Israeli police announced tonight that they had abandoned the full-scale search in the Judean desert for Dr. James A.Pike, former Episcopal Bishop of California. Enos Givati, the Bethlehem police chief, said that unless Dr. Pike, lost since Monday on the wasteland, has been found and aided by Bedouin tribesmen, he could not have survived three days without water or food.
“People have been known to survive for seven days out there. But they were rare cases and they were not bishops straight from the United States used to an easy life, “Chief Givati said.
Troops and police combed the desert west of the Dead Sea for three days without results. Civilian volunteers were to continue the search Friday. Dr. Pike has been missing since Monday when a car he and his wife had driven into the wilderness got stuck in a rut. The search began shortly after Mrs. Pike stumbled into a camp of Arab workers after wandering in the desert for hours.
The Archive of the Jewish Telegraphic Agency includes articles published from 1923 to 2008. Archive stories reflect the journalistic standards and practices of the time they were published.
