Lost badge holds great sentimental value

GAINESVILLE - A retired police officer from Tybee Island has lost his badge, and his daughter is hoping she can help him find it.

Frances Wiley said her father Charles Bishop, 88, lost the wallet Thursday around 3:00 p.m. He had just completed a transaction at the Wells Fargo bank branch on Thompson Bridge Road at Enota. As he drove away from the bank northbound on Thompson Bridge, the door to his vehicle flew open.

"He immediately grabbed it [the door]and shut it," said Wiley. "Well, in that process, his wallet must have fell out of his pocket from sitting in the car and fell onto the roadway."

Bishop did not notice the wallet was missing until he arrived at home, according to his daughter. She said they have filed a report with Gainesville police, but she's hoping the public will help.

Wiley said her father did have money and other valuable items in the black bi-fold wallet, but they are worried only about the badge, which was pinned inside. Bishop worked for the Tybee Island police force for 30 years, and the badge holds great sentimental value.

"There was a chief of police murdered there April 10, 1963. My father was with him when he died, and passed out in his arms, and he was wearing that badge, so it really means a lot to him," said Wiley.

Wiley is offering a reward for the return of the badge, which she describes as gold metal about 4-inches tall and 3-inches wide. The word "Major" is on the badge, as well. She said since the story has been released about the badge, other police officers have called her and added money to the reward fund, which stands at $500.

Wiley's phone number is 770-355-5140 and her e-mail address is [email protected].