Search for Stacy Peterson

[goldfishy]

I'm not sure where to post this topic, or what to do, but I feel like I have to try and help out in some way. By now, I am sure most of you have heard about the missing woman from Bolingbrook, IL? They have desperately been searching for her all week. This is way too close to my home for comfort. I am also friends with the friend of hers who turned in Stacy's email plea for help before she disappeared. I am wondering if anyone would be interested in meeting up to help search? I figure many people are familiar with the area with all the caches around those parts, and may be out already anyway grabbing caches? What do you think? I figure there has to be force in numbers?

[+Corp Of Discovery]

This, along with another missing woman, is being discussed in the GONIL forums here.

[+Wadcutter]

Do NOT just go up there and starting beating around in the woods by yourself or even with a group. Contact the authorities in the area so your efforts can be coordinated. If you would venture out on your own and actually stumble onto a crime scene, ie a body, there's a very good chance that you'll destroy evidence that could prove invaluable in solving the case. Remember, evidence can be extremely small where a person not trained in retrieving evidence would never think to look. Something as simple as a partial footprint may be all the evidence needed to solve the case but an untrained person would unintentionally destroy it not knowing where or how to look. So in your honest concern to help you'd actually be doing a lot more harm than good and could cause the person responsible for the crime to go free. There's a systematic pattern and plan for conducting searches. It's not like a person sees on TV or in the movies.

If you feel the need to help contact the authorities handling the case and offer. If they turn down your request to be a searcher then there's a lot of other support things that a person can do to help that most people don't consider. During major searches organizations such as these the Red Cross or other community organizations are requested to provide food, comfort, and other support to the field workers. Until you've been on these type operations you can't believe just how valuable, and appreciated, these support units really are. They're not out there beating the bushes but they provide the needed support so those trained in doing the actual leg work can be out there instead of running back and forth and taking away valuable time from the mission. To use a military operation as an example it's not that execution of the battle that involves the most planning and work, it's ensuring there's enough logistical support so those doing the battle can properly function.

[+KoosKoos]

To add to Wadcutter's comments, they DO have organized searches and are looking for volunteers:

 

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