may 24, 1977 - Kimberly Ann Stewart DISAPPEARANCE

Description:

At the time of her disappearance, Kimberly Ann Stewart (nee Morgan), 21, was estranged from her husband, Steven Michael "Mike" Stewart, whom she married when she was 15 and he was a freshman in college. They had met while attending Lincoln High School together.

Kimblery was last seen on Tuesday, May 24, 1977, in Sheridan, Placer County, CA. She left her home on Rioso Rd in Sheridan and dropped her two young daughters off with their babysitter, a family friend named Monica Wooden. Kimberly told Monica that she would be back to pick up her daughters later that evening.

Kim then left in her gray 1975 Chevy Vega hatchback to meet with her estranged husband Steven. The two had arranged to meet at a pizza parlor for dinner to discuss their impending divorce and/or for Steven to give Kimberly some money. Witnesses at the pizza parlor in Wheatland, Yuba County, CA stated that the couple argued, then left soon after arriving.

According to Kimberly's then-husband, Steven, they both got into separate vehicles and left the pizza parlor. That was the last time he saw her. Kimberly never returned to Monica's residence to pick up the children and has never been seen since.

In the early morning hours of the next day — Wednesday, May 25th — Steven's brother came to pick him up for work. He reportedly told Steven that he (the brother) had seen Kimberly's vehicle parked on the side of Highway 65 near Lincoln, Placer County, CA, approximately 2mi from Sheridan, and north of Wheatland, CA. Steven and his brother went to that location, and at 11am they found Kimberly's vehicle still there. Her checkbook was inside the car, and the keys were still in the ignition.

Kimberly was reported missing by her parents on Friday, May 27th. Family and friends stated that Kimberly never would have willingly abandoned her daughters. Police investigated all possible avenues, though by 1978 there were no new leads in the case.

Kimberly and Steven's marriage dissolution was granted in early December 1977. In about 1980 Steven remarried to a woman named Janie. In 1980 Kimberly's parents, Mary R & Thomas J Morgan, sued Steven and Janie, "seeking reasonable visitation rights with their granddaughters."

Steven reportedly disapproved of the Morgans' involvement with the girls, as, according to him, after Kimberly's disappearance, "he began receiving hate letters labeling him as a 'wife killer and murderer,' letters he believed were sent by the Morgans or members of their family. And he reported that on one occasion the Morgans accused him of harming his wife in front of the children."

The lawsuit settled in 1981 "with the Morgans promising not to refer to the children's mother as deceased and the Stewarts maintaining control over a gradual visitation schedule." In February of that same year, Janie filed a petition to declare Steven and Kimberly's daughters — Laura and Lisa — free of Kimberly's parental custody and control; this was presumably so that Janie could legally adopt the girls.

Kimberly is a white female with green eyes and shoulder-length light brown hair. She was 5'8 or 5’9 and 130 lbs. She was last seen wearing a pink top; green Ditto pants; blue tennis shoes with white stripes; and a leather necklace with "Kim" spelled with beaded letters, and/or a green necklace. She often went by the nickname Kimmie. She was born on March 22, 1956; if still alive today, she would be 69 years old.

Kim’s dental x-rays and DNA are available for comparison, while her fingerprints are not.
She has thirteen exclusions on NamUs, two of which were found in CA, both in the 21st century. Two other Does on the list were found in western states, specificially WA: one was found in the 21st century and has had her page taken down, while the other has since been identified as Elizabeth "Lisa" Roberts. The remaining UIDs on the exclusion list have had their pages taken down, and/or were found in Virginia.

Kimberly is present on the exclusion list of Alameda County Jane Doe 1978, though the reverse is not true. On June 12, 2025, I submitted the pair as a possible match on the Doe Network in the hopes of finding out whether or not they have actually been ruled out as a match.

Mary Bell of DN replied, "Most probably what happened was that Kimberly was not yet listed on
NAMUS when they made that exclusion. Sorry, but it would not get voted to forward to law enforcement if it's on the UID's exclusion list. Unfortunately, listing NAMUS exclusions is not a high priority. We get exclusions all the time that never show up on the NAMUS exclusion list."

Authorities believe that Kimberly may have met with foul play. She is classified as Endangered Missing on the Charley Project and Doe Network. Anyone with information regarding Kim’s case should contact the Placer County Sheriff's Office at (530) 889-7800; the agency case number is 95-03060080.

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WRITE-UP COMPLETION DATE: April 2025
LAST UPDATED: June 13, 2025

Cases mentioned above that are also/will be present on this timeline:
Alameda County Jane Doe 1978; Elizabeth "Lisa" Roberts
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LUNAR PHASE: waxing crescent
ZODIAC SIGN: gemini
DAY OF WEEK: Tuesday

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