After authorities searched a Lockport canal Tuesday afternoon as part of an investigation into the disappearance of Stacy Peterson, her sister, Cassandra Cales, spoke alongside the Federal Bureau of Investigation.
"Today was a search for possible human remains that I have basically devoted my life to," Cales told reporters after the search ended.
The area searched was the same canal where Cales claimed her sister's body had been found, sources close to the investigation told NBC Chicago. Stacy Peterson, a Bolingbrook mother of two and the fourth wife of convicted killer Drew Peterson, disappeared at 23 years old in 2007.
On Tuesday, Cales said she obtained a live video recording of skeletal remains in the water in May. She told reporters she gave the evidence to law enforcement, but no search was conducted for another five months.
Feeling out of the loop? We'll catch you up on the Chicago news you need to know. Sign up for the weekly Chicago Catch-Up newsletter here.
"It's - no questions asked, it's definitely somebody. I can't say it's my sister, but it's somebody. It's just - why take so long to go and retrieve something?" Cales said, adding that the remains "could have moved" and "should have been acted on right away."
Still, Cales had said she believes her sister's husband, Drew Peterson, "disposed" of her body on Oct. 28, 2007, "in the Sanitary and Shipping Canal, after having dropped off his step-brother."
She vowed to return to search the water again.
Local
"I will be back," she said, "Just because they say it's good, it's not good enough for me. If you want it done right, you've got to do it yourself. They had their chance."
The location of the search marked the same water Cales reported her missing sister's body was located in in 2018. At the time, Cales said she had sonar images to prove she had found her sister's body.
On Tuesday, authorities confirmed an investigation was underway at the scene, but declined to offer specifics on what they were searching for. Lockport Township Fire Protection District Deputy Chief Edward Rossetto said the department was assisting the FBI with an investigation.
Sources close to the investigation said crews were brought to the Chicago Sanitary and Ship Canal in Lockport because of efforts made by Stacy Peterson's family. The FBI was at the scene, assisting Illinois State Police in the search.
According to sources, the search was terminated Tuesday afternoon and there are no plans to resume the search in the immediate future.
Stacy Peterson remains missing more than a decade later and her husband continues to be a suspect in her disappearance, though he has never been charged in the case.
Drew Peterson, a former Bolingbrook police sergeant, was sentenced to 38 years in prison in 2013 for the death of his third wife, Kathleen Savio, who was found dead in a dry bathtub in 2004. Savio's death was initially ruled accidental, but the case was reopened after the disappearance of Stacy Peterson.
He is also serving a 40-year sentence after a conviction for soliciting the murder of James Glasgow, the Will County prosecutor who put him behind bars.
The mystery surrounding Stacy Peterson's disappearance has repeatedly made headlines over the years.
In 2017, Drew Peterson’s son said he believes his dad killed both Savio and Stacy Peterson.
“Over time, you hear enough [from police]. They can’t all be full of s---,” he told the Chicago Tribune. “I don’t want to come out and say he did it… but I’m sure he did it.”
Stephen Peterson noted that he still speaks to his father, who he says has never confessed to the crimes and has maintained his innocence.
