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Posted on Tue, Dec. 31, 2002
COMMUNITY SEARCH AND SUPPORT UNDER WAY
Modesto mobilizes for missing woman
DISAPPEARANCE EVOKES MEMORIES OF 2001 CASE IN WASHINGTON, D.C., OF
CHANDRA LEVY
By Roxanne Stites
San Jose Mercury News

Modesto residents could do little but watch from across the country
when Chandra Levy, one of their own, disappeared from her Washington,
D.C., apartment last year. But now, the Central Valley town is the
setting for the high-profile search for another young woman.

Friends, family and more than 150 volunteers are banding together to
help find Laci Peterson, the 27-year-old pregnant woman last seen on
Christmas Eve.

Some of the same people who rallied support for Levy's family are now
involved in the tiring search for Peterson. They have blanketed the
town with fliers, helped police search parks and city streets, and
pooled a $500,000 reward to bring her home safely.

Levys are concerned

There's no connection between the two women, but their mysterious
disappearances have brought the community together again.

``It's pretty hard, hearing it again,'' Chandra Levy's 21-year-old
brother, Adam Levy, said Monday. ``Hearing it again brings back all
the trauma from before.''

Levy's mother, Susan Levy, plans to meet with Peterson's family today
to lend her support.

Adam Levy said his family has been tempted to call but didn't want the
Petersons to be forced to consider the worst. Chandra Levy's remains
were discovered in a Washington, D.C., park in May, after a yearlong
mystery that brought down Gary Condit, the Central Valley congressman
with whom she was reportedly having an affair. Her killing remains
unsolved.

The Levys also don't want to draw media attention away from Peterson's
disappearance.

Scott Peterson reported his wife missing Dec. 24 after he returned
home from a solo fishing trip to the Berkeley Marina. She had stayed
home to walk the dog and get ready for a family dinner.

The couple is expecting their first child around Valentine's Day and
had already decorated the baby's room.

Modesto police say they have no suspects. They have scoured
neighboring parks and abandoned buildings, questioned registered sex
offenders and parolees, and asked residents to search rural areas
where Laci Peterson may have walked before disappearing.

On Monday, her mother, Sharon Rocha, made another appeal to the
community to help bring her daughter and future grandchild home.

Levy's parents and their support group, Wings of Protection, are
planning to help Peterson's family cope.

Susan Levy and Modesto resident Donna Raley, whose daughter has been
missing since 1999, co-founded the group last year for families whose
loved ones are missing or found dead.

``I think because of Chandra Levy, there's a lot more attention paid
to missing-person cases, like Laci's,'' Raley said. ``There's more
pressure on police and it's been an eye-opener for the community.''

The Levys say they know how anguished the Petersons must be,
especially during the holidays.

Park factor

Adam Levy said it tore at him when he heard Laci Peterson may have
been seen in a park before she disappeared. Investigators said they
thought Chandra Levy had gone jogging in a park, where her remains
were discovered about a year later.

``It's hard when you have gone through something like this already,
especially about the park and everything,'' Adam Levy said.

It's difficult for him to recall the first few weeks of his sister's
disappearance, Adam Levy said.

``It was like I was living a bad dream, a nightmare,'' he said. ``You
want to believe it's nothing. It's bad communication. It was just
trauma and the unknown. It's like you don't know what to think.''

He said the community support helps but can also be overwhelming.

``It's different for everyone, of coping and dealing with it,'' he
said. ``Every situation is different. People find different ways of
dealing with it. Some people find religion, friends, family, support.
I just tried to survive.''