CAROLINA SHORES, N.C. (WECT) – Kathy Gillcrist always knew she was adopted, but she had no idea just how different her life would’ve been if her birth mother hadn’t made the decision to place her for adoption after she was born.

“I had the option to check a little box that says I was an adopted child and I would be interested in finding siblings or other relatives,” said Gillcrist, describing the 23andMe DNA test she took in 2017.

The DNA test brought back a first match: her third cousin Susan Gillmor, a successful genealogist in Maine.

“We were amazed that we were a lot alike,” said Gillmor. “We both were English majors; we were both teachers.”

Since unlocking the secrets to ancestry is Gillmor’s profession, she decided to help Gillcrist get more answers. The hardest part by far was finding her father.

“I’m looking at the surnames, I’m looking at names in common, I’m looking at geography — and his name is William Bradford Bishop, Jr.,” said Gillmor.

That was exactly the problem.

The US government has been trying to track down William Bradford Bishop since the 1970s. He’s accused of brutally murdering his wife and three children. After the murder, the killer drove 300 miles to Columbia, North Carolina.