Newspaper Articles

[Lorie Taylor]

www.suburbanchicagonews.com/napervillesun/news/635333,6_1_NA05_PETERSON_S1.article

Searching for loved ones
Stebic family, national group offer support

November 5, 2007
By Emily McFarlan Staff writer

Families with missing loved ones are reaching out to the family of missing 23-year-old Bolingbrook woman Stacy Peterson.

Melanie Greenberg, spokesperson for the family of Lisa Stebic, the 37-year-old Plainfield mom reported missing in May, said she reached out Saturday to Cassandra Cales, Stacy Peterson's sister, after receiving her number from a friend.

"I told Cassandra last night, 'I can't say I know exactly how you feel because no one can know exactly how you feel, but I do know something about how you feel and what your family is going through and the not knowing,'" Greenberg said.

Another person familiar with what Peterson's family is going through is Tim Miller, who founded the Texas EquuSearch Mounted Search and Recovery Team after his 16-year-old daughter, Laura Miller, disappeared in 1984 and was later found murdered.

A woman who answered the phone at the office of EquuSearch on Sunday afternoon confirmed the group will assist in the search for Peterson. Members of the nonprofit volunteer group reportedly arrived in Bolingbrook and met with Peterson's family Sunday evening and are expected to create a search plan by this morning.

Peterson, wife of 53-year-old Bolingbrook police Sgt. Drew Peterson, was last seen the morning of Oct. 28. She apparently was heading to meet Cales' boyfriend to help him paint a house, but she never reached her destination.

Receiving counsel
A search that stepped off Saturday morning near the Petersons' Bolingbrook home, which Greenberg publicized to volunteers who aided in the Stebic search, was reportedly very small, as the family awaits counsel from EquuSearch.

EquuSearch has more than 350 members across the country, although the woman would not say how many will assist in the search for Stacy Peterson. The group also has assisted in the much-publicized search for 18-year-old Natalee Holloway, who disappeared in 2005 in Aruba, and in the local search for 45-year-old John Spira, who disappeared from his office in West Chicago in February.

Greenberg, the wife of Stebic's cousin Mark Greenberg, said she also offered Cales any counsel - including support, advice and phone numbers.

"Not that I wish this situation on any family, but if something good can come out of our six months of tragedy, if other families are learning ways to cope ... that's good ...," Greenberg said.

Past concerns surface
With word of Stacy Peterson's disappearance splashed across national media, the Bolingbrook Police Department has come under criticism on the Internet and cable news programs.

Cales and other members of Stacy Peterson's family have expressed their suspicions that Drew Peterson knows more about Stacy's disappearance than he is telling.

Many critics say the police department has failed to respond to allegations of his abusive behavior against his third wife, Kathleen Savio, who was found dead in a waterless bathtub in 2004.

Prosecutors have started re-examining Savio's case since Stacy Peterson's disappearance, and the department has paperwork from more than 15 different reports detailing alleged abusive behavior between Drew Peterson and Savio.

Bolingbrook police Chief Ray McGury plans to publicly discuss those reports later today.

[Lorie Taylor]

tp://www.wthitv.com/Global/story.asp?S=7311080&nav=menu593_2

Non-profit organization joins search for missing Bolingbrook woman

Associated Press - November 5, 2007 12:54 AM ET

BOLINGBROOK, Ill. (AP) - A nonprofit organization that helps look for missing persons is joining the search for Stacy Peterson.

Texas EquuSearch says it will help look for the 23-year-old Bolingbrook woman.

Peterson is the wife of Bolingbrook Police Sergeant Drew Peterson. The mother of 2 was reported missing last week.

Friends and family of Stacy Peterson have wrapped up two days of searching.

Peterson's sister, Cassandra Cales, says the family's focus is now on determining what happened to Peterson and bringing the person or people responsible to justice.

Cales believes her sister is dead.

Illinois State Police say the woman's disappearance is being investigated as a missing persons case.

[Lorie Taylor]

www.wbbm780.com/SUNDAY-OVERNIGHT-UPDATE:-Search-for-Clues-of-Cop-s/1172364

Search for Clues of Cop's Missing Wife Gets Bigger

WBBM 2 Reporting

BOLINGBROOK ― Family and friends of a missing woman from Bolingbrook launched a massive search effort this weekend.

Stacy Peterson, 23, has been missing for a week. Her husband, Bolingbrook police Sgt. Drew Peterson has cooperated with investigators and is not a suspect. Stacy Peterson, 23, has now been missing for a week. Drew Peterson was the last one to report having seen her alive.

Stacy is Drew's fourth wife and mother to two children with him, ages four and two. His third wife's death in a bathtub was ruled accidental. Sources tell CBS 2, Bolingbrook police were called to the home nearly 20 times for domestic disputes during that marriage.

Stacy's friends and family believe she is the victim of foul play. Her sister, Cassandra Cales, thanked the 95 volunteers who came to search marshlands and other areas on Sunday. A local man donated the use of walkie-talkies to keep search party leaders in contact with each other. Searchers were told, if they found some particularly dense underbush, to poke it with a stick. If resistance was found, they were instructed to call a search team leader rather than trying to sift rhough the brush by themselves.

Cales is among those who now beleive they are searching for a dead person. She had other comments to officials.

Friend and neighbor Sharon Bychowski is haunted by what she says were many conversations about Peterson's desire to divorce her husband, Bolingbrook police sergeant Drew Peterson.

"She knew that his prior wife had died in the bathtub and in her words, 'if I disappear, it's not an accidenthe killed me,'" Bychowski said.

She said that to Bychowski many times.

"He also shared with her that if she left him, no matter who she was with, she would kill them too," Bychowski said.

"I'm just hoping some way, she's out there still," said family friend Bruce Zidarich.

Many searchers are Stacy's family, friends and neighbors. But some volunteers had heard about Stacy's disappearance and want to help find her.

"To see these poor kids without a mom that has to be devastating. I can't imagine something like that happening to my mom," said volunteer Aurea McClintock.

The fact her husband is not part of the search teams disturbs some.

Search leader Roy Taylor said "I'm kind of in awe. Like I said yesterday, I'm blown away by the fact that he hasn't shown up or tried to help. Even if she did leave him, he has to clear his image right now and he's done nothing to do that."

A national search team based in Houston has contacted the family and will arrive Monday to assist.

Stacy may have told friends and family she wanted a divorce from her husband.

She wrote her own chilling message in e-mails to a friend, who shared them with The Naperville Sun.

"I have been arguing quite a bit with my husband," Stacy wrote in an e-mail to family friend Steve Cesare 10 days before she disappeared.

"As I mature with age I am finding that the relationship I am in is controlling, manipulative and somewhat abusive," she wrote in the Oct. 17 e-mail. "Tomorrow is our four-year anniversary and I'm not as excited as the years that have passed.

"If you could keep me in your prayers I could use some wisdom, protection and strength."

Cesare said he worried when he received these e-mails from Stacy, but was in disbelief at the reports that his friend went missing.

Cesare has known Stacy since she was a young girl, as he dated her older sister, Tina, in the 1990s. The two kept in touch after Tina died last year of colon cancer.

Cesare last saw Stacy two months ago when she surprised him at work with a picture album of her sister's from when the two had dated.

"I couldn't imagine this family going through any more tragedy," he said. "They've been through plenty."

Stacy's mother disappeared a decade ago, seemingly without a trace. And before that, Stacy lost two sisters, one in a house fire and another to Sudden Infant Death Syndrome, according to a family friend. A brother of Stacy's has continuing legal troubles.

Those childhood hardships may have led Stacy to marry a man 30 years her senior.

