A planning meeting for a vigil for Jeremy Peck, the 24 year old West Seattle resident, missing now for more than three weeks was held at the Chelan Cafe on Tuesday, Jan. 18. One fact that was initially mis-stated was the exact date of his disappearance. Peck was last seen Dec. 24 at approximately 1:30 am. He had been at area bars the evening of Dec. 23.

The vigil itself is set for next Sunday, Jan. 23 at 4:30 pm outside the Admiral Pub where he was seen last at 2306 California Avenue s.w.

14 people, including friends and relatives like Jeremy's 3 year old niece Tylar, the daughter of his sister Bobbi Jo, came to the cafe to talk over ideas for the vigil and ways to keep the search for Peck going.

Ben Doty, a friend of Peck's since they were 10 year olds and who graduated with him from West Seattle High School in 2005 is the vigil director.
"Jeremy is just a sweet mellow kid," said Ben, recalling that they played basketball together with John Peck, Jeremy's uncle as their coach.

The group is setting up a Wells Fargo bank account The Find Jeremy Peck Fund and a PayPal account tied to it that will permit people to donate to the effort. A link for that account will be added here in an update.

There is a reward now pledged in the amount $1500 but that money would be paid only if it leads to finding Peck. The bank and online account are to defray the cost of searching. The tipline phone number is working now and anyone with information is urged to call (206) 478-4905.

Finding a missing person is almost always a challenge and can cost money to hire private detectives, print flyers, and create other materials to keep the search active.

Superior Imaging in Kent, where Ben's brother Brandon works, will be donating the printing of flyers for the vigil and to be distributed throughout West Seattle, a Facebook page exists but another website is being built for free and will contain the Paypal link and of course information and updates on the effort.

The meeting also focused on coordinating the volunteer effort for flyer distribution, additional searches in areas not yet covered (there was an initial search of some areas on Jan. 9 including Schimtz Park).

Also attending the meeting was Jeremy's father, Stephen Peck who lives in Wenatchee. 14 years ago for reasons of health and the death of his wife, Jeremy's mother Diana, it led to Jeremy coming to live with his uncle John Peck.

Stephen hasn't seen Jeremy or his brother since.

Stephen said, "I was in my kitchen and I walked out in the living room and saw Jeremy's picture on T.V. but I didn't recognize him. I haven't seen him for a long time. The following day my brother John was on there and I could recognize my brother so I got on the phone, got a ticket on the bus and got over here as quick as I could. I've been worried sick. I don't know who's responsible but we need to find out."

There was talk of hiring private detectives, bloodhounds and a psychic may be involved but nothing along those lines was firmed up as yet.

John continues to be frustrated by the slow pace of the investigation. "I'm hoping that all the strategic stuff I told him…that he's taking care of business," referring to Detective Eng of the Seattle Police Department who has been assigned to the case. "I have to assume he is. I can't assume he's not or else it drives me out of my mind. I told him some pretty juicy stuff."

The vigil on Sunday will likely be covered by area media, which is part of the plan, and will last possibly two hours, depending on weather. Some remarks will be made and those attending can bring candles. If the group is too large it will move to the Hiawatha Playfield next to West Seattle High School. Afterward the group will move to the nearby Heartland Cafe.

The previous coverage of this story including a description and links to a photo of Jeremy Peck can be found here.

The group organizing the vigil has sent a press release:

FIND JEREMY PECK – Awareness and Action Vigil

Friends, family and neighbors of Jeremy Peck will gather for an awareness and action vigil this Sunday evening in front of the Admiral Pub in West Seattle (the last place Jeremy was seen) . Attendees will have an opportunity to get involved, show their support, and share memories and pictures of Jeremy. This event has been organized by the “FIND JEREMY PECK” people.

West Seattle, WA – January 23rd, 2011 – This Sunday evening from 4:30 P.M to 6:30 P.M., family, friends and neighbors of Jeremy Peck will gather for an awareness and action vigil. The event will take place in front of the Admiral Pub (2306 California Avenue Southwest Seattle, WA 98116-2403) and will transition over the Hiawatha Playfield (2700 California Ave SW Seattle, WA 98116-2451) in the event that we have an over-flow issue. We estimate between 100 and 250 attendees (reasons for estimates are below in the Current Support section), depending on weather primarily.

At the vigil attendees will have an opportunity to get involved by making a donation, or by signing up on a volunteer list to do one of the following: distribute/post flyers and leaflets, plan fundraising events, do physical searches or anything else that may be useful in our search for Jeremy.

We will have a memory board of pictures of Jeremy over the years that everyone can view. Attendees are welcome to bring copies of their pictures of Jeremy to add.

Guests are encouraged to dress warm and bring their own candles. Some candles will be made available by organizers.

Jeremy was last seen at the Admiral Pub in West Seattle, WA at 1:00 am the night before Christmas Eve. He was wearing blue jeans, a black waist-length coat over a gray hooded sweatshirt. Jeremy is 24, has brown hair and brown eyes. He’s 6’1”, 177 pounds.

If anyone has any information we urge them to Call: 911, the anonymous tip-line: (206)478-4905 OR John Peck (Jeremy’s Uncle): (206)371-6451

There is currently a $1500 reward for any information that leads to a resolution in this matter. If anyone would like to pledge additional funds for the reward they can contact John Peck at (206)371-6451.

Current Support:

The Facebook event page for the Vigil (which was created only four days ago) already has 64 people that confirmed they are coming, plus 26 that said maybe. Link to our event FB page: http://www.facebook.com/home.php#!/event.php?eid=192478740762325

The “FIND JEREMY PECK” Facebook page (active for less than two weeks) already has 268 likes and a lot of interaction with over 2000 daily post views. Link to our “FIND JEREMY PECK” FB page: http://www.facebook.com/home.php#!/pages/Find-Jeremy-Peck/1706804163078…

We also anticipate many people that are not an intricate part of the online community. We’ve made an effort to contact these people, however due to the urgency of the situation we’ve had to rely on word of mouth.

About “FIND JEREMY PECK” People

We’re a group of family and close friends of Jeremy Peck that are working towards finding Jeremy. The group has been growing each day. We went from five of us at our planning meeting this past Saturday to close to 20 at the meeting last night. The group unites under one common goal, finding Jeremy.

Contact Info:

Ben Doty

Event Coordinator/Media Liaison

The “FIND JEREMY PECK” People

Phone: 206-455-0999

Email: bcdoty@u.washington.edu

Web: http://www.facebook.com/home.php#!/pages/Find-Jeremy-Peck/1706804163078…