WALNUT CREEK, CA — Police found 9-year-old Lisa Dickinson's bicycle hidden beside a tree the night she vanished.
Fifty years later, investigators still hope someone can tell them what happened to her.
Lisa disappeared Sept. 5, 1976, after leaving her home to ride toward a BART station. An archival broadcast described her home as three blocks from where police recovered her bicycle.
Lew Doty, then a new Walnut Creek patrol officer, answered the call when Lisa's parents reported her missing that evening. He initially feared she had drowned, he told KPIX.
Doty searched along a canal in the darkness, sweeping his flashlight across the area until a small reflection caught his attention. He walked toward it and found the bicycle hidden beside a tree.
"That's when my heart sank," Doty said.
The disappearance shook residents who believed their community was safe, he recalled.
"I think everybody was shocked," Doty told KPIX.
Archival footage shows detectives searching along the canal and asking the public for help.
One investigator described Lisa's white sandals, navy blue cutoff shorts, and distinctive shirt.
A detective's daughter posed in the same outfit so potential witnesses could recognize what Lisa had been wearing. Police still retain that photograph and a photograph showing how investigators found her bicycle at Heather Farm Park.
A single fingerprint remains unmatched, Walnut Creek Police investigator Nick Olson told KPIX.
Witnesses also reported a troubling sight about a block from where police recovered the bicycle — a young girl riding on a motorcycle with tape over her mouth.
Olson said witnesses believed the girl wore white sandals like Lisa's, along with a motorcycle helmet.
An investigator explained in an archival interview that people reported seeing the girl two days after Lisa disappeared.
Police initially lacked enough information to connect the sighting to her case. About three months after the disappearance, new information led them to reconsider it.
KPIX reporter Ben Williams covered the arrest of Louis Fresquez, a Richmond man whom police considered a major lead, according to reports.
At the time, Fresquez faced charges involving the rape and kidnapping of two Richmond teenage girls, Williams reported. A missing 12-year-old girl was in his vehicle when authorities apprehended him.
Police also learned that Fresquez owned a motorcycle.
KPIX reported that his motorcycle matched witnesses' descriptions, but investigators lacked sufficient evidence. Fresquez refused to talk and died without admitting any connection to Lisa.
Doty described him as a strong suspect. He said investigators had hoped to locate Lisa's remains and had come close at one point, without finding them.
Doty offered Tilden Park as his "best guess" because the man he believed responsible spent time there.
Olson said he hoped renewed attention will prompt someone to remember a sighting or conversation that gives investigators another lead.
Lisa was an only child. KPIX reported that her parents were still alive and that her father conveyed through police his appreciation for the renewed coverage.
Anyone with information should contact Lt. Nick Olson at 925-256-3522 or olson@walnutcreekpd.com
Sign up for free local newsletters and alerts for the
Walnut Creek Patch
Patch.com is the nationwide leader in hyperlocal news.
Visit Patch.com to find your town today.