The Years in Africa

In 1962 William R. Maples traveled with his young, pregnant wife to work in Kenya, Africa.	While in Africa, they spent time on safari, and Maples received his pilot's license.
They lived in a hut not far from Nairobi until 1963 at which time their first daughter, Lisa, was born. Maples worked trapping, and studying baboons as part of his master's thesis work in physical anthropology.	Maples also enjoyed photography, and he returned with a collection of images of the native people and animals of Africa.
In 1964 they returned to Africa for Maples to complete work on his Ph.D.. This time they stayed in Africa through 1966, and they had their second child, Cynthia. Margaret, Maples' wife, enjoyed the adventure, and was eager to return to Africa. They returned to the United States in 1963, but they were not there for long.	When they returned from Africa, and Maples had completed his Ph.D., he began working as a physical anthropology professor at Western Michigan University from 1966 to 1968. In 1968 he moved his family to Florida to begin teaching at the University of Florida, and after a few years his career turned from physical anthropology to forensic anthropology and his case load picked up steam year by year. Soon he would be solving mysterious homicides not only in Florida, but throughout the world.