Key facts
- Names: Mitchel “Mitch” Weiser; Bonita “Bonnie” Bickwit
- Born: Weiser c. 1957; Bickwit c. 1958, Brooklyn, New York
- Ages at disappearance: 16 and 15
- Last seen: July 27, 1973
- Location: Hitchhiking along State Route 97, Narrowsburg, New York, bound for Watkins Glen
- Height / build: Weiser: ~5’8″, slim, brown hair; Bickwit: ~5’2″, slim, brown hair
- Status: Still missing — joint Sullivan County/NYSP task force active; excavation conducted June 2026
- Investigating agency: Sullivan County Sheriff’s Office / New York State Police
The concert
On the morning of Friday, July 27, 1973, two teenagers stood on the shoulder of State Route 97 in Narrowsburg, New York, thumbs out, heading for the biggest rock concert America had ever seen.
The Watkins Glen Summer Jam — the Grateful Dead, the Allman Brothers, the Band — was set for the next day, 150 miles northwest. More than 600,000 people would show up, a crowd so vast it landed in the Guinness Book of World Records. Of all those hundreds of thousands, only two people never came home: Mitchel Weiser, 16, and Bonnie Bickwit, 15.
Mitch was a photographer’s assistant, interning at a Coney Island studio that summer. His friend Larry Marion had bought tickets for them both — then Larry’s mother refused to let him go. Mitch took time off work, invited his girlfriend of a year instead, and left his mother’s Flatbush apartment with $25 to his name. His mother Shirley begged him not to go. He walked out without answering.
Bonnie was spending the summer as a childcare worker at Camp Wel-Met in the Catskills. The family she worked for had her on 16-hour days, and she was miserable. She asked for the weekend off to go to the concert. They refused. She quit on the spot — said she’d be back for her things and her paycheck — and went to meet Mitch.
A truck driver gave them a ride. He was the last person known to have seen them. Whether they ever reached Watkins Glen, nobody knows.
The runaway theory — and why the families never bought it
Police found that the two had exchanged wedding rings, and decided they were runaways — hippie kids who’d taken off for the concert and kept going. In 1973, that was an easy story to tell, and it meant the investigation barely started.
The families never accepted it. The Weisers kept their phone listing in the Brooklyn directory for years, in case Mitch or Bonnie tried to call. Both teenagers were honor students at John Dewey High School, close to their families, with no history of running. Bonnie had quit her job in anger, yes — but she’d arranged to come back for her belongings and her pay. Runaways planning to vanish don’t usually do that.
Years later, Mitch’s father received a collect call. The caller identified herself as “Bonnie.” The operator couldn’t connect them before she hung up. It was never explained.
In 2000 — 27 years later — a witness came forward with a story: he’d been hitching to Watkins Glen himself and had seen the couple get off a bus to cool off in a river. Bonnie started getting swept away, Mitch went in after her, and the current took them both. The bus driver, the witness said, promised to call police at the nearest gas station. No such call was ever received. It remains a story, not evidence.
The 2026 task force
For 53 years, the case sat essentially frozen — America’s oldest unsolved missing-teens case. Then a Rolling Stone investigation by Eric J. Greenberg pulled it back into the light, and something remarkable happened: a joint task force was created, led by the Sullivan County Sheriff’s Office and the New York State Police, specifically to solve it.
On June 19, 2026, investigators excavated an undeveloped, wooded field in Wayne, New York — an abandoned New York State Power & Gas site in Steuben County, about 17 miles from the Watkins Glen racetrack — searching for the teens’ remains. Investigators were also pursuing a new tip from someone claiming to have information about Bonnie and Mitch’s travels after they started hitchhiking on the morning of July 27, 1973. Details were withheld to protect the investigation.
As of October 2026, no results from the excavation have been announced. The task force is still working.
Theories: what might have happened
Foul play on the road. Two teenagers hitchhiking 150 miles through rural New York in 1973 — the vulnerability is obvious, and the last confirmed sighting is a stranger’s truck. If they never reached the concert, something happened on Route 97. The task force’s excavation suggests investigators are working a theory involving a burial site near the concert corridor. No suspect has ever been named.
