Lisa Stebic still missing two years later
PLAINFIELD -- Lisa Stebic was last seen alive two years ago today.
On April 30, 2007, the Plainfield mom was working part-time as an elementary school lunch lady, a job friends say she took so she could be home with her two children after school.
(Submitted/Debbie Ruttenberg)
By May 1, 2007, Lisa was gone.
No trace of her has ever been found. Police believe she was a victim of foul play.
Lisa's friends and family are planning to remember her with a candlelight vigil at 7 p.m. tonight at a gazebo near the Stebic house, in the 13200 block of Red Star Drive.
"It's very frustrating for the family that two years have passed and we still don't have answers as to what happened to Lisa that day that she disappeared," said Melanie Greenberg, a spokeswoman for Lisa's family. "We know it's not a cold case, but it's very difficult not knowing and not having resolution."
Her petition states he was being "unnecessarily relentless, cruel, inconsiderate, domineering and verbally abusive." His behavior was "jeopardizing the mental well-being" of their children, she said.
She was reportedly last seen about 6 p.m. that day at her home.
Craig said he was working in the yard when he thought he heard Lisa leave for a nightly workout.
But Lisa's car was still parked in the driveway.
Their children, then ages 10 and 12, had just left for the store to buy candy with money from their father.
The next morning, Craig asked a neighbor if she had heard from Lisa. When Lisa didn't show up for work, the neighbor called police.
Craig has not been charged in connection with his wife's disappearance and maintains he had nothing to do with it.
"I still believe that they're not looking anywhere else, and I think that's a mistake," said George Lenard, Craig Stebic's attorney. "They have the cameras on his house, after all this time."
But Plainfield Police Chief Don Bennett said none of the information investigators have gathered over the past two years suggests anyone else was involved.
"You look back at the last two years and all the opportunities Craig could have shown an interest in trying to find Lisa," Greenberg said. "He never attended a single search. He never (helped pass out) fliers. He came to one vigil, but that was it. I think that speaks volumes."
They claimed Craig had prohibited contact with the children. Craig's attorney Dion Davi said Craig had offered visits, but that Lisa's family did not respond.
At one point during the court proceeding, Lisa's family asked Craig to confirm some things he may have said in front of his children, including an alleged threat to "cut Lisa Stebic into pieces and no one would ever find her," according to court documents.
Or the time he allegedly said Lisa's face "would be on the back of a milk carton someday."
Craig never had to answer the questions, as he and Davi offered to compromise on visits soon after the request was made.
The families reached a confidential visitation agreement in September.
The case has been the focus of a Will County grand jury investigation.
A spokesman for the Office of the Will County State's Attorney said investigators recently uncovered new information that helps shed more light on what happened to Lisa.
He would not discuss the new information, but said it does not solve the case.
There are two things that could help crack it, Bennett said. One would be finding Lisa's body. The other would be credible information from someone who has firsthand knowledge of what happened to her.
"Sometimes there's just key pieces of information that would make the picture clearer or the testimony more effective, and we're missing some of that currently," Bennett said. "That's why it's so important that anyone who has information relative to the disappearance of Lisa they should contact police. That insignificant comment could be the key piece we're waiting for to put this case together."
Anyone with information on Lisa Stebic's whereabouts is asked to call the Plainfield Police Department at 815-267-7217 or Will County Crime Stoppers at 800-323-6734.
