The Lisa Stebic case: 12 years later, where does the investigation stand?

CHICAGO - It’s been nearly a dozen years since Lisa Stebic, the mother of two, vanished from her Plainfield home without a trace.

To this day, the investigation remains open. 

“What sticks in my mind is her laugh,” said Melanie Greenberg, Lisa’s cousin. “She just had this infectious laugh." 

Greenberg also described Lisa as vibrant, full of life, and a devoted mother.

“We got a call in the middle of the night and it was just shocking,” said Greenberg.

Greenberg said the day Lisa went missing is the same day Lisa received papers to evict her husband, Craig. It was the start of their divorce. 

“It's as if she just vanished from the earth,” said Greenberg.

Four months before Lisa disappeared, Plainfield police say they responded to a domestic disturbance at the Stebic’s, but no one was arrested.

Now, Lisa was gone. 

“I was working in investigations that day, and the original officer that took the report came to our office and advised us, ‘we have this case, I think you guys need to start looking into it,’” said Plainfield Police Detective Carianne Siegel.

Detective Seigel says this case struck her as different. 

“It was odd but that's the biggest thing that - why would a mom just leave her kids?” said Detective Seigel.,

The Stebic case quickly grabbed headlines. Media outlets reported continuous updates about new searches and new clues. 

“Her friends, her neighbors, her coworkers at the school, everyone wanted to help,” said Greenberg.

However, with the search came the speculation: Was this a case of foul play? Lisa's family pointed to Craig. 

To this day, he's the only named “person of interest" in her disappearance.

“I don't know exactly what happened to Lisa, that's part of the pain of our family and what is so devastating is that we don't have those answers, what happened in those last hours?” said Greenberg.

2007 would shape up to be a busy year for Will County law enforcement, with another high-profile case as Bolingbrook mother Stacy Peterson also vanished.

“Our families coordinated searches because the two women went missing only a few miles apart,” said Greenberg.

Craig would mostly keep to himself. While Stacy’s husband, Drew, didn't shy away from the cameras. 

“Drew Peterson just sucked up the oxygen in the room, basically,” said Greenberg.

A dozen years later, Drew is behind bars, but Lisa’s case is still open. Police insist the search for the mother of two is not over.

“This case still is one of our priority cases,” said Detective Siegel. “It is an open case." 

They say tips have dwindled, but they're still coming in. They expect more in May, around the date of her disappearance.

"We're closer than we were day one, I will tell you that,” said Plainfield Police Chief John Konopek.

But for now, police say they'll keep working with the FBI and the Will County Major Crimes Task Force to bring the family much-needed closure. 

“What we're holding out hope for us justice,” said Greenberg. “I’m hoping the police are still tracking his whereabouts and keeping an eye on [Craig], because you never know, something could crack.”

“My gut as a police officer tells me that there's absolutely somebody out there that knows exactly what happened to Lisa,” said Chief Konopek. “And we still consider Craig a person of interest. 

FOX 32 reached out to Lisa’s husband, Craig for comment as well as his legal team for this story. We have not heard back.