"It was the picture of a controlling older man and I was always very cautious of it because this is a guy you don't want to mess with, so I always kept my distance," Cesare said.

Drew made it easy for Cesare to keep his distance because Stacy's husband limited her phone use.

"Don't worry about calling my cell anymore, or the house phone. I have talked with Drew, so no worries," Stacy wrote in an e-mail to Cesare.

"I don't think she ever had time to get away from him," he said.

According to Cesare, this included when her sister battled cancer in a downstate hospital.

"I tried to arrange to drive Stacy to see her sister," he said. "We were going to go for the day and would be back that night but her husband wouldn't let her go with me.

"It didn't make sense because we were going to see her sister and he wouldn't let her go."

Cesare is doubtful that Stacy has run off with another man, a scenario her husband has offered in response to questions about her disappearance.

"She was thoughtful enough to bring me that photo album," he said. "It's a piece of Tina I'll have to remember.

"I hope they find her alive and well."

A friend of Drew Peterson's spoke on his behalf. Ric Mims has been the sergeant's friend for years. He says the 53-year-old veteran cop would have been incapable of harming his wife. He also said Drew was not in the search parties because he was away and simply "needed a break." The children are with someone else for the time being. Mims said he arranged that as well.

"I know in my heart there's no foul play. I want to say that one more time, I know in my heart there's no foul play," Mims said. "I stand by my friend."

Stacy's family is not so certain.

"Something happened to her," said Cales, her sister.

Cales also said her sister had been in fear for her life and had said so before disappearing. Cales said Stacy had been expected to help her paint last Sunday, but never showed up. That's the first time anyone realized she was missing.

Later, Cales said, she called Drew and, she said, what followed was a mysterious conversation.

"And I hear a bunch of noise and shuffling, and car ignition keys, you know, like he's starting a car, and he's like, 'I went out running around looking for your sister. She left me,'" Cales said.

Cales has said she did not believe her sister would leave without her children.

On Friday afternoon, investigators searched a manhole near the Peterson Home on Bolingbrook's Pheasant Run Court, looking for clues. Police divers also searched a retention pond near the home over a two-day period.

In spite of the family's worst fears, police continue to investigate the disappearance only as a missing persons case.

The police dive teams searched retention ponds just up the street. They searched the pond on Thursday before darkness halted them and Friday until dusk. Viewing conditions under water are zero visibility. They originally planned to continue for several days to clear the whole pond. A cadaver-sensing dog was in one of the search boats.

It is located a short distance from their home on Pheasant Chase Court in Bolingbrook. It is also near the business where Drew Peterson told family members that he found Stacy's car that first Sunday night.

Two new searches were undertaken Saturday. Neighbors conducted the first search at the Petersons' house.

Then, they searched the DuPage River Greenway.

[Lorie Taylor]

www.chicagotribune.com/news/local/chi-peterson_searchnov05,0,1553669.story?coll=chi_technology_util

Police target 7 areas in Peterson search
Texas group poised to assist effort

By Hal Dardick and Erika Slife | Tribune staff reporters
2:50 PM CST, November 5, 2007

Police today are searching seven "areas of interest" in their effort to find Stacy Peterson, the wife of a Bolingbrook police sergeant who went missing eight days ago, an Illinois State Police spokesman said.

Master Sgt. Louis Gutierrez declined to identify the areas being searched, but said all are based on the weeklong missing person investigation led by his agency.

At each site, seven police officers and a canine team, consisting of a handler and cadaver dog, are looking for Stacy Peterson, a 23-year-old mother of two young children.

Meanwhile, Cassandra Cales, Stacy's sister, contacted Texas EquuSearch and asked for the national organization's help in looking for Stacy, said Cindy Wisdom, case manager for the not-for-profit group founded in 2000 to help authorities find missing persons.

Tim Miller, the group's founder and director, is in the area speaking with Stacy's family and trying to set up a meeting with law-enforcement authorities, Wisdom said. "We don't enter a case unless family or law enforcement contact us, and we don't move forward with a case unless law enforcement agrees to work with us," she added.

Gutierrez said state police had yet to decide whether to bring EquuSearch into the effort. "We have been contacted by them."

After meeting Monday with Stacy's family and friends in Bolingbrook, Miller was asked what his group could add.

"We know this much: If nothing is done, there's zero chance of locating her," he said. "We have a lot of resources. We are here. We are ready to get started."

Miller would not disclose any search plans. "We're not going to take a chance on her being moved," he said.

Cales said she was comforted by the group's presence. "I was prepared for the worst, but I hope for the best. I just want to bring her home."

EquuSearch's involvement came after groups of volunteers failed to find any trace of Peterson during weekend searches. She went missing Oct. 28, two days after telling her husband, Sgt. Drew Peterson, 53, that she wanted a divorce, according to Stacy's family members. She is his fourth wife.

State police have searched Peterson's home and other locations, including a pond at nearby Clow International Airport, in what is still classified as a missing person case.

Peterson's previous wife, Kathleen Savio, was found drowned in her bathtub in 2004. Her death was ruled accidental, but Will County State's Atty. James Glasgow, who was not in office when that determination was made, is taking another look at the case "with an open mind," said spokesman Charles Pelkie.

Miller's 16-year-old daughter, Laura, was abducted and murdered in 1984, said Wisdom. Miller's group initially used horse-mounted volunteers but the search methods have evolved.

They now employ helicopters, all-terrain vehicles, drone aircraft, sonar and other high-technology tools, but people on horseback are still utilized. "There are a lot of places a horse can go that even an ATV can't," Wisdom said.

The group has opened cases on more than 800 missing people. It has found 300 and the remains of 76 others, Wisdom said.

"The idea is to bring home missing persons, dead or alive," she said.

In late September, the group found the body of Naomi Arnette, 36, the mother of seven, in a shallow grave in a wooded area about three miles from her house in Sadorus, south of Champaign, she said. Arnettte's husband, Robert, has been charged with her murder.

[Lorie Taylor]

www.cbsnews.com/stories/2007/11/05/national/main3451947.shtml?source=mostpop_story

Sister Of Cop's Missing Wife Suspicious
Stacy Peterson's Sister Thinks She's Dead; Previous Wife's Sister Also Had Misgivings

BOLINGBROOK, Ill., Nov. 5, 2007

(CBS/AP) The sister of the missing wife of a suburban Chicago police sergeant said she believes Stacy Peterson is dead.

"I'm just going to find her, bring her home and bring whoever did this to justice," said Peterson's younger sister, Cassandra Cales.

Peterson, 23, was reported missing Oct. 29. The mother of two is the fourth wife of Bolingbrook Police Sgt. Drew Peterson, who has suggested she left him for another man.

Illinois State Police said the woman's disappearance is being investigated as a missing persons case and foul play is not suspected.

But Drew Peterson's third wife, Kathleen Savio, 40, was found dead in a bathtub in March 2004.

The death was ruled accidental by a coroner's jury, but the Will County State's Attorney's office has said it will re-examine the death in light of recent events.

"She told me she was afraid. She told me that he would kill her - it would look like an accident, but it wasn't," Savio's sister, Sue Doman, said on CBS News' The Early Show Monday. "'So make sure you take care of my kids. I'm afraid of him. I'm afraid of him,'" Doman quoted her sister as saying.

Doman told co-anchor Julie Chen she had misgivings about Drew Peterson when he was her brother-in-law.

"I could see that he always put on an act. He would be very nice and happy and always laugh, but we were always brought to the side (by Peterson), and he would always talk bad about my sister, how crazy she was," Doman said.

