Lost at Sea?

[Alan D. Hyde]

Associated Press 09/10/02

PHOENIX -- Former Detroit Pistons center Bison Dele and his girlfriend were reported missing during a boating trip in the Pacific Ocean, the woman's stepfather said Monday.

Bison Dele, formerly known as Brian Williams, played for four different NBA teams.

Relatives last heard from Dele, girlfriend Serena Karlan and three members of Dele's boat crew two months ago, said Karlan's stepfather, Scott Ohlgren of Boulder, Colo.

Dele's boat was scheduled to sail from Moorea, Tahiti, to Honolulu and was last reported as being seen near Tahiti, Ohlgren said.

Dele, formerly known as Brian Williams, played on the Chicago Bulls' championship team in 1996-97. He later signed with the Pistons, where he played for two seasons before retiring. He played at Arizona in 1990 and 1991.

Before his disappearance, Dele had contacted his bank once a month. The bank hasn't heard from Dele in two months, Ohlgren said.

Dwight Manley, Dele's agent in Los Angeles, said he last spoke with Dele four months ago.

''I don't think that he would just stop communicating with his family and his banker and his best friends.''

Karlan, who started dating Dele in January, usually called her mother once a week, Ohlgren said.

''Like clockwork,'' he said. ''This is a woman who is connected to her mom at the hip. It was very unusual that we didn't hear from her.''

Ohlgren said missing persons complaints were made in Colorado and Michigan, where Dele had business contacts.

Police in both states said Monday night that no missing persons cases under those names could be immediately found.

The FBI doesn't handle missing persons cases but was still monitoring developments, said Susan Herskovits, a spokeswoman for the agency's Phoenix office.

Phoenix police, meanwhile, investigated a possible identity theft case last week involving a man claiming to be Brian Williams.

A coin dealer tipped off investigators that the man, whose identity wasn't released by police, was seeking to pay money for gold bullion, said Phoenix Detective Tony Morales.

The coin dealer had questions about the transaction and learned that Dele was reported missing, Morales said. The man presented identification and presented himself as Brian Williams but he wasn't in fact Williams.

The man was released after detectives interviewed him.

''He is nothing other than an investigative lead and a possible identity theft case,'' Morales said.

While Phoenix detectives aren't investigating the missing persons case, they were concerned about the identity theft allegation, Morales said.

''You have a person who was reported missing and then you have someone showing up reporting to be that person,'' Morales said.

***

No EPIRB???

Wonder what he was sailing?

Alan

[ 09-10-2002, 04:20 PM: Message edited by: Alan D. Hyde ]

[Ian McColgin]

Can't open it.

[Nicholas Carey]

Or not.

http://www.nytimes.com/aponline/sports/AP-BKN-Dele-Investigation.html (free registration required).


FBI Seeks Missing Athlete's Brother
By THE ASSOCIATED PRESS

Filed at 7:15 p.m. ET

LOS ANGELES (AP) -- The FBI issued an arrest warrant for the brother of former NBA player Bison Dele on Friday, the day after Dele's sailboat was found in Tahiti.

Andrew Black, a spokesman for the San Francisco bureau of the FBI, said agents were seeking 35-year-old Miles Dabord, also known as Kevin Williams. He's the older brother of Dele, whose name used to be Brian Williams.

Dabord was being sought on an unlawful flight warrant issued by the FBI bureau in Phoenix, where he is suspected of trying to steal his brother's identity.

Black stopped short of calling Dabord a suspect in his brother's disappearance. The 33-year-old Dele hasn't been seen since July 8, along with his 30-year-old girlfriend Serena Karlan and Bertrand Saldo, the captain of Dele's 55-foot catamaran.

The boat, which Dele named the Hakuna Matata, was found docked in the Tahitian town of Taravao on Thursday. No one was on board, but it had been repainted and renamed Arabella, Black said.

The three people were planning to sail from Tahiti, in the south Pacific Ocean, north to Honolulu.

Police in Phoenix detained Dabord on Sept. 5 after he allegedly said he was Brian Williams and signed receipts with that name while trying to buy $152,000 in gold. He showed his younger brother's passport as identification before he was taken into custody by police, Black said. Dabord then was released without being arrested.

"We're anxious to find him," Black said. "We believe he has information that's going to shed light on the circumstances surrounding the disappearance of these three individuals."

Mexican police under the direction of the FBI located a hotel room in Tijuana where clothing and personal items belonging to Dabord were found Thursday, authorities said.

Black said 16 FBI agents were heading to Tahiti, and that others were involved in the search for the missing three people.

"We're hoping this has a very positive outcome, but keep in mind we're talking about individuals who haven't been heard from for more than two months," he said.

Dabord had sailed with Dele and Karlan earlier this summer.

Dele, a member of the Chicago Bulls' NBA championship team in 1997, changed his name in 1998 to honor his American Indian ancestry. Dele played in the NBA for nearly eight years with Orlando, Denver, the Los Angeles Clippers, Chicago and Detroit, averaging 11.0 points and 6.2 rebounds in 413 regular-season games. He last played in 1999 with the Pistons.

The brothers' mother, Patricia A. Phillips, was contacted by phone at her home in Santa Monica, Calif., and she said the FBI had asked her not to speak to the media.

"It has been an incredibly draining experience for her," said Dele's agent, Dwight Manley. "There are two sons she's worried about, not just one, and there are two other people and two other families involved, too."

Manley said he's trying to stay positive, but finding it difficult.

"All the facts that keep unfolding, they don't bode well," Manley said. "The brother's missing in Mexico. The boat's been found, and the name's been painted over."

[Alan D. Hyde]

This is a reminder that some of the "dangers of the sea" aren't caused by wind and waves and rocks and shoals...

Alan