A 17-year-old boy has been arrested in connection with the killing of Sunshine “Sunny” Stewart, a Maine woman whose body was discovered two weeks ago shortly after she went missing while paddleboarding.
Maine State Police announced Thursday the suspect had been taken into custody without incident around 10:30 p.m. Wednesday in Union, roughly 30 miles east of Augusta. He was transferred to a youth detention center in South Portland.
The minor-aged suspect was not identified by police. Under Maine state law, the identity of juvenile offenders is typically not made public.
An official told local ABC affiliate WMTW that the suspect takes summer vacations in the area with his family.
Stewart, 48, a resident of Tenants Harbor, was staying for the summer at the Mic Mac Cove Campground in Union when she set out to go paddleboarding on nearby Crawford Pond on the evening of July 2. She was reported missing when she hadn’t returned hours later.
Stewart’s body was discovered around 1 a.m. on the morning of July 3 in the waters near 100 Acre Island, an area in the middle of the lake that’s only accessible by boat.
Police said the condition of her body did not indicate she died by suicide or accidental drowning. They announced days later that her death was being investigated as a homicide.
On Thursday, police confirmed that Stewart’s death had been a result of strangulation and blunt force trauma. They did not provide specific details on her injuries.
“This remains an active and ongoing investigation,” police said. “No additional information is being released at this time.”
It’s unclear what charges the teen will face.
