Homer Police announced today an arrest in the disappearance of 38-year-old Anesha “Duffy” Murnane. Murnane went missing Oct. 17, 2019.
32-year-old Kirby Foleni Calderwood, of Ogden, Utah, was arrested today and charged with kidnapping, first- and second-degree murder and tampering with physical evidence in Murnane’s disappearance.
Calderwood is a former resident of Homer. In an interview with KBBI radio in Homer in 2019, Calderwood said he was drawn to move to Homer after his younger brother, a charter fishing captain in Homer, died of a drug overdose. Public records indicate Calderwood moved to Ogden, Utah, in 2021.
Homer Police say the investigation is ongoing and they can’t provide further information at this time. Homer Police say they have investigated hundreds of tips since Murnane’s disappearance and they thank the FBI and Ogden Police Department for assistance with the case.
Murnane was born and raised in Homer and was trained as a Montessori teacher. She went missing while walking from her apartment on Main Street to a doctor’s appointment on East End Road in Homer. Investigation showed nothing missing from her apartment when she disappeared and her phone or credit card hadn’t been used since. The community came together for an extensive, years-long search, with no results. A fundraising effort has generated $30,000, and hope to raise another $50,000 for the construction of a memorial bench to remember Murnane and other missing people in Alaska. (More info at the Loved and Lost Memorial GoFundMe page <https://www.gofundme.com/f/lovedandlostmemorial>)
Her parents, Ed and Sara Berg, spoke to KBBI in 2020, on the anniversary of their daughter’s disappearance.
"Duffy was a sweet, shy, loving Montessori teacher, adored and so missed by her family and the many families that she touched through the care of their children. So many children in this town and others referred to me as Duffy’s mom,” Sara Berg said.
“We are realists and are thankfully very sure she is peacefully dead. We cannot and do not want to imagine what horror she would be enduring, if not. No parent could bear it. We need the body back with us to complete the cycle, so we can fully grieve for her. I want to run my fingers through her ashes. I want to be sure.”
The family is asking for privacy at this time. The Homer Police are asking for anyone with information on the case, particularly anything relevant to Calderwood or his interactions with Murnane, to call 907-235-3150.
You can find the original story here.
GoFundMe page <https://www.gofundme.com/f/lovedandlostmemorial>