On Thursday, July 17th, Maine State Police announced that the suspect, who is also from Maine, was taken into custody without incident around 2:30 p.m. on Wednesday, July 16th in Union. The suspect has been transported to the Long Creek Youth Development Center in South Poland, WMTW reported.
The alleged suspect reportedly spends vacation time in the Crawford Pond area every summer with his family.
The teen has been named in court documents as Deven Young from Frankfort, Maine, according to NBC Boston. During a brief initial hearing on Friday, he pleaded not guilty to the charge. His lawyer, Jeremy Pratt, chose not to respond to requests for comment from The Associated Press.
On Thursday, police also revealed that the Office of the Chief Medical Examiner in Augusta confirmed that the cause of Stewart's death was strangulation and blunt force trauma. "I am floored with elation and grief," said Rachel Blumenberg, a friend who was staying with Stewart when she went missing.Stewart, 48, went out on Crawford Pond by herself on the evening of July 2nd. When she did not return home hours later, someone called police to report her missing.
The Knox County Sheriff's Office and the Union Fire Department were the first agencies involved in the search effort, and Maine game wardens were eventually called to assist. Stewart's body was found early on the morning of July 3rd near what is known as 100 Acre Island, which sits in the middle of Crawford Pond and can only be accessed by boat.
State police announced on July 5th that the Officer of the Chief Medical Examiner had ruled Stewart's death a homicide. Kim Ware, Stewart's sister, said Stewart had been working as a contractor but was previously a marine biologist, lobsterman, and boat captain. Ware also said her sister loved the outdoors, hiking, boating, paddleboarding, and yoga.
