Bradford Bishop

William Bradford Bishop Jr. was born August 1, 1936, in Pasadena, California, to Lobelia Amaryllis St. Germain and William Bradford Bishop Sr. He attended South Pasadena High School and received a bachelor of science degree in history from Yale University and a master of arts degree in international studies from Middlebury College. Alternatively, Bishop has been reported to have a bachelor's degree in American Studies from Yale and a master's degree in Italian from Middlebury College. He also holds a master's degree in African Studies from UCLA. After graduating from Yale in 1959, Bishop married his high school sweetheart Annette Weis, After leaving the Army, Bishop joined the U.S. State Department and served in the Foreign Service in many postings overseas. This included postings in the Italian cities of Verona, Milan, and Florence (where he did post-graduate work at the University of Florence) from 1968 to 1972. He also served in Africa, including posts in Addis Ababa in Ethiopia and Gaborone in Botswana, from 1972 to 1974. Bishop's last posting, which began in 1974, was at State Department headquarters in Washington, D.C., as an assistant chief in the Division of Special Activities and Commercial Treaties. He was living in Bethesda, Maryland, with his wife and three sons as well as his mother, Lobelia. == Killings ==

On March 1, 1976, after learning he would not receive the promotion he had sought, Bishop told his secretary that he was feeling unwell and left his office in Foggy Bottom. he filled the gas can and the tank of his 1974 Chevrolet station wagon at an adjacent gas station. Bishop is known to have purchased tennis shoes at a sporting goods store in Jacksonville, North Carolina, later that same day. On March 10, a neighbor of Bishop's contacted police after having not seen the family for some time. A detective found blood on the front porch of the Bishop residence, on the floor and on the walls of the front hall and bedrooms. Dental records were used to confirm that the bodies found in North Carolina were of Bishop's family. On March 18, Bishop's station wagon was found abandoned at an isolated campground in Elkmont, Tennessee, at the Great Smoky Mountains National Park, a few miles from the Appalachian Trail and about from the site where Bishop's family was buried. The car contained dog biscuits, a bloody blanket, a shotgun, an ax and a shaving kit with Bishop's medication; the trunk's spare-tire well was full of blood. A witness believed the car had been there since anywhere between March 5th to the 7th. Police theorized that Bishop joined the flow of hikers on the Appalachian Trail; they attempted to follow his scent with bloodhounds but without success. The following day, a grand jury indicted Bishop on five counts of first degree murder and other charges. == Psychology ==

Motives and stressors Bishop's motives have never been fully explained. He was unhappy at his desk job and interested in another foreign posting, but Annette was reluctant. He is fond of dogs. He also enjoys scotch whisky, peanuts, and spicy foods. Bishop has a six-inch vertical scar on his lower back from surgery, a cleft chin and a facial mole on his left cheek. He may have had his father's Smith & Wesson M&P .38 Special revolver with the serial number C981967 and his Yale class ring with him when he vanished. He is also believed to have taken his diplomatic passport with him, as his was the only one among the family's diplomatic passports that was missing. == Possible sightings ==

Bishop had approximately one week of advance time before the authorities began looking for him. It has been suggested that he could have traveled on his diplomatic passport. FBI Special Agent Steve Vogt stated in 2014 that neither Bishop's wallet nor passport have ever been found. It has also been speculated that Bishop may have had intelligence training in the 1960s which could have helped him evade detection in 1976. Since 1976, there have been numerous claimed sightings of Bishop in various European countries, including Italy, Belgium, United Kingdom, Finland, the Netherlands, Germany, Greece, Spain, Sweden, and Switzerland. == Possible current whereabouts and new information ==

File:William bradford bishop expressions.png|Different angles of age progression sculpture File:William bradford bishop alternate looks.jpg|What Bishop might look like with facial hair and glasses After the initial investigation, the Bishop case became the subject of articles in national publications like ''Reader's Digest and Time at milestone anniversaries. It was followed on an ad hoc basis by The Washington Post, the Washington Star, and The Washington Times'' as well as local Washington, D.C. television stations. The case was featured on television shows such as NBC's Unsolved Mysteries, ABC's Vanished and Fox's ''America's Most Wanted. Bishop was profiled on the AMW'' website thirty-three years to the day since his family's bodies were discovered, with a new age-enhanced bust of him with facial hair. A German TV show, Aktenzeichen XY… ungelöst, also featured the case in its 250th episode on November 6, 1992, to find possible evidence of Bishop living abroad. In 2010, authorities believed Bishop was living in Switzerland, Italy or elsewhere in Europe, or possibly in California; he may have worked as a teacher or become involved in criminal activities. Authorities revealed in 2010 that before the murders, Bishop had been corresponding with federal prison inmate Albert Kenneth Bankston in the United States Penitentiary in Marion, Illinois, Bishop evidently had instructed Bankston to send letters to his State Department office address. ''America's Most Wanted'' posted on its website the last letter from Bankston, which he had mailed to Bishop sixteen days after the murders unaware that Bishop was a fugitive and unable to receive mail at his office. Bankston died in 1983, ten years before law enforcement discovered his connection to Bishop. In 2014, the FBI exhumed the body of an unidentified man resembling Bishop who had been killed by a car in 1981 while walking along an Alabama highway. A DNA test indicated the man was not Bishop. The FBI also used fingerprints to determine in 2011 that reports that Bishop had died in Hong Kong or France were false. Authorities stated in 2014 that Bishop was probably living in plain sight in the U.S. and avoiding discovery by avoiding arrest. An arrest on any charge would enable law enforcement to fingerprint him, which in turn would link him with the murders. That same year, at the request of the FBI, forensic artist Karen Taylor created an age progression sculpture to suggest Bishop's projected appearance at about age 77. Using Taylor's sculpture, several alternative images were created by Lisa Sheppard to show the addition of facial hair and glasses. In early April 2014, WRC-TV in Washington, D.C. launched a webpage to display multiple investigative reports and extensive information on the Bishop case. This included samples of Bishop's handwriting, fingerprints, dental records and previously unseen Bishop family videos. On July 27, 2014, the search for Bishop was a featured story on The Hunt with John Walsh on CNN. In March 2021, a woman who had been adopted came forward claiming she found out through a DNA testing service that Bishop was her biological father. The FBI confirmed that she was indeed his biological daughter. == See also ==