CA CA - Kimberly Stewart, 21, Sheridan, 24 May 1977

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30 Years ago...

Kimberly Ann Stewart
Missing since May 24, 1977 from Sheridan, Placer County, California.
Classification: Endangered Missing

Vital Statistics
Date Of Birth: March 22, 1956
Age at Time of Disappearance: 21 years old
Height and Weight at Time of Disappearance: 5'9"; 130 lbs.
Distinguishing Characteristics: White female. Green eyes; brown hair.
Clothing: Pink top, green Ditto pants, blue and white tennis shoes.
Dentals: Available

Circumstances of Disappearance

Kimberly Morgan was only 15 and still in school when she got married, in January 1972. The couple had two daughters. The couple separated frequently and Kimberly twice filed for divorce, once in 1974, and again on April 13, 1977, little more than a month prior to their final meeting at a pizza parlor in Wheatland.

The husband had met with Kimberly to give her some money. Patrons at the restaurant were interviewed later and remembered that the couple had argued and departed shortly after their arrival.

The husband told police he and Kimberly left the restaurant in separate vehicles and that, hours later, a member of his family had spotted her car parked on Highway 65 approximately two miles from Sheridan. When the husband went to that location with his brother, they found the car, keys still in the ignition, and her checkbook.

But Kimberly was gone. Friends interviewed after her disappearance said Kimberly would never have left her daughters voluntarily, and sheriff's investigators announced that she was likely a victim of foul play.

Investigators
If you have any information concerning this case, please contact:
Placer County Sheriff
530-889-7800


Agency Case Number: 95-0306080
NCIC Number: M-052719736
Please refer to these numbers when contacting any agency with information regarding this case.

Source Information:
Placer County Sheriff
CA DOJ
The Doe Network: Case File 579DFCA

LINK:
http://www.doenetwork.org/cases/579dfca.html
 
Kimberly A. Stewart:
http://www.auburnjournal.com/articles/2006/10/01/news/top_stories/02missing01.txt
In 1977 Kimberly Stewart, then 21, took her two young daughters to a friend's home while she met with her estranged husband, officials said. She did not return to pick up her girls.

The husband's family reported seeing a strange car near Stewart's vehicle on an area highway. They suspected that she left with another person.

Today Stewart would now be 50 year old. She is described as a white female, 5 foot 9 inches tall, weighing 130 pounds with green eyes and brown hair. At the time of her disappearance she lived in the Sheridan area.

Anyone with information on any of these missing person cases is asked to contact the Placer County Sheriff's Department at (530) 889-7800.
 
In 1977 Kimberly took her two daughters to a friends home while she met with her estranged husband. Kimberly did not return to pick up her daughters. The husband's family reported seeing a strange car near Kimberly's on the highway. They suspected that Kimberly left with another person. This picture of Kimberly is from her sophomore year at high school. No other pictures were available.
Addr: Camp Far West
City/St: Sheridan, CA
Ht/Wt: 5' 09" / 130 lbs
Eye/Hr: Green / Brown
Race: White
DOB: 3/22/56
Last Seen: 1977
http://www.placer.ca.gov/Sheriff/Missingpersons.aspx
 
Bumping case up. Kimberly is still missing.
 
Thirty Five Years Ago...

It has now been 35 years since Kimberly Ann Stewart went missing. Her case remains unsolved.
 
I wonder if this is a case where LE more or less knew what happened and who was responsible, but just never had enough proof for an arrest.

I'm suspicious by nature, so the husband pops up in my mind as suspect #1.

I think this might just be because I've been reading as much as I can find about Roger Kibbe in the past few weeks, after running across a local case I think might be one of his and sent a tip on, but this almost sounds like an I-5 Strangler abduction. He picked up some of his known victims on highways, I-5, 99 and 50, and targeted stranded motorists (Stephanie Brown, Charmaine Sabrah, and Karen Finch, who he was not convicted of killing but who police are certain is one of his victims).

It's also in the right time frame (Lou Ellen Burleigh was abducted by Roger Kibbe and murdered in 1977, and her remains weren't found until 2011), the car left behind fits his M.O., and Placer County is near Sacramento, which is the general area where he abducted and dumped some of his victims (Yolo, Sacramento, El Dorado and Amador counties - he also ranged to San Joaquin, Stanislaus, Contra Costa and Napa counties for pick ups and body dumps, and told police he'd hired prostitutes in Oakland at one point). If that's the case, I'd expect to find her in another county, since he took all of his known victims across county lines. Maybe even in Nevada, since his brother was a Douglas County Sheriff's detective and Kibbe visited him frequently. Police have always thought he had more victims beyond the ones he was convicted of, and according to Bruce Henderson's book, he apparently told his wife at one point that there was another body in El Dorado County that police had never found (I'm assuming that wasn't referring to Robbin Simpson, a possible Kibbe victim found in El Dorado who was a Jane Doe until recently, since she was found before he was arrested for Darcie Frackenpohl's murder).

But I've been actively looking for potential Kibbe victims, so it's really likely I'm seeing a connection where one doesn't exist. Her husband is definitely a pretty good suspect, especially since they argued before she disappeared, he found her car, and his family are the only people who reported seeing a strange car near hers.
 

stewart_kimberly.jpg
stewart_kimberly2.jpg
stewart_kimberly3.jpg

Left: Kimberly, circa 1972 (age sixteen);
Center and Right: Kimberly, circa 1977


Bumping for 38 years.
Kimberly is still missing.
 