His disparagement of his third wife continued after her death, when Doman would visit her nephews.

She told me that he would kill her it would look like an accident, but it wasn't.

Sue Doman, about her sister Kathleen Savio, Drew Peterson's third wife, whose 2004 death was ruled an accidental drowning"He asked me to come over and he would tell me about my sister, how bad she was, how crazy she was, and I asked him many a times, 'don't talk about her that way, I don't want to talk about her that way,'" Doman said.

Drew Peterson, 53, has claimed his wife suffered from "mood issues" since a sister died last year.

But Stacy Peterson's family has said she feared her husband, was making plans to divorce him and would not have willingly left her two small children.

"Never have, never will, never would of," said Cales.

"She told me Friday night she feared for her life," Cales said last week.

Texas EquuSearch, a organization that helps look for missing persons, said Monday it will help look for the 23-year-old Bolingbrook woman.

Volunteers searched forests near the couple's home over the weekend.

"I guess if it were my daughter, I'd want everybody in the world out there looking for her," Georgia Szkolny, of New Lennox, said Sunday. "I can't imagine what her family is going through."

On Friday, state police sent divers into a retention pond near the Peterson's home.

[Lorie Taylor]

cbs2chicago.com/local/peterson.missing.stebic.2.489477.html

New Twist In Stacy Peterson Case
Husband In Another High Profile Missing Woman's Case Offers Support To Drew Peterson

BOLINGBROOK, Ill. (CBS) ― As searchers try to find any sign of Stacy Peterson, a missing mother from Bolingbrook, her husband is getting support from an unexpected ally.

CBS 2's Kristyn Hartman reports on this new twist in the case.

The front page of Monday's Chicago Sun-Times features a picture of Craig Stebic and the headline: "CRAIG STEBIC FEELS DREW PETERSON'S PAIN; "I KNOW WHAT HE'S GOING THROUGH."

Craig Stebic's wife, Lisa Stebic, disappeared in April and hasn't been seen since. Stebic has been the subject of speculation that he is behind his wife's disappearance and police have named him a "person of interest," although he is not officially a suspect.

A relative of Lisa's who spoke with CBS 2 said she sees a number of similarities between the two cases. She also said her heart goes out to Stacy Peterson's family and friends.

Stacy's friend Sharon Bychowski said, "She's my next-door neighbor, she's my best friend and she clearly is someone who has passion and conviction for her children, for her family and all of her friends and she would not leave voluntarily."

So, if she can help it, Bychowski is not going to let her friend go unfound. Stacy Peterson disappeared a little more than a week ago.

Her husband, 53-year-old Bolingbrook Police Sgt. Drew Peterson, claims when he last heard from her, she told him she was leaving him.

Illinois State Police have said they do not suspect foul play at this point.

But Bychowski said, "She did say to many of us, not just me in confidence but many of us, that if anything happens to her, it is not an accident, he killed her."

One of her sisters disclosed she believes Stacy is not alive anymore. Still, she and neighbors have reached out to Texas Equisearch, a private mounted search firm that plans to begin helping in the search Tuesday.

The non-profit volunteer-based agency will do it for no cost and will bring resources to the table.

"We have aircraft we have sonar equipment, we have searchers, we have trained people who are good with forensics and knowing how to recognize anomalies in the ground, we have ground penetrating radar," said Cindy Wisdom of Texas Equisearch.

Drew Peterson has been in seclusion for several days and did not return calls from CBS 2 Monday morning.

Bolingbrook's police chief plans to discuss his department's past dealings with Drew Peterson and his third wife, which included 18 alleged incidents of domestic abuse. In 2004 that third wife, Kathleen Savio, was found dead in a bathtub just down the street from the Petersons' current home.

The home where the bathtub was located was just up the street. It was a whirlpool-style tub, and Savio's sister said Thursday she did not think it would be possible for her sister to drown in it.

The Will County Coroner's office ruled Savio's death an accident. The current Will County State's Attorney, James Glasgow, was not in office at the time of the incident, and has decided to take a second look.

Friends and family have set up a new Web site, FindStacyPeterson.com, in hopes someone can provide clues into Stacy's disappearance.

[Lorie Taylor]

www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,308199,00.html

Mysterious Death of Drew Peterson's Third Wife

Monday, November 05, 2007

This is a rush transcript from "On the Record ," November 2, 2007. This copy may not be in its final form and may be updated.

GRETA VAN SUSTEREN, HOST: Stacy Peterson, wife number 4 of Sergeant Drew Peterson, is missing. She has not been seen since Sunday. And complicating matters for Sergeant Peterson tonight is that his third wife's bathtub death is now being re-investigated. A prosecutor has re-opened the investigation into her death. It was declared an accident at the time. The coroner said she drowned, but did she?

Joining us is forensic pathologist Dr. Michael Baden. Dr. Baden, we have gotten a copy of the autopsy report from wife number three's family.

DR. MICHAEL BADEN, FORENSIC PATHOLOGIST: Right.

VAN SUSTEREN: I take it you've looked at it now.

BADEN: I have it right here.

VAN SUSTEREN: And your thoughts on it?

BADEN: It is not an accident. The hair, her head hair, was soaked in blood, as the medical examiner says, and she had a laceration, a blunt force laceration on the top of her head. She had a dozen other black-and- blue bruises and scraping abrasions of the extremities and of the abdomen. It looks as if she from the description that she was beaten up, apart from drowning. Her heart was good. Her brain was good. There were no drugs in her body on toxicology. There's no reason for her to have drowned. Adults don't drown if they're in good health.

VAN SUSTEREN: Dr. Baden, what would possess a coroner to call it accident? When I looked at it and I saw the hair full of blood, I thought, What's that? But I figured I just you know, I went to law school and not medical school. What would possess this coroner to say this was an accident?

BADEN: Well, the doctor who did the autopsy, the pathologist who did the autopsy just said drowning. The non-physician coroner, who's elected, determined that it was also an accident. And he just made a mistake. I don't know...

VAN SUSTEREN: How is that a mistake? I mean I mean, you look at it I mean I mean, is it an easy mistake, I should say? I mean, is this a close call, as you look at this?

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: No.

VAN SUSTEREN: I mean, you don't have the body to examine. You're looking at the report. But is this a close call, in your mind?

BADEN: No, it's not a close call. It should not have been called an accident.

VAN SUSTEREN: Well, then how then how can you say it was a mistake, if it's not a close call?

BADEN: Well, because it depends on the qualification of the coroner. Medical examiners have to be physicians. Coroners are often funeral directors.

VAN SUSTEREN: But the doctor who did the autopsy, when he hears that it was it was in the news that it was an accident, I'm sure. I mean I mean, what was he thinking of...

BADEN: Right.

VAN SUSTEREN: What was the the man or woman who did the autopsy thinking when the coroner, who's not a doctor, says this is an accident? Wouldn't you think that someone would speak up, if it's as obvious as you say?

BADEN: Well, three years later, I think that the an investigation is now being done to answer that very question that you're raising, Greta. And if that question had been looked into three years ago, possibly his wife wouldn't be have disappeared at this time.

VAN SUSTEREN: It and I suppose that it would make it might be helpful would it be helpful to exhume her, if she wasn't cremated? We only have 15 seconds.

BADEN: It might be it would be, and under these circumstances, to see further whether there were any fractures or other injuries that were overlooked initially. There's no evidence that they took X-rays, for example. It would be important to exhume the body and do X-rays to see if there are any subtle fractures.

VAN SUSTEREN: And I must admit, if I were the prosecutor, I'd also take a look at the coroner and the medical examiner to see what was what, if it's...

