Murder of Sara Anne Wood

Sara Anne Wood was born in New York on March 4, 1981, the youngest of three children born to Robert and Frances Wood.Victims in the War on Crime: The Use and Abuse of Victims' Rights {{ISBN|978-0-814-71929-9}} p. 181 Her father was a pastor at Norwich Corners Presbyterian Church in the rural community of Sauquoit, New York,{{cite news|url=https://lohud.newspapers.com/article/124078136/killer-wont-reveal-where-he-buried-saw/|title=Killer Won't Reveal Where He Buried Sara Anne Wood: Judge Sentences Lent to Twenty-Five Years to Life|work=Mount Vernon Argus|location=Herkimer, New York|agency=Associated Press|date=April 12, 1997|page=11|access-date=August 1, 2023|via=Newspapers.com|archive-date=August 1, 2023|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230801015421/https://lohud.newspapers.com/article/124078136/killer-wont-reveal-where-he-buried-saw/|url-status=live}} where she and her two siblings, Dusty (17) and Nikki (14), worshipped.{{cite news|last=Pagnozzi|first=Amy|url=https://www.newspapers.com/article/daily-news-sara-ann-wood/31734722/|title=Take a Long, Hard Look|newspaper=New York Daily News|date=September 24, 1993|page=14|access-date=November 25, 2023|via=Newspapers.com|archive-date=November 25, 2023|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20231125040726/https://www.newspapers.com/article/daily-news-sara-ann-wood/31734722/|url-status=live}} The family resided at 300 Hacadam Road in Sauquoit.{{cite news|url=https://eu.uticaod.com/story/opinion/editorials/2018/08/19/our-view-pledge-for-sara/11015838007/|title=Our View: Pledge for Sara to Keep our Kids Safe|newspaper=Observer-Dispatch|location=Central New York|date=August 19, 2018|orig-date=August 17, 2018|access-date=July 9, 2023|archive-date=August 17, 2023|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230817203809/https://www.uticaod.com/story/opinion/editorials/2018/08/19/our-view-pledge-for-sara/11015838007/|url-status=live}}{{cite news|date=August 23, 1993|title=Pastor's 12-Year-Old Daughter Is Missing|newspaper=The New York Times|url=https://www.nytimes.com/1993/08/23/nyregion/pastor-s-12-year-old-daughter-is-missing.html|access-date=July 6, 2023|agency=Associated Press|page=B2|archive-date=July 6, 2023|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230706034604/https://www.nytimes.com/1993/08/23/nyregion/pastor-s-12-year-old-daughter-is-missing.html|url-status=live}}

Sara has been described as an intelligent, religious, lively and exuberant child with a love of dancing and poetry. Her brother, Dusty, would also recollect his sister was a devoted fan of country musician Dolly Parton and had a giving personality.{{cite news|last=Thomas|first=Cara|url=https://spectrumlocalnews.com/nys/central-ny/news/2018/08/18/25-years-since-sara-anne-wood-abduction|title=Sara Anne Wood's Legacy Lives on 25 Years Later|work=Spectrum News|date=August 18, 2018|access-date=July 6, 2023|archive-date=July 19, 2023|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230719221705/https://spectrumlocalnews.com/nys/central-ny/news/2018/08/18/25-years-since-sara-anne-wood-abduction|url-status=live}} Similar sentiments were also made by staff and pupils at Sara's elementary school, with one teacher, Nancy Waldeck, later recollecting: "She was just the happiest little girl ...The thing I remember most is that she would just giggle all the time and she could get me laughing and get the whole class laughing, and I would literally have to turn around and think to myself, 'Okay, I'm the teacher. Stop laughing at everything that comes out of her mouth.{{' "}}{{cite news|last=Roth|first=Amy Neff|date=August 12, 2018|orig-date=August 10, 2018|title='She was Just the Happiest Little Girl'|newspaper=Observer-Dispatch|url=https://eu.uticaod.com/story/news/2018/08/12/she-was-just-happiest/6493611007/|access-date=August 2, 2023|archive-date=August 17, 2023|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230817203807/https://www.uticaod.com/story/news/2018/08/12/she-was-just-happiest/6493611007/|url-status=live}}

Shortly after a family shopping trip on the morning of August 18, 1993, Sara rode her bicycle from the family home to the Norwich Corners Presbyterian Church with view to attending Vacation Bible school. According to her older brother, Sara had been in a cheerful mood immediately prior to leaving the family home—singing the Dolly Parton song "9 to 5" aloud—before climbing on her bike and riding to her father's church as she called to her brother, "See you later."{{cite news|last=Moriarty|first=Erin|author-link=Erin Moriarty (journalist)|date=March 16, 2025|orig-date=September 21, 2024|title=Where is Sara Anne Wood? Location of N.Y. Girl's Body a Mystery Decades After Murder|publisher=CBS News|url=https://www.cbsnews.com/news/sara-anne-wood-new-york-murder-mystery-lewis-lent-serial-killer-48-hours/|access-date=May 10, 2025}}

