INDEPENDENCE, Mo. — It’s been an agonizing time for the family of Stephen Maybir. They haven’t seen him in nearly six months, and with each passing day, their fears grow.
“I just wish we can get him home. I know he’s around. He’s out there somewhere,” said Vincent Ulberg, Maybir’s uncle.
“This has never happened to our family before. Nobody knows where he is,” Ulberg said.
His family said more than a year ago Maybir left his home in Hawaii and moved to Independence to live with his father. They say the 32-year-old was excited to start a new life and mentor kids in the local Samoan community.
“Steve is a just a big, loving hid. I trust him. He’s a church-going guy, and I love him. He loves to get kids together and do lots of community things,” Joe Ulberg said about his nephew.
Joe Ulberg said on Thanksgiving Day, Maybir gathered with his family to celebrate the holiday at a relative’s homes near North Spring and West Nickell in Independence.
“We came here to laugh and play cards, and then later he said he was leaving with a friend. I didn’t see him leave. I don’t know if he left in a car or on foot. I wish I knew,” Vincent Ulberg said.
Nearly six months later, the family is heart-sick because they still haven’t seen Stephen.
“His dad said he was there at the family gathering, and then he just disappeared. His dad is now so upset that he just doesn’t want to talk about it,” Joe Ulberg said.
They say Stephen has never disappeared before.
His uncle now regrets waiting for four months to file a missing person’s report with police.
“I thought he was back in Hawaii with his mother and his two sisters. I’m very worried about this because it’s just been so long,” Joe Ulberg said.
Police are spreading the word. They posted fliers of Maybir on the Independence Police Department’s website and Facebook page.
They’re fliers the police hope will give his family peace and are also now in a nationwide missing persons database.
“There’s no information right now that shows he’s in any danger. We want to do everything to get his picture out there. We don’t have any vehicle information to go by, and we’re trying to work other avenues. If anyone knows where he could be or see him we want to hear from them,” said Officer John Syme with the Independence Police Department.
“Stephen come home! Your family worries about you,” Vincent Ulberg said.