BADEN: Absolutely.

VAN SUSTEREN: ... as obvious as you say, because I'll tell you, you know, it certainly doesn't look good, even as a layperson reading it, and now I hear you say this. Dr. Baden, thank you, sir.

BADEN: Thank you, Greta.

[Lorie Taylor]

www.crimelibrary.com/news/original/1107/0501_stacy_peterson1.html

Texas EquuSearch assisting in the search for Stacy Ann Peterson

By David Lohr

November 5, 2007

BOLINGBROOK, Ill. (Crime Library) Dozens of volunteers explored Knoch Knolls Park and surrounding wooded areas this weekend in the hopes of finding clues in the disappearance of 23-year-old Stacy Ann Peterson, a mother of two who vanished from her home late last week. Well-known Texas EquuSearch brought state-of-the-art search and rescue technology to the effort this weekend.

Suspicion has been mounting against Stacy's husband, Drew Peterson, 53, a 29-year veteran of the Bolingbrook Police Department. In 2004, one of Peterson's previous wives was found dead in her home after obtaining an order of protection against Peterson. Her death was initially ruled accidental, but Stacy's disappearance has since prompted investigators to review the circumstances of her death.

Stacy's sister reported her missing on Monday October 29. The previous day, Stacy was supposed to help her sister and her sister's boyfriend paint their home, but she never showed up. Her family was unable to reach her by cell phone and, when they contacted Peterson, he told them that Stacy had called him at about 9 p.m. Sunday and told him that she was leaving. When police questioned Peterson later, he told them he had no reason to believe his wife was in danger and said that he had found his wife's 2002 Pontiac Grand Prix parked at Clow International Airport, suggesting she had left town.

"I believe she's with someone else, but I believe she's safe," Peterson told Chicagotribune.com.

Stacy's family does not share Peterson's optimism. Her younger sister, Cassandra Cales, claims that her sister's husband was abusive and that her sister had been considering divorce. "She told me Friday night, 'If anything happens to me, I fear for my life,'" Cassandra told ABC News.

To further support claims about the couple's deteriorating relationship, Stacy's friend, Steve Cesare, provided the Naperville Sun with a copy of an email that he had received from Stacy on Oct. 17.

"I have been arguing quite a bit w/my husband," Stacy wrote. "As I mature with age I am finding that the relationship I am in is controlling, manipulative and some what abusive. Tomorrow is our 4-year anniversary and I am not as excited as the years that have past. If you could keep me in your prayers I could use some wisdom, protection, and strength."
According to Peterson, he met his wife six years ago, when she was 17 and he was 47.

"I had this uncontrollable need to take care of her," Peterson said in an interview with Chicagotribune.com. "We just hit it off, and one thing led to another. It wasn't something I planned. It was a very romantic time it was very exciting."

The couple was married two years after they met. It was Stacy's first marriage and Peterson's fourth. They had two children together, who are now ages 2 and 4.

By Peterson's own account, he met Stacy in 2001, and the couple's first child was born in 2003. At that time, Peterson was still married to his third wife, Kathleen Savio, 40. Court records show that Kathleen had obtained an order of protection against her husband in 2002, alleging a pattern of physical abuse and threats. Peterson and Kathleen were divorced on Oct. 10, 2003, just eight days before Peterson's marriage to Stacy.

The peculiarities don't stop there. Throughout 2003, Peterson and Kathleen were involved in several legal battles over child support for the two children they had together and about alimony. A trial to determine the issues was scheduled for April 6, 2004; however, Kathleen never made it to court.

On March 1, 2004, Kathleen Savio was found dead inside an empty bathtub in her Bolingbrook home. An autopsy showed Kathleen had drowned, and Will County Coroner Patrick O'Neil ruled her death accidental. O'Neil speculated that the water had slowly drained from the tub. Despite the coroner's ruling, state police investigators brought the case to former State's Atty. Jeff Tomczak, but the charges were never approved. In light of the ruling, Kathleen and Peterson's sons, now ages 13 and 14, inherited a $1 million life insurance policy that Peterson held on his ex-wife.

Due to the circumstances of Stacy's disappearance, Will County State's Atty. James Glasgow is currently re-examining Kathleen's case due to its "unusual circumstances." A move Peterson is not happy with.

"The media is flaring it up," Peterson told Chicagotribune.com. "[Once Stacy is found] I still have to answer and meet with people with a cloud hanging over my head. I still have to live with the aftermath of the media hype."

Peterson was also dismayed on Thursday, when a team of investigators arrived at his home on Pheasant Chase Court with search warrants in hand. According to Charles Pelkie, a spokesman for the Will County State's Attorney's office, the warrant included searches of two vehicles, a 2005 GMC sport-utility vehicle and a 2002 Pontiac coupe. During the search of the house, police confiscated a computer, Peterson's cell phone, and his guns. A cadaver dog was also brought into the home. Fox News later reported that the dog had reacted to a scent in the couple's upstairs bedroom, but police have yet to confirm that report.

In addition to Peterson's home, police also searched an airplane hangar at Cushing Field in Sheridan where Peterson, a licensed pilot, keeps a plane. Police have not revealed what, if anything, was found during that search.

While investigators served search warrants on Peterson's properties, airplanes equipped with heat-seeking devices scoured the areas around the home, and a team of police divers from the Naperville Police Department searched a 5-acre retention pond at Clow International Airport, where Peterson had allegedly found his wife's car.

Stacy's family has also been actively involved in the search, walking through wooded areas near her home, posting flyers, and starting a Web site to update the public and share information on upcoming searches.

Despite the circumstances surrounding Stacy's disappearance, police are calling the case a missing-person investigation. To date, Drew Peterson has not been named a suspect by police.

Stacy Peterson is described as a Caucasian female with brown hair and brown eyes, about 5 foot 2 and 100 pounds. She has a tattoo of a blue and yellow carnation on the small of her back, and she was last seen wearing a red jogging suit.

Anyone with information in this case is asked to call the Illinois State Police at [phone].

[Lorie Taylor]

www.suburbanchicagonews.com/heraldn...SING_S2.article

Court filings tell story

November 6, 2007
By STEWART WARREN STAFF WRITER

JOLIET -- Although we don't know much about Stacy Peterson's disappearance, we know other things.

They are found in files at the Will County Courthouse.

Knit together, these facts tell something about Bolingbrook Police Sgt. Drew Peterson, the missing woman's much-older husband. For example, while married to another woman, Drew Peterson, 53, owned several businesses and life insurance policies -- and that third wife later was found drowned in a bathtub without any water.

Fourth wife Stacy Peterson, a 23-year-old mother of two, hasn't been seen since Oct. 28. The young woman was supposed to help family members paint a house, but never showed. Drew Peterson claims his wife simply deserted him, but a family member reported her missing.

Savio's death

In early 2002, Drew Peterson and Kathleen Savio, the third wife, began divorce proceedings, according to court documents. They had been married about 10 years and had two children. In late 2003, Will County Judge Susan O'Leary dissolved their marriage. Their divorce was "bifurcated," in this case meaning they were allowed to divorce before their common property was divided, according to court documents.
Then in March 2004, a neighbor found Savio dead in the dry bathtub at her Bolingbrook home. It was an accident, Will County Coroner Patrick K. O'Neil ruled. The 40-year-old woman suffered blunt trauma and a lacerated scalp, injuries consistent with a fall that could have knocked her unconscious, according to the inquest. By that time, Drew Peterson already was involved with the then-Stacy Cales, who was 17 when they met.

