The Mysterious Disappearance of NBA Star Bison Dele

Bison was born Brian Carson Williams in 1969 and endured a difficult childhood in a Los Angeles suburb. Brian’s older brother, Kevin, was his one constant.

Brian had a natural basketball talent from a young age. Kevin suffered from Asthma, and never took to basketball like Brian did.

Brian didn’t join a basketball team until he was in 10th grade. Immediately colleges took notice.

Brian went on to play college ball and finally joined the NBA in 1991 as a first-round draft pick.

He won a championship in 1997 with Michael Jordan and the Bulls, but he was never as passionate about the game as the other players. He dreamed of just quitting the NBA and traveling the world.

And he shocked everyone when he did just that in 1999, walking away from a $36 million contract.

Brian traveled to Australia, Beirut, and New Zealand and traveled throughout the Mediterranean.

In 2000, he bought a catamaran and named it Hakuna Matata.

In 2002, his girlfriend, Serena, and his brother, Kevin would join him to sail the South Pacific.

Shortly after setting off, however, Brian, who now went by Bison, and Serena vanished. Kevin, who now went by Miles, showed back up in the States using Bison’s checkbook.

Where are Bison Deale and Serena?

Brian Carson Williams was born on April 6, 1969, to mother Patricia and father, Eugene. He had an older brother, Kevin, who was three years old when Brian was born.

Brian had a natural talent at a young age for basketball, but his childhood was a bit unstable. His father Eugene had left in 1970 to travel and perform with The Platters, a popular vocal group during that time. Eugene was quite the singer.

Patricia and Eugene divorced in 1970 and Patricia remarried and settled in Fresno. Her new husband was abusive to both her and her boys, and eventually, they split up as well, however, by then Brian was in middle school and had suffered greatly.

Likely because of his tumultuous childhood, Brian didn’t play basketball for a team until he was in the 10th grade. By his junior year, Brian was attending Las Vegas High School.

His senior year he transferred to Saint Monica Catholic School in Santa Monica, California.

Brian played college at the University of Maryland and then the University of Arizona, before joining the NBA.

In 1991 Brian was picked up by the Orlando Magic in the first-round draft pick. Brian moved a couple of years later to the Denver Nuggets, then the L.A. Clippers, before landing with the Chicago Bulls playing alongside Michael Jordan.

In 1997 Brian won a championship with the Bulls.

During this time in the NBA, Brian was silently suffering, however. He wasn’t as passionate about basketball as his teammates. He was making a lot of money, and the more he made, the more his family called him asking for more money.

He was not only sending money to his parents, but he was supporting his brother, Kevin, as well.

And he was miserable. He didn’t care about the money. He wanted freedom. He wanted to do his own thing. He wanted to travel the world.

He also distanced himself from his family at this time. He had a wake-up call with his father when he bought his dad a Harley, and traveled to Las Vegas to give it to him. He was so happy and proud to do this for his dad. But his dad, who now had struggles with alcohol and drugs, looked at his son and said he would have rather just had the cash.

Brian decided to distance himself as much as possible from his family.

In 1998, Brian legally changed his name to Bison Dele. This was said to honor his Native American heritage, with the name Bison meaning ‘freedom’.

Bison had enjoyed some fun times outside of basketball. He briefly even dated Madonna. He biked with a friend from Salt Lake City to Phoenix without any camping gear. They simply slept under the stars as they went.

Bison got his pilot license and continued to dream of life away from basketball.

He made that dream a reality in 1999 when he quit basketball, shocking everyone and walking away from a $36 million contract.

Bison started to travel, going to Beruit, Australia, the Mediterranean, and New Zealand. Bison had purchased a Catamaran sailboat named, ‘Hakuna Matata’, and had plans to see every corner of the globe.

After September 11, 2001, happened, Bison immediately began to reach out to his on-again, off-again girlfriend, Serena. She was living in New York City, and Bison was worried.

Serena was fine, and Bison was able to talk her into coming sailing with him for two weeks.

