What Was 17-Year-Old Suspect Doing on Remote Maine Island When Paddleboarder Went Missing?

The teenager who was arrested in connection with the murder of missing paddleboarder Sunshine “Sunny” Stewart is likely familiar with the area, per reports.

Stewart, 48, was found dead on July 3, a day after she went missing while paddleboarding on Crawford Pond in Maine’s Knox region, Maine State Police previously said.

On Wednesday, July 16, two weeks after she was last seen, authorities arrested a 17-year-old male in connection with the killing, police said in an updated statement this week.

He was arrested in Union, the township where Crawford Pond is located.

Police have not released the name of the juvenile; he is in custody at the the Creek Youth Development Center in South Portland, per police.

While little information is available from authorities on the suspect and the circumstances, sources familiar with the investigation have indicated the teen was likely familiar with the area.

The juvenile is a resident of Maine, police said, but it was not immediately clear which part of the state he is from.

An official close to the investigation further told ABC News that the boy was in the pond area on summer vacation with his family.

Stewart had rented a campsite at Mic Mac Family Campground, a popular summer vacation spot, on May 1, per the outlet. She had stayed on the grounds only a couple of nights before she was murdered.

Authorities say Stewart died from strangulation and blunt force trauma.

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According to several tributes online and a GoFundMe, Stewart was a former marine biologist who was an avid outdoors enthusiast.

She was “unapologetically alive,” her friend Rachael Blumenberg told WMTW.

An investigation is ongoing.