Three Years Later, Hope Not Lost For Missing Girl's Family

BOSTON -- Nearly three years after Molly Ann Bish, the then 16-year-old Warren, Mass., lifeguard, was mysteriously kidnapped from the town's remote beach at Comins Pond, the Bish family and friends will observe the 1,000 days that have elapsed since her June 27, 2000, disappearance.

On March 23, 2003, at 4 p.m., a vigil will be held at St. Thomas Aquinas Church on North Street in West Warren.

Over the past month, the Bish family has tried to collect 1,000 paper cranes. The Japanese legend of Sedako says that if 1,000 paper cranes are collected and folded, a wish will be granted. About 5,000 paper cranes have been sent thus far to Molly's parents, John and Magi Bish, from area school children, groups and individuals. School children from Ashburnham have sent 1,080 cranes, which will all be displayed at the vigil.

"Our special wish is that Molly is found and returned," said Elizabeth Tragash, a Bish family friend and organizer of the event. "People are wishing and praying."

Tragash said that the paper cranes will be displayed at the vigil on Sunday, an afternoon that will be filled with speeches by family, friends, clergy members and local politicians. She also said that the church had sponsored 1,000 hours of prayer.

Tragash explained that the family's hope that Molly will return home has been rekindled since Elizabeth Smart, the 15-year-old Salt Lake City resident who was missing for nine months, was found on March 12, 2003. The Bishes and Smarts met in Washington, D.C., while both families were lobbying for a national Amber Alert system, which coordinates law enforcement and media outlets, notifying the public after an abduction.

According to Department of Justice statistics, 300 children each year are abducted by nonfamily members and are missing for a long time or killed. In all, about 4,600 abductions by nonfamily members nationwide are reported to the police each year, compared with 354,000 children taken by family members and 450,700 who run away.

To report any tips or other information, contact the Worcester County District Attorney's Office at 508-755-8601 or the Massachusetts State Police Detective Unit at 508-832-9124.