The search for former Hollister resident Rocky Stewart and his
passenger who were reported missing last week while flying a
Czechoslovakian fighter-trainer jet over the Cascade mountain range
was suspended Sunday, but an investigation by the Hollister Police
Department into alleged sexual misconduct with minors is still
open, according to law enforcement.
Hollister – The search for former Hollister resident Rocky Stewart and his passenger who were reported missing last week while flying a Czechoslovakian fighter-trainer jet over the Cascade mountain range was suspended Sunday, but an investigation by the Hollister Police Department into alleged sexual misconduct with minors is still open, according to law enforcement.
Kittitas County Search and Rescue, Washington Air Search and Rescue and Civil Air Patrol indefinitely suspended the search Sunday night after about 100 searchers spent five-and-a-half days looking for Stewart, and his 46-year-old passenger Scott Smith of San Francisco, said Nisha Hanchinamani, Washington State Department of Transportation public information officer.
Snow had covered the area that searchers were canvassing, which made the “small target even that much harder to locate from the air and the ground,” Hanchinamani said.
Stewart, a 46-year-old husband and father of two, is a multi-millionaire who works for software company Oracle Corporation, according to law enforcement officials.
Hollister police and the San Benito County District Attorney’s Office had been investigating Stewart for alleged “inappropriate conduct involving minors” since April, said District Attorney John Sarsfield.
While police have not yet closed the investigation, the District Attorney’s Office has suspended all action against Stewart at this time, but Sarsfield wouldn’t comment on the details of the allegations. Hollister Police Detective Tony Lamonica said the alleged victims, of which there are “possibly more than 10,” are all under 18.
“Some of the allegations we received were simply not true. Obviously we believed some were true, but I’m reluctant to characterize them,” Sarsfield said. “Some people talked about drugs being present… but I didn’t see anything drug-wise that had merit.”
Stewart’s attorney, Kerry Steigerwalt, said the sexual misconduct and drug allegations had no credibility and were nothing but “unfounded gossip.”
“This should not be news. It’s a matter of a police department investigation and has very little merit. (The allegations) didn’t come from credible individuals,” Steigerwalt said. “My comment is limited because I don’t want to get into what I believe is nothing more than rumors with very little substance.”
The police department’s investigation was “nowhere near ready to be prosecuted” and no decisions about pressing charges were made, Sarsfield said.
Hollister police are considering the investigation open until they receive official confirmation that Stewart is deceased, said police spokesman George Ramirez.
Ramirez wouldn’t comment on the details of the investigation to “maintain the integrity of the investigation,” he said.
After living in Hollister for about five years, Stewart moved to a location in the surrounding area about two months ago, but Lamonica would not disclose the location.
Lamonica said police knew Stewart had a plane and used it often for business.
Hanchinamani said searchers will resume looking for the missing plane if any new leads develop, but at this point there are none.
Family members of both men were at the search site at Bower’s Field airport in Ellensburg, Wash., when searchers told them they were suspending the search, she said.
“Obviously they’re very heartbroken right now,” she said. “But there’s a lot of hunters in the area, so hopefully someone will see something and that’s the best we can hope for.”
Erin Musgrave covers public safety for the Free Lance. Reach her at 637-5566, ext. 336 or [email protected]
