Jun 6, 2007 7:15 am US/Central
Lisa Stebic's Family: 'Our Hearts Are Empty'
Reward Now At $50,000 For Information About Missing Woman
By Paige Winfield / Naperville Sun
PLAINFIELD, Ill. (Naperville Sun) ―
Tightly gripping each other's hands, Lisa Stebic's two sisters described the five weeks since the Plainfield woman was reported missing as "surreal" in a rare public appearance Tuesday.
"We feel so empty, our hearts are aching for her," said Jamie Bouma, Stebic's younger sister. "I lay in bed at night and wonder, where could she be ... someone just tell me."
The sisters announced the family is raising the reward from $20,000 to $50,000 for information leading to her whereabouts. Since Stebic disappeared April 30, there has been no trace of activity on either her cell phone or credit cards, which also vanished.
Lisa's husband, Craig, reportedly was the last to see her. He did not attend the press conference Tuesday, nor did their two children: Lexi, 12, and Zac, 10.
Older sister Debbie Ruttenberg said she and other family members find daily life difficult as day after day passes with no clues about where Stebic could be.
"It's so hard to describe this surreal life," she said. "Planning a moment is difficult, sleeping is difficult. Lisa has our heart, and our hearts are empty. We're asking for just one piece of information - it's all we need."
Along with Melanie Greenberg, wife of Lisa's cousin Mark and spokesperson for the family, the sisters also announced a fund to which donations can be made to increase the reward above $50,000. If it isn't claimed, the Lisa Stebic & Children's Fund will be used for the college education of Stebic's two children.
"This fund is for doing what Lisa would have wanted us to do - provide the children with a college education," Greenberg said.
The sisters emphasized Stebic's nurturing love for Lexi and Zac - a description of her that friends and family consistently have reinforced. They said the children were Stebic's primary concern as she progressed through a divorce from Craig.
Although her sisters live more than an hour away from the Stebic home - Debbie in Hampshire and Jamie in Grayslake - they say they have visited about twice a week since Lisa vanished. After the press conference, they planned to visit Craig and the children.
Phone conversations were the last contact the sisters had with Lisa, whose 38th birthday was May 19. Ruttenberg remembers talking with her for about 1? hours the Thursday before she disappeared, and Bouma spoke with her the Wednesday before.
Both sisters said Stebic seemed happy and upbeat during the conversations, giving no hint that she was fearful or nervous.
"She was real excited," Bouma said. "She had gone to a barbecue the weekend before and brought the kids ... it was a real good weekend. (Her disappearance) was a complete surprise."
Ruttenberg said that, during their phone conversation, her sister showed her usual lovable, positive personality.
"Lisa's smile is just infectious," Ruttenberg said. "And her nose - the way it crinkled. She's just the funniest, silliest, most good-natured person."
(CBS 2, the Naperville Sun and the Aurora Beacon-News are news partners covering stories in the western suburbs of Chicago.)