Sara was last seen at approximately 2:30 p.m., riding her bicycle up a steep hill on Hacadam Road in Frankfort, New York, close to Norwich Corners Church on adjoining Roberts Road, en route to her home following her religious classes.{{cite web|url=http://www.nampn.org/cases/wood_sara.html|title=Sara Anne Wood|website=www.nampn.org|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160701183249/http://www.nampn.org/cases/wood_sara.html|archive-date=July 1, 2016|access-date=May 3, 2023|via=Wayback Machine}} She was carrying a display board, a church song book, and Vacation Bible school literature. The location of her final sighting was less than half a mile from her home. At the time of this sighting, Sara was riding her bicycle,{{cite web|url=https://rcccmcc.com/2020/03/02/sara-anne-wood/|title=Resource Center for Cold Case Missing Children's Cases: Sara Anne Wood|website=rcccmcc.com|date=March 2, 2020|access-date=July 4, 2023|archive-date=July 4, 2023|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230704001855/https://rcccmcc.com/2020/03/02/sara-anne-wood/|url-status=live}} although according to her abductor, she had dismounted her bike and was walking alongside the road pushing the cycle at the time he spotted her.{{Cite news|last=Cleaver|first=Jolene|date=August 12, 2018|orig-date=August 10, 2018|title=It's Like Talking to the Devil Himself|newspaper=Observer-Dispatch|url=https://eu.uticaod.com/story/news/2018/08/12/it-s-like-talking/6493627007/|access-date=July 17, 2023|archive-date=August 17, 2023|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230817203806/https://www.uticaod.com/story/news/2018/08/12/it-s-like-talking/6493627007/|url-status=live}}

At the time of Sara's disappearance, she was wearing a pink T-shirt with the words "Guess Who" embroidered upon the front, turquoise blue shorts, and brown sandals. She was also wearing prescription glasses.{{cite news|date=September 3, 1993|url=https://www.nytimes.com/1993/09/03/nyregion/volunteers-push-the-search-for-a-missing-girl-12.html|title=Volunteers Push the Search for a Missing Girl, 12|work=The New York Times|page=B5|access-date=July 17, 2023|archive-date=July 17, 2023|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230717184126/https://www.nytimes.com/1993/09/03/nyregion/volunteers-push-the-search-for-a-missing-girl-12.html|url-status=live}}

Within an hour of Sara's abduction, her parents, brother and sister became alarmed by her absence. The child was reported missing to police later the same afternoon, and several hundred troopers and volunteer firefighters searched several dozens of square miles of terrain. Sara's family themselves immediately pursued all tangible methods to locate her, including conducting searches around their neighborhood, and printing and distributing missing persons flyers.{{refn|group=n|In 2019, Sara's brother, Dusty, would recollect that he and his family almost immediately pursued all options available to them to locate Sara and raise awareness of her disappearance, stating: "We went bonkers with Xeroxes. Like, that day ... it was pretty obvious she was missing. We quickly moved into trying to find her."}} Her bicycle was soon discovered leaning against a tree several yards from Hacadam Road. A search of the area revealed her coloring book and crayons hidden in an area of brush close to her bicycle, and investigators rapidly determined the child had been transported from the site of her abduction in a vehicle.{{cite news|url=https://newspaperarchive.com/syracuse-herald-journal-aug-24-1993-p-45/|title=Sara was Abducted, Her Family Says|work=Syracuse Herald-Journal|location=Syracuse, New York|date=August 24, 1993|page=45|access-date=July 22, 2023|archive-date=July 22, 2023|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230722003626/https://newspaperarchive.com/syracuse-herald-journal-aug-24-1993-p-45/|url-status=live}} {{Closed access}}

An extensive search of the vicinity of Sara's disappearance and other potential areas of interest was conducted over the following five days by both state police and forest rangers; these ground level efforts and extensive public appeals for information leading to Sara's whereabouts and safe return failed to either locate the child or yield clues to her whereabouts, although the extensive news coverage of her disappearance galvanized much of the public throughout upstate New York and the ongoing efforts to locate Sara received considerable media attention.{{cite news|url=https://www.nytimes.com/1993/11/11/nyregion/a-town-is-hopeful-that-a-girl-still-lives.html|title=A Town Is Hopeful That a Girl Still Lives |work=The New York Times|date=November 11, 1993|page=B9|access-date=July 23, 2023}} More than 1,000 leads were received and either pursued or discounted, and a public reward for Sara's safe return ultimately reached over $150,000.

Police searches were bolstered by hundreds of members of the public, who assisted in the search and provided refreshments for volunteers and investigators alike. Teal ribbons symbolizing Sara were also placed in numerous public locations.{{refn|group=n|These symbolic ribbons were colored teal in honor of one of Sara's favorite colors.}}

By the week following Sara's disappearance, the efforts to recover her—alive or deceased—had expanded statewide, then nationwide. All developments pertaining to the search were relayed into an improvised headquarters named the "Rescue Sara Center" in New Hartford, New York.{{cite web|last=Croyle|first=Johnathan|title=Twenty-Five Years Ago Sara Anne Wood Vanished and Launched a National Search|url=https://www.newyorkupstate.com/adirondacks/2018/08/this_year_marks_the_25th_anniversary_of_sara_anne_woods_disappearance.html|access-date=July 9, 2023|website=newyorkupstate.com|date=August 18, 2018|archive-date=July 9, 2023|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230709023414/https://www.newyorkupstate.com/adirondacks/2018/08/this_year_marks_the_25th_anniversary_of_sara_anne_woods_disappearance.html|url-status=live}}{{cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=YwgEAAAAMBAJ&pg=PA103|title=Billboard: The International Newsweekly of Music|date=November 5, 1994|page=103|access-date=July 9, 2023|archive-date=July 9, 2023|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230709032646/https://books.google.co.uk/books?id=YwgEAAAAMBAJ&pg=PA103&dq|url-status=live}} Thousands of missing persons posters were circulated across America and appeals and updates regarding Sara's abduction were broadcast upon 48 Hours and America's Most Wanted.

