Maureen E. Lemieux gazed at the brightly colored, lifelike stained-glass window in the children's room at St. Philip Church on Church Street. There are side-by-side panels, and from a distance can be seen three children standing on the right looking at Jesus, seated, with a youngster on his lap. Upon closer inspection, the girl depicted in the window bears an uncanny resemblance to the perky 10-year-old whose face looked out from thousands of missing-children posters for several months in the latter part of the summer and early fall in 1993. The stained-glass window was donated recently by the Piirainen family in memory of Holly Kristen Piirainen, 10, who was abducted Aug. 5, 1993, near the intersection of Allen Road and South Shore Drive in Sturbridge, a short distance from her paternal grandmother's cottage on South Pond. Holly's remains were found Oct. 23, 1993, by hunters near an abandoned railroad bed off Five Bridge Road in Brimfield. Mrs. Lemieux, Holly's paternal grandmother, hasn't been back to the cottage since; she has chosen to lease the property, instead. "Eventually, I may go back, but there have always been too many sad memories," she said. On the 10th anniversary of her granddaughter's abduction, Mrs. Lemieux said she has more good days than bad days, but will never be free of the albatross Holly's abduction represents. Before viewing the stained-glass window in the modernistic Catholic church she and family members attend, she sat at her kitchen table in her home at 141 George Hill Road and talked about her granddaughter and the decade that has elapsed. "I've buried my parents and two husbands, but no one is supposed to have to bury their grandchild." Mrs. Lemieux said Holly's divorced parents, Richard N. Piirainen and Christina M. Harrington, and her brothers, Andrew and Zachary, talk about Holly occasionally in the context of a pleasant memory of an event when the family was together. "No one ever talks about what happened the day she was abducted," Mrs. Lemieux said, adding she feels closest to Holly not at her grave, but when she's sitting in the small room that looks out over the St. Philip sanctuary and the stained-glass window. She freely admits a break in the unsolved murder case, which began almost a decade ago with the finding of Holly's remains, would make her feel better knowing justice had been served and the person responsible for her granddaughter's murder was no longer a threat to any other child. "That being said, nothing anyone can do will ever bring her back home to us," she said. Lt. Peter J. Higgins, who heads the state police detectives investigating the case on behalf of Hampden County District Attorney William M. Bennett, would like nothing more than to fulfill Mrs. Lemieux's wish to see justice served. "Our office stands committed to investigating Holly's case and we work on it on a continual basis," said the 29-year veteran of the state police. "As supervisor, my personal goal is to keep the office poised so that if the break we need in this case comes, we're able to act on it very quickly. It's a tough case, like all cases of this type, and the passage of time makes it that much harder, but not impossible," he said. "We don't allow ourselves to view any case as impossible," the detective added. The detective said Hampden County had been very successful in solving murder cases using a combination of technology and "the old gumshoe approach" and as long as he is working, the Piirainen abduction and murder would never be considered a "cold case." Mrs. Lemieux said she and members of her family have become close to members of the Bish family of West Warren, noting there are similarities between her granddaughter's murder and the abduction and murder of Molly Anne Bish, 16, who was buried in St. Paul Cemetery in Warren yesterday afternoon after a Mass of Christian Burial at the Cathedral of St. Paul in Worcester. Mrs. Lemieux said that, while both girls were abducted and both their remains were found in a wooded area within five miles of the point they were taken, Molly had been stalked, whereas her granddaughter's abduction was a random act. "No one but family members knew Holly would be in Sturbridge that day. And no one knew she'd be walking those roads to go look at a neighbor's puppies she was fond of," Mrs. Lemieux said. She dismisses any thought that Holly's death was simply a traffic accident with a tragic ending. "Initially, some people thought that Holly's death might have been just a tragic accident, but traffic accidents are usually "hit-and-run,' not "hit-and-pickup.' There was no evidence of any kind to indicate a traffic accident at the spot where they found her sneaker, and when they found Holly's remains, there were no broken bones," Mrs. Lemieux said. With a range of emotions from joy to sadness, Mrs. Lemieux talked freely and easily about her granddaughter. "Holly was a very mature 10-year-old. Her parents were divorced and she had taken on a lot of responsibility for her two brothers, Andy and Zachary. They lived here in town with their mom, Tina, and she, being the oldest, helped out a lot. Tina worked, so Holly would come here every day after school," Mrs. Lemieux said. A student at Grafton Intermediate School, Holly would get off the bus at her grandmother's house, or go next door to the neighbor, Gail Magnant, if her grandmother wasn't home. "If I was away, she and Gail would watch soap operas together," Mrs. Lemieux said. Recounting a snowball fight the winter before Holly's death, Mrs. Lemieux said her granddaughter was very protective of her brothers, particularly Zachary, who was 3 at the time. "She got quite upset and made her feelings known," she said. Mrs. Lemieux said Holly had a strong sense of what was right and wrong and was aware of the dangers predators presented. "She wouldn't go anywhere alone and was well aware of some of the things that could happen," she said. "We used to watch "America's Most Wanted' together and Holly was very concerned about the children who were abducted," Mrs. Lemieux said. She recounted watching news coverage of the first World Trade Center bombing in New York City. "Holly and I were watching TV and she got very upset. She was afraid that something bad was going to happen in the world and that she might not grow up. We had to mollify her and reassure her that we were safe, and that grownups would take care of her," Mrs. Lemieux said. An excellent student and a girl who enjoyed the outdoors, Holly was very interested in ecology and talked about one day becoming a marine biologist. "We would visit the Mystic Aquarium and she was fascinated with the sea lion shows, where college girls were in the water with the sea lions and the dolphins. "That looks like fun,' Holly would tell me. "That would be a great job,'" Mrs. Lemieux said. Holly always wanted to go to Sea World in Florida, but never got there. Mrs. Lemieux said her granddaughter was a Girl Scout and went to 4-H Camp Marshall in Spencer a couple of summers. She said Holly's younger brother, Zachary, is a counselor-in-training at Camp Marshall this summer. "Holly was a very good swimmer, and her skills improved each year while she was at camp, and I think one day she might have been a lifeguard. That's another similarity to Molly. She loved the water and when she was at the cottage on South Pond, she loved to swim underwater," Mrs. Lemieux said. Mrs. Lemieux said Holly's brother Andy is 18 and a graduate of Blackstone Valley Regional Vocational Technical High School. "He's signed up for a six-year tour of duty and is an electronics whiz," Mrs. Lemieux said. "He'll be working with electronic explosive ordnance demolition," she added. "Zachary is 15 and will be a sophomore at the vocational school." She said his interests are different from his brother's: "He enjoys machine shop, welding, working with his hands, taking apart and working on old cars." William M. Bennett, Hampden County district attorney, was out of town, and not available to discuss the investigation, but Lt. Higgins noted one outcome of the Molly Bish investigation is that it has brought to light more information on Holly's case. "People are more willing to talk to us now, or have provided information that we haven't been privy to in the past. Out of the tragedy of Molly's abduction, there has been this positive aspect to the Piirainen investigation," he said. Lt. Higgins said from the outset he has never discussed suspects. He said both cases involved shared jurisdictions and investigators in both cases are waiting for a key development to "break the case open." "For us, that would mean a confession from someone involved that could be corroborated with information that we have. It could be a change in a lead that we've already investigated with information that would change the scenario originally presented," he said. "Somebody's alibi might change. Certain documented facts and circumstances over the 10 years might change and in turn lead us to that missing piece of the puzzle," Lt. Higgins said. The Piirainen case has not had the national exposure of the Bish case, he said, and therefore not as many leads or tips. But there was a frenzy of child abductions across the country around the time Holly was taken, and people became more attuned, more aware of missing and exploited children. "Holly's abduction that summer was followed by many high-profile abductions in New York and Massachusetts, and that started a process of collecting that type of information. Seven years later, when Molly was abducted, there was an immediate request for any information the public could provide. People were much more aware of missing and exploited children, unfortunately, and that, too, made a difference," Lt. Higgins said. 

