Friend staying at Sunshine Stewart’s home remembers her as ‘unapologetically alive’
Rachael Blumenberg and her daughter were staying at Stewart's home in Tenants Harbor the night she was believed to have been killed.
By Terry Stackhouse
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ST. GEORGE, Maine (WMTW) — A friend of Sunshine Stewart describes her as ‘unapologetically alive.’
Stewart’s death on Crawford Pond in Union remains under investigation by the Maine State Police as a homicide.
Rachael Blumenberg and her daughter were staying at Stewart’s home in Tenants Harbor the night she was believed to have been killed.
Cell phone video shared with Maine’s Total Coverage by Blumenberg shows the 48-year-old teaching her daughter how to paddleboard in the pond where she was found dead a few days later.
“It’s haunting, you know, to know that we were just there a few days before,” Blumenberg said.
She was visiting from Washington, D.C.
She remembers Stewart as a ‘force of nature’ who was eager to share life’s simple joys.
Beginning Sunday the 29th, they stayed at Stewart’s home.
On Wednesday, Stewart headed back to her campsite at Mic Mac Cove Family Campground in Union.
“She was really excited for her sister and her nephews, you know, to come up for the July 4th weekend,” Blumenberg said.
Blumenberg says she sensed something was off upon returning to Stewart’s home.
“It was around 9:00 on Wednesday night, and the house was completely dark, and her dog was there. She’s very devoted to her dog,” she said.
“After I messaged her and didn’t hear back, just in the recesses of my mind, I thought, this is a little strange to not hear back. It’s a little strange to have a completely dark house,” Blumenberg added.
Blumenberg figured Stewart stayed at the camp, and the following morning, she and her daughter boarded a ferry for Monhegan Island.
“I was trying to be like, ‘Okay, she’s independent. She’s doing her thing.’ But I saw a message from another close friend who said, ‘Please call me.’ And so I did. And that’s where the news began to unfold,” said Blumenberg.
According to the Maine State Police, Stewart’s body was found early Thursday.
An autopsy determined her death to be a homicide.
“All I can say is, I do imagine that she put up one hell of a fight and that she was a fierce woman,” Blumenberg said.
Blumenberg spoke with investigators.
She’s encouraging people in the area to share any material that could produce clues.
“Everyone should take their videos from that pond or over the weekend or leading up and zoom in on those photos, on those videos,” she said.
As investigators work to piece together what happened, Blumenberg says those who knew Stewart also want to focus on how she lived.
“Again, that, you know, quote of her being ‘unapologetically alive,’ if everybody can dive deep into themselves and understand what that means,” Blumenberg said.
“If anything comes from losing Sunny, that’s the part that needs to grow in our society,” she added.
Stewart’s cause of death has not been released, and there have been no arrests.
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