Every Town - Molly Bish - Largest Missing Persons Search - Warren, MA

Episode Date: February 25, 2022

In June 2000, Molly Bish was working as a lifeguard when she disappeared under terrifying circumstances and what ensued was the largest missing persons search in Massachusetts history. Molly Bish was supposed to protect and ensure the safety of the guests at Comins Pond, but as it turned out, it was Molly’s safety that was compromised and her mother saw the suspect in question watching her. 🥇 Watch This Episode with like.....visuals! - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7kFS5do33h0🎉 Patreon (videos too hot for youtube) -  https://www.patreon.com/scarymysteries 🎧 More Podcasts, we got you - https://www.buzzsprout.com/1235579 Support the show Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

If you love true crime, grab your favorite mug and pour yourself a dose of creepy true crime every single morning with a morning cup of murder. This short daily show is the perfect podcast to incorporate into your morning routine, because in less than 15 minutes, you'll hear about a true crime that took place on a day's date in history. Each day's dark history lesson will kickstart your morning with intriguing tales of murder, abduction, serial killers, cults, and everything in between. With over 20 million downloads, Morning Cup of Murder has something for every true crime lover. One listener describes the show as a small package with a powerful punch of crime.

Another writes that the show is an absolute delight in the morning. Support yourself a piping hot cup of murder every single morning with Morning Cup of Murder. Find it on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or wherever you get your podcasts. Every town has a dark side. Today we had to warn Massachusetts, where we learn about the disappearance and death of Molly Bish, which was the largest missing person search in Massachusetts history. Most summers become remarkable as they capture incredible memories with loved ones, open doors for new romance, or make great travels possible.

But it's undeniable that some summers are likewise made unforgettable by tragic events. Such is the case of the Bish family from the rural town of Warren in Worren in Worcester County, Massachusetts. In June of 2000, the family's middle daughter, Molly Bish, was working as a lifeguard when she disappeared. She was supposed to protect and ensure the safety of the guests at Commons Pond, but as it turned out, it was Molly's safety that was compromised, which eventually ended her life. I'm Andrew Fitzgerald and welcome to this week's episode of Everytown. In the summer of 2000, the disappearance of 16-year-old Molly Bish caused a stir in Massachusetts and launched a massive search operation.

In fact, it was the largest the state had ever undertaken to locate a missing person. Three years later, Molly's partial remains were discovered in neighboring Hamden County, despite considering a number of suspects, though, and performing forensic tests. The gruesome murder of Molly is still an unsolved mystery after two decades. The Bish family, originally from Detroit, Michigan, was composed of dad John Sr., mom Maggie, and their three children, Heather, Molly Ann, and John Jr. The senior John was a probation officer while Maggie worked as a schoolteacher.

Unfortunately, a disturbing crime had happened in their Detroit neighborhood, A young woman was abducted while walking home from work and was later found murdered. The Bish couple decided to relocate to the small community of Warren and Massachusetts, which they felt was a safer place to raise their children. This proved to be true, that is, until the family experienced a harrowing loss of one of their members in the summer of 2000. At 16 years old, middle child, Molly Ann, Van, Van, finished under mysterious circumstances. Born on August 2nd, 1983, Molly Bish was described by her family and friends as kind, outgoing, popular among her peers, with a bit of silliness that made

her more interesting. She was an all-around student whose intellectual capacity landed her academic honors. Molly was also highly athletic and excelled in soccer, softball, and basketball at her local high school. One of her dreams was to get a job someday that would involve working with children. She got a taste of that dream in June of 2000, which could have made that particular summer a significant one in her life. Not only did the attractive teenage girl with blonde hair and blue eyes find romance with one of her classmates, Steve Lucas, but Molly also got a summer job as a lifeguard at Commons Pond in Warren starting on June 19. It was a job her brother John Jr. had previously held for three years, according to Molly's mom, Maggie.

Molly was very proud to be a lifeguard. She worked very hard for that, and she did get this position at Warren Pond. It's a beautiful location, but it's surrounded by woods, and it is somewhat isolated. Maggie would drive her daughter to work at the pond, and she did the same on June 26th. Their morning Starting started out like any other, except that when they arrived at the pond, Maggie noticed something that day, which made her feel uncomfortable. The mother of three saw a mustached man smoking while sitting on his white chair, which he parked in the lot in the beach near where Molly's lifeguard post was situated. He was watching, if not glaring at Molly.

