U.S. & World News

BOLINGBROOK, Ill. (CBS) ― The sister of the missing wife of a Bolingbrook, Ill. police sergeant was dismissive Friday of the sergeant's claims that his wife had left for another man.

Stacy Peterson, 23, was last seen on Sunday. Illinois State Police on Thursday searched the home she shared with her husband, Bolingbrook police Sgt. Drew Peterson.

Drew Peterson is not facing any charges at this time in the disappearance of his 23-year-old wife, Stacy. So far, Sgt. Peterson has declined to give any on-camera interviews, saying he would prefer to protect his anonymity. Peterson, a 29 year police veteran, has insisted he had nothing to do with Stacy's disappearance. He told CBS 2 Wednesday he believes Stacy has gone underground. He said he thought their marriage was healthy, but maybe she did not. He also said that since the death of her sister, Stacy had become a different person, in part, he believes, because she was on antidepressants.

But as CBS 2 West Suburban Bureau Chief Mike Puccinelli reports, Stacy's sister, Cassandra Cales, said this did not match Stacy's personality. Cales said she believed her sister was in danger and had in essence been stalked by her husband.

"When she told me Friday night she feared for her life, I was suspicious so I wanted to stay in contact her, so I saw her Saturday night," Cales said. "We spoke, we talked all day, we text messaged. When I left her Saturday night, she said she'd call me when she woke up. She never called, and I just got really worried."

Cales had been expecting her sister to help her paint with a friend on Sunday, but five hours after Stacy had been expected, she had not shown up. Cales said began "calling her cell phone, calling the house, I was calling everybody, and then finally I broke down and called Drew."

Cales said she reached Sgt. Peterson at 11:26 p.m. Sunday.

"When he first answered the phone, I said, 'Hi,' and (he said), 'Where's your sister?' and I said, 'That's why I'm calling you.' He was just jumping all over the place saying, 'Well last week, she was going to disappear just like your mom did, and I know that's a crock of crap. And then he said, 'Well she ran off with another guy. She's been seeing these other guys.' And that's not her."

Cales said Sgt. Peterson was out of breath during the conversation, and claimed it was from running in search of his wife.

Cales added that when she drove by the Peterson house around the time she talked to Sgt. Peterson, neither of the vehicles belonging to the couple were there. At 2:30 a.m. when Cales drove by again, the vehicles were back, she said.

"He said that she called him at 9 o'clock and said she left her car at Clow Airport (a local airfield), and that she was leaving; going on a little vacation," Cales said. "I wouldn't be doing all this if I believed it."

"I'm doing what you asked," Cales said in tears. "I'm here to let you know that I will find you."

In an interview on The Early Show, Cales added that her greatest fear was "that he did something to her."

On Thursday, FBI agents, Will County state's attorney's investigators and Illinois State Police swarmed the Peterson house to execute search warrants. They then searched the house using canines and video. They also towed away two vehicles to be searched. State police officers walked out of the Peterson house Thursday night with rifles, a computer and several boxes -- one so heavy two officers had to carry it.

Sgt. Peterson briefly emerged from the next door neighbor's home wearing a baseball cap and bandana.

Police also searched a retention pond near the Petersons' home, alongside a runway at Clow Airport. The pond is a half mile north of the home, just north of 107th Street at the south end of the airfield. It's not known if they found anything useful to the investigation.

In 2004 Sgt. Peterson's third wife, Kathleen Savio, was found dead in a bathtub just down the street from the Petersons' current home. The incident was ruled an accident, but the Will County state's attorney's office is taking a second look at that case.

Drew and Stacy Peterson have been married for four years.

 

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