William Bradford Bishop, Jr. was a 39-year-old U.S. State Department official who disappeared after an alleged family massacre on March 1–2, 1976. Investigators say Bishop left his Washington, D.C., office that morning, bought a small sledgehammer and a gas can at a Sears in Montgomery Mall, then returned to his Bethesda, Maryland, home. Authorities allege his wife Annette, his mother Lobelia, and his three sons William Bradford III, Brenton and Geoffrey were bludgeoned to death; the boys were reportedly killed while sleeping.

The family’s bodies were found burning in a shallow grave in a remote swamp in Tyrrell County, North Carolina, on March 2, 1976. A gas can, shovel and pitchfork were recovered, and identification came through dental records and other evidence. Bishop’s last confirmed sighting that day was in Jacksonville, North Carolina, where he reportedly bought tennis shoes and had the family’s golden retriever with him. The Bishops’ 1974 Chevrolet station wagon was discovered abandoned on March 18, 1976, at Elkmont campground in Great Smoky Mountains National Park.

Bishop, described as an avid outdoorsman, hiker and licensed amateur pilot, became the subject of a long manhunt. Credible but unconfirmed sightings were reported abroad in 1978 and 1979. The FBI added him to its Ten Most Wanted list in April 2014 with a $100,000 reward and removed him in 2018; the investigation remains active. If anyone knew William Bishop Jr., his movements in early March 1976, or saw him afterward, please come forward with information.