Alice Jewell Stewart

• Missing Since 03/01/2000
• Missing From Merritt Island, Florida
• Classification Endangered Missing
• Sex Female
• Race White
• Date of Birth 08/23/1923 (100)
• Age 76 years old
• Height and Weight 5'0, 90 pounds
• Medical Conditions Alice was in the advanced stages of Alzheimer's Disease at the time of her disappearance. She no longer spoke audibly as a result of her condition, needed a wheelchair to get around, and required continuous medical care.
• Distinguishing Characteristics Caucasian female. Gray hair, brown/hazel eyes. Alice has surgical scars on her left elbow, her left hip and on her abdomen. She wears eyeglasses. Her nickname is Joy.

Details of Disappearance

Alice was last seen at her residence in the 1100 block of Outrigger Drive in Merritt Island, Florida sometime during March 2000. She left behind her wheelchair, identification, clothing and other belongings, and has never been heard from again.

Alice's son, Carl Franklin Stewart, had been awarded temporary caregiver rights to his mother at the time of her disappearance. He was paid $500 a month out of his mother's bank account to buy food for her, and he wrote checks on the account to cover utilities and other living expenses. A photograph of Carl is posted with this case summary.

After she moved in with Carl in August 1999, Alice spoke frequently on the phone with her daughter who lived out of state. Beginning in February or March 2000, however, her daughter was unable to reach her.

Carl would make various excuses as to why his mother was unable to come to the phone, saying she was sleeping or that she was too upset to talk. Eventually he simply stopped answering the phone. Concerned, Alice's daughter contacted the Florida Department of Children and Families, who notified police.

Carl refused to divulge his mother's whereabouts to authorities. He initially said she was being looked after by friends in Georgia, but couldn't produce any proof of this.

Carl was charged with forgery, grand theft and exploiting the elderly in connection with his mother's disappearance. He had an extensive criminal record for crimes including battery, kidnapping and disorderly conduct, and had been arrested 24 times in Florida since the late 1960s. He was convicted of neglect of the elderly and exploiting the elderly and sentenced to a term in prison. He is now deceased.

Foul play is suspected in Alice's disappearance. She left all her belongings behind, including her clothes, identification and her wheelchair, which she needed to get around. Her disappearance remains unsolved.