passing, remembering her as kind, talented, and a free spirit. Meredith Smith, a childhood friend of Stewart's, told the Daily Mail she was stunned that a teenager had been arrested for her murder. 'Part of me is relieved that someone has been arrested, but the other part says this is far from over because I feel like there's still so much more to this story that we don't know,' said Smith. 'Sunshine was strong and feisty; she would've put up a would've given this person hell.' The Maine Attorney General's office confirmed to the Daily Mail that Young is the only suspect in Stewart's death. In an earlier interview, Smith said she couldn't understand why anyone would want to hurt Stewart. 'Everyone who knew her loved her,' she said. 'Who would do something like this to her? She didn't have any enemies… there's nothing she could've done to make anybody mad enough to harm her. 'We're all on edge, it's just so scary… if it can happen to her, it can happen to anyone.' Stewart would have turned 49 next month. Young will turn 18 this September. Requests for comment from Young's attorney and his parents have gone unanswered. He is next due to appear in court on August 22.
Daily Mail
10-07-2025
- Daily Mail
Murder probe launched as missing paddleboarder's body is found after she vanished on Maine pond
A murder investigation has been launched after a woman disappeared while paddleboarding on a Maine pond. Sunshine Stewart, 48, was found on July 3 at Crawford Pond in Union, about a half hour away from Augusta, according to Maine State Police. Police said Stewart's body was found under 'unusual circumstances' and don't believe she died due to suicide or accidental drowning. Due to the nature of her death, an autopsy was performed which indicated foul play may have been a factor. Law enforcement is now on the hunt for her killer. A cause of death or a suspect has yet to be released. No arrests have been made. The investigation remains open and active as law enforcement warned the public to 'remain aware of their surroundings and report any suspicious behavior.' Stewart had rented a camper for the summer at Mic Mac Campground and left for the pond at 6 pm on July 2. She never returned and was later reported missing. A multi-agency search and rescue operation quickly ensued. Stewart was paddleboarding on Crawford Pond in Union, Maine (pictured). Friends said she was staying at a nearby campground for the summer Authorities made the grim discovery of her remains less than 24 hours later, leaving her community in shock. Daily Mail reached out to the Maine State Police, the Knox County Sheriff's Department, and the Rockland Police Department for an update on the investigation. Friends of Stewart launched a GoFundMe for her funeral services, writing in the description, 'Today is a somber day for our family and friends. We've unexpectedly lost the light in our lives that was Sunny.' One of Stewart's friends, Stacey Yandell, told local news outlet the Midcoast Villager, 'She rebuilt her own house including the slate roof and siding. She was her own HGTV. She was a strong, self-made woman.' 'She had such a strong personality. She radiated positivity and love. She was like a magnet. People were attracted to her.' Friends told the publication that she never married or had children, but is survived by her sister, her brother, her nephews, and friends. Kim Ware, Stewart's sister, told local ABC affiliate, WMTW-TV, 'To know Sunny is an amazing blessing! My sister and my best friend. 'The aunt that stepped up to help me raise her nephews. She has so many that call her family. Truly an amazing woman. Now we have to rally and give her justice!' Another friend, Sarah Vokey, told WMTW-TV, 'One of the hardest things I have ever written was the text I sent to my son "Sunshine was murdered."' Ware told ABC that Stewart was a marine biologist and was working as a contractor when she died. She said her sister loved the outdoors and was the, 'world's best bartender, sternman, lobersterman and boat captain.' As her friends and family grieve, questions loom over what happened to Stewart and the circumstances around her death. Law enforcement is enlisting the public's help, asking anyone who may've seen her paddleboarding between 6pm and 9pm on July 2 to contact Maine State Police.
