Bish Parents Support DNA Bill As Search Continues

BOSTON -- As investigators searched the woods in Palmer, Mass., for clues in the disappearance of Molly Bish, the teen's parents lent their support to a bill requiring convicted felons to submit DNA samples.

Video

Parents Press For DNA Laws Bone Sent For DNA Testing Do You Think Criminals Should Submit DNA Samples?

The bill would require all convicted felons, including those on parole, to submit samples. Right now, only DNA samples from those convicted of sex offenses or violent crimes are required by the commonwealth.

"I may not be able to change Molly's situation, but I will not stand by and let another child be harmed while they are going to school or going to work," Molly's father, John Bish, said.

"My Molly was our baby and she would have been very frightened and we would not want any other child to endure such fear or the sadness that we've had to hold for three years," Molly's mother, Magi, said.

Andrew Pryor's daughter, Sarah, was found dead after her abduction. He stood with the Bishes in support Thursday.

"(It's better to know), and even though this is not the answer that you want. The term closure is used entirely too often, because there is no such thing as real closure. To at least know where your daughter is and be able to commit her to God is a very definite positive," Pryor said.

Meanwhile, DNA will most probably be detected from an upper arm bone found in the wooded area of Palmer where investigators were searching for clues in Molly's disappearance, officials announced Thursday.

"The upper arm bone was cut in half. Half is at the state police lab, where they will do nuclear DNA testing. The other half was sent to the Bode Laboratory, where they will do mitochondrial DNA testing. Both labs have indicated that we will be able to get DNA," District Attorney John Conte said.

Officials said that they should know if they can get any DNA from the bones by Friday afternoon, and if DNA is present there will be further testing to determine if the bone is Molly's.

Searchers have been scouring a wooded area since a bathing suit was found about 5-miles from Cummins Pond, where Molly disappeared from her lifegaurding job in June 2000. Crews found one bone on Tuesday, and another three on Wednesday that were determined to belong to a human age 14 to 20 years old.

Despite three years of fallen foliage, the bones were found close to the surface of the ground.

"We believe that, if anything, it was a very shallow burial," Conte said. He said that investigators have been concentrating on a particular area, and are confident that they were getting closer to the point of origin of the bones.

A pair of shorts, a hairbrush, and a blanket were also found in the search area. Conte said that members of the Bish family were brought to the scene. None of the items were determined to belong to Molly.

Also this week, a hair "scrunchie" was found floating in the Quaboag River. Bode Lab indicated that there was DNA found on the hair band.

"We will know if it is a mixed sample. If it is a clear sample, we will be able to do further testing on the hair," Conte said.