More psychics aid in Stebic search

Of the five different stages of death or grief, Lisa Stebic's family and friends might be clinging to hope -- or bargaining.

At least according to Dr. Melvin Hess, clinical director of behavioral health services at Central DuPage Hospital.

"Hope that the condition is going to change, and you try to do whatever you can to change the situation," Hess said.

"That's what I think they are doing since the police have come up with nothing," he said. "All the other leads have gone nowhere -- they are grasping for straws."

It's been seven weeks since the Plainfield mom's disappearance.

The mother of two was last seen about 6 p.m. April 30 in the Plainfield home she shares with husband Craig Stebic. The two were in the midst of a divorce. Neither her credit cards nor cell phone have been used since she went missing, police have said.

With no new leads in the case from police, family and friends are taking matters into their own hands.

A psychic led Kim Young, Stebic's supervisor at Lincoln Elementary, where she worked part time in the lunchroom, and friends to Silver Springs State Park in Yorkville last week. While they found bones at precisely the location the psychic, who wishes to remain unnamed, had indicated, they were those of a deer.

The women have since returned to the state park two more times with shovels, under the guidance of a psychic, to look for their friend.

Dr. Hess equates the women's efforts to someone who's been told they have terminal cancer. When traditional treatments such as chemotherapy fail, they might try holistic or faith healing.

"You never hear on the news that they solved the case because of a psychic, but you have these television shows that do it every week," Hess said.

It's shows like "Medium" and "Psychic Detectives" that have given Young and friends hope.

Young said she's doesn't believe in psychics, or at least didn't before.

"I never dealt with one before," she said. "The only things I did was Ouija Board when I was a kid."

Several psychics have given leads to family and friends about Lisa's whereabouts, including Florida-based "spiritual medium" Michelle Whitedove.

"Everyone is looking in the wrong area around where she lives," Whitedove said. "She was driven up the road, maybe three hours south.

"I live in Florida where the Everglades are, and I kept seeing that," she said.

Through prayer meditation, Whitedove says she relives the steps of those missing, observing as a third party. She does not charge for these type of readings, as she calls it "blood money."

"I normally work with (missing) children. But with this particular case and her being so young, it touched me," she said. "I felt it was my job to give back."

Whitedove said she sent a report to the Plainfield police, as well as Melanie Greenberg, wife of Stebic's cousin Mark and spokeswoman for the family, detailing what she observed.

This is not the first time Whitedove has sent information to the local police on a case.

"The cases I work have been very consistent and accurate, like I know what cases belong to me," Whitedove said. "Other times people will ask me, and I say, 'It doesn't matter.'

"Do I pick and choose my cases? Yes, but sometimes they pick me," she said.