Body of Missing Elderly Man Found in Lompoc

By edhat staff

The body of 94-year-old Donald Bishop was found in a Lompoc riverbed on Wednesday six days after he was reported missing.

The Lompoc Police Department report on Aug 15, Bishop went for a walk around 1:00 p.m. and did not return home. He usually walked around his house on Laurel Ave as well as River Park and Beattie Park.

The missing person alert mentioned Bishop does not have medical issues other than forgetfulness and has been known to fall down while on his walks. 

Lompoc Police searched the area and called in air support from the Santa Barbara County Sheriff’s Office who spotted a possible body during a flyover of the Santa Ynez riverbed on Wednesday afternoon.

Detectives responded to an area south of the Robinson Bridge near Highway 246, where they found Bishop’s body.

Authorities have not released a possible cause of death.