The Disappearance

One of the most sensational crime stories of recent years was the disappearance of 23-year-old Stacy Peterson. In 2007, Stacy lived in Bollingbrook, Illinois with her police officer husband, Drew Peterson, who was 30 years older and on his fourth marriage. On October 28, Stacy went missing, and since her marriage to Drew was troubled at the time, suspicion immediately turned to him.

Three years earlier, Drew’s third wife, Kathleen Savio, was found dead in her bathtub in what was initially believed to be an accidental drowning. Drew collected a substantial life insurance policy, but Stacy’s disappearance prompted another investigation into Kathleen’s death. In 2009, Drew was charged with his ex-wife’s murder and eventually sentenced to 38 years in prison. He remains the prime suspect in Stacy’s disappearance, but her body has never been found.

Stacy’s disappearance was just the latest in a long line of tragedies for her family. In eerie confidence, Stacy’s 40-year-old mother, Christie Cales, had also vanished under suspicious circumstances nine years earlier. Christie had a total of six children but lost two of them during the 1980s when they were infants. Christie abused drugs and alcohol, was often in trouble with the law, and had a turbulent relationship with her husband.

The couple often neglected their children, but when they divorced in 1990, Christie’s husband got sole custody. In 1998, Christie was living with her boyfriend in Blue Island, Illinois. On March 11, she apparently walked out of her home and never returned, and that was the last anyone ever saw of her. Much like with Stacy, Christie’s family has always suspected that her spouse was responsible for her disappearance, but there wasn’t enough evidence to charge him. Officially, both Christie Cales and her daughter remain missing.