NY NY - Mitchel Weiser, 16, & Bonita Bickwit, 15, Narrowsburg, 27 July 1973

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dogperson said:
The pants could have had a 34"-35" waist if they were hip-huggers. Low-waisted jeans were popular then (and now too), so the waist of the jeans was really more of a hip measurement than a waist measurement. For example, my actual waist is 27" but the measurement around the waistband of some of my lower-waisted jeans is anywhere from 32"-34".
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Good call. I definitely hadn't thought of that! Thanks
 
What if they did run away together to start a new life? In Google searching Mitch and Bonnie (click images), an older couple pops up. They are ministers at a church in Canada. This couple looks exactly like the NCMEC age progressions of the both of them.IF it is them, they changed their last names. Bonnie has a mole in the same place Bonnie Bickwit does. Mitch has very similar teeth and ears too!

Somebody else want to check it out too?
 
Two for the road said:
What if they did run away together to start a new life? In Google searching Mitch and Bonnie (click images), an older couple pops up. They are ministers at a church in Canada. This couple looks exactly like the NCMEC age progressions of the both of them.IF it is them, they changed their last names. Bonnie has a mole in the same place Bonnie Bickwit does. Mitch has very similar teeth and ears too!

Somebody else want to check it out too?
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Interesting, although would expect that the male would be wearing glasses.
Wondered from time to time, if M&B might have got caught up with a cult popular at the time.
speculation, imo.
JEWS ACT TO STOP YOUNG FROM DEFECTING TO CULTS
 
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NJEverCurious said:
NamUs UP1772, found in 1980 in High Point State Park - This location is about an hour from Narrowsburg and from Bear Mountain State Park (re: my previous post on this thread). This UID was female, estimated at 5'1" tall, weight not estimated. The forensic illustration looks somewhat similar to Bonita Bickwit, IMO. The only thing that I can't reconcile is that the UID was found with jeans that had a 34-35" waist, which seems too large for someone who weighed around 95lbs when she went missing. High Point State Park is less than 10 minutes off Interstate 84, so if someone picked up the couple hitchhiking on Route 97 near Narrowsburg, it's not unreasonable to think the suspect could have headed east and gotten onto I-84. Submitted to NamUs, 3/18/19.

I really hope there will be a happy ending to this couple's story, but it just seems so unlikely after all these years.
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Following Up: I emailed this potential match to NJ State Police anthropologist assigned to work on this UID. I don't know exactly what NamUs's process is for informing the LE responsible for actually making the identification, but I just couldn't stand waiting and wondering anymore. I really hope this might be a match.
 
An anthropologist from NJ State Police responded almost immediately and said she "doesn't have any scientific data to make a proper comparison" but that "based on the biological profile of the remains, the ancestry is not the same, but that's not enough to make an exclusion." She said she will keep this MP on her radar with regard to the UID I suggested, but unless new biological data shows up, there's little she can do.

I'm guessing there is no DNA for the UID, since the remains were found in 1980 and DNA technology wasn't available yet.
 
Excellent lengthy article from 2002
http://discovermagazine.com/2002/feb/featbodies
Why We Want Their Bodies Back
As humans have evolved, they've learned there are good reasons not to bury an empty coffin
By Kristine Larsen, Robert Sapolsky|Friday, February 01, 2002

"In the case of Bonnie and Mitch, my schoolmates and I realized years ago that they were never coming home. But because we never got the bodies back, there will always be a measure of uncertainty about what happened to them and about the man who finally made that phone call to the police. Allyn Smith was 24 at the time of the Watkins Glen rock festival. On the way home he hitched a ride in a Volkswagen bus. There was a scrawny young couple riding in the back, also hitching from the festival. Smith and the driver smoked a joint. It was a hot day and there was a river nearby. They stopped, planning to cool off in the water. As Smith crouched to take off his shoes, wondering at the wisdom of going in the rough water, he heard a shout. He turned to see that the girl was in the river. The boy—her companion—leaped in to try to save her. Then they were both swept away, down the rapids, still very much alive.

That is the story Smith told the police. No names were exchanged in the van, but he overheard the two talking about a summer camp where the girl had worked and recalled identifying details about her clothes. It would appear that the couple had been Bonnie and Mitch. Smith is now cooperating with the police, trying to identify the stretch of river where he says they disappeared. "I felt he was credible," says Roy Streever, the investigating detective with the New York State police. Nonetheless, something didn't happen that day. Smith, an athletic Navy vet, didn't try to rescue Bonnie and Mitch. Nor did the driver of the bus. Eventually they drove off. At the next exit, Smith got out and headed in another direction. The driver said he'd make an anonymous phone call to the police from a gas station and report that the two kids had been swept down the river. Police have no record that a call was made.