In 1996, a 45-year-old janitor named Lewis Stephen Lent Jr. of North Adams, Massachusetts, was formally charged with Sara's abduction and murder.{{cite news|url=https://buffalonews.com/news/suspected-killer-sends-denials-to-syracuse-media/article_408e6b27-28db-5cf5-9a95-6ad4ddc9a2c7.html|title=Suspected Killer Sends Denials to Syracuse Media|work=The Buffalo News|date=February 11, 1994|access-date=July 31, 2023|archive-date=August 1, 2023|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230801020422/https://buffalonews.com/news/suspected-killer-sends-denials-to-syracuse-media/article_408e6b27-28db-5cf5-9a95-6ad4ddc9a2c7.html|url-status=live}} {{Subscription required}} Lent had been arrested and convicted of attempting to abduct a 12-year-old girl named Rebecca Savarese at gunpoint in Pittsfield, Massachusetts, on January 7, 1994.{{cite news|last=Johnson|first=Kirk|url=https://www.nytimes.com/1994/01/14/nyregion/turning-a-spotlight-on-a-life-in-shadow-an-outsider-is-under-suspicion.html|title=Turning a Spotlight on a Life in Shadow; An Outsider is Under Suspicion|work=The New York Times|date=January 14, 1994|page=B1|access-date=July 17, 2023|archive-date=July 17, 2023|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230717214431/https://www.nytimes.com/1994/01/14/nyregion/turning-a-spotlight-on-a-life-in-shadow-an-outsider-is-under-suspicion.html|url-status=live}} This attempted abduction failed when the child feigned a severe asthma attack as he attempted to drag her by her backpack into his pickup truck, allowing her to free her arms from the straps of the bag and flee.{{cite news|url=https://www.upi.com/Archives/1995/01/13/Convicted-child-abductor-sentenced/3975789973200/|title=Convicted Child Abductor Sentenced|website=upi.com|location=Pittsfield, Massachusetts|agency=United Press International|date=January 13, 1995|access-date=July 10, 2023}}

Savarese's attempted abduction was observed by an eyewitness who followed Lent's vehicle from a discreet distance until he noted his license plate number, which he relayed to the police. A search of the kidnap vehicle revealed duct tape, a knife, a gun, a pair of child's sunglasses, and candy; a search of Lent's van revealed Savarese's backpack and a loaded revolver.{{cite web|url=https://law.justia.com/cases/massachusetts/court-of-appeals/volumes/46/46massappct705.html|title=Commonwealth vs. Lewis S. Lent, Jr.|website=law.justia.com|date=May 10, 1999|access-date=August 1, 2023|archive-date=July 31, 2023|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230731232923/https://law.justia.com/cases/massachusetts/court-of-appeals/volumes/46/46massappct705.html|url-status=live}}

A search of Lent's Lanesborough home revealed an intricate private chamber in the process of construction beneath the house which Lent confessed he was constructing for the sole purpose of restraining and abusing future victims—primarily female—prior to their murder. He further elaborated his ideal intended victims would be between the ages of twelve and seventeen, with long hair and "just beginning to develop" physically and whom he could "take out" from this area of confinement whenever he desired to abuse. This chamber was still incomplete, thus meaning that any victims he successfully kidnapped in the meantime would be used for "quickies" before their murder.

Lent was sentenced to serve a term of between seventeen and twenty years' imprisonment for Savarese's attempted abduction,{{cite news|url=https://www.masslive.com/news/2013/02/search_for_body_of_1993_murder.html|title=Search for Body of New York Murder Victim Sara Wood May be Renewed; Killer Linked to Disappearance of Jamie Lusher of Westfield|work=The Republican|location=Herkimer, New York|date=February 15, 2013|access-date=July 24, 2023|archive-date=July 23, 2023|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230723233201/https://www.masslive.com/news/2013/02/search_for_body_of_1993_murder.html|url-status=live}} to be served at MCI Walpole, on January 13, 1995.

Shortly after Lent's arrest for Savarese's attempted abduction, investigators in New York reviewed a disseminated teletype of the offense—the victim profile and general circumstances of which closely matched Sara's abduction.{{cite news|last=Carey|first=Bill|url=https://spectrumlocalnews.com/news/2015/05/12/confessor-to-sara-anne-woods-murder-has-police-searching-again|title=Confessor to Sara Anne Wood's Murder Has Police Searching Again|work=Spectrum News|date=May 12, 2015|access-date=July 22, 2013|archive-date=May 4, 2022|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220504150241/https://spectrumlocalnews.com/news/2015/05/12/confessor-to-sara-anne-woods-murder-has-police-searching-again|url-status=live}} He was interrogated shortly after his arrest and soon confessed to Sara's rape and murder in addition to the October 22, 1990, abduction and murder of a 12-year-old Pittsfield, Massachusetts, boy named James Joseph Bernardo.{{cite news|last=Huberdeau|first=Jennifer|date=February 10, 2023|url=https://www.berkshireeagle.com/arts_and_culture/books/lewis-lent-jimmy-bernardo-true-crime-berkshires/article_6988f8f4-a653-11ed-8e6f-e7f928ff0b76.html|title=The Capture and Conviction of Pittsfield's Child Serial Killer Lewis Lent Jr. is Detailed in a New Book: 'Hidden Demons'|work=The Berkshire Eagle|location=Pittsfield, New York|access-date=June 29, 2023|archive-date=June 30, 2023|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230630005415/https://www.berkshireeagle.com/arts_and_culture/books/lewis-lent-jimmy-bernardo-true-crime-berkshires/article_6988f8f4-a653-11ed-8e6f-e7f928ff0b76.html|url-status=live}}{{cite news|last=Dobrowolski|first=Tony|url=https://www.berkshireeagle.com/news/local/lewis-lent-jr-confesses-to-1992-killing-of-westfield-boy-da-says/article_c0ce40d9-e3dc-5612-89e3-a6f861d2fd9c.html|title=Lewis Lent Jr. Confesses to 1992 Killing of Westfield Boy, DA Says|work=The Berkshire Eagle|location=Westfield, Massachusetts|date=July 16, 2013|access-date=June 29, 2023|archive-date=June 30, 2023|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230630010527/https://www.berkshireeagle.com/news/local/lewis-lent-jr-confesses-to-1992-killing-of-westfield-boy-da-says/article_c0ce40d9-e3dc-5612-89e3-a6f861d2fd9c.html|url-status=live}}

