Bollinger County joins in search for local man

DEXTER, Mo. -- A command center has been established in Bollinger County in a continuing effort to locate a missing Dexter man, 43-year-old Robert Peters.

Peters went missing at 4:30 a.m. Sunday from a campground area located on the Castor River in Wayne County. He was accompanied by two friends, but those friends turned up later in the morning with neither knowing the whereabouts of Peters, who is a diabetic and wears an insulin pump to maintain his blood sugar levels. That pump, according to family members, was only expected to sustain Peters' sugar levels for a period of "about four days."

A command center has been established at Highways Y and 34 at Twin Bridges in Bollinger County, according to officials at the Bollinger County Sheriff's Department who are working jointly with Wayne County in trying to locate the Dexter native.

Peters was last seen in the early morning hours of Sunday wearing khaki shorts and a light blue T-shirt. His wife and two daughters were to meet him at the campsite on Sunday and the family was to spend the day at the river, but when Peters' two friends with whom he was camping awoke around 8 a.m. and Peters was not at the campsite, they searched in vain and called Wayne County authorities who immediately went to work combing the rough terrain around the site.

Family members locally, including Sarah Sundusky, a sister of Peters, have asked that anyone having any information regarding her brother's whereabouts contact local authorities immediately.

"Robert's behavior becomes erratic when his insulin levels drop" Sandusky explained, "and often that kind of behavior is mistaken as belligerence. We're afraid he is in need of help and that people may resist helping him because of that erratic behavior. For that reason, we want to get his photo out and let people know who Robert is and that he needs help."

A camper near the area where Peters disappeared told authorities that a man matching his description had repeatedly asked him for directions to his campsite in the early morning hours of Sunday. The camper was reportedly the last person to have seen Peters.

The search for Peters, initially coordinated through efforts of the Wayne County Sheriff's Department and the Highway Patrol, has involved the use of helicopters, riders on horseback, canine units and all terrain vehicles, along with volunteers on foot, along with teams of law enforcement officers. Peters' wife and his family are also involved in the search effort.

Anyone with information or willing to help in the search for Peters is asked to contact either the Wayne County Sheriff's office at 573-224-3219 or the Bollinger County Sheriff's Dept. at 573-238-2633.