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Gone Before Dawn: What Happened to Teenager Stella Evon?
The 17-year-old disappeared while walking home from her sister’s apartment; and investigators believe she did not vanish voluntarily.
It’s an early Sunday morning in Bethel, Alaska, where 17-year-old Stella Evon is having fun at a friend’s residence, which was anything but irregular. Bethel was her hometown, and she had created several lifelong bonds throughout her short life.
“Stella was a very fun person, she was always laughing, she would always find something to laugh about, she was very outgoing,” her cousin, Juliet Stonecipher, said. “She’s very kind, she loved everyone.”
Around 2 a.m., Stella decided to call it a night. She bid farewell to her friends and headed to her house, which she shared with her grandmother. Without a vehicle, Stella took the journey on foot. Autumn in Alaska was intense, but she bundled up with a blue Georgetown sweatshirt and a brown leather jacket.
As Stella approached her front door, she knew she had to be quiet. At 2 a.m., it was well past the teen’s curfew. She grabbed the doorknob, but it would not budge. Her grandmother must have assumed she had decided to spend the night with her friends and locked the door.
Stella proceeded to bang on the door and call out for her grandmother, but she was heavily asleep. There was no answer. In the frigid Alaskan weather, she needed to find shelter quickly. The circumstances were dire, but luckily for Stella, her house conveniently sat across from the local police station.
Seeing no other options, Stella walked across the street and into the police station, where an officer greeted her at the front desk. She told the on-duty officer about her predicament, who agreed to help her. Then, both headed back to the house.
Unfortunately, the officer could not unlock the door or wake Stella’s grandmother. Finally, after many failed attempts, the officer asked Stella if she knew of any other family she could stay with; she answered yes. Stella’s sister lived in a studio apartment further into town. The officer drove her there and, at around 4:30 a.m., dropped Stella off at the complex and continued their duties.
