May 11, 2007 6:48 pm US/Central
Divers Scour Ponds In Search For Lisa Stebic
Plainfield Mother Of 2 Has Been Missing Since April 30
CBS 2 West Suburban Bureau Chief Mike Puccinelli and the Naperville Sun contributed to this report.
PLAINFIELD, Ill. (CBS) ―
Divers from 10 area fire departments were scouring retention ponds in Plainfield Friday as the search for Lisa Stebic intensifies.
Stebic was last seen around 6 p.m. on April 30, by her husband, Craig Stebic, after she said she was leaving to work out. There has been no activity on her cell phone or credit cards since then.
As CBS 2 West Suburban Bureau Chief Mike Puccinelli reports, 44 divers and 33 land-based rescue workers were searching four ponds. They began with 10 searchers in wet suits who held onto ropes and searched the perimeters of the ponds, then added other divers who went deeper.
The deep divers had to search primarily by sense of touch, since visibility was near zero.
Two additional ponds may be searched before divers finish up, but police want them to be done by the time the Stebics' two children get home from school.
"Obviously, we're here to support the family and try to find Lisa, and I think it would be kind of traumatic for them to have to sit out there and see all this emergency equipment outside their window," said Plainfield police Chief Don Bennett, "so we wanted to do it during the time they were in school."
The Plainfield mother of two has not been located despite a $20,000 reward, national interest in her case and more than 34,000 hits on the website
findlisastebic.com.
Later in the day on Friday, Lisa Stebic's family plans to hold a news conference asking for volunteers to help with a ground search of walking and biking trails near the Stebics' house on Saturday. They also plan to go to area businesses on Sunday to pass out carnations, all part of "Bring Lisa Home for Mother's Day."
On Thursday, divers searched for Stebic at Lake Renwick near State Route 30. Deputy Fire Chief Jon Stratton said searchers walked the banks of four lakes near Lake Renwick.
Police say they were not following a specific lead in the search, and divers found nothing.
Anyone with information about Lisa Stebic is asked to call the Plainfield Police Department at 815-267-7217.
(CBS 2, the Naperville Sun and the Aurora Beacon-News are news partners covering stories in the western suburbs of Chicago.)
