More DNA testing is underway in the case of murdered lifeguard Molly Bish as we mark the 23rd anniversary of her disappearance on June 27.
Her killer has never been found, but investigators have a suspect. The case has been challenging when it comes to physical evidence and information.
Police didn't secure the scene when Bish disappeared because at first, they didn't think there was any crime.
She vanished from her lifeguard post at Comins Pond in Warren moments into her shift on June 27, 2000. Logs from the Warren Police Department show what was happening during the crucial moments of that horrific day.
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At 9:57 in the morning, she picked up the lifeguard radio at the police department, but never radioed in from the pond. Investigators say by 10:03, Bish was gone, her shoes left on the beach and the lifeguard kit open.
But Bish wasn't reported missing by the parks commissioner until almost two hours later, at 11:44 a.m.
Police waited until 12:13 p.m. to head to the pond and didn't speak with Bish's mother until 1:02 that afternoon.
For Molly's sister, Heather Bish, there's frustration and heartache as she reads through the devastating minute-by-minute details from the day her sister disappeared.
"It's just heartbreaking to see that the people who are supposed to be protecting us didn't feel that sense of urgency, because we know now that those minutes count so much," she said.
The moment her family found out she was missing, they knew something was terribly wrong.
"Knowing in my heart, as soon as I got there when her shoes were left on that beach, Molly wouldn't have taken off without her shoes," Heather Bish said. "I knew something devastating happened and Molly was in danger."
During the next few hours, first responders from nearby towns flooded the area. The scene was never secured. Bish said critical evidence may have been destroyed.
"The crime scene was almost completely destroyed, and it has had devastating consequences to this day," she said. "We have had little DNA to work with and little information."
"They didn't expect or anticipate that it was criminal in nature right away," Worcester County District Attorney Joseph Early Jr. said.
The scene was trampled on.
"It was horrible," Early said. "They went through the gear that she had there, the material that she brought out, where her chair was, they went into the water looking for her."
He said despite that, the search for Bish's killer has led investigators to convicted rapist Frank Sumner, who died in 2016. Sumner operated auto body shops in the area and looks like the man in the white car Bish's mom spotted at the pond the day before she disappeared.
When asked if he felt confident that Sumner would be named Bish's killer, Early responded, "Not ready to say that right now, but a suspect, yes, person of interest, yes. Clear, persuasive evidence led us to Frank Sumner, and we've just got to do a little bit more."
Bish's remains were found in 2003 a few miles away from the pond in the woods of Palmer. DNA from Sumner's son has been tested against evidence in Bish's case, but more testing needs to be done to try to link him directly to the crime.
If you have any information about Bish's case or Sumner, give state police detectives a call on the anonymous tipline at 508-453-7575.
