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.
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 dead, and police charged 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.
“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.”
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.”