Episode 107: The Disappearance of James Lusher
Lewis Lent Jr.
12-year-old James Bernardo and 12-year-old Sara Anne Wood, two of Lent’s other victims
On November 6th, 1992, 16-year-old James “Jamie” Lusher Jr. disappeared on his way to his grandmother's house in Blandford, Massachusetts. Jamie attended the Westfield Alternative School in Westfield, Massachusetts where his dad lived as he was a special needs student who was hyperactive and cognitively was about 12-years-old.
The day of his disappearance Jamie was riding his gray-green colored Huffy mountain bike that he had gotten as a birthday gift just three weeks before this, and he was planning on biking the 12 miles from his dad’s house to his grandmother’s house. This would also give him the chance to watch a bicycle race, which was right up his alley.
Two days after his disappearance on November 8th, a waitress at a Friendly's Restaurant in Westfield reported that she had seen Jamie. A hunter found his beloved bicycle abandoned near a pond in a wooded area on November 11th. An extensive search of the area revealed no additional evidence.
Lewis S. Lent Jr. was a convicted murderer who was charged with another murder of 12-year-old James Bernardo in Pittsfield, Massachusetts, as well as the disappearance of 12-year-old Sara Anne Wood, who was abducted when she was riding her bike home in Frankfort, New York. He initially confessed to the abduction and murder of Sara but then recanted his statement. Police were able to place Lewis in Westfield at the time of Jamie’s disappearance.
In July of 2013, authorities announced that Lewis Lent had confessed in detail to Jamie's murder and told police he dumped his body in Greenwater Pond in Becket, Massachusetts. The pond is located between two major highways, the Massachusetts Turnpike and Route 20, and is just over the town line from Lee. A massive three day search of the pond, which was 88 square acres and in some places as deep as 58 feet, went underway with divers searching carefully sectioned areas hand by hand.
Although no new evidence was found, Jamie’s father and sister will consider Greenwater Pond Jamie’s final resting place. Jamie’s dad said that Lewis Lent “unwittingly placed my son in a place that my son would have loved. Now I feel fairly confident that I can come to a specific spot, and feel confident that that's where his body was placed, and that I can talk to him.” Jamie’s sister Jennifer said her brother would have loved Greenwood Pond and stated “Now when I go down the Mass Pike, I have a place where I can blow him a kiss.”
Image sources:
bostonglobe.com - “Divers search for remains of Jamie Lusher”
masslive.com - “Child serial killer Lewis Lent confesses to murder of Jamie Lusher, Westfield teen missing over 20 years”
berkshireeagle.com - “Day Two update: Divers continue search for Jamie Lusher’s remains”