Mitchel Weiser, 16, and Bonnie Bickwit, 15, were never seen again after one ride; The family accuses the police of treating the case with contempt
the disappearance of Mitchell Weiser16 years old, e Bonnie Bickwittof 15, after attending the festival summer jamwe WE, turned 50 in July, still no response. The pair were last seen after catching a ride.
The conduct of the case, which has already been portrayed in a real detective series called Missing persons – Missing personsin free translation, was portrayed in a long exclusive article by Rolling stone. According to the magazine, the boys’ family accuse local police of treating the incident with contempt, which may have made finding information more difficult.
It all started in 1973, in the state of New Yorkwhen the two decided they would attend the event that would bring bands like Grateful Deaths, Allmann brothers AND The band. Some 150,000 tickets had been purchased for the shows, but 200,000 people surprised the producers by arriving at the venue that day.
The mob closed the streets, similar to what had happened at the woodstock, and the event was transformed into a free festival. Summer Jam joined the Guinness as “the largest reported attendance at a pop festival”. Of the 600,000 people who witnessed the scene, however, only Mitchel and Bonnie are missing.
After realizing that the couple had not yet returned home, the family called the police, who ended up ignoring their parents’ pleas. Investigators treated the teenagers as “hippie runaways”.
The family began investigating on their own, distributing flyers, placing advertisements in newspapers and hiring a private investigator. They have even infiltrated hippie communities and sects in search of answers.
The case would draw the attention of the authorities and would only be reopened in 2000. At the same time, the series Missing persons he would also relive the couple’s disappearance, interviewing a man who claimed to have been having visions of an alleged murder of the teenagers.
Three months after the production aired, a man named Allyn Smith, began making desperate attempts to call them saying they had information about the disappearance. Smith said the two had hitchhiked home but stopped to cool off in a river.
The man claimed he saw the girl screaming and thrashing in the water when Mitchel jumped in to save her. The couple, however, would have been swept away by the river and accidentally drowned.
Investigators believed Smith’s story and began to consider the story as a possible conclusion. The teenagers’ bodies, however, had not yet been found, which still left some doubts.
In 2013, police received a mysterious phone call from a woman in California. According to her, her father was involved in the murder of Mitchel.
The woman said, when she was 11, she recalls meeting a boy, who appeared to be “uncomfortable and agitated,” in a restaurant. She claimed that her father and a group of men assaulted and molested other children at the time.
An investigation carried out near the place reported by the woman, however, revealed nothing. The father died last year and there have never been any charges against him regarding the disappearance, according to the Rolling stone.
US police are still trying to find answers and witnesses involved in the case. Currently, Mitchell would be 66 and Bonnie, 65.
*Intern under the supervision of Charlise de Morais
Source: Terra
Earl Johnson is a music writer at Gossipify, known for his in-depth analysis and unique perspective on the industry. A graduate of USC with a degree in Music, he brings years of experience and passion to his writing. He covers the latest releases and trends, always on the lookout for the next big thing in music.