After Savio died, there was a Will County probate case to settle her financial affairs. Well-known local lawyer Dick Kavanagh was the public administrator of Will County, a governor-appointed position. Simply put, the public administrator tries to find the fairest way to settle an estate after a death, among other things.

A will emerges

A year after Savio's death and the beginning of the legal proceedings to settle her affairs, a will emerged. It was submitted in court on March 23, 2005. Hand-written in capital letters, it was scrawled across two pieces of lined notebook paper and witnessed by Alex J. Morelli and Gary L. Marcolina.

A man named Alex Morelli is a Bolingbrook police officer, and Herald News archives show a man named Gary Marcolina is a developer in the Crest Hill area.

"This day March 2nd 1997 Drew Walter Peterson and Kathleen Savio Peterson, both being of sound body and mind, do hereby bequeath all of our worldly possessions to each other in the event of either of our individual deaths," begins the will filed with court documents.

If they died together, the couple wanted everything to go to certain people, among them Tom and Kris Peterson, their children, and Eric Drew Peterson and Stephen Paul Peterson, Drew Peterson's children from another relationship.

The will lists some of their assets:

A Golden Rule life insurance policy valued at $100,000

A Monumental Life Insurance policy valued at $125,000

A Prudential Life Insurance policy valued at $308,137.59 -- "Beneficiary Merchants Bank Oswego to pay off note for Sud's Pub in Montgomery," according to the will.

Bolingbrook Police Pension fund of more than $50,000

A piece of real estate listed as 9 Clay Court, Montgomery

The Blue Lightning Corp., or Sud's Pub, 1250 S. Broadway, Montgomery

Da Page Corp., Fast 'N' Accurate Graphics, 87 Eisenhower South, Lombard

A quarter interest in CMYK Corp., listed as a printing business in "Lombard-Naperville," according to the will.

Division of property issues

The will names James B. Carroll, Drew Peterson's uncle, executor of the estate, according to a document filed in court by Kavanagh, who apparently had some concerns.

"After my appointment as administrator, I conferred with attorney Harry Smith with respect to the status of the property settlement portion of the divorce proceeding ... (He) advised me that there were three major issues with respect to the division of property ... 1. Whether Kathleen's estate would be entitled to any portion of Drew Peterson's pension; 2. The valuation of the business known as the Blue Lightning Corp., which has been sold with all of the proceeds going to Drew Peterson; and 3. The value of the house, and whether Kathleen Peterson's estate would be entitled to receive not only her one-half of the proceeds of any sale, but an additional portion of the remaining one-half as an offset for the cash taken by Drew Peterson from the sale of the (bar)," Kavanaugh wrote in court documents.

On April 8, 2005, Will County Judge Michael Powers entered a judgment in the financial aspects of the divorce case. It awarded Drew Peterson the Blue Lightning Corp. and all the proceeds from the sale of the couple's home, according to the court documents filed by Kavanagh. The judgment also mentions what seems to be a fourth life insurance policy.

"(It) provided that Drew Peterson would not be obligated to fund any college expenses for the minor children of the parties due to the fact that life insurance on the life of Kathleen in the amount of $1 million had been payable to the children," according to the document.

As part of the judgment, Carroll agreed that some money from Savio's estate should go to someone other than the four children. "The effect of the judgment was to transfer anywhere from $144,117.65 to $288,235.31 (one-half to all of the proceeds of the home sale) from the four children who were the beneficiaries of the estate ... to Drew Peterson," according to court documents.

Kavanagh didn't approve of that move, apparently.

"The actions of (Carroll) were not in the best interest of the estate or the beneficiaries," he wrote in a court document.

[Lorie Taylor]

www.chicagosuburbannews.com/romeovi...age/x1086968072

Petersons neighbor committed to finding missing woman

By Don Grigas, [e-mail]
GateHouse News Service
Mon Nov 05, 2007, 05:22 PM CST

Sharon Bychowski, next-door neighbor to Stacy Peterson the Bolingbrook mother of two who has been missing since Oct. 28 said she is committed to finding Peterson and bringing her back home.

There is no question, we will eventually find Stacy and bring her home, said Bychowski. I think Ive slept two hours in four days, but I dont care. I owe Stacy that much.

Bychowski has spearheaded an effort by local volunteers to search for Peterson, and over the weekend more than 75 volunteers searched area wetlands, parks and lakes seeking clues into Petersons disappearance.

The search turned up no clues.

But by Monday afternoon, a team from Texas EquuSearch, a nonprofit organization specializing in conducting searches for missing persons, had arrived in Bolingbrook to set up headquarters at a local church, Bychowski said.

They are out now establishing a headquarters at a local church and will be out looking for Stacy again tomorrow morning, she said.

A man who identified himself as a member of the search team specializing in underwater sonar said Mondays windy conditions would delay the search operation until Tuesday.

Illinois State Police spokesman Trooper Mark Dorencz said state investigators had searched seven locations unsuccessfully on Monday.

Stacy Peterson, 23, wife of Bolingbrook Police Sgt. Drew Peterson, was reported missing by family members seven days ago.

Stacys sister, Cassandra Cales, said the last telephone contact she had with her sister was at about 10 a.m. Sunday. After that, all attempts to reach Stacy by cell phone were unsuccessful.

Drew Peterson, a 29-year veteran on the Bolingbrook Police Department, said he spoke to Stacy at about 9 p.m. Sunday, at which time he said Stacy told him she had left him.

At 4 a.m. Monday, family members filed a missing persons report with Illinois State Police.

Family members and friends close to Stacy said she never would have left her two children, Lacy, 2, and Anthony, 4, regardless of the circumstances.

Cales recently said she does not believe her sister is still alive.

Whether or not I think Drew had anything to do with the disappearance is irrelevant. What is important is that Stacy felt threatened, and recently told me if she were to disappear, it would not be the result of an accident, Bychowski said.

Stacy Peterson recently told Bychowski she wanted to get out of the marriage, Bychowski said.

Stacy Peterson first met Drew Peterson when she was 17, but over the last six years Stacy had matured and wanted to get out, Bychowski said.

Bychowski spent the last two days organizing volunteers from the garage attached to their home, and over two days more than 75 volunteers fanned out to walk through wetlands, parks and along bodies of water seeking clues into Staceys disappearance and distributing hundreds of fliers.

Bychowski said she knew Stacy and Drew Peterson for more than three years and Stacy was a feisty person, quite a person who regularly visited the Bychowski home.

Her two children, Lacy and Anthony, were always here and Stacy came over almost daily. Sometimes she would cook for us in our kitchen, said Bychowski.

Bychowski said she does not believe Drew Petersons story that Stacy called him Sunday night and told him she was leaving him for another man.

That whole story is a farce, a bunch of bologna, she said.

On Thursday, investigators from the Illinois State Police executed a search warrant for the Peterson home at 6 Pheasant Chase Court.

After a five-hour search, two vehicles were impounded, as well as cartons of other items. State police have not released the contents of the cartons removed from the Peterson home.

Prior to the search warrant being executed, Drew came over and asked me if I would move his car into our driveway for him. I told him he could move it into the driveway but not the garage. We werent going to hide his car for him, Bychowski said.

I just didnt feel comfortable with that request, she said.

Shortly after Stacy Peterson was listed as missing, Bychowski said, Drew Peterson was asked for a photograph of Stacy Peterson to advertise her disappearance.

He said he didnt have one, even though the family went on a cruise recently in which Stacy personally told me she spent about $500 on photographs. To say there was no photograph of Stacy was ridiculous, Bychowski said.

Authorities continue to list the case as that of a missing person, not a criminal investigation.