Lent claimed to have encountered Bernardo outside the movie theater where he worked as a janitor. He had offered the boy $5 to move chairs in the theater, which Bernardo accepted. Inside the theater, he bound Bernardo's hands behind his back at knifepoint, then drove him to his home, where the child was bound by his wrists and ankles to Lent's bed.{{cite web|url=https://law.justia.com/cases/massachusetts/supreme-court/volumes/420/420mass764.html|title=Commonwealth vs. Lewis S. Lent, Jr.|website=law.justia.com|date=July 17, 1995|access-date=July 19, 2023|archive-date=July 18, 2023|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230718232834/https://law.justia.com/cases/massachusetts/supreme-court/volumes/420/420mass764.html|url-status=live}} The following morning, he drove the blindfolded boy to an area of woodland in Newfield, New York, where he strangled him to death with a section of rope. Bernardo's body was found by hunters several weeks after his abduction. The duct tape placed over the boy's mouth and across his eyes was a match to that discovered in Lent's vehicle at the time of his arrest, thus substantiating Lent's confession.{{cite news|url=https://www.timesunion.com/news/article/Man-admits-to-third-slaying-4667264.php|title=Man Admits to Third Slaying|work=Times Union|location=Westfield, Massachusetts|agency=Associated Press|date=July 15, 2013|access-date=June 29, 2023|archive-date=June 30, 2023|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230630012008/https://www.timesunion.com/news/article/Man-admits-to-third-slaying-4667264.php|url-status=live}}

File:Raquette Lake from the Crags, Adirondack Mountains-LCCN2008679637.jpg, viewed from the Adirondack Mountains. Lent claimed to have buried Sara's body close to this lake shortly after her abduction and murder.]]

Lent confessed to encountering Sara walking alongside her bicycle upon Hacadam Road; he claimed to have dragged her into his van at knifepoint, bound her hands and driven to the Adirondack Mountains where he sexually assaulted Sara before bludgeoning her with a tree branch as the child begged for her life.{{cite web|url=http://edition.cnn.com/US/9704/11/small.town.kidnap/|title=Child Killer is Sentenced but Other Abductions Unsolved|website=CNN|date=April 11, 1997|access-date=July 29, 2023|archive-date=July 28, 2023|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230728232813/http://edition.cnn.com/US/9704/11/small.town.kidnap/|url-status=dead}} He had then buried her body in a shallow grave within a clearing near Raquette Lake, at a location in or near the town of Inlet, without ensuring she was dead as opposed to simply unconscious before he had buried her, adding he could still see his van from the location where he buried Sara.{{cite news|url=https://newspaperarchive.com/us/new-york/syracuse/syracuse-herald-journal/1994/01-14/page-6|title=Search for Sara Goes On|work=Syracuse Herald-Journal|location=Syracuse, New York|date=January 14, 1994|access-date=May 18, 2025|page=6}}{{cite news|last=Steil|first=Jeffrey|url=https://www.syracuse.com/news/2013/07/herkimer_county_da_state_police_work_with_massachusetts_authorities_for_sara_ann.html|title=Sara Anne Wood Case: Herkimer County District Attorney, State Police Work With Massachusetts Authorities|work=The Post-Standard|location=Herkimer, New York|agency=Associated Press|date=September 26, 2024|orig-date=July 17, 2013|access-date=July 11, 2023|archive-date=July 11, 2023|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230711012642/https://www.syracuse.com/news/2013/07/herkimer_county_da_state_police_work_with_massachusetts_authorities_for_sara_ann.html|url-status=live}} He agreed to draw a map of the location of her burial to assist investigators in the recovery of her body.{{cite web|last=Tuthill|first=Paul|url=https://www.wamc.org/new-england-news/2013-07-15/child-serial-killer-lewis-lent-linked-to-cold-case|title=Child Serial Killer Lewis Lent Linked To Cold Case|website=WAMC|date=July 15, 2013|access-date=April 1, 2024}}

An extensive search of the area around Raquette Lake was mounted to locate Sara's body; the search lasted over two weeks and involved over 100 state troopers, the New York State Department of Environmental Conservation Police, numerous civilian volunteers, and over fifty personnel from Griffiss Air Force Base. Search and rescue dogs and heavy equipment were also used in the search and many other civilians prepared meals with food donated by local businesses and the public for the searchers; others—including Sara's father—transported sandwiches, beverages and excavation equipment from storage facilities to the search locations. These extensive efforts ultimately proved fruitless.{{cite news|last=Earl|first=Mary Margaret|url=https://newspaperarchive.com/syracuse-post-standard-jan-21-1994-p-27/|title=Sara Searchers Know what Needs to be Done|date=January 21, 1994|newspaper=The New York Times|page=27|access-date=July 14, 2023|archive-date=July 14, 2023|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230714121611/https://newspaperarchive.com/syracuse-post-standard-jan-21-1994-p-27/|url-status=live}} {{Closed access}}

