Stacey L. Peak

Stacey L. Peak, 36, New York, an energy/power stock broker with Cantor Fitzgerald.


Sept. 13, 2001, issue
By JOHN FARLESS
Staff Writer
The Perry County News
TELL CITY—Even before Tuesday morning’s tragedy hit the airwaves, Bobbie Peak knew something terrible was wrong. At around 7:50 a.m. her daughter, Stacey Peak, called home from her office on the 105th floor of the World Trade Center in New York City, shortly after the first terrorist guided plane smashed through one of the building’s towers. Bobbie Peak said her daughter was unaware that a plane had struck the building, but called home to tell her mother in Tell City that the building was on fire and she was trapped in her office at Canter and Fitzgerald, a gas brokerage and stock exchange market located in the Trade Center building.
"She was hysterical when she called," a distraught Bobbie Peak said Tuesday evening. "She said she was trapped and she didn’t know if she would be able to get out. She told me she loved me—then she had to get off the phone."
Peak told the News Tuesday that since talking with her daughter that morning she had heard nothing further. Family gathered at the Peak residence to await any word that their loved one had survived. Among those gathering were Stacey’s mother, Bobbie; sisters, Judy Rhodes and her husband Bill of Tell City, and Toni Peak of Tell City and several nieces and nephews. Brothers Philip and Mike Peak were en route to Tell City Wednesday to assist in the search for their sister.
A niece, Missy Wilgus, said the family had received word that another worker on the 92nd floor of the building escaped unharmed which gave them hope for Stacey’s survival. More news came on Wednesday morning when the family contacted the Houston office of Canter and Fitzgerald learning that a co-worker on the 103rd floor of the World Trade Center had been found alive and was being treated for burns.
Wednesday afternoon the family got the miracle call they were waiting for. Mary Hillard of the Owensboro Chamber of Commerce called to let Bobbie know her daughter’s name had been found on an "I’m Okay" web site listing survivors of the Trade Center tragedy. Later that afternoon her name appeared again on another survivor list.
"This is great news," said Ruth Miller, Bobbie’s sister. "We just hope this is for real, and we think it is."
Miller said the family will now wait to hear from Stacey. "Who knows when that could be," she said. "I’m sure it will be as soon as possible. I just know this feels pretty good."
"We’re working with the Red Cross to find out what we can," added Wilgus. She said dispatchers at the Tell City Police Department put her in touch with the Red Cross. The local United Way was also contacted and called to get a description, Social Security number and other information to assist in locating Peak.
"We’re just waiting for them to call back," Wilgus said.
Canter and Fitzgerald occupied the 101st - 105th floors of the building.
Peak, who turned 36 Sept. 4, lives in the Gramercy Park area of New York. Toni Peak said she last talked to her sister on Saturday. "She was going to a wedding," she said. Toni said she and the family last saw Stacey during Schweizer Fest when she stayed in Tell City for about a week.
Stacey Peak graduated from Tell City High School in 1983. She lived in the Tell City area for several years before moving to Louisville, Ky., and then Houston, Texas, where she worked as a broker. She moved to Manhattan about two years ago to take a job with Canter and Fitzgerald.
In high school, Peak was a member of the flag corps for the Marching Marksmen. In 1982, Thanksgiving of her senior year, Peak performed with the TCHS band in the Gimble’s Parade in New York City.
Peak was also a Homecoming Queen candidate her senior year at Tell City High School. Ironically, a friend and fellow classmate, Holly Becker, was also a candidate for queen that year. Becker also lives in Manhattan now where she works in public relations for the theater and arts.
Becker was in Toronto, Canada, on a business trip at the time of the attack.
As of Wednesday, the Peak family continued to wait for word on their loved one, as did thousands of families across the United States.


Sept. 14, 2001, issue
By JOHN FARLESS
Staff Writer
The Perry County News
TELL CITY—The family and friends of former Tell City native Stacey Peak continued to wait for any news Friday from the 36 year-old woman last heard from Tuesday morning on the 105th floor of the World Trade Center in New York City.
"We’ve still heard nothing. We’re just waiting, hoping and praying," said Ruth Miller, sister to Peak’s mother, Bobbie. "The family is doing remarkably well considering the circumstances."
Miller said an outpouring of support has come from the community as the family gathers daily to comfort, console and wait for word from Stacey.
Miller also confirmed Friday that Stacey’s two brothers, Mike and Philip, plan to drive to New York soon to begin a physical search for their sister.
Mike Peak has arrived in Tell City and the family continues to await the arrival of Philip Peak from Colorado. Miller said the brothers have not decided when they will leave Tell City for New York.
On arriving in New York, the brothers plan to visit the armory, an information station set up by Stacey’s employer, Canter and Fitzgerald, and other areas they may hope to find word on Stacey. Peak was last heard from when she called her mother at around 7:50 a.m. Tuesday, moments after the first terrorist guided plane crashed through the first tower of the Trade Center. Bobbie said her daughter told her the building was on fire, she was trapped and she didn’t know if she would be able to get out. She then told her mother that she loved her.
The only news the family has received since then was the appearance of Stacey’s name on an "I’m Okay" Web site sponsored by Prodigy. Other Web sites, however, listed Stacey as missing on Friday.

Original content provided by The Perry County News