Last week the Will County states attorneys office began re-examining the March 2004 case in which Drew Petersons third wife, Kathleen Savio, died in her bathtub while the two were going through a divorce.

According to Chuck Pelkie, spokesman for the states attorneys office, unique and unusual circumstances surrounding Savios death triggered a review of the case.

Attempts to reach the Will County states attorneys office today were unsuccessful.

Bychowski said the goal of the intensified search she said EquuSearch has, in the past, provided up to 1,500 people as volunteers is to keep the case fresh and in the publics eye.

All it could take is one small clue, something someone might have missed, to help locate Stacy, Bychowski said.

Last week state police also searched local ponds without success.

Bychowski, who said the four children living in the Peterson home now are being cared for by one of Drew Petersons adult sons living in North Aurora, said she no longer is in contact with Drew Peterson.

When he publicly said Stacy left him and implied she was with someone else, I couldnt believe it. Drew just threw her under the bus, then backed up over her a few times, she said

[Lorie Taylor]

www.msnbc.msn.com/id/21581811/

Grieving husbands or calculating killers?
The search for Stacy Peterson begins at home

Drew Peterson, a 53-year-old Bolingbrook, Ill. police sergeant is scheduled to retire in less than two weeks. Retirement is normally a happy time for soon-to-be retirees. But instead, he contemplates a missing wife and the reason she may have gone missing.

Stacy Peterson, 23, is Sgt. Petersons fourth wife, someone he met when she was a 17-year-old local Bolingbrook town employee. He left his then-40-year-old wife, Kathleen Savio and their two children to ultimately marry after Stacy after she got pregnant.

A history of violence, another dead wife
Sgt. Peterson appears to have a history of challenged relationships and bad luck. While little is known concerning his first two marriages, we know he met Kathleen in the early 1990s.

But within five years of their marriage, someone started sending Kathleen letters suggesting that her husband was having an affair, something which resulted in her filing for divorce. This was due in part of Drew's relationship with the future Mrs. Stacy Peterson.

Sgt. Peterson was alleged to have beaten his third wife severe enough to send her to the hospital, to have threatened to kill her and to have held a knife to her throat. According to Mrs. Peterson #3, who once obtained a restraining order against her husband and who would go on to divorce him in 2004, he wanted her dead and he had stated he would burn her house down to shut her up.

Evidently, Sgt. Peterson got his wish for Kathleen to shut up, and sometime after their divorce, she was found drowned in an empty bathtub in her home. Her ex-husband was allegedly returning their two children to Kathleen when he found the doors to her home locked. He went to a neighbors house, summoned a locksmith who eventually opened the door to Kathleens home. He then had a neighbor search the house. It was the neighbor who found Kathleens body in the tub.

The question is this: Is this the normal response of a trained police officer, or of someone who knows how to take his time, how to stage a crime scene, and how to create plausible deniability while establish a workable alibi?

We know that many people die of freak accidents. Others, on the other hand, may be the victim of a crime of passion in which one partner takes out his anger, frustration and rage on the other (sometimes resulting in an unplanned assault that may even lead to death). Lastly there are boyfriends or husbands who make up their mind that they want a physical divorce, but don't want the legal and financial responsibilities attached to such an action.

That kind of men
When you think of this type of person, think of Californian Scott Peterson in the death of his pregnant wife, Laci. Or actor Robert Blake who was charged, but later acquitted of the murder of his wife Bonnie Lee Bakley. And then theres the case of Utah resident Mark Hacking who shot his wife in her sleep, disposing of her body in a trash dumpster on its way to the local land fill.

These crimes, or suspected crimes may have all had an element of anger and rage, but they also had an element of planning. The murder had thought out the disposal of his victims body, or at least considered how to cover his tracks and his DNA.

The death of Kathleen Savio (Peterson) was ruled an accidental drowning, with the local medical examiner suggesting, evidently, that she somehow injured herself and drowned in a tub full of water, with the water then draining from the tub. Her hair was wet and her fingers were wrinkled as if having been exposed to water.

Some might question her death in light of the threats made against her life, while others might consider how easy it would be to cause someone to drown in a tub, this by holding their head under water, or by simply pulling their feet above the water causing their head to go under. One or two minutes at most and an adult or child could drown in this manner, something that would be far from an accident. The circumstances surrounding the death of Kathleen Savio are now being reconsidered by the local district attorney, especially in light of the missing status of the current Mr. Peterson.

Clues: Did Stacy leave or disappear?
Stacy Peterson's husband has said that she left last Sunday morning to meet someone, and that she called him at 9 p.m. that same evening night to indicate where the family car could be found. She was in a snooty mood, stated her husband, when she called. No one has heard from her since this reported contact. She allegedly left in her red jogging suit and her children, ages 2 and 4, and her family continues to wait for word. At least one person has portrayed the relationship between Sgt. Peterson and Stacy as strained, a characterization that could also fit his former relationship with wife number three. Stacys living sister has stated that Stacy lived in fear of her husband, and that she wanted a divorce.

Sgt. Peterson, meanwhile, has stated his belief that Stacy left him for another man, further suggesting that she took with her extra clothes and her cell phone. He has said that she was seeing a psychiatrist and been prescribed anti-anxiety drugs. He also points out that Stacys mother allegedly disappeared 10 years ago, an act that Stacy may just have copied from her mother. She was where she wants to be, says her husband.

[Lorie Taylor]

www.suntimes.com/news/metro/636097,...g110507.article

Family frustrated with lack of progress in search for missing woman

November 5, 2007
BY STEFANO ESPOSITO Staff Reporter/[e-mail]

As Stacy Petersons family expressed frustration at the lack of progress in the search for the missing Bolingbrook mother today, state investigators said they are targeting seven areas of interest.

Where are the police on this one? What are they doing? said Suzan Robison, one of Petersons aunts.

A spokesman for the Illinois State Police said theres a reason police werent out searching during the weekend.

We were actually in the process of organizing searches for [Monday], said Trooper Mark Dorencz, a State Police spokesman. I can assure you we are working on this case day and night.

Dorencz said teams of eight officers and a search dog have been assigned to comb each of the seven areas, which he declined to identify.

He said the investigation remains a missing person case and is centered on the area of Bolingbrook.

Asked whether investigators are talking to Bolingbrook Police Sgt. Drew Peterson, the missing womans husband, Dorencz said, We are focusing on Stacy and finding Stacy.

Although Stacy Peterson told relatives in the days leading up to her disappearance last week that she was afraid of her husband and wanted a divorce, Drew Peterson is not considered a suspect in the case, Dorencz said.

He has been cooperative in the investigation, Dorencz said.

Stacy Petersons family reported her missing Oct. 29, after she failed to show up for an appointment with her sister in Yorkville. Drew Peterson has said he thinks she left him for another man.

Stacy Petersons family has also asked for help from The Texas EquuSearch Mounted Search and Recovery Team, an all-volunteer group with resources that include divers, helicopters, dog teams, horses and foot teams. A representative from that organization is in Bolingbrook and is working with the family.

[Lorie Taylor]

All she knew was abuse, turmoil

November 6, 2007
By Jennifer Golz Staff writer

Abuse, alcoholism and instability were key characteristics of the Cales children's household growing up.

It may explain why Stacy Peterson, 23, found what she thought to be stability and security in the arms of a man 30 years her senior, Bolingbrook police Sgt. Drew Peterson.

Linda Cales, 54, last saw her stepdaughter five years ago, but has remained in contact with her throughout the years. Cales married Stacy's father, Anthony Cales, in the mid-90s and remained in the family and children's lives until their divorce in 2002.

