Meanwhile, DNA will most probably be detected from an upper arm bone found in the wooded area of Palmer where investigators were searching for clues in Molly's disappearance, officials announced Thursday.
The upper arm bone was cut in half. Half is at the state police lab, where they will do nuclear DNA testing. The other half was sent to the Bode Laboratory, where they will do mitochondrial DNA testing. Both labs have indicated that we will be able to get DNA," District Attorney John Conte said.
Officials said that they should know if they can get any DNA from the bones by Friday afternoon, and if DNA is present there will be further testing to determine if the bone is Molly's.
Searchers have been scouring a wooded area since a bathing suit was found about 5-miles from Cummins Pond, where Molly disappeared from her lifegaurding job in June 2000. Crews found one bone on Tuesday, and another three on Wednesday that were determined to belong to a human age 14 to 20 years old.
Despite three years of fallen foliage, the bones were found close to the surface of the ground.
"We believe that, if anything, it was a very shallow burial," Conte said. He said that investigators have been concentrating on a particular area, and are confident that they were getting closer to the point of origin of the bones.
A pair of shorts, a hairbrush, and a blanket were also found in the search area. Conte said that members of the Bish family were brought to the scene. None of the items were determined to belong to Molly.
Also this week, a hair "scrunchie" was found floating in the Quaboag River. Bode Lab indicated that there was DNA found on the hair band.
"We will know if it is a mixed sample. If it is a clear sample, we will be able to do further testing on the hair," Conte said.