Ashley Tucker Update: Detectives Searching Joliet

JOLIET, IL - The last person believed to see Ashley Tucker alive on Oct. 13 is now caged up behind steel bars at the Will County Jail without any bail. On Sunday night, Joliet Police arrested dangerous sexual predator Peter D. Zabala, 42, on charges of failing to register as a sex offender as well as other unrelated crimes including unlawful restraint and two counts of resisting the arrest.

Zabala is the person the authorities suspect surrounding the 25-year-old Joliet woman's disappearance.

On one hand, there is a relief in the community that Zabala is no longer roaming free. On the other hand, Joliet Police's investigative unit continues to work tirelessly on this case, Chief Al Roechner and Detective Sgt. Darrell Gavin told Joliet Patch on Wednesday afternoon at the downtown police station.

"These are the cases that keep you up at night," Roechner told Patch.

As for Zabala, he has refused to let Joliet Police investigators interview him about Tucker's disappearance.

"He's a violent offender. He's the last person, as far as we know, to be with her," the chief added.

Tucker disappeared around 11 p.m. Saturday, Oct. 13 after last being seen in the Parkwood/Ridgewood area where she lived.

There has been no activity on her bank accounts, her credit and debit cards. There have been no phone calls, no use of social media. None of her family or friends have heard from her.

There is a grim outlook about her situation.

At the moment, Zabala has not been charged with any crimes in connection with her disappearance, but that may change in the coming days.

"Our hope is still that she's alive," Roechner told Joliet Patch. "But if not, we need to keep checking areas."

Roechner said that investigators have scoured the Pilcher Park area on the city's far east side and police have canvassed another spot on the far west side, the large Joliet Junior College campus off Houbolt Road.

So far, police have yet to find any clothing or items such as jewelry or other physical evidence indicating Tucker was harmed at any of the locations where police have searched, Roechner said.

Tucker is believed to have gone missing from the Ingalls Park area.

"It's been a massive search," Roechner said.

Roechner emphasized Joliet's top detectives are still working incredibly hard in hopes to build a case against Zabala regardless of whether he wants to cooperate with police.

"He has not helped us in any way," Roechner said. "We've got nothing in the investigation (from Zabala), so our investigators are working other ways that we can."

The Illinois Sex Offender Registry lists Zabala as a sexual predator. The public website lists him as being convicted of murder with intent to kill or injure and also convicted of aggravated criminal sexual abuse of a victim between the ages of 13 and 16 here in Will County.

He was 28 and his sexual assault victim was 14, the registry states.

On the positive side, the chief said, "the community has been great with us on this."

The chief also singled out a number of law enforcement agencies who are helping with the ongoing search efforts from the past week and a half:

• Joliet Junior College police and community service officers
• Will County Forest Preserve Police
• Will County Sheriff's Department
• Cook County Sheriff's Department's cadaver dogs

Tucker is currently classified as a missing and endangered person, according to police.

If the continued efforts to find Tucker don't materialize in the coming days, Roechner told Joliet Patch he is open to the idea of mobilizing a "community search" enlisting citizen volunteers to branch out across the Joliet area.

"Because we want to find her," the chief insisted.

Meanwhile, the Joliet Police Department urges anybody in the Ingalls Park area, particularly businesses who may have useful video surveillance from Saturday night/Sunday morning Oct. 13-14, to please contact them at 815-724-3020.

Tucker was last seen in the 2100 block of Tamarack. She lived at a house in the Parkwood/Ridgewood area, police said.

Additional video surveillance from Joliet's east-side businesses that could be of great help at this stage of the missing person's case include areas bordering Longwood Drive, U.S. 30, Briggs Street and Tamarack Drive, the police department said.

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