The death of a paddleboarder who went missing in Maine last week has been ruled a homicide, police said Monday.
Sunshine Stewart, 48, was found dead during a search last Thursday on Crawford Pond in the town of Union, Maine State Police said in a statement. An autopsy by the state medical examiner’s office determined her death was a homicide, although the cause of death has not been released.
“At first, a lot of people thought it was a boating accident,” Kate Hamar, who lives in the area, told CBS’ local affiliate WGME.
“It’s left everybody pretty shaken,” Hamar said.
Kathy Lunt, the owner of Mic Mac campground near Crawford Pond, said Stewart was a seasonal resident there and was last seen going out on her paddleboard on Wednesday evening, WGME reported. Lunt said she called police when Stewart’s roommate grew worried about her not returning.
Authorities searched a dumpster at Mic Mac campground on Monday, according to WGME.
Maine police said the investigation is ongoing and asked that anyone who may have seen Stewart paddleboarding last Wednesday between 6 and 9 p.m. contact them.
“As always, members of the public are encouraged to remain aware of their surroundings and report any suspicious behavior to law enforcement,” police said. “Additional information will be released when it becomes appropriate to do so based on the progress of the investigation.”
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 $17,000 as of Wednesday morning.