Serena and Bison had a wonderful time together, but Serena had to return to her life in New York City.

When she arrived back in the city, she received a letter from Bison and a check for $50,000, telling her to pay her bills and leave the city to sail the world with him. Serena was reluctant at first, but she and Bison had a special bond and always came back to each other.

In early 2002, Serena decided to go.

Bison’s brother Kevin, who had also changed his name and now went by Miles, would also join them for a bit.

They all met up in New Zealand where they planned to set sail from.

Serena wasn’t particularly fond of Miles (Kevin), and Bison hadn’t spoken to his family in three years, so it isn’t clear how the situation of the three of them sailing together came to be, but that’s what was happening in the summer of 2002.

On July 6, 2002, Bison, Miles, Serena, and their captain, Bertrand Saldo, left Tahita heading towards Raiatea. They would visit the beautiful island of Raiatea for a bit, then head off towards Hawaii.

For the first two days, Serena and Bison made a few satellite calls back to friends and family. Then all contact abruptly stopped.

Serena’s family back home became very worried.

On July 20th, the boat made it to Tahiti, but details of who was on board aren’t clear. It seemed to be just Miles, but it’s unclear if he had to offer any explanation as to where Bison, Serena, and the boat captain were.

By September, authorities were investigating the disappearance of Bison and Serena.

On September 5th, a man with Bison’s passport and checkbook tried to purchase gold coins for $150,000.

The bank immediately notified Bison’s business manager and he contacted police.

Authorities arrested Miles Dabord.

Miles first said that his brother was fine, and had asked him to purchase these coins. Since Phoenix, Police Department couldn’t locate Bison to confirm or deny the story, Miles had to be let go.

Just before the attempted gold coin purchase, the Hakuna Matata, which had been registered in Tahiti under another name, was found off the coast of Tahiti with its nameplate removed and some possible bullet holes patched. About the same time, Dabord phoned his mother, Patricia Phillips, telling her that he would never hurt Bison and that he could not survive in prison. 89988

Both the FBI and French authorities became involved in the investigation. They learned that Dabord bought about $200 of weights just before the group set sail on July 6th. He was suspected of murdering Bison, Serena, and Bertrand using the weights to attach to the bodies, and throwing them overboard. This was evidence that Miles likely had premeditated the whole thing.

Miles continued to adamantly deny having to do with Bison, Serena, and Bertrand’s disappearances, or murders, but I couldn’t find anywhere to confirm what Miles’ story was.

What did he say happened to them?

A warrant was issued for his arrest.

On September 27th, however, just weeks later, Miles overdosed on insulin and slipped into a coma. He died shortly after.

The brothers had a rough relationship. Was Miles jealous of everything that Bison had?

Had Miles planned to murder his brother? But then what? Did he hope to walk away with Bison’s fortune?

A lot of unanswered questions and a lot of tragedy.

Bison was just 33 years old when he vanished in 2002, and would today be 54 years old.

He is described as a black male, standing 6’10” tall. He is presumed to have drowned in the Pacific Ocean, alongside his girlfriend, Serena, and the boat’s captain, Bertrand.

One of Bison’s favorite quotes was,

“I always figured there were two ways to go. You can die from living, or you can just die from dying.”

Bison retired from the NBA abruptly, much to everyone’s shock. He was in the prime of his career and only 30 years old. But by doing so, he had three years of traveling the world and doing all the things he had dreamed of doing.

He went from country to country and made friends with all the locals. Bison was humble, and many didn’t even know he had been a famous NBA player. He wanted to blend in and enjoy the different lifestyles and cultures the world had to offer.

Three years wasn’t nearly long enough, but I have to say, I’m grateful he had those three years and was able to experience that.

Mile and Bison’s mother, Patricia, has only said that she is both of the boys’ mother and she loves and misses them both.

ADDITIONAL SOURCES:

https://www.si.com/longform/bison-dele/index.html

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bison_Dele

https://www.basketballnetwork.net/off-the-court/the-nba-player-that-went-missing-and-was-never-found