Venus Stewart (police issued photo)

Domestic violence is a vicious cycle, a cycle that many victims cannot pull themselves out of because of children, their safety, or just plain fear of being alone.  It appears Venus Stewart was pulling herself out of a violent relationship.  She packed up her children and moved to Michigan to get away from her husband, and now she is missing. Lt. Risko with the Michigan State Police says Venus was snatched from the front yard of her parents’ home on April 26, 2010 as she went to mail a letter.

   
Her husband, Doug Stewart, denies any wrongdoing. He initially provided an alibi, which is not solid, and investigators consider him the only person of interest.  In a bizarre twist this week, Lt. Risko told me today he believes there was an impersonator running around pretending to be Doug Stewart in his hometown of Newport News, Virginia.  The same hometown Doug Stewart claimed to be in the morning his estranged wife vanished.
Lt. Risko says, “We know Doug Stewart was in Ohio at a Wal-Mart buying a shovel, hat, gloves and tarp at 6:45 p.m. on the 25th,” the night before Venus went missing.  This Wal-Mart is only two hours away from where Venus was staying with her parents.  Doug Stewart’s alibi stated he was in Newport News, but Lt. Risko can now say for sure he knows this isn’t true. “We put him from Ohio to Michigan,” but he couldn’t say how they know that information for sure. “He was not in Newport News, and we need the impersonator to come forward,” Risko says.
Risko told me there was someone resembling Doug Stewart visiting a variety of places in the area the morning Venus went missing. “This person may not have known what Mr. Stewart was up to.”  The impersonator visited Stewart’s law office, and paid a bill for his civil custody case. The employees behind the reception desk did not know for sure what Stewart looked like in person, and the guy had on a hoodie and dark glasses. To them it appeared to be Doug Stewart, and to investigators, it appeared to be a solid alibi.  That is until authorities started digging deeper.  They have the impersonator on video at Stewart’s apartment complex, and visiting other businesses in the area.     
 
Recent court records show Venus Stewart feared her husband so much that she filed three orders of protection against him over the course of their marriage.  In court documents Venus writes, “I am scared to death and every day I live in constant fear and I am constantly looking over my shoulder wondering when he will appear again.”  Venus and her husband, Douglas Stewart, were married in 2002 and lived in Newport Beach, Virginia. Doug Stewart filed charges against his wife as well.  In domestic violence cases, the back and forth accusations are very common.

In February 2010, Venus packed up her children and moved with her family to Michigan.
This is a bold move for any victim of violence because the attacker no longer has control, not to mention one week prior she was granted full custody of her children.  A little more than a week ago, Lt. Risko says his team served a search warrant on Doug Stewart’s parents’ home.  They aren’t revealing what they seized, but they did take evidence from the home. As far as the impersonator, Lt. Risko says, “they could be dragging themselves in a hole for accessory after the fact.”  We need to figure out who this guy is because he could hold the key to information leading to Venus.
“We would like to find Venus – We would like to find the impersonator,” Risko says.  As far as Doug Stewart, he is considered a person of interest, and only a person of interest until an arrest warrant is served. There are two children without a mom right now, and a family that wants to find their loved one.  We need to help bring them the answers they deserve.  
Police ask that anyone who may have seen Venus Stewart or the vehicles to call the State Police post in White Pigeon at 269-483-7611.