Group Walking to Raise Awareness of Missing Mother Stacy Peterson's Case

A group devoted to keeping the case of missing Bolingbrook mother Stacy Peterson in the public eye is participating in a fundraising walk in Shorewood Saturday.

Team Stacy Peterson is taking part in Groundwork's 5K walk to honor victims of violence, bring awareness to the community, and raise funds to continue its programs.

Groundwork is the domestic violence program for the Guardian Angels Community Service agency.

The walk starts at 9:15 a.m. in the Crumby Recreation Area in .

Teams will collect at 8 a.m. Will County State's Attorney James Glasgow and Judge Marilee Viola will present opening remarks.

One of the goals of Team Stacy Peterson is to keep the focus of the media and the community on the victims of domestic violence and away from the perpetrators, according to a statement released by the agency handling the team's publicity.

Peterson vanished in October 2007. Her husband, disgraced former Bolingbrook cop Drew Peterson, is the sole suspect in the state police investigation of her disappearance.

The state police have never charged Drew Peterson with harming Stacy Peterson but did arrest him for allegedly killing his previous wife, Kathleen Savio.

Savio, who was Peterson's third wife, was found drowned in a dry bathtub in March 2004. The state police insisted for the ensuing three and a half years that Savio somehow managed to accidentally drown, but the agency abruptly changed its tune soon after Stacy Peterson disappeared.

Between Stacy Peterson vanishing in 2007 and Drew Peterson's arrest in May 2009, the accused wife-killer enjoyed the attention of the national media, appearing on Larry King's talk show, the Today show and the Dr. Phil show, among other programs.

"Every time we turn around there's Drew's picture in the news again," Stacy's sister, Cassandra Cales, said in the statement released by the publicity agency. "The media has given him enough attention, let's bring it back to where it belongs, let's get Stacy's picture back in the press, after all, she's still missing!"

Stacy Peterson aside, Groundwork, and programs like it, are in desperate need of funding, said Susan Murphy Milano, a specialist in intimate partner violence.

"Due to budget cuts nationwide, programs like Groundwork are looking for the public's help just to keep the bare minimum of services," Milano said. "Time's up for victims to go unnoticed, like my mother did over 20 years ago! It's time for change in the way things are done for victims at every level."