Maggie said, I looked at this man. He doesn't nod and greet me, and I just felt uneasy. I did not want to leave Molly with this man. The protective mother accompanied her daughter all the way down to the beach and helped her set up her station. She expected the suspicious stranger to be gone when she got back to the parking lot. After all, it was a reasonable amount of time that she had been gone from her car and down at the beach. But when she got back, the man was still there sitting in his car when Maggie returned and this upset her. So, I lock eyes with him.

I am giving him a stare, trying, I guess, to maybe scare him away. He returns the stare and just boldly stares at me, just cocky as hell. He just squinted his eyes, and he stared at me, and just kept smoking, and he didn't seem to care. The anxious mother further said. Maggie stood her ground, though, and waited for the man to leave in order to dissipate the fear that she felt from Molly. The next day, on June 27th, Maggie and Molly Bish found out at around 9 a.m. And one of Molly's soccer teammates was seriously injured after she had been hit by a car while riding her bike to work. Molly felt distraught about the news, but she opted to go to work on her eighth day as a lifeguard.

That day was the start of the summer's swimming lessons, and many kids were expected to participate, so Molly's presence was needed to ensure everyone's safety. Maggie drove Molly to work as usual, at around 9.50 a.m., they stopped by a convenience store and bought some bottle water. Then they drove to the police station to pick up a two-way radio, which lifeguards used to contact the authorities, or anyone as telephones or any means of communication, were not available at Commons Pond. They reached the Pond then at around 10 a.m., and Maggie didn't notice any sign that the suspicious man she had seen the previous day was around. Then, minutes after Maggie left, enrollees in the swimming lesson started to arrive. A mother of one of the swimmers noticed that there was no lifeguard present, although it looked like the station had been set up by one. She noticed the first aid kit was wide open, a backpack was on the bench, a towel draped over the chair, and a pair of sandals was lying in the sand by the chair.

The swimming lessons had already started, yet there was no lifeguard on duty. It was assumed that Molly, being 16 years old, had walked off perhaps with some friends. One of the moms assumed the position of the lifeguard during the swimming lessons. Afterwards, she informed Parks Commissioner and Molly's boss Ed fed about it. At 1144 a.m., but still no sign of Molly, Ed called the police to let them know Molly was missing. However, the Warren Police Department didn't take the report seriously and assumed that Molly had ditched work to hang up. with friends. When the girl still hadn't returned to her post by 1 p.m., the police then finally notified her parents. Meggy called her eldest daughter, Heather, to inform her of the situation,

and both women believed that something was terribly wrong, so they met at the police station, where they were told there was nothing to be concerned about. According to the authorities, Molly was probably upset about her friend being hurt and had gone to blow off some steam. But Maggie and her daughter didn't believe that Molly would have abandoned her lifeguard duties to be with her friends because it was completely out of character for her. Maggie and Heather set to work looking for their missing family member. They checked if anyone had visited or injured friend at the hospital and learned that Molly hadn't visited her. Heather also went to the house of Molly's boyfriend Steve, but he hadn't heard from her either,

so he also became concerned. Maggie rushed down to the pond, and there found her daughter's lunch bag, first aid kit, two-way radio, and other personal belongings intact, leaving no clue at all for the police to have an initial lead in the investigation. She argued with the local police that her daughter wouldn't have left her post as she'd been eager about the kids starting swimming lessons. So where could Molly have gone? The local police officers discussed the matter with the Bish family, and finally afterwards, authorities began to realize that something serious may be wrong. Since they had limited experience working on missing persons cases, the Warren police asked the Massachusetts State Police for help.

Upon being brought in, the State Police wondered if Molly had possibly drowned in the pond, something her family immediately refuted as she was a very strong swimmer. This upset Molly's brother, John Jr., who ran into the water and searched for his sister, only to be pulled out by authorities. A dive team and volunteer groups on boats searched the pond but didn't find anything after several hours. Thus, the search, along with one in the surrounding woods, was called off until the next morning. Mr. Bish Sr. said, It's hard for me to describe that sinking, hollow feeling you have, as dive.

are looking for your daughter, his dogs are combing the woods, and police officers are searching and interviewing people. And I almost immediately began to think that something really horrible had happened. An even larger search mission was conducted starting at 6 a.m. on June 28th. Law enforcement deployed all units, including a helicopter with infrared imaging, and a mounted unit. Residents of Warren also initiated their own search parties, and businesses printed and posted missing persons flyers on their storefronts. Authorities began to look at a path that connected Commons Pond to a nearby cemetery. In their mind, it was possible that Molly's abductors had exited the area through this path without being seen by other people.

