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BOLINGBROOK, Ill. (CBS) ― Police sources say a relative of Drew Peterson's helped him load a large blue barrel onto the former Bolingbrook, Ill. police sergeant's truck, then attempted suicide.

As CBS station WBBM-TV reports, no one has commented inside the Peterson home in Bolingbrook on the mystery of the blue barrel, but it has been quiet around the area, with the exception of activity from search teams. Drew's wife Stacy Peterson, 23, has been missing since Oct. 28.

Around 10 a.m., volunteer members of a boat team set out to find Stacy Peterson, a mission on which they have been unfalteringly faithful. They say the purpose is "to bring closure to the family."

Drew Peterson claims Stacy left him and their children, but Illinois State Police believe she is dead, and that she died in a homicide. They have also named Drew Peterson as a suspect in her disappearance.

In the days before she disappeared, Stacy's sister, Cassandra Cales, noticed a large blue barrel in the Peterson garage. Cales asked her sister about it, who said it was a 30-gallon drum of chlorine they needed to clean their pool.

Police sources said Drew Peterson was seen lifting the barrel into his truck on the same day Stacy vanished. They also said an unnamed relative tried to commit suicide by overdosing on pills after allegedly helping the former Bolingbrook police sergeant move the container.

In addition, sources say, that barrel is missing, and they say police want to know why. Search crews have said they have been instructed to look for a barrel large enough to hold a petite woman's body.

A neighbor told WBBM-TV that she had a conversation with Drew Peterson about the relative who reportedly tried to kill himself.

"He needed me to watch the kids if I could for about an hour and a half; he was going to go visit a relative that had tried to commit suicide," said the neighbor, Sharon Bychowski.

Bychowski says she asked Drew about that relative's wellbeing when he returned from the hospital later.

"I did ask him, I said, 'how is your relative,' and he said, 'What? Oh, he's OK, he just had some issues, lost his family, lost his job, you know,'" Bychowski said.

She also says police asked her about a barrel immediately after Stacy disappeared.

"The officers when they were searching his home, asked me if I knew anything about a blue, what they called, a container," Bychowski said.

State police officially will not even confirm the existence of the barrel, but the mystery continues to be the latest focus. Searchers said they were told to look for a barrel large enough to fit a petite woman's body.

When Puccinelli asked Drew Peterson about the barrel, Peterson directed Puccinelli to contact his attorney. He later said the barrel story was bogus.

Attorney Joel Brodsky has denied reports about Peterson moving the barrel. He said the Peterson family member in question has a history of mental problems, alcoholism and suicide attempts.

Brodsky told WBBM-TV: "There never was a barrel. It never existed. Drew never had it. There is no need for it. It's just another one of the wild rumors swirling around this case. It has no basis in fact."

Searchers have found more than 10 blue barrels since Stacy disappeared.

Police have said they believe Stacy Peterson is dead of a homicide, and they consider Drew Peterson a suspect in her disappearance. But he has repeatedly maintained that Stacy left him for another man. Peterson is also suspected in the death of his third wife, Kathleen Savio, who was recently exhumed for a new autopsy after Will County State's Atty. James Glasgow concluded that coroner's ruling that her death three years ago was ruled an accident, was erroneous.

(© 2010 CBS Broadcasting Inc. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. The Associated Press contributed to this report.)