Massachusetts law enforcement officials are continuing their efforts to solve missing children cases from the 90s that they believe involved serial killer Lewis Lent.
Lent pleaded guilty in 1996 to the 1990 kidnapping and murder of Jimmy Bernardo, 12, of Pittsfield. He received a mandatory sentence of life in prison with no possibility of parole. He was later convicted in Herkimer, N.Y. for the kidnapping and murder of Sara Anne Wood, and sentenced to 25 years to life.
He has also confessed to kidnapping and murdering 16-year-old James “Jamie” Lusher from Westfield in 1992.
The bodies of Wood and Lusher were never found.
On Tuesday, a joint law enforcement effort conducted a search of a property in Lanesborough in connection to unsolved crimes police believe were committed by Lent. A number of law enforcement agencies were part of the search Tuesday, including the Hampden County District Attorney’s office, Massachusetts State Police, New York State Police, the Herkimer District Attorney’s office and the Berkshire District Attorney’s office.
The property was searched before in connection to the same case.
“[Tuesday’s] search is a part of an ongoing effort to solve cases involving missing children that may have been among Lent’s victims,” officials said in a press release. “Law enforcement in both Massachusetts and New York are dedicated to bringing justice for the children who remain missing and will continue to investigate all leads until their cases have been solved.”
No additional evidence was recovered during the search, officials said.
But they aren’t giving up. Officials believe Lent knows more than he’s telling investigators, including the location of Wood’s remains.
“I do believe he does know, yes. I believe he knows. He has indicated at various times with Major Crimes that he has wanted to tell us, but he’s just not ready. I think he knows exactly where she is,” Herkimer County District Attorney Jeffrey Carpenter told the Rome Sentinel.
