A 17-year-old boy who volunteered to help police investigate the murder of a paddleboarder in Maine has been arrested and charged with her killing. Deven Young, from Frankfort, was staying with his parents at the Mic Mac Cove Campground in Union when Sunshine 'Sunny' Stewart was found strangled and bludgeoned to death on Crawford Pond earlier this month.
Campground owner Katherine Lunt described Young as polite but 'awkward', and said he helped other campers with their yards and made wooden crafts. After Stewart's death was ruled a homicide, Young approached authorities claiming he had something to show them, but Lunt said he led police on a 'wild goose chase' in the opposite direction from where the body was found.
Following several hours of questioning on 16 July, officers left the camp but returned that evening to arrest Young. He has been charged with murder and is being held at a youth detention facility in Portland. Judge Eric Walker ordered his detention 'to prevent the juvenile from inflicting bodily harm on others'. Prosecutors have filed a motion to try Young as an adult; he is due in court on 22 August, weeks before his 18th birthday.
Stewart, 48, from Tenants Harbor, was last seen leaving the campground by herself between 6pm and 9pm on 2 July. Her body was discovered by game wardens at around 1am the following day near 100 Acre Island, an area only accessible by boat. An autopsy confirmed she was a homicide victim. Lunt later reviewed security footage and noticed Young had been on the lake around the time of the murder, returning before dark.
Stewart's sister, Kim Ware, remembered her as a 'truly amazing' aunt and experienced boat captain. A GoFundMe page has raised over $34,000 for funeral costs, and a celebration of Stewart's life is planned for 10 August in Tenants Harbor. Young denied the charges during his first court appearance.
