BECKLEY, WV (LOOTPRESS) — A year has passed since 13-year-old Stefanie Earleen-Jenn Damron vanished into the woods of rural Maine, and investigators are once again urging the public to help bring her home.
Born in Beckley on October 6, 2010, Stefanie’s story has touched hearts far beyond her hometown. She grew up in West Virginia before her family relocated across several states, eventually settling in New Sweden, Maine, where she lived with her parents, five siblings, and a grandfather figure.
On September 23, 2024, Stefanie walked into the woods near her family’s off-grid home and never returned. Despite extensive searches by the FBI and Maine State Police, there have been no confirmed sightings since that day.
“Her upbringing, from what we’ve concluded, has been very off the grid,” said Special Agent Jose Rodriguez Aguilar of FBI Boston, who has been involved in the case. “It has been very untenable at times, with many Child Protective Services reports filed… The parents didn’t like to expose their children to the public that often.”
Stefanie was known for wandering the woods near her home and had occasionally run away before, but she had always returned within hours. This time, however, her absence stretched into days, then months. Authorities launched a massive search effort, covering thousands of acres, canvassing neighborhoods, reviewing surveillance, and even following leads across the U.S. and into Canada.
Investigators say the disappearance has deeply shaken both Stefanie’s family and the local Maine community. “As one can imagine, the disappearance of a child is traumatic,” Aguilar said. “In the local community, people were shaken by Stefanie’s disappearance and have been left feeling unsafe.”
Stefanie was last seen wearing blue jeans, a long-sleeved blue shirt, and black Harley-Davidson hiking boots. At the time, she was 5 feet tall, 130 pounds, with brown shoulder-length hair. She would now be 14 years old.
The FBI is offering a reward of up to $15,000 for information that leads to Stefanie’s safe return or to the arrest and prosecution of anyone responsible for her disappearance.
Authorities urge anyone with information to contact the Maine State Police Houlton Barracks at 1-800-824-2261 or 207-532-5400, call the FBI at 1-800-CALL-FBI, or submit a tip online at tips.fbi.gov.
“The search continues. We have a job to do,” Aguilar said. “And we’re going to do that job with conviction… We’re hoping for the best outcome — to find Stefanie alive.”
