WARREN, Mass. — It doesn’t seem possible to me, but it is now 25 years since Molly Bish disappeared from a small beach in the tiny central Massachusetts town of Warren.
I well remember the summer of 2000: the helplessness, the fear, the heat, the deep concern that a rare kind of evil visited this pretty little community.
The basics of the Bish case are burned into our memory: the 16-year-old Molly Bish, a newly minted lifeguard, vanished in broad daylight from the Comins Pond beach, only minutes before swimming lessons were scheduled to begin.
By the time we first heard about the missing teenage lifeguard at our news station in Dedham, we all thought she must have drowned in the water. Every summer, just as the temperatures rise, we are frequently called out to cover tragic drownings. On that day, June 27, 2000, that’s what we thought.
First responders also had the same idea. Divers scoured the pond for Molly. The thinking was that maybe Molly went for a morning swim, caught her foot on an underwater root, and slipped beneath the cool water’s surface.
All of the things Molly brought to Comins Pond that day were still on the beach, including her sandals. The idea that Molly was still in the water, was the only theory that made any sense to most of us.
But Molly’s family knew otherwise. They knew that Molly never walked anywhere without her sandals. They knew she wouldn’t go into the water alone. They knew that Molly was serious about her new job. They knew she would not run off with any friends who might urge her to play hooky.
Molly’s family immediately feared the worst; they knew their nightmare was only just beginning.
Molly Bish was not found at Comins Pond. In the coming days, teams of rescuers and volunteers descended on the Warren area, conducting massive line searches in neighborhoods, woods, railyards, anywhere Molly might be.
Meanwhile, the community rallied around Molly Bish’s family. There were candlelight vigils, balloon releases, prayers, and lots of tears.
On the investigative front, law enforcement looked for suspects as they talked to Molly’s friends. Molly’s mother, Magi Bish, gave police a description of a suspicious looking man she saw in the Comins Pond parking lot the day before Molly vanished. The description of the mustached man led to the creation of a sketch which was ultimately featured on Wanted Posters that were seen all across New England.
Tips about the man in the sketch poured into law enforcement. Police began questioning men who looked like the sketch, a process that repeated months later, when a more refined, lifelike drawing was created.
In 2003, three years after Molly disappeared, her remains were located in the deep woods of Palmer, Massachusetts, five miles from Comins Pond. They didn’t find Molly’s entire body, just 26 bones, including her skull, spread by animals over a wide area. They also found pieces of Molly’s bathing suit.
I have covered Molly’s case almost from the day she vanished. I’ve come to know Molly’s family and shared many moments with them. My pursuit of the story has taken me as far away as Florida, where Mass State Police searched a trailer belonging to a possible suspect, Rodney Stanger. Stanger is a Southbridge man who is now serving prison time for murdering his girlfriend in their Florida trailer. I am told Stanger has denied killing Molly.
Recently, Worcester County District Attorney Joe Early told me another man, Frank Sumner, a convicted rapist who died in 2016, is still the only named suspect in the Molly Bish investigation. The D.A. said evidence and information still point investigators in Sumner’s direction.
I asked the D.A. if this meant that Rodney Stanger has been ruled out as a potential suspect or person of interest. D.A. Early said, “No one has been ruled out.”
Twenty five years is an incredibly long time to wait for justice. Heather Bish, Molly’s sister is now the family’s spokesperson. Heather has become an important, tireless, powerful voice for victims’ rights.
Heather Bish remains hopeful that one day, she will know who took her sister’s life.
“I will scream from every mountain top I can for help. And for resolution and for justice,” Heather told me.
If you have any information about the murder of Molly Bish in Warren, MA on June 27, 2000, contact Mass State Police assigned to the Worcester County DA’s Office at: 508.453.7575
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