36 Years After Sheridan Woman's Disappearance, Family Still Seeking Answers
SHERIDAN (CBS13) — A Sheridan woman vanished 36 years ago without a trace. Her body was never found.
Ever since, her family's wondered if they'll ever know what happened to Kimberly Stewart. Also known as Kimmie, she was 21 when she disappeared. Her car was found off of Highway 65.
Her older sister, Susan Fasig, says she believes someone killed her little sister.
"We miss her hugs, and we just miss her sweetness," said Susan.
For nearly four decades, searches for Kimberly Stewart end the same way: No answers. No closure. No Kimberly.
"It was a nightmare just one thing after the other. We didn't know what happened to her. We knew inside of us that she would never, never, never leave us or her girls," said Susan.
In May 1977, Kimberly dropped off her two young daughters at a friend's home and told them she'd be back the next day.
Susan says Kimberly planned to meet her estranged husband, Steven Michael Stewart, at a Wheatland pizza parlor to work on their relationship.
Customers say they saw the pair arguing.
Placer County Sheriff's investigators called their relationship "volatile."
"It's not exactly clear what went down and that's something investigators were trying to clarify all of that," said Susan.
Hours later, Stewart told investigators he found Kimberly's car off of Highway 65 a couple of miles from her Sheridan home with the keys still in the ignition and her checkbook left behind.
"We knew we knew that something had happened to her," said Susan.
Susan and her family searched fields near the highway. Although they never found her body, they say they know someone out there knows exactly where she is.
If there's a suspect or a person of interest in the case, investigators won't say. But 36 years later, detectives haven't closed the case.
Susan's family continues to search, hoping one day that Kimberly will finally come home.
"Why would someone hurt her? Why would someone take her away? Why? Just why?" said Susan.
Over the weekend, Susan and her family passed out fliers to Kimberly's old classmates at a Lincoln High School reunion.
A relative of Steven Michael Stewart says he saw a car he didn't recognize parked near Kimberly's off of Highway 65 on the day she went missing.
Steven told investigators when she went missing that he believed his wife left with someone voluntarily.
