What followed was a frantic search and a missing persons case that remains unsolved
What really happened that day?
Was it a tragic accident, a deliberate act of mischief, or something else entirely?
After over two decades of searching, Acacia’s disappearance remains one of the most haunting unsolved mysteries in Utah.
Let's get into the details
Background Of The Case
Acacia Bishop was born on October 29, 2001, to her parents, Adam and Casey Bishop, in Salt Lake City, Utah.
She was their first child, and by all accounts, she was a lively, curious toddler.
She had blonde hair, blue eyes, and a distinctive birthmark on her stomach about the size of a tennis ball.
Before her disappearance, Acacia spent a lot of time with her great-grandparents, who often babysat her.
Her great-grandmother Linda described Acacia as an active child who loved helping around the house.
However, Casey did not get along with her mother, Kelly Jean Lodmell, and didn’t want her near Acacia.
Kelly had a long history of mental health struggles, including schizophrenia and bipolar disorder.
She also had a pattern of violent behavior.
In September 1999, Kelly shot an 11-year-old child with a pellet gun.
After the incident, Kelly reportedly said, "Yeah, I did it, and I liked it,"
Over time, Kelly’s mental health problems grew worse because she couldn’t always afford or get her medications.
This made her behave erratically and sometimes dangerously.
Kelly had once violently attacked a police officer, which led to an aggravated assault charge.
Just a few months before Acacia’s disappearance, Kelly took the child without her parents' permission.
She hid her in a basement apartment for several hours, claiming the Acacia was hers.
This incident shattered any remaining trust between Kelly and Acacia’s parents, leading to strictly supervised visits moving forward.
Even with these challenges, Adam encouraged Casey to maintain a relationship with Kelly.
He hoped it would benefit Acacia to know her grandmother.
By May 2003, the Bishops were cautiously allowing Kelly to see Acacia only under close supervision.
Sadly, they had no idea that this decision would lead to an unthinkable tragedy
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| Acacia’s parents |
The Day of the Disappearance
On May 25, 2003, Acacia Bishop was at her great-grandmother Linda’s house in Salt Lake City, Utah.
She was 19 months old at the time.
Her parents, Adam and Casey, were attending a wedding rehearsal, so Linda was babysitting Acacia.
Kelly, Casey’s mother, was also at the house that day.
Acacia spent the morning helping Linda clean and vacuum, something she loved to do.
At one point, Linda left the room to put the vacuum away.
When she returned, Acacia was gone.
Kelly had taken her.
This wasn’t the first time Kelly had taken Acacia without permission.
Months earlier, she had hidden Acacia in a basement apartment, claiming the child was hers.
But this time, Kelly didn’t just hide Acacia—she left the house with her.
Kelly then drove Acacia to Idaho Falls, Idaho, about a three-hour drive from Salt Lake City.
When they arrived in Idaho, they checked into the Red Lion Inn, where they spent the night.
The next day, May 26, Kelly and Acacia were seen near an overpass by the Snake River.
Witnesses reported seeing them sitting by the water, dangling their feet in the river.
A few minutes after this sighting, Kelly raised an alarm that her granddaughter was in the river.
Authorities launched an immediate search.
Divers scoured the river, but they found no sign of Acacia.
The only things they found were her doll and a pair of baby shoes left on the riverbank.
Despite the extensive search, Acacia was never found.
The Investigation That Followed
After Acacia Bishop disappeared on May 25, 2003, a massive search and investigation began.
Divers searched the Snake River for weeks, looking for any sign of Acacia.
They used cadaver dogs and combed the area carefully, but they found nothing except her doll and a pair of baby shoes on the riverbank.
The river was deep and fast-moving, and some believed Acacia could have been swept away.
However, her father, Adam Bishop, argued that if she had drowned, her body would have been found.
He pointed out that the area where she supposedly went into the water was narrow.
He argued that a spillway nearby would have stopped her body from being carried away.
An Amber Alert was issued to help find Acacia, but it was canceled early, which frustrated her family.
They believed keeping the alert active could have helped locate her sooner.
Kelly, Acacia’s grandmother, was the main suspect.
She was arrested and charged with kidnapping and murder.
During questioning, Kelly gave conflicting stories.
At first, she said she had tried to drown Acacia in a murder-suicide attempt.
Later, she claimed they were playing in the water when she lost her grip on the child
Due to her conflicting stories, criminal investigators looked into other possibilities.
Some family members believed that Acacia was alive and that Kelly sold her.
Adam Bishop shared that a man had checked out of the Red Lion Inn room where Kelly and Acacia stayed, but this person was never identified.
Despite these leads, the investigation hit many roadblocks.
Witnesses who claimed to have seen Kelly and Acacia near the river were hard to track down.
One key witness, Danny Rutledge, who said he saw Kelly with Acacia by the water, disappeared and was never found.
Kelly’s mental health complicated her trial as she was diagnosed with schizophrenia and bipolar disorder.
In the end, she was found not guilty because of insanity and was sent to a federal facility.
She remains there today, and if she is ever released, she could still face state charges for kidnapping and murder.
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| Age progressed photo of Acacia Bishop |
Ongoing Efforts
Even after nearly 20 years, the search for Acacia Bishop continues.
Her family, especially her father, Adam Bishop, has never stopped looking for answers.
He has spent years following leads and pushing for more investigation.
He believes Acacia may not have drowned in the Snake River, as authorities think.
Instead, he suspects Kelly might have given her to someone else or that she could have been involved in a trafficking ring.
Adam has shared his concerns with law enforcement and even appeared on podcasts and radio shows to keep Acacia’s story alive.
The case remains open, and law enforcement continues to review any new information that comes in.
Authorities believe Acacia drowned, even though her body was never found.
However, they are still looking into every possible lead, and progress has been slow.
Key witnesses, like Danny Rutledge, who claimed to have seen Kelly and Acacia by the river, have disappeared and were never found.
Other leads, like the unidentified man who checked out of the Red Lion Inn, have gone cold.
Acacia’s family has also turned to social media to raise awareness.
They share her story online, hoping someone, somewhere, might remember something that could help solve the case.
Pages dedicated to Acacia’s disappearance keep her memory alive and encourage people to come forward with tips.
Kelly, Acacia’s grandmother, has written letters to her daughter, Casey, from the facility where she is locked up.
In them, she suggested that Acacia might still be alive.
However, given Kelly’s mental health issues, it’s hard to know if these claims are true or part of her delusions.
The pain of not knowing what happened to Acacia is fresh for Adam and his family.
They hope that advances in technology or new witnesses might one day provide the answers they’ve been waiting for.
Until then, they continue to fight for justice and closure.
If you have any information about Acacia’s disappearance, you can contact the Salt Lake County Sheriff’s Office at (801) 743-7000.
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