She has pretty much fallen off the grid, just become a ghost,” said Lt. Mike Risko, of the Michigan State Police. “It’s like she’s vanished off the face of the earth. We have had zero tips as to her whereabouts ... We’re going to remain hopeful, but I’ve been in this business 32 years and obviously it’s not looking good.”
Police initially said they believed Stewart’s estranged husband, Douglas, abducted her between 7:10 and 8:30 a.m. Monday outside her parent’s home in the 55000 block of Driftwood Drive in Colon Township. Risko said Douglas Stewart, whom police were able to contact by phone late Monday night in Newport News, Va., where he resides, is a “person of interest” in his wife’s disappearance.
Douglas Stewart declined to comment Wednesday when contacted by the Kalamazoo Gazette and directed questions to his attorney, Jeff Schroder, of Hettinger & Hettinger in Portage. The Gazette was unable to reach Schroder.
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Risko said police are continuing to ask for assistance from anyone who may have seen Venus Stewart or a silver mercury sedan with Virginia license plate XNP1453 or silver Dodge Ram pickup truck with Virginia license plate XNP1301. Both vehicles are registered to Douglas Stewart, the lieutenant said, and police had yet to find either as of Wednesday.
Risko also confirmed that, as of Wednesday afternoon, Douglas Stewart was the only person of interest in Venus Stewart’s disappearance.
“This is not what her normal habit would be,” he said. “We do not believe she left of her own free will and so far nothing that we’ve turned up has changed that opinion ... What we’re doing now is turning over every stone we can.”
http://www.mlive.com/news/kalamazoo/index.ssf/2010/04/michigan_state_police_remain_h.html