Missing Bradenton woman declared dead a year after her disappearance

Name: Missing Bradenton woman declared dead after a year
Uploaded: 2025-01-31T09:38:26-05:00
Description: FOX 13's Kim Kuizon reports on a Manatee County probate judge declaring Catherine Strim dead a year after her disappearance. The Manatee Homicide Investigative Unit believes Stirm was likely dismembered and disposed of – and her brother, Scott Stirm, likely had knowledge of her death. Her body has not been found, and Scott has died by suicide within the last year.

Missing Bradenton woman declared dead after a year

FOX 13's Kim Kuizon reports on a Manatee County probate judge declaring Catherine Strim dead a year after her disappearance. The Manatee Homicide Investigative Unit believes Stirm was likely dismembered and disposed of – and her brother, Scott Stirm, likely had knowledge of her death. Her body has not been found, and Scott has died by suicide within the last year.

BRADENTON, Fla. - One year after a 67-year-old woman vanished, a Manatee County probate judge has declared her dead, the Bradenton Police Department announced Friday.

According to BPD, the Manatee Homicide Investigative Unit believes Catherine Stirm was likely dismembered and disposed of – and her brother, Scott Stirm, likely had knowledge of her death. Her body has not been found.

"We don’t know, and we may never know what led to this. We felt that Scott had those answers," said Meredith Censullo of the Bradenton Police Department.

Disappearance of Catherine Stirm

The backstory:

On Jan. 29, 2024, Catherine Stirm's coworkers requested a welfare check after they hadn't seen nor spoken to her in a week, BPD said last year.

Pictured: Catherine Stirm. Courtesy: Bradenton Police Department.

"She never missed a day of work, she didn’t take a vacation, she didn’t take a sick day. She was always an hour early to work for 20 years. Immediately, her co-workers knew something wasn’t right," said Censullo.

Stirm was soon declared missing and endangered, with police calling her disappearance "suspicious."

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Investigation into Scott Stirm

Timeline:

Investigators spoke with Scott Stirm, who they said gave different accounts as to where Catherine was. First, he claimed she was hospitalized with COVID-19, but later told detectives she had traveled to Michigan, according to police.

On Friday, Bradenton police said their investigation uncovered several key pieces of evidence, including:

Jan. 22, 2024: Doorbell camera footage showed Catherine Stirm entering Scott's apartment at the Sawgrass Cover Apartment complex off of 47th Ave. West in Bradenton. She was never seen leaving.
In the days that followed, the same camera recorded Scott Stirm carrying "large, heavy-duty bags" out of his apartment.
Jan. 30, 2024: Catherine Stirm's car was found parked in the same apartment complex.
Jan. 31, 2024: Scott Stirm appeared to move more personal belongings out of his apartment.
Feb. 1, 2024: During a search of Scott Stirm's apartment, investigators found a hand saw, power saw and cleaning supplies. A separate search at the Manatee County landfill uncovered a knife, a hatchet and bloody clothing in a bag that also contained Scott's mail.
Feb. 1, 2024: Scott Stirm was found dead by suicide at the Days Inn off of Windmere Rd. in Brooksville. Several guns, ammunition, financial documents and Catherine's driver's license were found in his hotel room.

"We believe he had knowledge of Catherine’s death, dismemberment and disposal," said Censullo.

BPD also said multiple pieces of evidence were tested for Catherine's DNA, but results were inconclusive "due to apparent attempts to destroy evidence."

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What you can do:

Anyone with information about Catherine or Scott Stirm is urged to contact BPD Detective Jeff Beckley at 941-932-9356.

The Source: This story was written using information from the Bradenton Police Dept. and previous FOX 13 News reports.

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