Group honors Stacy at local fundraiser 5K

Nearly two years after Stacy Peterson was last seen alive, a group will march in her name to raise money for a battered women's shelter in Joliet.

"It's kind of a way to remember Stacy and get the word out" about the Groundwork battered women's shelter, said Stephanie Kreidler, who organized The Angels For Stacy/Peace4 the Missing team entry for the Oct. 24 Angels Against Abuse 5K Walk.

The walk will raise money for the shelter, which operates under the auspices of Joliet's Guardian Angel Home and has been stripped of funds in these hard economic times.

"This is going to be our first walk (but) we hope to do it continually" in coming years, said Shirley Reilly, a social worker and community advocate for Groundwork.

The event was scheduled to coincide with Domestic Violence Month and happened to fall just days before the anniversary of Stacy Peterson's disappearance.

State police believe Peterson may be the victim of foul play. They have named Peterson's husband, disgraced former Bolingbrook cop Drew Peterson, a suspect in his wife's disappearance.

While the mystery surrounding her disappearance remains unsolved and her husband has yet to be charged with having anything to do with making her vanish, he has been arrested in connection with the March 2004 slaying of his previous wife, Kathleen Savio.

Peterson has been jailed since May on first degree-murder charges and is awaiting trial.

The walk will also help publicize Groundwork, said Kreidler, who wishes Stacy Peterson knew what the shelter offers before she disappeared.

"If somebody brought this to her attention, she could have been saved," Kreidler speculated.

Peterson has not been charged with abusing Stacy.

Those wishing to participate in the walk can register in advance on the Groundwork Web site at www.event.org/angelsagainstabuse . Donations can also be made through the Web site.

The Oct. 24 event, at which First Care Ambulance will be donating its services, will be held at the Crumby Recreation Area in Hammel Woods in Shorewood. Check-in and on-site registration is at 8 a.m., and the walk steps off at 9 a.m.

Kreidler repeated that she hopes the walk will increase awareness while helping Groundwork financially.

"Just to get their name out there," she said. "Just so if there's someone else out there in her shoes, they know where to get help."