In light of the decades of police incompetence, misfeasance and neglect reported in this week’s Rolling Stone magazine investigative article about the disappearance of Mitchel Weiser and Bonnie Bickwit, two teens who vanished 50 years ago in connection with Summer Jam, we the undersigned believe that: 

 

·      It is clear that the everyday duties of a single detective in the Sullivan County Sheriff’s Office does not allow for everything that needs to be done to solve this case. 

·      It is also clear the assigned detective is not interested in following up on any leads that the article may generate.   

 

Therefore, we are calling on New York State Governor Kathy Hochul and Attorney General Letitia James and U.S. Senator Chuck Schumer to appoint special investigators to create a joint state-federal task force to take all the steps outlined in the news article to try and resolve this cold case. 

 

There is strong precedent for such action: former NY Gov George Pataki and Attorney General Eliot Spitzer appointed special investigators 23 years ago, which yielded new and important information before the case was paused following the Sept, 11 terror attacks against the United States.    

 

Actions to be taken by a joint task force includes: 

1)     taking advantage of the 50th anniversary of Summer Jam and contacting all relevant social media and websites, posting photos of Mitchel and Bonnie and asking the public for help. 

2)    Adding the multiple websites and podcasts focused on missing persons that would allow thousands of self-proclaimed “web sleuths” to use their informal methods to connect dots and perhaps uncover things the authorities might have missed. 

3)    Asking potential eyewitness Allyn Smith to take a polygraph test. 

* Put out a public service request for the mysterious driver of an orange VW micro bus with Pennsylvania license plates to come forward and shed more light on Smith's narrative. Perhaps a reward would help. 

4)    A federal-state task force coordinating a search for unclaimed and unidentified bodies in all the counties along the Susquehanna River, which crosses three states. 

5)    New York state officials should investigate the background of the now-dead suspect from Wayne, NY and allegations of child abuse 

6)    A mysterious photo that one Sullivan County detective thought was Bonnie should be analyzed using cutting-edge technology. 

7)    Publicize the camera Mitchel had, which may still be in someone’s possession, and lead to new information