Teenager Molly Bish Disappeared From Her Lifeguard Post 25 Years Ago, and Her Killer Remains Unknown

On June 27, 2000, 16-year-old Molly Bish vanished from her lifeguard post at Comins Pond in the Central Massachusetts town of Warren after Molly’s mother dropped her off for work.

The girl’s sandals were found on the pond’s beach. Her first-aid kit was open. But Molly was gone. It would be three years before her remains were found in the woods of a neighboring town.

Over the years, police have eyed different possible suspects, but no one has ever been arrested or charged. Molly’s abduction and killing endures as one of the most haunting unsolved cases in Massachusetts.

Molly’s mother, Magi Bish, left Molly at the pond on what would have been her second day of work. But within minutes, she was gone.  

The search that followed grew into one of the largest in Massachusetts history, involving state police, local law enforcement agencies, volunteers, helicopters and divers. But she wasn’t found for years. 

It was only in June 2003—following a tip by a local hunter—that authorities came across a navy blue swimsuit in a wooded area in the Palmer community, which borders Warren. That discovery led to the skeletal remains that were later identified as Molly’s. The missing persons case was transformed into a homicide investigation.

In subsequent years, several men were publicly identified as persons of interest in the case, but no one was arrested or charged.

Investigators looked closely at Rodney Stanger, who authorities said lived in the town of Southbridge when Molly disappeared, frequently hunted and fished near Comins Pond and moved to Florida after her disappearance. Police searched his trailer, but he was never named as a suspect in the case. He is serving time in Florida for killing his girlfriend.

Another man, convicted rapist Gerald Battistoni, was investigated after a tip from a private detective. But he died in prison in 2014 without being charged.

In 2021, Worcester County District Attorney Joseph Early named Francis “Frank” Sumner Sr., a convicted sex offender who died in 2016, as a person of interest. Investigators used his son’s DNA to try to connect Sumner to the killing posthumously, but the DNA test wasn’t a match.

The district attorney’s office has declined to discuss the details of its DNA testing. In 2023, the office announced additional DNA testing was underway for the case, but provided no specifics, according to Massachusetts TV station WWLP. Molly’s sister, Heather Bish, told Boston TV station WCVB that “unidentified DNA” had been found at the crime scene.  

The district attorney’s office said in a statement sent to WCVB in July 2025 that the investigation remains active and they encouraged anyone with information to call an anonymous tip line set up in the case. More than 6,700 tips have come through the line in the last 25 years, NBC Boston reported.

Joseph Giacalone, a retired New York Police Department sergeant and former commanding officer of the Bronx Cold Case Squad, said that law enforcement agencies nationwide often struggle with cold cases. 

“Police departments across the country don’t have the personnel, nor the time, to keep up with these investigations,” he tells A&E Crime + Investigation. “The new focus on cold cases by the media and the true crime community are what is keeping these cases, like Molly’s, at the forefront.”

He advocates for new approaches. “I’ve been a strong proponent of either creating a volunteer, vetted civilian cold case unit in every department with retired members or open up a limited number of case files to the public. At this point, you have cases going on 20, 30, 40 years now—what could be the harm?” 

In Molly’s case, he believes investigators should focus on forensics. 

“There are many advances in DNA that may render a once-useless piece of evidence to become the cornerstone of the case,” he says. “A fresh set of eyes is sometimes all that it takes with a careful breakdown of the case files.”

Bish’s family members became outspoken advocates for child safety, founding the Molly Bish Center at Anna Maria College to improve missing person investigations and awareness.

The family joined a somber vigil in June 2025 in Warren to mark the 25th anniversary of Molly’s disappearance, followed by a walk to Comins Pond. At the vigil, Heather honored her sister’s memory and said she was not giving up hope that Molly’s killer would be identified.

“It is hope that has carried us forward all this time. Because of Molly, I will always have hope,” Heather said.

Earlier, the district attorney said law enforcement has not given up on the case. "Our work won't stop,” he said. “It won't stop until we give you some type of justice, some type of closure."

Giacalone urges investigators to embrace modern outreach—including tapping into social media communities. 

“Law enforcement agencies have to understand the power of social media and the true crime community,” he said. “They will continue to bring cold cases to the front burner anyway possible. Agencies should have, at a minimum, a webpage on their website dedicated solely to open homicide and missing persons cases as well as starting podcasts. The tool is just too powerful to ignore. Someone knows something and why not reach out?” 

He says cold case investigators take their work personally.

“We all have that one case that we carry with us through our lives and still dwell on,” Giacalone continues. “I have one and so do the others. It’s something about a particular victim that creates an unexplainable bond. Our motto in the cold case squad was ‘never give up’—and we won’t.”