Lent subsequently claimed that Sara had not actually been buried at a location close to Raquette Lake, although he refused to disclose the actual whereabouts of her remains—claiming that he had buried another victim's body close to hers which he did not want to be found.{{cite news|url=https://www.nytimes.com/1997/04/12/nyregion/killer-declines-to-tell-where-girl-is-buried.html|title=Killer Declines to Tell Where Girl Is Buried|date=April 12, 1997|work=The New York Times|agency=Associated Press|page=24|access-date=May 3, 2023|archive-date=May 4, 2023|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230504041129/https://www.nytimes.com/1997/04/12/nyregion/killer-declines-to-tell-where-girl-is-buried.html|url-status=live}}

Lent was tried separately for both homicides.{{cite news|url=https://buffalonews.com/news/lent-found-fit-to-stand-trial/article_df1540ca-e1bd-5b8e-9208-1fd051414e11.html|title=Lent Found Fit to Stand Trial|work=The Buffalo News|date=May 17, 1996|access-date=July 29, 2023}} {{Subscription required}} In June 1996, he pleaded guilty to Bernardo's abduction and murder; on October 16, he received a sentence of life in prison without the possibility of parole. At his formal sentencing for Bernardo's murder, he informed his attorney that he also wished to plead guilty to Sara's murder; however, reportedly upon seeing Sara's parents in the courtroom at this hearing, he refused to provide any further details pertaining to her actual whereabouts.

Nine days after pleading guilty to Bernardo's murder, on October 25, 1996, Lent pleaded guilty to Sara's abduction, rape and murder. Although Sara's family were not present in the courtroom on this occasion, he again refused to provide any additional information regarding the child's whereabouts.{{cite news|last=Croyle|first=Johnathan|url=https://www.syracuse.com/vintage/2016/10/throwback_thursday_lewis_lent.html|title=Throwback Thursday: Lewis Lent Pleads Guilty to Murdering Sara Anne Wood|work=The Post-Standard|date=November 1, 2024|orig-date=October 27, 2016|access-date=July 11, 2023|archive-date=July 11, 2023|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230711014653/https://www.syracuse.com/vintage/2016/10/throwback_thursday_lewis_lent.html|url-status=live}} {{Limited access}}

Though Lent later recanted his confession to Sara's abduction and murder,{{cite news|last=Single|first=Carl J.|url=https://www.syracuse.com/news/2013/07/mass_man_convicted_of_killing_sara_ann_wood_admits_to_killing_a_third_child.html|title=Mass. Man Convicted of Killing Sara Anne Wood Admits to Killing a Third Child|work=The Post-Standard|location=Westfield, Massachusetts|date=September 20, 2024|orig-date=July 16, 2013|access-date=July 16, 2023|agency=Associated Press|archive-date=July 19, 2023|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230719142309/https://www.syracuse.com/news/2013/07/mass_man_convicted_of_killing_sara_ann_wood_admits_to_killing_a_third_child.html|url-status=live}} he was convicted of her second-degree murder and formally sentenced to a concurrent term of 25 years to life in prison by Judge Patrick Kirk on April 11, 1997.{{cite news|last=Kates|first=William|url=https://eu.southcoasttoday.com/story/news/state/1997/04/12/lent-gets-25-to-life/50607031007/|title=Lent Gets 25 to Life for Kidnapping, Murder|work=Hathaway Publishing|location=Herkimer, New York|date=January 10, 2011|orig-date=April 12, 1997|access-date=July 24, 2023}} His sentencing was delayed by two months at the request of Sara's parents in the hope he might be persuaded to finally reveal the location of their daughter's body.

In the months immediately prior to his sentencing, Lent refused a plea bargain offer from Herkimer County District Attorney Michael Daley whereby he would not serve his life sentence inside a state prison if he revealed the location of Sara's body; he also refused final, personal pleas from Sara's parents and brother to reveal her whereabouts throughout the sentencing phase of his trial. These final pleas from Sara's family included recitations of Bible verses urging him to repent for his past deeds.

{{quote box

| quote = You may think you have power over us because you know where Sara's body is;... we know where Sara's soul is, so therefore you have no power over us.

| source = Dusty Wood, imploring Lent to reveal the location of Sara's body prior to his sentencing for her abduction and murder. April 1997.{{cite web|last=Croyle|first=Johnathan|title=Throwback Thursday: Lewis Lent Pleads Guilty to Murdering Sara Anne Wood|url=https://www.newyorkupstate.com/news/2016/10/throwback_thursday_lewis_lent_pleads_guilty_to_murdering_sara_anne_wood.html|access-date=July 27, 2023|website=newyorkupstate.com|date=October 27, 2016|archive-date=July 27, 2023|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230727223305/https://www.newyorkupstate.com/news/2016/10/throwback_thursday_lewis_lent_pleads_guilty_to_murdering_sara_anne_wood.html|url-status=live}}

| width = 29em

}}

A final request from Judge Kirk to Lent to reveal the location of her body immediately prior to his imposing sentence was also ignored, prompting the judge to remark he would have had no hesitation in imposing the death penalty upon Lent had he the legal option to do so in this case.