They surmised that since the first aid kit was open, someone could have pretended getting injured to sought the aid of Molly. And as the kidnapper was getting help, he then snatched her away. This theory suddenly ignited Maggie's memory about the suspicious man she had seen at the pond the previous day and that he could have been Molly's abductor. She recounted in detail to the state officers her encounter with the stranger. But on the day that Molly vanished, Maggie didn't see the man when she dropped her daughter off at the pond. Instead, there was a unloading sand for the beach. Maggie said, when I saw the sand truck, I realized that they were businessmen in town, and I felt that I could leave Molly and it would be okay. The investigation

then focused on the unknown man in that white car. The sand truck driver had seen a similar car in the parking lot just moments before Molly and Maggie arrived on June 27. A cemetery worker also noticed a white car later that morning. There is a path that leads from the graveyard to the swimming hole. Molly's father suspected that this was where his daughter was abducted. Mr. Bish said, it's my fear that this person parked at that path, went to the pond and had taken Molly through that path into his car, out of the cemetery, and down the road. When I asked for a description of the man, Maggie described him as approximately 50 years old with Saul. and pepper hair. He had dark eyes, a mustache, and had been smoking a cigarette.

She worked with a sketch artist to make a composite sketch of the unknown man. When she showed the image to John Jr., he didn't recognize him as a regular guest at Commons Pond. The composite sketch didn't produce any solid leads, though. Thus, the Bish family created a website to publicize Molly's case. They also set up an email chain to spread the word out about her disappearance to over 30,000 people. In 2001, Maggie also contacted famous sketch artist Jean Bolin, who had worked on the Unabomber and Polyclass cases. She agreed to make a composite of Molly's possible abductor, and the two met at a local bed and breakfast. For

nine hours, they chatted while Jean worked on the composite. When it was finished, Maggie felt that it was accurate, except that it was missing something. She asked Gene to update the drawing to include the man holding a cigarette. The next day, she updated it. Maggie was certain that the composite was identical to the mysterious man that she had seen at the pond the day before Molly went missing. Despite this, though, and other leads, no trace of Molly or her abductor had ever been found. The extensive search for Molly Bish became the largest and most expensive search for a missing person ever undertaken in Massachusetts. Her case was profiled on numerous American television shows such as disappeared,

America's most wanted, unsolved mysteries, and 48 hours. Thousands of tips were called in from all across the U.S. regarding the man, but it didn't result in anything as well. So was Molly's case coming to a dead end? Since they had no solid evidence to work on Molly's. Bish's case, police came up with theories. One was that she could have voluntarily left, as there were reported sightings of the girl all around the country. But Molly's family firmly believed she wouldn't have left without telling them. Another was that she knew her attacker.

While her boss and her boyfriend were initially considered persons of interest, the former had an alibi, and the latter, while uncooperative with the investigation, passed a polygraph test. Hoping to uncover some new leads, investigators then looked into the area's sex offenders. Several were called in for polygraph tests, and some showed signs of deception. In May of 2003, two unrelated tips then came in, saying Molly had been cited in Miami, Florida.

Investigators were prepared to go down to Florida when they received another tip from a retired cop who believed Molly's disappearance was related to the 1993 abduction and murder of another young girl, Holly Peranan. While Holly and her brother were visiting their grandmother in Sturbridge, Massachusetts, she disappeared and only her shoe was ever found.

During the investigation into Holly's disappearance, it was discovered that Molly Bish wrote to the Peranan family, saying that she had hoped Holly would return home safely. However, hunters found Holly's remains in the first. woods near where she went missing. Her killer was never identified, given that both Holly and Molly were blonde and blue-eyed, were taken from isolated areas, and were in close proximity to one another. Investigators looked into the possibility that the person who murdered Holly likewise kidnapped Molly. Hunters from the local area were interviewed with one saying he'd seen

something suspicious months earlier, but at the time it thought nothing of it. He pointed investigators to a wooded area in Palmer, Massachusetts, where authorities discovered a piece of cloth that appeared to be part of a blue bathing suit, the same color as the one Molly was wearing when she disappeared. It was then sent away to have DNA tests performed on it. Upon discovering the piece of cloth, a massive search was done covering over 500 acres. Six days into it, DNA testing proved Molly owned the bathing suit. On June 3rd, 2003 police searching Whiskey Hill and Palmer then discovered a human bone that belonged to someone between the ages of 14 and 20. Succeeding explorations recovered a total of 26 more bones which DNA testing confirmed to be Mollies.

