[10] Her father was a pastor at Norwich Corners Presbyterian Church in the rural community of Sauquoit, New York,[11] where she and her two siblings, Dusty (17) and Nikki (14), worshipped.

[19] 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.

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.

[21] 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.

All developments pertaining to the search were relayed into an improvised headquarters named the "Rescue Sara Center" in New Hartford, New York.

[8] 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.

[27] 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.

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.

[33] 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.

[37] 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.

[40] 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.

[43] 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.

These final pleas from Sara's family included recitations of Bible verses urging him to repent for his past deeds.

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,[45] 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.

"[46] 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.

[50] Lent is also considered a suspect in the 1986 disappearance of Tammie Anne McCormick, a 13-year-old Saratoga Springs Junior High School student.

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.

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.