METROPOLIS, IL – A search for justice spanning over four decades reached a major turning point Friday. During a press conference at the Massac County Courthouse, State’s Attorney Josh Stratmeyer announced that a Massac County Grand Jury has returned a five-count indictment for the murder of 26-year-old Lisa Ann Carnes.

The suspect, 76-year-old George E. Bradfield of Owensboro, Kentucky, was taken into custody Thursday in Daviess County. According to State’s Attorney Stratmeyer, Bradfield was working in the Joppa area at the time of the 1984 crime.

A Night That Changed Massac County Forever

For many listening in Metropolis, Massac County, and beyond, the events of March 1984 remain a vivid and painful chapter of local history.

• The Disappearance: On Thursday night, March 29, 1984, Lisa dropped her two children off with a family member.

• The Discovery: When she failed to return, the lives of her family were forever changed. Her body was discovered the following Friday afternoon around 3:00 PM near the intersection of Macedonia Church Road and US 45.

• The Investigation: For years, the case remained cold, appearing on unsolved crime lists across Illinois while local law enforcement continued to piece together fragments of that spring evening.

Science and Persistence Overcome Decades of Rumor

As decades passed, the case was often the subject of local speculation and gossip—talk that often unfairly targeted local names. However, behind the scenes, investigators stayed the course as DNA technology began to revolutionize crime-solving in the 1990s.

WMOK has followed this story since it began in 1984. In interviews several years back, Sheriff Chad Kaylor shared the heavy weight of managing the physical evidence. He described the anxiety each time crime scene material was sent off for testing, knowing that with each attempt, there was one less piece of the remaining original material from that night.

The breakthrough follows a July 2025 FBI Violent Criminal Apprehension Program (ViCAP) alert, which helped leverage those DNA advancements to finally bring this long-standing investigation to an indictment.

What’s Next

George E. Bradfield is scheduled for a court appearance today, Monday, April 27.

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