Twenty years after Molly Bish disappeared while working her lifeguard shift at Comins Pond in Warren, Massachusetts, her family held a vigil there with 20 cars and 20 light jars.
Molly was 16 when she disappeared on June 27, 2000. Three years later, her partial remains were found in nearby Palmer, but no one has ever been charged in the case, which remains unsolved.
Molly's older sister, Heather Bish, says time doesn't heal everything.
“Twenty years missing Molly — we feel the same as the day she went missing," Heather Bish said. "It hurts. It hurts a lot. I miss my sister as much today as I missed her 20 days into this...I wish that I could say that it gets better or easier. I think you just sort of get used to it.”
Molly's family has kept her memory alive with annual remembrances and the creation of the Molly Bish Center for the Protection of Children and the Elderly at Anna Maria College.
To mark 20 years since Molly's disappearance, Heather Bish organized a vigil suited for the age of social distancing. She asked residents of Warren, a small town in Worcester County, to turn on porch lights, light a candle in the window or stand outside as police drove the Bish family to Comins Pond around 7:30 p.m.
In addition, Heather Bish asked residents to remember Molly by painting a "kindness rock," which can be left at the edge of her parents' driveway, according to the The Milford Daily News. Their mother enjoys using them in her garden, she said.
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Molly's mom Magi Bish spoke to the crowd that gathered Saturday night before walking over to the lifeguard chair with Molly's dad John Bish to leave flowers.
"Twenty is significant because of the year," Heather Bish said. "But for me, I live without my sister every day. I live trying to find a murderer every day.
The Bish family continues to work with investigators to try to track down Molly's killer. They have refused to lose hope.
“We have technology and science that’s advancing. We still get tips in so frequently. I believe that we will solve this,” Heather Bish said.
Molly's sister Heather wants people to know the tip line is still open and can be reached at 508-453-7575.