Kimberly Ann Stewart
kimberly_ann_stewart_1.jpg
kimberly_ann_stewart_2.jpg
kimberly_ann_stewart_3.jpg

Left: Kimberly, circa 1972 (age sixteen);Center and Right: Kimberly, circa 1977

  • Missing Since 05/24/1977
  • Missing From Sheridan, California
  • Classification Endangered Missing
  • Sex Female
  • Race White
  • Date of Birth 03/22/1956 (64)
  • Age 21 years old
  • Height and Weight 5'9, 130 pounds
  • Clothing/Jewelry Description Green Ditto pants, a pink shirt, blue sneakers with white stripes, and a leather necklace with beads spelling "Kim."
  • Distinguishing Characteristics Caucasian female. Blonde/brown hair, green eyes. Kimberly's maiden name is Morgan. Her nickname is Kimmie.
Details of Disappearance

Kimberly married her high school boyfriend, Steven Michael Stewart, in 1971, when she was 15 years old. He was a freshman at the University of Oregon at the time. They had a volatile relationship and separated frequently. Kimberly filed for divorce in 1974, then recanted. She filed again on April 13, 1977.

Kimberly left their two daughters in the care of a friend on May 23, 1977 and met Steven at a pizza parlor in Wheatland, California to collect money. Other customers at the restaurant told authorities that the couple was seen arguing inside, then departed shortly thereafter.

Steven told investigators that he and Kimberly left the eatery in separate vehicles. He stated that one of his family members saw Kimberly's car, a gray 1975 Chevrolet Vega hatchback, parked on Highway 65 hours later, approximately two miles from her hometown of Sheridan. Steven's relative claimed that he saw an unidentified vehicle near her car that evening. Kimberly had not retrieved their children from her friend's home and she has never been seen again.

Steven stated that he and his brother located Kimberly's car on the highway; the keys were still in the ignition and her checkbook was inside the vehicle. There was no trace of Kimberly, and Steven and his brother theorized she left voluntarily with another individual.

Investigators believe that Kimberly may have met with foul play, as her family maintained it was uncharacteristic of her to abandon her daughters. She resided at Camp Far West in Sheridan, California at the time of her disappearance. Her case remains unsolved.

Investigating Agency
  • Placer County Sheriff's Department 530-889-7800
Source Information
 
Kimberly's NamUs profile was modified on 6/28/22
Currently she has 13 rule outs listed
UP8419
01/16/2001
Isle of Wight
VA

UP8579
01/25/1981
Hanover
VA

UP12683
06/06/2014
Newport News
VA

UP9978
10/13/2010
Pierce
WA

UP6796
11/18/1985
Alleghany
VA

UP6303
01/26/1997
Warren
VA

UP6665
05/14/2007
Petersburg
VA

UP10647
06/07/2006
San Mateo
CA

UP7384
07/10/2010
San Bernardino
CA

UP2128
08/14/1977
Snohomish
WA

UP2174
11/10/1985
Merrimack
NH

UP6150
11/07/1998
Stafford
VA

UP4790
04/24/1981
Miami
OH
 
UP5706 should be reviewed further as there are similarities to Kimberly Stewart. Found along the Mashel River in Eatonville, WA. Ironically, the husband attended OSU. Not to imply guilt but this would be a likely scenario for disposal. Connections to and familiar with the area.


*Tennis shoes, blue with white chevron stripes. (Kim's are described as blue with white stripes)
*Long brownish hair, 13-17" long, with blondish strands (same as Kim by appearance and desc)
*PMI is within the time frame
*UID top age estimate is 20. (Kim was barely 21 at the time)
 
May 3, 1977, The Press-Tribune, pg 13
1674494728856.png

Divorce filings for April 1977

13 June 1977 - The Press Tribune, pg 9
1674494789685.png

"Missing from her home on Rioso Road in Sheridan"

11 August 1977, The Lincoln News Messenger, pg 8
1674495074395.png


Court notices for divorce, initiated by her husband in August of the same year

15 August 1977, The Press-Tribune, pg 3
1674495187137.png

5 December 1977, The Press Tribune, pg 2
1674495744190.png

Divorce finalized (?) - not sure what interlocutory means in this case

14 Febuary 1980, The Lincoln News Messenger
1674495861123.png

"She and her husband had been to dinner in Wheatland and then she was going to drive to Lincoln to pick up the children from the sitter, Monica Wooden. However, she never arrived at the Wooden home."

"Checks has been made to determine if she ever used her drivers license, asked for medical or school records, received any medical treatment or tried for a copy of her birth certificate....checks were even made with Nevada to see if she might have attempted to get identification in the state"

18 Febuary 1980, The Auburn Journal, pg 1, 10

1674496104742.png
1674496190387.png

21 March 1980, The Press-Tribune, pg 1

1674496247148.png

"A delay in notifying the Placer County Sherriff's office of her disappearance may have allowed a murderer to go free..."

"Kim was an honor student at Lincoln High where she graduated in 1973."

26 March 1980, The Press-Tribune, pg 4
1674496443251.png

"Her husband...has legally divorced his wife and has remarried."
 

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