Who was Darrell Peak? 'Depressed' Missouri dad and toddlers, 3 and 4, found dead in tragic murder-suicide
BENTON COUNTY, MISSOURI: A Missouri father and his two young boys were found dead on Monday, March 1, four days after they had disappeared, authorities said.
The bodies of Darrell Peak, 40, Kaiden Peak, 4, and Mayson Peak, 3, were found together inside a building in a rural area of Benton County, not far from where they were approached by a state trooper on February 25 evening near Warsaw, according to statements from the Greene County Sheriff's Office and the Missouri State Highway Patrol.
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Family members contacted the Greene County Sheriff's Office on February 26, morning to file a missing person report, telling deputies that Peak and his two sons were last seen near their home in Greene County at around 4 pm the previous day as he drove away with them while armed with a pistol he was known to regularly carry. The family told deputies that Darrell Peak's behavior was out of character and they haven't been able to reach him since. They said he had a history of depression but insisted he would never hurt his children, according to the Greene County Sheriff's Office.
A Missouri State Highway Patrol trooper checked to assist Peak who was having car trouble along US Route 65 in Benton County, just north of Warsaw, at around 5:30 pm on February 25, just one day before his family filed a missing report. The trooper whose name cannot be revealed, later told investigators that Peak refused any help and that the children were with him and seemed to be fine, according to the Greene County Sheriff's Office. Soon after, a deputy reported seeing a man and two children walking away from a vehicle along the highway. When the deputy turned her car to check what's going on, she was unable to find them and assumed they had disappeared into a wooded area. A Missouri State Highway Patrol trooper was later dispatched to check the area but was also unable to locate them.
Authorities announced a statewide all-points bulletin for the father and two children on February 26, after the family reported them as missing. Missouri State Highway Patrol troopers and Benton County Sheriff's Office officers examined the areas where the three were repeatedly observed near Warsaw the previous evening. The police department stated that the detectives made "several attempts" to have an Amber Alert issued for the two boys, but the case did not meet the criteria for the child abduction emergency alert.
Peak's eldest daughter, Katie Peak, 20, said the family believes her father's untreated mental illness played a major role in the events. "He had a personality like nobody else," Katie Peak was quoted as saying by Springfield News-Leader. "You could never compare him to somebody. He was funny. He knew how to keep a smile and a laugh on you." Katie said she will remember the good times she had with her father like when he would plan out vacations for the family and then surprise them by saying "pack your bags, we're leaving in five minutes."
"I just think he had some mental issues that he didn’t get taken care of," Katie said. Katie said the events of the last few days have been devastating for her family, and she can't help but wonder if the tragedy could have been prevented with the issuance of a statewide Amber Alert. "I really feel like if an Amber Alert would have been issued then this would have never happened, because then people would have known they were missing and what to look for," Katie stated, adding that not everyone has Facebook or watches the news.