Saturday marked six months of searching for William Bishop, 76, who went missing around 2:30 p.m. on Jan. 22 near his home in Hawaiian Paradise Park.
Bishop was living with a son and grandson at the time, and his family on the mainland said he was in good health and did not have Alzheimer’s or any other cognitive impairments.
His grandson came out to play basketball and noticed both Bishop and his car were gone, but his wallet, backpack and other items were left behind.
“There’s no way he would just take off, leave his wallet, his phone, and take his car,” his son, Jay Bishop, told the Tribune-Herald. “It’s just not my father.”
Since his disappearance, Bishop’s credit cards have not been used, according to his family, but new evidence emerged after his 2019 silver Toyota Corolla was recovered by police.
The car was located Feb. 27 in Pahoa, according to his family.
“It didn’t lead to any clear indication that there was any connection between his disappearance and his vehicle being recovered,” Capt. Amon-Wilkins said. “We processed the car for evidence and everything like that, and there was no indication of foul play related to the vehicle recovery.”
Jay Bishop said he has spoken with the individual who turned the vehicle in.
“Basically, she said she took the car from her mother, who had the car in her possession for a period of time,” Jay Bishop said. “She said she decided that she wanted to do the right thing.”
The family said it remains unclear how the woman’s mother originally obtained the car, and is hopeful more information about the incident will lead to the elder Bishop’s whereabouts.
“She could possibly hold the key to opening this whole thing up,” said Jay Bishop’s wife, Rachel Bishop, with the family noting the license plates had been altered and the VIN number was covered up when the car was recovered.
“We’ve had an outpouring of support on social media. We’ve had people on the island asking us for more information,” she said. “People talk, and when they talk, they start making connections, and I think that’s the point we’re at right now. We just don’t seem to be making much progress.”
Jay Bishop noted the family has put in a request for police reports related to his father’s disappearance.
“I’m not calling (the police) every week. I’m calling them once every other week, maybe even longer from time to time,” he said. “Every time I make a phone call, I ask what they’re going to do next.”
But those next steps are vague, according to both the family and HPD.
“We don’t have any real viable leads at this point,” Amon-Wilkins said, adding that at this time, HPD has no indication of foul play and they do not believe the case is connected to any other missing persons investigations.
“A lot of times, (the police) don’t tell us everything, unfortunately,” said William Bishop’s daughter, Serena Bishop. “We want to help the police as much as we can, because they’re saying they don’t have enough resources, and they keep getting additional cases, which kind of leads into another reason why we’d like to get the story out.”
HPD informed the Tribune-Herald that between January 2021 and July 2023, there are 25 active missing person investigations in Hawaii County.
“We keep finding out and hearing about all these additional other folks that are going missing, it’s a bit alarming,” Serena Bishop said. “If we can show that there’s a bigger picture here, maybe even a bigger problem with the volume of missing people, if that can help the police in another fashion or any means or manner, then hopefully we’ve done some positive things here, in addition to hopefully finding some answers in the case of our missing dad.”
The family has set up a GoFundMe in anticipation of any costs related to the search.
“The GoFundMe was actually a suggestion from everybody on social media, because we don’t know what type of expenses we’re going to incur,” she said. “If we find him alive, what’s he going to need, from a medical perspective, and even if we don’t find him alive, what type of expenses or what are we going to have to go through?”
Jay Bishop added if the family never receives any answers, they’ll donate the money.
“It’s not about us,” he said. “It’s about him.”
They also are offering an undisclosed reward for any additional information.
“Not knowing has been the hardest part,” Rachel Bishop said. “We don’t know where he is. We don’t know what happened to him. We don’t know if he’s alive or dead. I don’t like saying it, but it’s reality.”
They described their father as a caring community member and artist who drew Christmas and birthday cards each year for his family, who listened to and enjoyed The Beatles, and who helped those in need.
“He’s a great man,” Jay Bishop said. “He’s done wonderful things and helped a lot of people, disabled people. He’s an artist. He deserves so much better than this.”
Anyone with information is encouraged to reach out to Detective Scott Aloy at (808) 961-2381, and the GoFundMe can be found at: https://tinyurl.com/j6ptnctb.
“We feel like time is of the essence, and time has lapsed pretty substantially at this point,” Serena Bishop said. “We’re just trying to put the pieces together ourselves and cope with this day in and day out. It hasn’t been easy, but we’re doing the best we can.”
Email Grant Phillips at gphillips@hawaiitribune-herald.com.
