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BOLINGBROOK, Ill. (CBS) ― Drew Peterson was reportedly seen loading a large barrel into the back of his truck just hours after Stacy Peterson was last seen alive.

Family sources say a neighbor reported seeing Drew and an unidentified man loading the barrel into the back of his now confiscated Yukon Denali.

"We had heard this before about Drew Peterson carrying a barrel with somebody," said Pamela Bosco, spokesperson for Stacy Peterson.

Based on that information, searchers have been on the lookout for the barrel for weeks. They've spotted more than 10 barrels since Stacy disappeared. But so far there's been no sign of Stacy. Still, Bosco says the search for the barrel will go on.

"I sure hope it leads to something. It sounds very interesting to me," Bosco said.

In addition to the missing blue barrel that police have told the family they're looking for, sources say scuba diving weights are also missing from Drew's house. That may have led investigators to search numerous ponds, including one near Clow Airfield where sources say cadaver dogs hit on something.

Sources say the dogs also hit on something in an upstairs bedroom of the Peterson house -- the same bedroom where sources say a nightstand is believed to have turned up missing. That's led investigators to question recent visitors to the Peterson home about what furniture they recalled seeing in that room.

Meanwhile, family members say it was tough to try and celebrate Thanksgiving without Stacy, but her sister, Cassandra Cales, tried to make the best of it by inviting Stacy's children over.

"I understand from Cassandra that she asked to have the children for Thanksgiving and he denied that. He said 'no they were going to stay inside the house,'" said Sharon Bychowski, a friend of Stacy's.

In other developments in the case, a mysterious letter has surfaced claiming that Stacy Peterson is still alive. A description of that letter was released by Drew Peterson's attorney. But Thursday night, Stacy Peterson's family was skeptical.

Peterson, who told People magazine he expects to be arrested, is not talking about the letter. But his lawyer, in a news release, has revealed what's in it.

He calls it "a detailed description of a sighting of...Stacy Peterson." The writer, who did not sign the letter, tells of seeing the missing woman inside a Kroger food market in Peoria on November 12. The writer says she was "Standing in the dairy section. …It appeared that she was trying to be noticed."

The letter also describes a man apparently with her. The writer also questions if Stacy Peterson was pregnant, "because she appeared to have a little 'pudge.'"

"It would be the best news in the world to hear that is exactly where she is and we would find her," said Stacy Peterson's stepsister, Kerry Simmons.

But Simmons is also suspicious about the origins of the letter.

"He just got done talking to the press about Stacy coming forward and going public and all of a sudden there's this letter," Simmons said. "It just seems to be coincidental."

State police will review surveillance tapes from inside the store if they exist.

Drew Peterson marked Thanksgiving at home with his mother and other relatives Thursday night. His lawyer says he's turned the letter over to the state police.

"We got a letter saying she was in Florida," Bosco said. "She's traveling an awful lot isn't she?"

Meanwhile, Drew Peterson's pension is in jeopardy after investigators discovered several crimes unrelated to the disappearance of the former police sergeant's wife and mysterious death of his third wife, according to a report in Thursday's Chicago Tribune.

Illinois State Police Captain Carl Dobrich told the Tribune 64 officers are now assigned full-time to investigate the disappearance of Stacy Peterson and the death of Kathleen Savio.

Dobrich said in the course of the investigation, detectives discovered evidence Drew Peterson may have violated Bolingbrook Police Department policies.

Dobrich would not describe the alleged violations, but told the Tribune they were serious enough to potentially trigger the loss of Drew Peterson's $6,000 monthly pension. Under state law, a police officer's pension may be denied or revoked only if the officer is convicted of a job-related felony.

Peterson submitted his resignation last week, but Police Chief Ray McGury refused to accept it, saying he wanted Peterson fired. Bolingbrook's Police and Fire Commission later accepted Peterson's resignation.

McGury didn't disclose specifics, but alleged Peterson committed "severe" violations of departmental policies.

State police have named Peterson a suspect in Stacy Peterson's disappearance, and Will County prosecutors have said the bathtub drowning of Savio, 40, in March 2004 appeared to be staged to conceal a homicide.

Tips are coming in from across the nation, and the cases are the agency's top investigative priority, Dobrich said.

A grand jury convened for the Savio and Stacy Peterson probes met for the first time Wednesday and heard testimony from Rossetto.

Police contacted Rossetto after finding phone records that connected him to Stacy Peterson. Rossetto's brother dated her briefly in 2001.

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