Police end weeklong search of woods for Stacy Peterson
By BRIAN STANLEY bstanley@stmedianetwork.com November 9, 2012 3:26PM
Investigators with the FBI and the Illinois State Police search inside Hammel Woods near Black Road and Route 59 in Shorewood, IL on Wednesday November 7, 2012. They were searching for the missing Stacy Peterson. | Matt Marton~Sun-Times Media
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Updated: January 10, 2013 1:46AM
State police finished their weeklong search of the Hammel Woods Forest Preserve on Friday in Shorewood.
Since Monday, agents from the FBI and state police conducted search patrols through the 400-acre preserve.
After the search was completed Friday afternoon, state police confirmed the search was part of the investigation into the 2007 disappearance of Stacy Peterson, the wife of convicted murderer and former Bolingbrook police Sgt. Drew Peterson.
Police said the search turned up nothing.
No “tip” was provided, but the search was part of the ongoing investigation, police said. The effort utilized search dogs and provided state police detectives with the opportunity to use federal resources.
“Anytime we have the ability to work with other law enforcement and public safety agencies on specialized investigations, we take full advantage of the available resources and expertise to strengthen our techniques and strategies,” State Police Capt. Michael Cooke said.
An FBI mobile command center that had been stationed in the Black Road parking lot throughout the week was not there Friday morning, but investigators were seen at the south end of the woods.
Stacy Peterson has been missing since Oct. 28, 2007, shortly after telling her husband she wanted a divorce.
Peterson was convicted in September of killing his third wife, Kathleen Savio, and is considered the main suspect in Stacy’s disappearance.
The DuPage River runs through Hammel Woods, with “islands” in the middle that regularly collect debris as the water flows downstream from the north.
