It has been nearly one year since a Plainfield, Ill., mother of two went missing, and police are still no closer to solving the mystery of her disappearance.
Lisa Stebic was last seen on the evening of April 30, 2007. Lisa’s car was found parked at her home, but her cell phone and purse were both missing. Lisa’s husband of 14 years, Craig Stebic, said to his knowledge his wife had gone jogging and never returned.
According to Lisa’s family members, Craig and Lisa’s relationship had been turbulent in the months leading up to her disappearance and the couple had recently filed for divorce.
When police questioned Craig, he admitted there was trouble in the marriage but claimed to have had little contact with his wife in the preceding five months – despite the fact that they were living under the same roof with their two children, ages 10 and 12.
Craig has two prior felony convictions dating back to 1995, for the unlawful use of a weapon after police stopped his pickup truck and found a 10-gauge double barrel shotgun, a .44 magnum semiautomatic pistol, a Ruger Mini-14 assault rifle and an AK-47 semiautomatic assault rifle. According to police records, officers had been called to the Stebic residence in December 2006 for a domestic dispute. It was a verbal altercation and no assault or battery charges were filed.
When investigators spoke with Lisa’s divorce attorney, they learned that on the day of his wife’s disappearance Craig had been served with a petition for eviction. The document cited verbal abuse and cruel and inconsiderate behavior toward Lisa and the children.
In July 2007, Craig Stebic and a bikini-clad television reporter named Amy Jacobson were photographed together in the back yard of Craig’s home. While there was nothing illegal about the reporter’s actions, she was subsequently let go by the local NBC affiliate.
According to police, Craig has been somewhat cooperative; however, he has remained unwilling to submit to a polygraph examination, and has refused to let police question the couple’s two children.
Craig’s romantic behavior, along with his reluctance to cooperate and his opposition to Lisa’s family’s desire to put up billboards with her picture and reward information, has not enamored him to her family members or the police.
Familiar with Craig Stebic’s affinity for hunting in Michigan’s Upper Peninsula, Lisa’s family recently asked local Michigan hunters to help them join in the search for Lisa. It is their hope that with the changing seasons the terrain might reveal beneficial clues for the investigation.
Lisa’s family has also joined forces with the family members of Stacy Peterson, a Chicago-area woman who went missing in October 2007. The families of the two missing women believe that by working together they can create more public awareness of the two cases. Melanie Greenberg, Lisa Stebic’s cousin, shared concern for relatives of both women when she spoke at a joint press conference recently. "None of us will rest until we find answers, until we solve these mysteries," she said.
The FBI recently added Lisa to its missing persons Web site, giving a boost to the spirits of her family because of the exposure that her case would get on a national level. The FBI estimates that over 2 million people a month peruse the bureau’s missing persons Web site.
Lisa Stebic is described as 5 feet 2 inches tall, 120 pounds, with brown hair and brown eyes. She has a small rose tattoo on her ankle and a butterfly tattoo on her lower back. A $75,000.00 reward is currently being offered for information leading to the discovery of her whereabouts. Anyone with information is asked to call the Plainfield Police Department at +1-815-267-7217 or Will County Crime Stoppers at +1-800-323-6734.