Lent is currently incarcerated in Pittsfield, Massachusetts. Investigators have not discounted future visits with him to discuss where Sara is actually buried, although Michael Daley has stated he believes Lent has taunted Sara's family and investigators alike by refusing to reveal her burial location,{{cite news|last=LaDuca|first=Rocco|url=https://eu.timestelegram.com/story/news/2013/02/18/nearly-20-years-later-search/44787612007/|title=Nearly 20 Years Later, Search for Sara Anne Wood Could Resume|location=Herkimer, New York|newspaper=The Times Telegram|date=February 18, 2013|orig-date=February 17, 2013|access-date=July 22, 2023|language=en|archive-date=August 17, 2023|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230817204326/https://www.timestelegram.com/story/news/2013/02/18/nearly-20-years-later-search/44787612007/|url-status=live}} stating in 2013: "I believe that [he] has misled us intentionally in a number of different areas, but he has given us all the information we need to find the location; he just hasn't given us the final piece – and he is challenging us to find that ourselves."{{cite news|last=LaDuca|first=Rocco|date=February 15, 2013|orig-date=February 14, 2013|title=Nearly 20 Years Later, Search for Sara Anne Wood Might Resume|newspaper=Observer-Dispatch|url=https://eu.uticaod.com/story/news/environment/2013/02/15/nearly-20-years-later-search/45056768007/|access-date=July 20, 2023|archive-date=August 17, 2023|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230817204323/https://www.uticaod.com/story/news/environment/2013/02/15/nearly-20-years-later-search/45056768007/|url-status=live}}

In 2013, Lent confessed to the November 6, 1992, abduction and murder of 16-year-old James Donald Lusher, a mentally disabled teenager who disappeared while riding his mountain bike to his grandmother's home in Blandford, Massachusetts.{{cite news|last=Borondy|first=Kinga|url=https://eu.telegram.com/story/news/state/2023/05/24/massachusetts-missing-children-remembered-state-urged-to-fund-data-base-forensics-to-resolve-cases/70252868007/|title=Speaking up for Missing Children: Mass. Lawmakers Urged to Fund Database|location=Boston|newspaper=Telegram & Gazette|date=May 26, 2023|orig-date=May 24, 2023|access-date=July 22, 2023|language=en|archive-date=May 25, 2023|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230525190309/https://eu.telegram.com/story/news/state/2023/05/24/massachusetts-missing-children-remembered-state-urged-to-fund-data-base-forensics-to-resolve-cases/70252868007/|url-status=live}} He agreed to confess to this murder in exchange for his not being prosecuted.{{cite news|url=https://www.wcvb.com/article/divers-scour-pond-after-serial-killer-admits-murdering-teen/8185130|title=Divers Scour Pond After Serial Killer Admits Murdering Teen|location=Becket, Massachusetts|publisher=WCVB|date=July 16, 2023|access-date=June 28, 2023|language=en|archive-date=June 28, 2023|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230628200436/https://www.wcvb.com/article/divers-scour-pond-after-serial-killer-admits-murdering-teen/8185130|url-status=live}} According to Lent's confession, Lusher was abducted close to his Westfield, Massachusetts, home and his body discarded in the town of Becket.{{cite web|last1=Young|first1=Colin A.|last2=Ellement|first2=John R.|url=https://www.boston.com/uncategorized/noprimarytagmatch/2013/07/15/serial-killer-lewis-s-lent-jr-confessed-to-kidnapping-murder-of-jamie-lusher-in-1992-officials-said/|title=Serial Killer Lewis S. Lent Jr. Confessed to Kidnapping, Murder of Jamie Lusher in 1992, Officials Said|website=Boston.com|location=Westfield, Massachusetts|date=July 15, 2013|access-date=July 19, 2023|archive-date=July 19, 2023|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230719002031/https://www.boston.com/uncategorized/noprimarytagmatch/2013/07/15/serial-killer-lewis-s-lent-jr-confessed-to-kidnapping-murder-of-jamie-lusher-in-1992-officials-said/|url-status=live}} Lusher's bike was discovered several days after his disappearance, although his remains have also never been recovered.{{cite news|last=Flynn|first=Jack|title=Serial Killer Lewis Lent's Confession in Jamie Lusher Case in Massachusetts Prompts New Scrutiny of Possible Role in Older, Unsolved Killings|url=https://www.masslive.com/news/2013/07/state_police_search_for_jamie.html|access-date=July 15, 2023|newspaper=The Republican|location=Westfield, Massachusetts|date=July 16, 2013|archive-date=July 15, 2023|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230715181030/https://www.masslive.com/news/2013/07/state_police_search_for_jamie.html|url-status=live}}

Lent is also considered a suspect in the 1986 disappearance of Tammie Anne McCormick, a 13-year-old Saratoga Springs Junior High School student.{{cite news|last=Williams|first=Stephen|date=November 7, 2017|url=https://dailygazette.com/2017/11/07/excavation-linked-to-1986-missing-teen-case|title=Excavation Linked to 1986 Missing Teen Case: Tammie McCormick Went Missing in Saratoga 31 Years Ago|work=The Daily Gazette|location=Saratoga Springs, New York|access-date=July 22, 2023|archive-date=July 6, 2023|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230706213918/https://dailygazette.com/2017/11/07/excavation-linked-to-1986-missing-teen-case/|url-status=live}} McCormick was last seen alive by her older sister, whom she informed of her intentions to hitchhike to school. She never arrived at her destination. Although McCormick had informed school friends of her intentions to run away to Florida prior to her disappearance, she did not take any of her personal belongings. Foul play is suspected in her case, with Arthur Mason Slaybaugh also named as a prime suspect.{{cite news|last=Fitzpatrick|first=Edward|date=January 13, 1994|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=XNtQAAAAIBAJ&dq=%22Disappearance+of+Sara+Anne+Wood%22&pg=PA8&article_id=4288,2756617|title=Police Seek Link Between Serial Killer Suspect and 1986 Case|work=The Daily Gazette|location=Saratoga Springs, New York|page=B5|access-date=May 23, 2023|archive-date=July 19, 2023|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230719142757/https://books.google.com/books?id=XNtQAAAAIBAJ&dq=%22Disappearance+of+Sara+Anne+Wood%22&pg=PA8&article_id=4288,2756617|url-status=live}}

