Two Teens Vanished While Hitchhiking To A Concert: What Happened To Mitchel Weiser And Bonnie Bickwit?
In July 1973, two teenagers from Brooklyn, New York, vanished while hitchhiking to the Summer Jam rock concert at Watkins Glen.
The festival made history with more than 600,000 attendees. Now, 50 years later, their disappearance is still a mystery. It is considered one of the oldest “Missing Teen” cases in the United States.
But New York police investigators have recently discovered some significant new leads, including previous unknown witnesses to the teens’ disappearance.
A Rhode Island man was interviewed about the case of the missing youths—16-year-old Mitchel Weiser and 15-year-old Bonnie Bickwit.
Two New York investigators showed up at the home of 74-year-old Allyn Smith, a retired jewelry manufacturing worker, unexpectedly.
Smith had provided information about the case back in 2000 and thought it had long been resolved. At the time, he reported that on July 28, 1973, he and the teens were hitchhiking home from Watkins Glen hours before the concert ended. He had never met them before that. They were picked up by a driver in an orange Volkswagen.
The van pulled off the highway near the Susquehanna River at some point so the group could cool off. Smith then heard a scream and saw that Bonnie had accidentally fallen into the water. Mitchel jumped in after her, and the two of them got swept around a bend in the river. They were never seen again.
The Susquehanna River became a focal point of the investigation. However, no unidentified bodies were ever found.
During the latest interview, Smith revealed that there were two other hitchhikers in the back of the van. He did not speak to them. They appeared to be in their mid-20s and did not go down to the river at all.
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They stayed in the van, covered up with blankets and sleeping bags. He also described the river site in more detail.
It was a spot off the highway with rocks, where locals often gathered to cool off during the hot summer months. He claimed that about 25 people had witnessed the teens being swept away.
Officials are conducting more interviews, reviewing information, and assessing new leads. There are a few theories that police still need to look into further.
One involves a 63-year-old woman from Florida who said she saw her father bury Weiser as a child. Her family had lived in Steuben County, which was 20 miles from the concert.
Another theory involves Robert Garrow, a convicted serial killer active in upstate New York during the 1970s. That summer, he was driving an orange Volkswagen. He was known for targeting young people. In 1978, he was shot dead for trying to escape from prison.
Hopefully, after more than 50 years, the teens’ friends and families can finally receive some answers.
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