The river accident. The 2000 witness account — both swept away trying to cool off — would explain why no trace was ever found and why they never arrived. But it rests on one person’s 27-year-old memory, and the bus driver’s promised police call never happened. Uncorroborated.
They made it and something happened at the festival. Six hundred thousand people, minimal infrastructure, chaos — it is possible they reached Watkins Glen and vanished there. But no one — not among 600,000 attendees — ever reported seeing them at the concert, and they never contacted their families again.
Voluntary disappearance. The wedding rings, the quit job, the $25 — the original police theory. Against it: two honor students with no plan, no money, no contact in 53 years, and families who kept a phone listing open just in case. The task force’s existence is itself a verdict on this theory.
Have information?
Contact the Sullivan County Sheriff’s Office or the New York State Police. Because both were minors when they vanished, you can also contact the National Center for Missing & Exploited Children at 1-800-843-5678. In an emergency, dial 911.
Timeline
- c. 1957 / c. 1958 — Mitchel Weiser and Bonita “Bonnie” Bickwit are born in Brooklyn, New York.
- 1972 — The two begin dating; both attend John Dewey High School.
- Summer 1973 — Mitch interns at a Coney Island photography studio; Bonnie works childcare at Camp Wel-Met.
- July 27, 1973, morning — Bonnie quits her camp job; the two begin hitchhiking from Narrowsburg toward Watkins Glen.
- July 27, 1973 — Last confirmed sighting: a truck driver gives them a ride on State Route 97.
- July 28, 1973 — The Watkins Glen Summer Jam draws 600,000+; Mitch and Bonnie are the only two who never return.
- 1973 — Police classify them as runaways after finding exchanged wedding rings; investigation stalls.
- 1970s–1990s — Families keep a Brooklyn phone listing active; Mitch’s father receives an unexplained collect call from “Bonnie.”
- 2000 — A witness reports the river-drowning account; uncorroborated.
- 2026 — Rolling Stone investigation prompts creation of a joint Sullivan County Sheriff/NYSP task force.
- June 19, 2026 — Excavation at an abandoned power company site in Wayne, NY; new tip pursued.
- July 2026 — 53rd anniversary of the disappearance.
- Today — Still missing.
FAQ
Are Mitchel Weiser and Bonnie Bickwit still missing?
Yes. As of October 2026, they have been missing for 53 years — the oldest unsolved missing-teens case in America. A joint Sullivan County Sheriff’s Office / New York State Police task force created in 2026 is actively investigating.
What happened at the Watkins Glen excavation in 2026?
On June 19, 2026, the task force excavated an undeveloped wooded field owned by the New York State Power & Gas company in Wayne, NY, about 17 miles from the Watkins Glen racetrack, searching for the teens’ remains. No results have been publicly announced.
Did Mitchel Weiser and Bonnie Bickwit run away?
Police originally thought so, but their families never believed it, and the creation of an active task force 53 years later effectively rejects that theory. They had little money, no plan, and never contacted anyone again.
What was the Summer Jam at Watkins Glen?
A one-day rock festival on July 28, 1973, featuring the Grateful Dead, the Allman Brothers Band, and the Band. With more than 600,000 attendees, it was the largest music concert of its time. Mitchel and Bonnie are the only two people known never to have returned home from it.
How can I help?
Share this case file. The task force is especially interested in photos from the 1973 Summer Jam and anyone with information about the couple’s hitchhiking route. Contact the Sullivan County Sheriff’s Office, the New York State Police, or NCMEC at 1-800-843-5678.
Sources
- Official / law enforcement: Sullivan County Sheriff’s Office / New York State Police joint task force (2026).
- News: Rolling Stone (Eric J. Greenberg, July 23, 2026); Jewish Telegraphic Agency (classmates’ plea).
- Reference: International Missing Persons Wiki — “Mitch Weiser,” “Bonnie Bickwit” (retrieved Oct 2026).
- Media: The Trail Went Cold (related coverage); Crime and Coffee Couple podcast (2023); Medium — “Lost in the crowd: What happened to Mitch Weiser & Bonnie Bickwit?”
Found an error? Tell us via the About page and we will fix it promptly and note the change here. Last verified October 2026.