{{quote box

| quote = We have sent out over ten-and-a-half million posters of missing children, all throughout the United States, and represented about eleven thousand missing children ... out of that eleven thousand, we've helped to recover over seventy-five hundred.

| source = Wendy Fical, National Center For Missing and Exploited Children Program Director, reciting statistics detailing the efforts and success of the New York branch of the NCMEC. 2018.

| width = 29em

}}

Following Sara's disappearance, her family founded the Sara Anne Wood Rescue Center; this center later amalgamated into the Mohawk Valley branch of the National Center for Missing & Exploited Children (NCMEC) and remains operational. This facility is located in Utica, New York, specializes in the preparation and distribution of missing child posters, and remains the only geographically targeted missing child poster distribution center in the United States.{{cite news|last=Sorrell-White|first=Stephanie|url=https://eu.southcoasttoday.com/story/news/2019/06/07/ride-for-missing-children-stops/4960582007/|title=Ride for Missing Children Stops at Barringer Road|location=Ilion, New York|publisher=Hathaway Publishing|date=June 7, 2019|access-date=August 3, 2023|language=en|archive-date=August 17, 2023|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230817204815/https://www.southcoasttoday.com/story/news/2019/06/07/ride-for-missing-children-stops/4960582007/|url-status=live}} In 2017 alone, the efforts of this branch resulted in the safe recovery of 399 children nationwide.{{cite web|url=https://www.doenetwork.org/cases/851dfny.html|title=Case File 851DFNY|publisher=The Doe Network|date=May 18, 2022|access-date=May 3, 2023|url-status=live|archive-date=May 4, 2023|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230504041130/https://www.doenetwork.org/cases/851dfny.html}}

On National Missing Children's Day 1995, seven cyclists—including Sara's father and 19-year-old brother—organized a symbolic bicycle ride from Utica to Washington, D.C. to raise awareness of the Sara Anne Wood Rescue Center, and missing children in general.{{cite news|last=Bostick|first=Carolyn|url=https://eu.timestelegram.com/story/news/2016/06/03/column-fitting-tribute-to-missing/28227756007/|title=Column: A Fitting Tribute to Missing Children|location=Herkimer, New York|newspaper=The Times Telegram|date=June 3, 2016|access-date=August 2, 2023|language=en|archive-date=August 17, 2023|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230817204815/https://www.timestelegram.com/story/news/2016/06/03/column-fitting-tribute-to-missing/28227756007/|url-status=live}} Two years later, inspired by this first symbolic bicycle ride, 43 cyclists replicated the event. These symbolic bike rides have since become annual events at locations in and around upstate New York and are known as the "Ride for Missing Children," which honors the ongoing commitments of the Sara Anne Wood Rescue Center and law enforcement to raise awareness of the plight of missing children and their families in addition to teaching the importance of child safety education to prevent child abduction and sexual exploitation. All funds raised are given to the National Center For Missing & Exploited Children, and each annual bike ride sees thousands of attendees.{{cite web|url=https://www.therideformissingchildren.com/about/|title=The Ride for Missing Children|website=therideformissingchildren.com|date=January 1, 2021|access-date=July 7, 2023|archive-date=July 7, 2023|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230707162209/https://www.therideformissingchildren.com/about/|url-status=live}}

Each participant cyclist at this one-day ride wears a jersey of Sara's favorite colors of teal and pink, with additional colors of white to represent all missing children nationwide, and purple as a salute to law enforcement personnel in general. Participants stop at schools en route to deliver messages of safety and awareness and each is asked to raise a minimum of $300 for the cause. Some schools release balloons with affixed paper messages instructing upon how to keep children safe at the conclusion of the participant cyclists' visit,{{Cite news|last=Roth|first=Amy Neff|date=May 15, 2015|title=Inspired by Sara Anne Wood, Emotion-filled Ride Sends Message|newspaper=Observer-Dispatch|url=https://eu.uticaod.com/story/news/2015/05/15/inspired-by-sara-anne-wood/34549954007/|access-date=August 2, 2023|archive-date=August 17, 2023|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230817204815/https://www.uticaod.com/story/news/2015/05/15/inspired-by-sara-anne-wood/34549954007/|url-status=live}} and many participants wear a pin or brooch naming and/or depicting the child he or she is participating in honor of. The inscription upon the backs of many of these cyclists reads: "Making our children safer, one child at a time."{{refn|group=n|Following restrictions imposed due to the COVID-19 pandemic, other methods of participating in the "Ride for Missing Children" began in 2020. These events—known as "Miles for Hope"—allow participants to accrue miles walked, swam, or ran for the same cause without physically participating in the bike race and are hosted from September 1 to September 30.{{cite web|last=Schneider|first=H. Rose|url=https://eu.uticaod.com/story/news/local/2021/05/24/cyclists-sauquoit-ride-for-missing-children/5223166001/|title=Cyclists to Make Stop in Sauquoit as Part of Cross-state Journey to Honor Missing Children|newspaper=Observer-Dispatch|date=May 24, 2021|access-date=July 7, 2023|archive-date=August 17, 2023|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230817204821/https://www.uticaod.com/story/news/local/2021/05/24/cyclists-sauquoit-ride-for-missing-children/5223166001/|url-status=live}}}}

In the decade following Sara's abduction, annual reports of child abduction in New York decreased by thirty percent.

Shortly after Sara's disappearance, a tree was planted in her honor at Sauquoit Valley Middle School and a ribbon-shaped memorial installed in the grounds of the school. A plaque was later installed by her classmates in front of the tree in 1999—the year Sara would have graduated from high school.

