(NewsNation) — Cassandra Cales, the sister of Illinois woman Stacy Peterson, who went missing in 2007, believes she has found her sister’s remains.
At the time of her disappearance, Stacy Peterson, then 23 years old, had been married to former Bolingbrook Police Sgt. Drew Peterson, who was 49 at the time. Stacy Peterson has never been found, while Drew Peterson was found guilty of killing his third estranged wife, Kathleen Savio, in 2012.
Drew Peterson and Savio had been divorced when her body was found in a bathtub. While the death was initially ruled accidental, Stacy Peterson’s case prompted police to take another look at what happened to Savio.
Ultimately, Peterson, now 70, was sentenced in 2013 to 38 years in prison for killing Savio — a conviction he is now trying to overturn. After also being convicted in 2016 of plotting to kill the Will County prosecutor who put him behind bars, Drew Peterson faces an additional 40 years in prison.
Now, all these years later, Cales has never stopped trying to find out what happened to Stacy Peterson. Cales shared an underwater video of what she says is her sister’s skeletal remains with “Crime Nation,” a television show on The CW, which shares a parent company with NewsNation.
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BOLINGBROOK, IL – NOVEMBER 01: Bolingbrook, Illinois police Sgt. Drew Peterson, the husband of Stacy Peterson, ducks behind a neighbor’s home as Illinois State Police search for evidence at his home November 1, 2007 in Bollingbrook, Illinois. Stacy, Peterson’s fourth wife, was recently reported missing. Since her disappearance police have reopened an investigation into the death of Peterson’s third wife who reportedly drowned in a bathtub. (Photo by Scott Olson/Getty Images) -
BOLINGBROOK, IL – NOVEMBER 17: Former Bolingbrook, Illinois police Sgt. Drew Peterson stands in front of the garage at his home November 17, 2007 in Bolingbrook, Illinois. Peterson is a suspect in the disappearance of his fourth wife Stacy Peterson. The death of Peterson’s third wife Kathleen Savio, which had been ruled an accident, was recently determined to be a homicide. (Photo by Scott Olson/Getty Images) -
BOLINGBROOK, IL – NOVEMBER 12: A flyer taped to the window of a car advertises that a search continues for Stacy Peterson, the wife of Bolingbrook, Illinois police officer Drew Peterson who disappeared about two weeks ago November 12, 2007 in Bolingbrook, Illinois. Drew Peterson, who claims Stacy, his fourth wife, ran off with another man has been named as a suspect in her disappearance. Since the disappearance police have also reopened an investigation into the death of Drew’s third wife who reportedly died an accidental death in her bathtub. (Photo by Scott Olson/Getty Images) -
Pictured (L-R): Stacy Peterson and Drew Peterson (Photo: NewsNation/The CW — © 2024 Candle True Stories. All Rights Reserved) -
JOLIET, IL – JULY 31: Joel Brodsky, attorney for Drew Peterson, leaves the Will County Courthouse during a recess in Peterson’s murder trial July 31, 2012 in Joliet, Illinois. Opening arguments in Peterson’s trial began today. Peterson, a former Bolingbrook, Illinois police sergeant is on trial for the murder of his third wife Kathleen Savio. Peterson is also a suspect in the 2007 disappearance of his fourth wife Stacy Peterson. (Photo by Scott Olson/Getty Images)
These remains were found in a canal in Lockport, a city 35 miles outside Chicago, Cales said.
NewsNation affiliate WGN reported in 2020 that Cales submitted a tip to police about the remains.
Authorities searched but did not find Stacy Peterson. Previous searches in the area had also been unsuccessful, a police sergeant told The Chicago Tribune.
“It literally sucks the life out of me because I know she’s there,” Cales said on “Crime Nation.” “Where my sister’s remains are in the canal — it’s not accessible, but me and my team are recovering her.”
By searching with sonar, Cales said she and her team were able to get live video, which shows an “upside-down” human skull with two eye sockets filled with silt, and a lower jaw bone that fell off.
“It’s somebody,” Cales said. “Whether it’s my sister or not, they need to be brought home.”
Drew Peterson exclusively spoke with NewsNation’s Ashleigh Banfield in February where he blamed his conviction on a widespread bias against police officers.
“I’m not wanting my children to believe that I killed their mothers,” Drew Peterson told Banfield. “I don’t want them thinking that of me.”
As recently as October 2021, Drew Peterson maintained his innocence in a handwritten post-conviction filing from prison.