However, the search brought up no evidence that would point investigators to her actual killer. The decomposition of Mollies' remains didn't enable authorities to determine the cause of death, but they presume the teenage girl was murdered and then her remains were buried. On what would have been Molly's 20th birthday on August 2nd, 2003, she was finally laid to rest. But authorities remained relentless in uncovering the truth about her disappearance and murder. The disappearance and eventual discovery of Molly Bish's remains was a high-profile sensational case. Thus investigators inevitably tagged some shady characters in their lives.

list of suspects. Police believe their suspect to be a white male, age between 18 and 50 years old, known to the area through either hunting or fishing, and most likely had a history of violence against women. In 2005, a Connecticut resident charged with attempted kidnapping in Connecticut was briefly under investigation in connection with the case. Two years later, a sex offender named Robert Berno was named after he tried to abduct an assaulted jogger in Brimfield, which is a few miles from Warren. He also matched the suspect's description that in February of 2008 a new suspect appeared in the case. Rodney Stranger was arrested in Marion County, Florida for the murder of his girlfriend.

A tip had come in to Massachusetts police linking Rodney to Molly's murder, based on his discussion and conversations during interviews. Furthermore, he looked almost identical to the composite sketch of the man Maggie suspected to have abducted her daughter. When Molly disappeared, Rodney had actually been living in Warren for years, hunting in the exact area where Molly's bones were unearthed and fishing at Commons Pond as well. Known to have a violent history, Rodney had moved from Southbridge, Massachusetts, down to Summerfield, Florida, just about a year after Molly disappeared. His brother Randy also owned a white Chrysler that looked similar to the vehicle Maggie had seen

at the pond. Rodney denied any involvement in Molly's case during his interview, but he later pleaded guilty to his girlfriend's murder. When authorities searched his home after his dead girlfriend's sister claimed she found suspicious materials, they found Rodney's Massachusetts issued Firearms ID. Based off of this photo, he looked even more similar to the mystery man that Maggie had seen at the pond. He was also questioned about his involvement in the 1993 abduction and murder of Holly Parenthood, but said he had nothing to do with it, so he wasn't charged either. Forensic evidence eventually connected a deceased man named David Pellett to Holly's murder, and Rodney Stranger is currently serving a 25-year jail sentence for murdering a murdering

girlfriend. In November of 2011, private detective Dan Malley named Gerald Battastoni, aka Confidential Informant No. 62 for the Eastern Hamden County Narcotics Task Force as a suspect in Molly's death. He also resembled a composite sketch of Molly's alleged abductor and had been in the area where her remains were found. Jail was then served. serving time in prison for repeatedly raping a teenage girl in the early 90s. When he was identified as an alleged suspect in the deaths of Molly and Holly, Gerald attempted to commit suicide, and he eventually died in November of 2014. In June of 2016, it was announced that enhanced DNA testing would be applied to 24 pieces of

evidence that had yet to be tested. The following year, investigators claim to have found compelling information in Molly Bish's murder that led to a West Brookfield campground with a car used in Molly's abduction was alleged to have been buried. Multiple areas of interest were found using ground penetrating radar. The information was about a new suspect who lived at the campground around the time Molly disappeared. During that time, the individual owned a white Buick LaSaber, similar to the one seen at the pond. That man allegedly told a witness that something bad happened and that he was in the woods all night when Molly vanished.

He also had bloody scratches on his face, however, he denied any involvement in Molly's case. Very sadly, none of the many persons of interest have ever been charged, and the real culprit is still at large. In 2019, new testing began on evidence in the case. Investigators were hoping that a DNA profile could be obtained. from it. Investigators say Molly's murder case is still open which prolongs her family's agony. Maggie Beers said,

as a mother, you always have hope that something will happen, that there will be an answer. Molly was such a good kid, so funny, silly, and lovable that there's got to be an answer. You can't just take somebody's child and not pay a price.

You can't just steal somebody's child and then harm her in such a way. There's got to be justice for that. The memory, though, of Molly Amish has been immortalized through the Molly Bish Center and Foundation, founded in 2004 in collaboration with Anna Maria College. It has worked to raise awareness of child safety and abductions

and has helped to have fingerprint and photo records of thousands of children. Molly's death remains a mystery, but it paved the way for her lasting legacy. So that's it for this week's episode of Everytown. Tune in next week for another episode filled with scary, strange and mysterious stories, because who knows? Maybe your town's going to be next.