BENTONVILLE, Ark. – Authorities say a pickup truck belonging to two missing Arkansas women was sitting in the parking lot of a Missouri strip club for weeks before it was towed away.
According to the Bentonville Police Department, a Toyota Tacoma belonging to 81-year-old Laura Bishop and her 40-year-old daughter Christina Bishop, was originally found in the parking lot of Club Hot’s, in McDonald County, Mo., about 200 miles south of Kansas City just off US Highway 71.
It was likely there for up to six weeks before the club’s owner had it towed to an Avoca, Ark., impound, where it sat for another two weeks before being discovered by authorities Thursday.
Laura and Christina Bishop, of Bentonville, have not been seen or heard from since a June 18 phone call with Laura’s nephew. That call took place just hours after surveillance video caught the two leaving a Bentonville Sam's Club.
Their truck was taken to the Arkansas State Crime Lab for examination.
The only possible evidence found in or on the truck was a message written in what appears to be lipstick on the windshield that reads “Free Truck Tow Me,” according to KFSM Ft. Smith-Fayetteville.
Arkansas authorities expect foul play in Laura and Christina Bishop’s disappearance, but have not named any suspects or leads in the case.
The nephew who last spoke to the women, George Skupien, says he found the Bishop's home unlocked with boxed groceries on a counter.
Anyone with information on the Bishops' whereabouts is asked to call Det. Tom Boyle with the Bentonville Police Department at (479) 271-3170, or (479) 271-5903. A $5,000 reward is being offered by Skupien for information in the case.