In 2015, one of Sara's elementary sixth-grade school teachers, Christine Kisiel, would reflect on her former pupil and the enduring impact of her disappearance when referencing the annual "Ride for Missing Children" events: "When I was watching the bikers, I thought, 'Oh, my God, this all started with [Sara]' ... I can still see her sitting in my classroom. She was not a morning person and her hair was all in disarray. God, she was so cute! I can see her like it was yesterday."

Despite numerous searches having been conducted to locate Sara's remains, as of 2025, her body remains undiscovered.{{cite news|last=O'Toole|first=Catie|url=https://www.syracuse.com/crime/index.ssf/2015/05/sara_anne_wood_case_search_resumes_in_unsolved_cases_related_to_serial_killer_le.html|title=Sara Anne Wood Case: Search Resumes in Unsolved Cases Related to Serial Killer Lewis Lent|website=syracuse.com|location=Adams, Massachusetts|date=November 5, 2024|orig-date=May 12, 2015|access-date=May 26, 2017|archive-date=June 15, 2016|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160615035745/http://www.syracuse.com/crime/index.ssf/2015/05/sara_anne_wood_case_search_resumes_in_unsolved_cases_related_to_serial_killer_le.html|url-status=live}} Her family continues to hope her body will be found in order that she can be given a Christian burial close to her relatives.{{cite web|last=O'Brien|first=Charlie|url=https://medium.com/@Charlie_OBrien/what-happened-to-sara-wood-bda103b2795d|title=What Happened to Sara Wood?|publisher=Medium|date=June 7, 2023|access-date=April 1, 2024}} {{Limited access}}

{{div col|colwidth=22em}}

• Amber alert
• Child abduction
• Cold case
• List of kidnappings
• List of solved missing person cases
• National Center for Missing & Exploited Children
• The Doe Network

{{div col end}}

{{Portal bar|Biography|Law|New York (state)|1990s}}

{{reflist|group=n}}

{{reflist}}

• {{cite book| last = Collins| first = James J.| title = Law Enforcement Policies and Practices Regarding Missing Children and Homeless Youth| year = 1999| publisher = Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention | location = United States| isbn = 978-0-788-18639-4}}
• {{cite book| last = Cooper| first = Edith| title = Missing and Exploited Children: Overview and Policy Concerns| year = 2003| publisher = Novinka Books | location = New York| isbn = 978-1-590-33815-5}}
• {{cite book| last = Dubber| first = Markus| title = Victims in the War on Crime: The Use and Abuse of Victims' Rights| year = 2006| publisher = NYU Press | location = New York City| isbn = 978-0-814-71929-9}}
• {{cite book| last = Fass| first = Paula S.| title = Kidnapped: Child Abduction in America| year = 1997| publisher = Oxford University Press | location = Oxford| isbn = 978-0-674-00082-7}}
• {{cite book| last1 = Finkelhor| first1 = David| last2 = Sedlak| first2 = Andrea| last3 = Hotaling| first3 = Gerald T.| title = Missing, Abducted, Runaway, and Thrownaway Children in America| year = 1990| publisher = Officers of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention | location = New York| isbn = 0-788-12651-2}}
• {{cite book| last = Pettem| first = Silvia| title = Cold Case Research: Resources for Unidentified, Missing, and Cold Homicide Cases| year = 2013| publisher = CRC Press | location = Boca Raton| isbn = 978-1-466-57053-5}}
• {{cite book| last1 = Rinek| first1 = Jeffrey L.| last2 = Strong| first2 = Marilee| title = In The Name of the Children: The FBI Agents' Relentless Pursuit of America's Worst Predators| year = 2019| publisher = Quercus Books | location = London| isbn = 978-1-52940-187-5}}
• {{cite book| last = Sprague| first = Donald F.| title = Investigating Missing Children Cases: A Guide for First Responders and Investigators| year = 2013| publisher = Taylor & Francis Group | location = New York| isbn = 978-1-439-86063-2}}
• {{cite book| last1 = Tedisco| first1 = James N.| last2 = Paludi| first2 = Michele| title = Missing Children: A Psychological Approach to Understanding the Causes and Consequences of Stranger and Non-Stranger Abduction| year = 1996| publisher = State University of New York Press| location = New York| isbn = 978-0-585-07649-2}}
• {{cite book| last1 = Walsh| first1 = John| last2 = Lerman| first2 = Philip| title = Public Enemies: The Host of America's Most Wanted Targets| year = 2010| publisher = Pocket Books | location = New York| isbn = 978-0-671-01995-2}}

• 2018 Times Union [https://www.timesunion.com/news/article/Saturday-marks-25-years-since-Sara-Anne-Wood-s-13159403.php#photo-16020413 news article] detailing the 25th anniversary of Wood's disappearance
• [https://www.newspapers.com/article/31734722/sara_ann_wood_/ Contemporary news article] pertaining to the disappearance of Wood
• [https://charleyproject.org/case/sara-anne-wood Sara Anne Wood] at charleyproject.org
• {{NamUs MP|6828|Sara Anne Wood}}
• {{Doe Network|851dfny.html|Sara Anne Wood}}
• [https://www.missingkids.org/blog/2019/pre-update/the-legacy-of-sara-anne-wood The Legacy of Sara Anne Wood] at missingkids.org

{{Authority control}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Wood, Sara Anne}}

Category:1990s kidnappings in the United States

Category:1990s missing person cases

Category:1993 in New York (state)

Category:1993 murders in the United States

Category:August 1993 crimes in the United States

Category:Child abduction in the United States

Category:Child murder in New York (state)

Category:Child safety

Category:Deaths by person in New York (state)

Category:Incidents of violence against girls

Category:Missing person cases in New York (state)

Category:Murder convictions without a body

Category:Violence against women in New York (state)