SPOKANE, Wash. – One month after she went missing in Montana, 34-year-old Megan Stedman’s siblings are thanking the community for their help in trying to locate their beloved sister. However, after the arrest of her estranged boyfriend, Stedman’s family is almost certain she was murdered.
“It’s not women’s fault that they’re murdered,” Christina Mitma, Stedman’s sister, said.
The Bozeman Police Department has been searching for Megan Stedman, who is originally from Spokane, since late December. She has brown hair, brown eyes, and is about 5’7 with a tattoo of a fish skeleton on her right wrist.
Stedman was last seen on December 15 in the Bozeman area. Police believe the woman went missing under suspicious circumstances. On December 12, 42-year-old Chris Foiles, who is also from Spokane, was arrested for first-degree murder in Idaho Falls.
Friends and family say Stedman dated Foiles for a short time while she was in Montana, but at some point, the relationship became unhealthy and potentially unsafe. On Monday, in an interview only with NonStop Local, Stedman’s family said they believe Foiles murdered Stedman; so far, this is unconfirmed by police.
“We believe that it is a high possibility,” Mitma said.
“I think it’s very painful to have to wait for confirmation to know if it’s her, because there is that minor chance of hope but all logic steers towards the idea that it is her,” Alexa Torres, Stedman’s future sister-in-law, said.
Police confirmed on Monday that the RV Stedman was living in, white with a red trim through the middle of the vehicle, is the same RV Foiles was arrested in; according to Idaho Falls Police, there was evidence found inside the RV to support Foiles’ arrest on charges of First-Degree Murder.
“She’s not going to let this monster go either, and she wants justice for her kids and family,” Mitma said. “I feel like she’s guiding us.”
While there is a glimmer of hope that somehow Stedman is alive, her family is almost certain that’s not the case; they said the woman hasn’t contacted anyone since before December 15, including her two kids, which they say is incredibly unlike their social and extroverted sister.
“Her daughter turned 15 on the tenth, there’s no way she’s here,” Mitma said.
“She would never leave her kids, not for a minute,” Adrian Mitma, Stedman’s older brother, said.
The missing woman’s family also said Montana was not their sister’s final destination, rather an unfortunate pitstop. Stedman’s siblings say she was on her way to see her daughter in Colorado when her car broke down in Bozeman over the summer – fast-forward to now, that unplanned pitstop, took a potentially deadly turn after meeting Foiles.
“She was trying to get out. I know she wanted a better end, I know she was trying to get to her daughter,” Mitma said.
According to police, more solid, confirmed information is expected to be released on Tuesday regarding Stedman’s disappearance.
