A Montrose County man has been arrested on suspicion of murder in a decades-old Colorado cold case, the Colorado Bureau of Investigation announced Thursday.
Dan Bishop, a 68-year-old man from Naturita, was arrested on suspicion of first-degree murder in the 1999 disappearance of then-42-year-old Dale Williams, CBI officials said in a Thursday news release.
At the time of his disappearance, 25 years ago, Williams owned an auto body repair shop in Nucla. CBI officials said Williams and his wife helped Bishop’s wife leave him and resettle in a secret Texas location.
Williams was last seen on May 27, 1999, after he received a call to help a stranded motorist, possibly near the town of Bedrock in western Montrose County, CBI officials said. His truck was found nearly six weeks later, submerged in a nearby river.
Investigators discovered a rifle in the bed of the truck registered to Bishop that had a spent shell casing in the chamber, according to CBI officials.
Based on the comprehensive investigation, CBI officials believe Bishop acted together with his now-dead cousin — who was not publicly identified by investigators — to murder Williams, the release said.
The case was previously closed but reopened in September 2023 as a joint effort between CBI and the Montrose County Sheriff’s Office, investigators said.
Bishop is being held on a $1 million cash-only bond, but a court date has not yet been set.
This is a developing story and may be updated.
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