Naman Shrestha
In the episode titled ‘The Unending Search for Sara Anne Wood’ of CBS’ ’48 Hours,’ the viewers are provided with a detailed account of the 1993 disappearance and murder case of 12-year-old Sara Anne Wood of Sauquoit, New York. When the news broke out, the entire community was left shell-shocked. However, the most affected were the victim’s loving family members.
Sara Anne Wood’s Family Holds on to the Hope of Finding Her Remains
Sara Anne Wood was the youngest sibling out of the three children of Robert “Bob” Wood and Frances Wood, all of whom resided in a loving household at 300 Hacadam Road in Sauquoit, New York. Having two elder siblings named Dusty and Nikki Wood, she always felt safe, loved, and protected in their company. As her father was a pastor of Norwich Corners Presbyterian Church, his children naturally grew up to be religious as well. Reportedly, Dusty and Nikki even went to pray and worship regularly at the church. The picture-perfect family of the Woods was struck with a tragedy in the late summer of 1993. When Sara did not return home on August 18, 1993, from Norwich Corners Church, her parents and siblings got concerned about her well-being and whereabouts.
Sooner rather than later, they reported the 12-year-old girl missing, and an intense search began in and around the neighborhood of the rural community of Sauquoit, New York. The investigators moved heaven and earth during the search for Sara, but she was nowhere to be found. Weeks turned into months, but there were no developments in the disappearance case. In January 1994, the family received heartbreaking news of Sara’s demise after a janitor named Lewis Stephen Lent Jr. confessed to abducting, sexually assaulting, and killing her. Along with the authorities, the Woods kept trying to get Lewis to disclose the location of her burial site, but all their efforts were in vain.
However, they were relieved when Lewis was convicted and sentenced for the murder of 12-year-old Sara Anne Wood. Not long after her disappearance, the Wood family established the Sara Anne Wood Rescue Center, which turned into the Mohawk Valley branch of the National Center for Missing & Exploited Children (NCMEC). In order to honor her and raise money for the rescue center founded for missing children, Robert Wood and Dusty Wood, along with several other cyclists, conducted a bicycle ride from Utica to Washington, DC, on National Missing Children’s Day 1995. To this day, Sara Anne Wood’s remains are undiscovered, but her family remains optimistic about it and believes that they will eventually be found.
Robert and Frances Wood Stay Under the Radar
Having spent nearly five decades being married, Robert “Bob” Wood and Frances Wood still seemingly share the same love and compassion for each other as they did when they first fell in love. Each year on Valentine’s Day, the long-time married couple celebrates their wedding anniversary. Apart from her husband and children, Frances also shares a close bond with her sister, Theresa Carlson. After retiring from her job of more than two decades, she has more time for Robert and the rest of her loved ones. On the other hand, not much is known about Robert’s current ventures, as he seemingly prefers to lead a life of privacy. What we do know is that while still trying to find closure in the case of Sara Anne Wood, both Robert and Frances keep in touch with their other child, Dusty Wood.
Dusty Wood Holds a Reputable Position in the Media Industry
The Herkimer County Community College and State University of New York at Plattsburgh graduate Dusty Wood kicked off his professional career at WKTV NewsChannel 2 in June 1998. Three months later, he switched to WPTZ Television Channel 5, where he was employed as a Photojournalist for the next four years. His next career move involved landing a job at WCSC-TV Live 5 News. After less than three years there, he has been working at WHDH-TV as a Photojournalist only since October 2005.
With more than two decades of experience as a Photojournalist, he is also the co-founder of Brick Path Media. Thanks to his art background, he was able to come up with his own style of photography, making it unique from the standard news gathering. Currently, he also focuses on running and maintaining his entertainment production website called Pointless Entertainment.
Dusty Wood is Spending Quality Time With His Wife and Kids
On the family front, Dusty Wood is married to Heather Lynn. Over the course of their marriage, the couple gave birth to two adorable sons. Her wife seemingly works at The City of Manchester NH – Government. Being a doting father and a devoted husband, Dusty loves to indulge in adventurous trips and make happy memories in the company of his family and friends. Still raising awareness for missing children through his social media handles, Dusty recently took part in the Ride for Missing Kids in June 2024. Although he travels frequently for work purposes, the photojournalist is currently based in Boston, Massachusetts, with his family.
