FILE - Crawford Pond is seen Wednesday, July 9, 2025, in Union, Maine, as police investigate the murder of a woman last seen paddleboarding on the pond. (AP Photo/Robert F. Bukaty, File)
Loved ones of paddleboarder killed in Maine to hold a celebration of life
ST. GEORGE, Maine (AP) — Friends and family of a Maine woman whose killing on a rural pond shocked the community plan to celebrate her life with a maritime service on Sunday.
FILE - Crawford Pond is seen Wednesday, July 9, 2025, in Union, Maine, as police investigate the murder of a woman last seen paddleboarding on the pond. (AP Photo/Robert F. Bukaty, File)
By Robert F. Bukaty And Patrick Whittle The Associated Press
ST. GEORGE, Maine (AP) — Friends and family of a Maine woman whose killing on a rural pond shocked the community plan to celebrate her life with a maritime service on Sunday.
Sunshine Stewart, 48, of St. George, went missing in July while paddleboarding on Crawford Pond, a popular summer destination in Union. She was later found , and police Deven Young, 17, of Frankfort, Maine, with murder in connection with her death.
Stewart’s loved ones are calling Sunday’s memorial a “maritime celebration of life.†They are holding the memorial at 10:30 a.m. in the Tenants Harbor section of St. George, where Stewart lived. The event will include a procession of vessels in the vicinity of Tenants Harbor, according to the organizers.
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“On August 10, 2025, family, friends, and community will gather on the sea to honor and remember the radiant life of Sunshine ‘Sunny’ Stewart — a woman whose light touched every soul she met,†promoters of the event said in a social media post.
The Office of the Maine Attorney General has said it is seeking to try Young as an adult. A judge will need to rule on that request. Young is due in court for a status conference on Aug. 22.
Young made a brief initial court appearance last month in which he entered a denial to the murder charge. His attorney, Jeremy Pratt, has declined to comment.
Authorities have released few details about the killing and have not publicly speculated about a motive. Maine State Police spokesperson Shannon Moss said the investigation into Stewart’s death is still active and “will be for some time.â€
Stewart lived about 20 miles (34 kilometers) from the pond where she was killed. The pond is popular with boaters and fishermen and is the site of a campground. Police have said a medical examiner determined Stewart’s cause of death was strangulation and blunt force trauma.
In the weeks since the killing, friends of Stewart have memorialized her as an independent spirit, a dedicated friend and a lover of the ocean and the outdoors. She took a varied career path through life, working as a biologist, fisherman, carpenter and in many other roles, friends said.
Bethany Leach Parmley, a lifelong friend, described Stewart as “a really loyal, wonderful friend.â€