Copyright Worcester Telegram & Gazette Corp.

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"Someday I'll be famous," ten year old Holly Piirainen told her grandmother. It was June, Holly had just completed fourth grade and looked forward to entering fifth grade where her class would "rule the school" during their final year at the Grafton Intermediate School. Her grandmother had taken her to a "model search" at the local mall and Holly had selected her favorite photograph (shown right). Five weeks later that photograph was distributed throughout the state of Massachusetts - on a Missing Persons Poster.

Maureen Lemieux recalls taking her granddaughter to Mass at St. Anne's Shrine in Sturbridge on the first Sunday in August, 1993. Holly insisted on climbing to the top of the stairs where she saw a picture of a bald headed girl inscribed with the words: "Pray for a Cure". When her grandmother explained that the little girl had cancer, Holly declared that she would say a special prayer for her. One week later, Maureen Lemieux climbed to the top of the stairs with Holly's picture inscribed with the words: "Pray for Holly".

On August 5, 1993 Holly and her five year old brother, Zachary, took a walk near their grandmother's cottage in Sturbridge to see a neighbor's litter of puppies. Holly never returned; one red sneaker was found on the side of the dirt road. On October 23, 1993 Holly's remains were found by hunters in the nearby town of Brimfield.

As she recalls her granddaughter's brief life, Maureen Lemieux spoke of Holly's love for animals. She loved dogs and horses, but her true passion was for marine life. Holly loved to go to the Mystic Aquarium and hoped to work there one day. She longed to visit Sea World to swim with the dolphins and dreamed of attending college in Florida and majoring in Marine Biology. The week before Holly was abducted, she attended 4H camp where she was proud to earn her intermediate swimming certificate. Had she lived to be a teenager, she might have channeled her love for swimming into a summer job as a lifeguard.

Shortly after Holly disappeared, Maureen Lemieux received a letter from a ten year old girl:

''My name is Molly Bish. I am 10-years-old. Some day I would like to come see you. I am very sorry. I wish I could make it up to you. Holly is a very pretty girl. She is almost as tall as me. I wish I knew Holly. I hope they found her.''

When Molly disappeared from her lifeguard post seven years later, Maureen Lemieux reached out to the Bish family and shared this letter. The two families have lent each other support over the past three years, attending Masses and Vigils for both girls. Lemieux and her two daughters have become active volunteers for the Molly Bish Foundation.

On August 2, 2003 a funeral will be held for Molly on what would have been her twentieth birthday. Later that day, a Mass will be said for Holly, who would also be twenty, to commemorate the tenth anniversary of her abduction.

Maureen Lemieux believes that the girls have a special connection that existed before they were born; she likes to think that they are together again in heaven.

Donations in Holly's memory can be made to the

Holly Piirainen Scholarship Fund

c/o Grafton Credit Union

Worcester Street

North Grafton, MA 01536

Elizabeth Tragash is a clinical social worker and freelance writer who resides in Groton, MA with her husband and two children.

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