"She was blinded by the security," Linda Cales said of Stacy's marriage to an older man. "(Drew Peterson) is the same age as her father, in fact he's a year older than her dad."

But it wasn't a father-figure that Stacy was seeking, Linda Cales said, at least not a father like her own.

"The abuse was there," she said. "He would want to discipline the kids and spank them when he was drunk. He would say things to the girls like, 'You better be nothing like your slut mom.'"

It's been nearly 10 years since Stacy's mother, Christie Cales, has been heard from, as she has seemingly disappeared without a trace. But in the early years of Anthony and Linda Cales' marriage, Christie was still around.

"She always up and vanished and then all of a sudden she would show up wanting to see the kids," she said. "She wasn't exactly the model mother.

"I was taking care of the kids and they looked at me as if I was Mom."

When Linda and Anthony Cales decided to divorce around 2000, it was their stepmother with whom the kids wanted to live, according to Linda Cales.

Seeking stability

According to Dr. Nadia Persun, associate professor of psychology of North Central College, children need a routine in order to feel safe and stable.

She says Stacy may not have had the ability to recognize danger because of her unstable past.

"A child who is misguided and handicapped emotionally may be obedient and submissive, and if someone comes with ill intentions, they may be manipulated because they may lack confidence and an internal compass," Persun said.

And at just 17 years old, Stacy began dating a married Drew Peterson, who was then 47.

"His wife (the now deceased Kathleen Savio) divorced him because she found out about the affair," Linda Cales said. "At that point Anthony should have stepped in.

"If I would have known about it, I would have flown to Illinois and said, "Oh no, this is not going on."

Her father's alcoholism, coupled with abuse and the lack of a home base may have contributed to Stacy having a lack of identity and therefore seeking comfort in an older man who could tell her what to do and who she was, Persun said.

"It makes you more likely to become prey to someone if they have ill intentions because you are more hungry for affection and more in need to find stability," she said.

Linda Cales says Stacy's mistake was telling Drew Peterson she wanted a divorce, something friends and family have confirmed since the mother of two went missing nine days ago.

"You get the hell out and then file," she said. "If you're afraid of the man, you don't tell him you want to divorce him.

"I know Stacy," Linda Cales said. "I was her stepmom for six years; she would not have left her kids."

www.suburbanchicagonews.com/napervi...RSON_S2.article

[Lorie Taylor]

MISSING MOM SEARCH TEAM NEEDS HELP
HUNDREDS OF VOLUNTEERS HOPED FOR TO LOOK FOR STACY PETERSON TODAY

November 6, 2007
By Stefano Esposito sun-times news group

She has not slept in days. She's all but certain her sister is dead. But Cassandra Cales said Monday evening that the search for Bolingbrook mother Stacy Peterson must go on.

"She is giving me the strength and energy I need to push on," Cales said of her sister. "I haven't really slept in six or seven days. I try to sleep, but I just can't."

The Texas EquuSearch Mounted Search and Recovery Team is equipped with divers, helicopters, dog teams, horses and foot teams. The founder of the team, Tim Miller, said he will have 15 people from his group but hopes "hundreds" of volunteers will show up for the search at 8 a.m. today at the Westbrook Christian Church in Bolingbrook, not far from the Peterson home. Plans are to search five "water areas" and two quarries.

"We have been extremely successful in the past," he said, adding that his team has helped find 250 people alive and the remains of 73 other people.

Another of the missing woman's relatives wonders where police investigators were Saturday and Sunday, when dozens of volunteers combed the area near Peterson's home looking for clues.

"Where are the police on this one? What are they doing?" said Suzan Robison, one of Peterson's aunts.

A spokesman for the state police said Monday there's a reason police weren't out searching during the weekend.

"We were actually in the process of organizing searches for [Monday]," said Trooper Mark Dorencz, a state police spokesman. "I can assure you we are working on this case day and night." Dorencz said teams of eight officers and a search dog focused Monday on seven areas, which he declined to identify.

Are investigators talking to Bolingbrook Police Sgt. Drew Peterson?

"We are focusing on Stacy and finding Stacy," Dorencz said.

Although Stacy Peterson told relatives in the days leading up to her disappearance last week that she was afraid of her husband and wanted a divorce, Drew Peterson is not considered a suspect in the case, Dorencz said.

"He has been cooperative in the investigation," he said.

Bolingbrook Police Chief Raymond McGury said the department received no reports of problems in the marriage.

Fresh look at a past death
Investigators will try to talk to Stacy Peterson's children to see if they know anything of her whereabouts.

"We would like to talk to the kids," said Charles B. Pelkie, spokesman for State's Attorney James Glasgow. "We will be taking steps to make that happen in the near future."

Stacy Peterson is Drew Peterson's fourth wife. His third wife died under mysterious circumstances in March 2004. Glasgow is turning a fresh eye to that case to see if the death of Peterson's third wife, Kathleen Savio, warrants criminal charges.

Stacy and Drew Peterson have two children, ages 2 and 4. Drew Peterson also has two minor children from his marriage to Savio and two older children from a previous marriage.

Another missing mother

Glasgow's office has been trying to get information from the children of another missing mother. Their efforts to speak with the children of Lisa Stebic, of Plainfield, have been thwarted by their father, Craig Stebic, who police have labeled "a person of interest" in the case.
Lisa Stebic has been missing for more than six months. Searches and billboards have failed to turn up any clues to her whereabouts. Police initially talked to her children, but the state's attorney's office would like to do a more in-depth interview. At the advice of his lawyer, Craig Stebic has forbidden that.

"We made it clear we want to talk to these children, too," Pelkie said. "It's the same position. We'll be taking steps in the near future to find out what these children know about the disappearance of their mother."

Staff writer Joe Hosey contributed to this story.

www.suburbanchicagonews.com/heraldn...SING_S1.article

[Lorie Taylor]

www.allheadlinenews.com/articles/7009071191


Search Expands For Missing Chicago-Area Mother Of Two

November 6, 2007 10:35 a.m. EST

Bolingbrook, IL (AHN) - The family of Stacy Peterson has enlisted the help of neighbors, friends and now a Texas non-profit to help them find the missing Chicago-area mother of two.

Peterson, 23, was last seen by her husband, Bolingbrook police Sgt. Drew Peterson, 53, on October 28.

People close to the case, including Stacy's aunt, Candice Aikin, have accused Sgt. Peterson of foul play. They say that she had told him she wanted a divorce only two days prior to her disappearance.

Sgt. Peterson is currently out of town, according to the Bolingbrook Police Department, and is not officially a "person of interest" in the case.

Stacy is Sgt. Peterson's fourth wife. They met when she was just 17 and employed by the city of Bolingbrook. He left his then-40-year-old wife, Kathleen Savio, and their two children, to marry her. Police officials have said that there were at least eighteen complaints of domestic violence involving Savio and Sgt. Peterson during their marriage and that at one point she had requested a restraining order against him.

Savio was found drowned in her bathtub before their divorce was final. Her death, which was ruled an accident at the time, will be re-visited, said Will County State's Atty. James Glasgow.

Tim Miller, founder of Texas EquuSearch, an organization that works to find missing persons, arrived in Bolingbrook Monday with 15 volunteers. They are enlisting the help of the local community to expand their efforts.

A local church has opened its doors to be the search headquarters and two area hotels have offered the organization free rooms for the week. A local towing company has also lent a 14-foot boat. However, EquuSearch organizers say they could still use additional boats, rooms, ATVs, horses, food and volunteers.

The organization FindLisaStebic.com, formed six months ago to find another local missing woman, are also joining the effort.

