A former U.S. Department of State employee known as the "family annihilator" was added to the FBI's Top 10 Most Wanted List on Thursday, Reuters reported.
William Bradford Bishop Jr., 77, has been on the run since March 1976. Authorities allege he bludgeoned his mother, three sons -- ages 5, 10, and 14 -- and wife to death and then set the bodies on fire in a shallow grave in North Carolina.
"When Bishop took off in 1976, there was no social media, no 24-hour news cycle," Steve Vogt, special agent in charge of the FBI's Baltimore Division, said in a statement. "The only way to catch this guy is through the public."
Bishop was last seen at a sporting goods store in Jacksonville, North Carolina where he purchased a pair of sneakers, the FBI said.
Now, the FBI, the police and sheriff's departments in Montgomery County, Maryland, and the U.S. Department of State joined forces to find Bishop and bring him to justice. In order to aid the search, a forensic artist created a three-dimensional, age-enhanced figure of what he may look like now.
"If Bishop is living with a new identity, he's got to be somebody's next-door neighbor," Vogt said. "Don't forget that five people were murdered. Bishop needs to be held accountable for that."
Montgomery County Police Chief Thomas Manger mentioned at a news conference that Bishop could likely have left the country.
"While it is possible that Bishop may still be in the United States, we know that he had the means and the experience to relocate himself to a foreign country. No matter where he is, however, news spreads fast and all we need is just one person to call us with the right tip as to Bishop's whereabouts," he said.
The FBI is offering up to $100,000 for information directly leading to Bishop's arrest.