The parents of Bonnie and Mitch had to cope not only with the loss of their children but also with a burden of horrible uncertainty. One father and one stepfather went to their graves never knowing what had happened. The rest of us finally got the answer to the mystery that plagued us for decades.

Once we were kids who believed enough in our immortality that we would hitch rides with strangers. Now we flaunt the same irrationality by cheating on our low-cholesterol diets. Once we had not yet learned that life brings tragedies beyond control. Now we wonder how we can spare our own children from that knowledge. Once we lost two friends and could only imagine florid, violent sins of commission. Now, instead, we have a doughy, middle-aged lesson about the toxic consequences of quiet sins of omission and indifference.

Sometimes, when you get the body back, or at least find out the whole story, you learn something critical about the nature of the living and of those who knew all along what happened."
 
dotr said:
Excellent lengthy article from 2002
Why We Want Their Bodies Back | DiscoverMagazine.com
Why We Want Their Bodies Back
As humans have evolved, they've learned there are good reasons not to bury an empty coffin
By Kristine Larsen, Robert Sapolsky|Friday, February 01, 2002

"In the case of Bonnie and Mitch, my schoolmates and I realized years ago that they were never coming home. But because we never got the bodies back, there will always be a measure of uncertainty about what happened to them and about the man who finally made that phone call to the police. Allyn Smith was 24 at the time of the Watkins Glen rock festival. On the way home he hitched a ride in a Volkswagen bus. There was a scrawny young couple riding in the back, also hitching from the festival. Smith and the driver smoked a joint. It was a hot day and there was a river nearby. They stopped, planning to cool off in the water. As Smith crouched to take off his shoes, wondering at the wisdom of going in the rough water, he heard a shout. He turned to see that the girl was in the river. The boy—her companion—leaped in to try to save her. Then they were both swept away, down the rapids, still very much alive.

That is the story Smith told the police. No names were exchanged in the van, but he overheard the two talking about a summer camp where the girl had worked and recalled identifying details about her clothes. It would appear that the couple had been Bonnie and Mitch. Smith is now cooperating with the police, trying to identify the stretch of river where he says they disappeared. "I felt he was credible," says Roy Streever, the investigating detective with the New York State police. Nonetheless, something didn't happen that day. Smith, an athletic Navy vet, didn't try to rescue Bonnie and Mitch. Nor did the driver of the bus. Eventually they drove off. At the next exit, Smith got out and headed in another direction. The driver said he'd make an anonymous phone call to the police from a gas station and report that the two kids had been swept down the river. Police have no record that a call was made.

The parents of Bonnie and Mitch had to cope not only with the loss of their children but also with a burden of horrible uncertainty. One father and one stepfather went to their graves never knowing what had happened. The rest of us finally got the answer to the mystery that plagued us for decades.

Once we were kids who believed enough in our immortality that we would hitch rides with strangers. Now we flaunt the same irrationality by cheating on our low-cholesterol diets. Once we had not yet learned that life brings tragedies beyond control. Now we wonder how we can spare our own children from that knowledge. Once we lost two friends and could only imagine florid, violent sins of commission. Now, instead, we have a doughy, middle-aged lesson about the toxic consequences of quiet sins of omission and indifference.

Sometimes, when you get the body back, or at least find out the whole story, you learn something critical about the nature of the living and of those who knew all along what happened."
Click to expand...
I really struggle to believe that guy's story. But I guess at this point, it's the only real explanation these families have. And with no dentals to work from, LE will be hard pressed to try to match these poor young souls to any unidentified remains. This makes me so sad.
 
Two for the road said:
Both Bonnie and Mitch's dental records have been lost along with their original missing persons case file. They were the only copies.
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I struggle with how often information like this gets lost while in the hands of law enforcement. Why aren’t they more careful with the ONLY COPIES of the only things (at the time) which could identify someone?
 
Jmoose said:
I struggle with how often information like this gets lost while in the hands of law enforcement. Why aren’t they more careful with the ONLY COPIES of the only things (at the time) which could identify someone?
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It was a different time back then. Often times detectives would take files with them when they retired. Or they would toss them after the missing kids turned 18. Or they were in a physical location and it flooded. It's truly sad because we'll never have that pertinent info. I know Mitch's DNA is in Namus because his sister found his baby teeth as they were moving. But I think Bonnie, if she has DNA it will be a familial sample. And I hope for her sake she's found soon because her mom passed away and her sister is getting up there in age as well. ☹️

I wonder if they took a commercial DNA test to see if they have any relatives they didn't know about. On the off chance that Mitch and Bonnie ran away and started their lives together.
 