State police officials spoke Monday with EquuSearch organizers, but for the time being, will not collaborate with the organization.

[Lorie Taylor]

www.suntimes.com/news/metro/638155,bolingupdate110607.article

New search warrant executed at missing woman's home

November 6, 2007

BOLINGBROOK---- Investigators executed a new search warrant Tuesday night at the home of a suburban Chicago police sergeant whose wife has disappeared, authorities said.

Will County state's attorney's office spokesman Charles Pelkie said he couldn't offer any details about the warrant for Drew and Stacy Peterson's Bolingbrook home.

It was not the first warrant executed at the home. Illinois State Police carried out a warrant last Thursday that officials later said authorized troopers to search the house, personal computers, cell phones, a sport utility vehicle and a car owned by the Petersons.

Volunteers and members of the nonprofit group Texas EquuSearch spent Tuesday looking for Stacy Peterson, 23, who was reported missing Oct. 29.

Cold and windy weather kept searchers from using search dogs, horses and an aerial drone.

''It doesn't look good,'' Tim Miller, founder of Texas EquuSearch, said. ''If something has happened to her, we know that every day that she's out there more and more evidence is gone and it's harder to determine cause of death.''

Drew Peterson, 53, a sergeant in the Bolingbrook Police Department, has said his wife phoned him and told him she had left voluntarily for another man. But Stacy Peterson's family has said she feared her husband, was making plans to divorce him and would not have willingly left her children.

Stacy's Peterson's disappearance has triggered renewed interest in the 2004 death of Drew Peterson's ex-wife Kathleen Savio, 40. She had obtained an order of protection in 2002, alleging a pattern of physical abuse and threats, according to court records. The coroner said she drowned in her tub and a coroner's jury ruled the death an accident.

Drew Peterson has denied having anything to do with his ex-wife's death.

Bolingbrook is about 20 miles west of Chicago.

[Lorie Taylor]

www.chicagotribune.com/news/local/chi-peterson_web1nov07,0,2282497.story?coll=chi_home_util

Searches for missing Bolingbrook woman come up empty

By Matthew Walberg and Erika Slife | Tribune staff reporters
9:49 PM CST, November 6, 2007

Scores of police and volunteers combed more than a dozen areas in search of a missing Bolingbrook woman without success Tuesday.

Illinois State Police investigators searched for Stacy Peterson at five locationsusing all-terrain vehicles, cadaver-sniffing dogs and an airplane fitted with infrared sensorsbut found no sign of her, said state police spokesman Luis Gutierrez.

Meanwhile, nearly 50 volunteers joined a search organized by a private group, Texas EquuSearch, to comb six wooded areas and three bodies of water around Romeoville and Bolingbrook.

The group's founder and director, Tim Miller, said searchers were looking for any patches of earth that appeared to have been recently disturbed. Miller said a few sites identified in Tuesday's search would be re-examined Wednesday, including one at a construction site.

Peterson, 23, was last seen by her husband, Bolingbrook police Sgt. Drew Peterson, 53, on Oct. 28 when she left the couple's home on Pheasant Chase Court to help her sister Cassandra Cales paint a home.

Her husband told police he last heard from her that night, when she called him on her cell phone.

He later said his wife called to tell him that she was leaving him, and that he believed she was with someone elsea statement her family disputes.

Cales pleaded Tuesday for more volunteers after fewer people than expected showed up to join the search, and Miller said a similar missing-person case in Ohio drew 1,800 volunteers. "We didn't have as many people today as we were hoping for, but that's OK," Miller said. "I think the weather conditions held us back."

Sherrie Mills, a close friend of Stacy Peterson, said she has slept only about three hours in the last day and a half, spending much of her time driving around looking for locations where a body might be hidden.

"It's very frustrating," Mills said. She praised investigators for the way they were dealing with friends and family and for their quick response to tips.

"I think the state police are doing a great job," Mills said. "I feel . . . [they are] trying to cover as much ground as they can."

Drew Peterson started dating Stacy Cales when he was 47 and she was 17, and they married two years later. But her family said the marriage of four years had grown troubled, saying the sergeantmarried three previous timeswas controlling. They said that two days before her disappearance Stacy Peterson told her husband she wanted a divorce and told her sister that she feared for her life.

Gutierrez said investigators went to the Petersons' home Monday with papers for the police sergeant, but no one answered the door. He would not describe the papers, saying only that they were part of the investigation.

[Lorie Taylor]

www.wthitv.com/Global/story.asp?S=7322522&nav=menu593_2

New search warrant executed in search for missing Bolingbrook woman

Associated Press - November 6, 2007 10:24 PM ET

BOLINGBROOK, Ill. (AP) - Prosecutors say a new search warrant has been issued and executed for the home of a Bolingbrook police sergeant whose wife has disappeared.

Will County state's attorney's office spokesman Charles Pelkie says he can't offer any other details on Tuesday night's warrant.

Meanwhile, volunteers and members of the nonprofit search group Texas EquuSearch spent the day looking for 23-year-old Stacy Peterson, who has been missing since October 29th.

Cold and windy weather kept searchers from using search dogs, horses and an aerial drone.

[Lorie Taylor]

www.suntimes.com/news/metro/638155,bolingupdate110607.article

New search warrant executed at missing woman's home

November 6, 2007
BY ASSOCIATED PRESS

BOLINGBROOK---- Investigators executed a new search warrant Tuesday night at the home of a suburban Chicago police sergeant whose wife has disappeared, authorities said.

Will County state's attorney's office spokesman Charles Pelkie said he couldn't offer any details about the warrant for Drew and Stacy Peterson's Bolingbrook home.

It was not the first warrant executed at the home. Illinois State Police carried out a warrant last Thursday that officials later said authorized troopers to search the house, personal computers, cell phones, a sport utility vehicle and a car owned by the Petersons.

Volunteers and members of the nonprofit group Texas EquuSearch spent Tuesday looking for Stacy Peterson, 23, who was reported missing Oct. 29.

Cold and windy weather kept searchers from using search dogs, horses and an aerial drone.

''It doesn't look good,'' Tim Miller, founder of Texas EquuSearch, said. ''If something has happened to her, we know that every day that she's out there more and more evidence is gone and it's harder to determine cause of death.''

Drew Peterson, 53, a sergeant in the Bolingbrook Police Department, has said his wife phoned him and told him she had left voluntarily for another man. But Stacy Peterson's family has said she feared her husband, was making plans to divorce him and would not have willingly left her children.

Stacy's Peterson's disappearance has triggered renewed interest in the 2004 death of Drew Peterson's ex-wife Kathleen Savio, 40. She had obtained an order of protection in 2002, alleging a pattern of physical abuse and threats, according to court records. The coroner said she drowned in her tub and a coroner's jury ruled the death an accident.

Drew Peterson has denied having anything to do with his ex-wife's death.

Bolingbrook is about 20 miles west of Chicago.

[Lorie Taylor]

mywebtimes.com/ottnews/archives/ottawa/display.php?id=347784

Police check airfield for missing mother

11/07/2007, 10:04 am

DAN CHURNEY, [e-mail], 815-431-4050

State police searched Cushing Field in northeast La Salle County Friday in hopes of finding a 23-year-old Bolingbrook mother who's been missing more than a week.

Stacy Peterson has been missing since Oct. 28. Her husband is 53-year-old Bolingbrook Police Sgt. Drew Peterson, who kept an aircraft at Cushing Field near Newark. He said he found her abandoned car Oct. 29 at an airport in Bolingbrook.

Drew Peterson has been married several times, with one wife drowning in a bathtub accident in 2004. Investigators have reopened that case.