Two for the road said:
It was a different time back then. Often times detectives would take files with them when they retired. Or they would toss them after the missing kids turned 18. Or they were in a physical location and it flooded. It's truly sad because we'll never have that pertinent info. I know Mitch's DNA is in Namus because his sister found his baby teeth as they were moving. But I think Bonnie, if she has DNA it will be a familial sample. And I hope for her sake she's found soon because her mom passed away and her sister is getting up there in age as well. ☹️
I wonder if they took a commercial DNA test to see if they have any relatives they didn't know about. On the off chance that Mitch and Bonnie ran away and started their lives together.
Click to expand...

Great response. Very well said.

I would also add that in the case of unidentified remains and attempts to match remains to MP's, I think LE sometimes has a challenge in getting data from the remains. For example, I submitted Bonnie Bickwit as a potential match for a set of remains located in NJ. The remains were found dismembered, and I believe many of the teeth (or maybe the entire lower jaw) were missing. So if they don't have DNA from the remains or from Bonnie's family, Bonnie's dental records wouldn't even have been helpful. (The response from LE was that they unfortunately don't have the scientific data they need to determine a match for these remains.) So sad.
 
Two for the road said:
Both Bonnie and Mitch's dental records have been lost along with their original missing persons case file. They were the only copies.
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Please forgive me if this is a "dumb question," but I'm new to this...

What happens to old dental records that a dentist would have? Like if the dentist retires, where do the records go? I wonder if there may be another way to get their dentals. Even a photo of someone smiling contains some info about the condition and orientation of their teeth...
 
NJEverCurious said:
Please forgive me if this is a "dumb question," but I'm new to this...

What happens to old dental records that a dentist would have? Like if the dentist retires, where do the records go? I wonder if there may be another way to get their dentals. Even a photo of someone smiling contains some info about the condition and orientation of their teeth...
Click to expand...

Very good question...when the files were only paper files, I suspect they were just tossed. Now that records are mostly digital...do they continue on with whoever took over the practice?
 
Jmoose said:
Very good question...when the files were only paper files, I suspect they were just tossed. Now that records are mostly digital...do they continue on with whoever took over the practice?
Click to expand...

Aside from LE, perhaps state dental societies may be able to provide information about best practices regarding the disposition of records when a dentist retires.
 
I just measured my granddaughter, who is the same height as Bonnie but is 115 lbs. I got a 32 inch hiphugger size on her. If Bonnie was 20 lbs. lighter and the jeans/hiphuggers were 34/35 inches, she was either around 4 months pregnant or terribly bloated. Did she have gastroenteritis by any chance?
 
June 12 2019
43 children and teens are missing now in Upstate NY: Have you seen them? (June)
"New York's Department of Criminal Justice Services works every day to find and bring home children and teens reported missing across the state. In Upstate New York alone, dozens of young people are listed as missing right now.

The department's Missing Persons Clearinghouse is updated regularly with the latest information about missing children, from runaways to suspected kidnappings to cold cases dating back decades.

If you believe you have seen one of the 43 missing individuals listed below, you can contact the Missing Persons Clearinghouse at 1-800-346-3543, or submit a lead on their website.

464_bonitabickwit.jpeg

Bonita Bickwit (Narrowsburg)
Date Missing: 07/27/1973

DOB: 01/28/1958
Sex: Female
HGT: 4'10"
WGT: 90 lbs.
Hair: Brown
Eyes: Brown
Race: White

Info: Bonita and a male companion, Mitchel Weiser, were en route to a music concert in Watkins Glen, New York. The photo is age progressed to 52 years old. They are missing due to unknown circumstances.

Agency: Sullivan County Sheriffs Office"
b26_weiser.jpeg

Mitchel Fred Weiser (Narrowsburg)
Date Missing: 07/27/1973

DOB: 11/23/1956
Sex: Male
HGT: 5'07"
WGT: 140 lbs.
Hair: Brown
Eyes: Hazel
Race: White

Info: Mitchel and a female companion, Bonita Bickwit, also reported missing, were last seen en route to a music concert in Watkins Glen, NY. They are missing due to unknown circumstances. Photo is age progressed to 53 years."
 
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