When Bobby Dunbar mysteriously disappeared from the family camping trip almost 100 years ago, there was no way to track him. Today, with the help of DNA testing and a renewed interest in the cold case, the mystery is finally solved…
Family History
Bobby Dunbar was born in 1908 to parents Lessie and Percy Dunbar. Raised in Opelousas, Louisiana, Bobby lived a pretty decent life for 9 years. His parents kept a close eye on him, but not close enough…
Summer Fun
It was an ordinary camping trip in the summer of 1912. The Dunbar family headed out into the Louisiana wilderness to spend some quality time together as a family. That would be the last time the family was ever together…
Swayze Lake
The family was staying at Swayze Lake. While Swayze Lake was technically a lake, it was much more like a typical Louisiana swamp, riddled with crocodiles and overgrown with moss and trees. Not a great vacation, but the worst was still to come…
Lost Boy
On August 23rd, in the middle of the swamp, Bobby Dunbar disappeared off-site. The police were promptly called, but no one could find him in the dense forest of Swayze Lake. It seemed he would be gone forever…
8 Months Later
After a grueling search and rescue, Bobby was finally found. He had vanished from Louisiana and was now traveling through Mississippi, but he wasn’t alone in his journey…
William Cantwell Walters
William Cantwell Walters worked as a handyman for the tuning and repairing of pianos and organs. Walters had been brought into to custody for being seen traveling with Bobby Dunbar. But…was he?
Wrong Kid
After some conversations with Walters, police realized that this might not be Bobby Dunbar at all! Walters claimed the boy was named Charles Bruce Anderson, known as Bruce.
Charles Bruce Anderson
Charles Bruce Anderson was said to be the son of an unmarried woman who worked for Walters’ family, Julia Anderson. She reportedly gave Walters’ custody of Bruce for unknown reasons. Nonetheless, the Dunbar parents came to see for themselves…
Family Reunion
Apparently, Bruce/Bobby ran into Lessie Dunbar’s arms and cried out “Mother!” But Lessie was less sure. Was this really her son? Neither she or Percy Dunbar could tell…
Alonzo Dunbar
The Dunbar’s had another son, Alonzo. Newspapers gave mixed reports of the boys greeting. Some said Bobby knew him by name and hugged the brother eagerly. Others said there was no recognition from either boy. So what was going on?
Cleaning Up
Nevertheless, the Dunbar family accepted the boy as Bobby Dunbar. They got him home and cleaned him in the bath, where Lessie reported seeing scars and moles that identified him as Bobby. Or did they?
Anderson Arrives
Shortly after the reunion, Julie Anderson arrived in Louisiana, convinced that her son had been stolen. She traveled from North Carolina to testify that her son was kidnapped by the Dunbars…
Julia’s Story
Julie Anderson said that she had allowed her son, Bruce Anderson, to visit relatives on a two-day trip with Walters. She did not consent for him to be taken for more than a short time. So what was the truth?
The Test
To test her claim, the police showed Julia Anderson five different boys, one of whom was her supposed son, Bruce. He showed no indication of knowing her, and Anderson reported that she couldn’t tell who of the five was her son. But she had more to say…
A Second Opinion
Given the opportunity to see the boy up close, Anderson asserted that he was definitely her son. However, word had spread about Anderson’s inability to pick him out of a lineup. There was more to her past too…
Turned Away
She had birthed Bruce out of wedlock, so her moral quality was in question in 1918. For all these reasons, the town chose to ignore Julia’s assertions and granted custody to the Dunbar family… for now…
Anderson’s Legacy
Anderson couldn’t pay for a long court battle to prove her custody. She returned to North Carolina defeated. But she didn’t stay out of Louisiana for long…
Back to Bruce
Walters was still undergoing trial for kidnapping Bobby Dunbar. Anderson returned to testify his innocence at the trial and beg for her son back. Despite this testimony, the boy was ruled to be Bobby Dunbar. Anderson would have to leave again…
Final Ruling
Walters was convicted of kidnapping Bobby Dunbar from his family camping trip. He was sentenced to two years in prison before appealing a new trial which prompted his release…
Bobby Lives On
The identified boy lived out the rest of his days as Bobby Dunbar in Opelousas, Louisiana. Julia Anderson didn’t give up that easily though…
Poplarville People
While in the trial, Julia became close with the people of the Mississippi town. She decided that if she couldn’t get her son back, she’d at least be close. She married and had seven children. But the memory lived on…
The Lost Son
Julia became a devout Christian and helped found a church. She also got work as a nurse and midwife. She never let go of Bruce though…
Never Letting Go
According to Julia’s children, she often spoke about the son she lost, saying until her death that he was kidnapped by the Dunbar family. Years later, Bobby had more to say…
Walters’ Side
Walters moved frequently and eventually married in Colorado. Walters, according to his children, always maintained his innocence of the kidnapping charges. But it was the Anderson children who had the strangest story…
Hollis’ Meeting
According to the This American Life podcast, a man thought to beBobby Dunbar/Bruce Anderson visited Hollis. He wasn’t the only family member with an encounter of their long lost brother…
Jule’s Story
Jules Anderson reported meeting a man she thought to be Bobby/Bruce. He had come to a service station where Jules was working and he talked to her for a long period of time. Even the Dunbar’s had some strange happenings…
Dunbar Discussions
Once, when driving past the Anderson family’s town, Bobby said to the members in the car “Those are the people they came to pick me up from.” Anderson’s briefly met with Dunbar, but only once. The truth wouldn’t come for many years…
Margaret Dunbar’s Case
Bobby Dunbar led a normal life and had 4 children before his death in 1966. One of his grandchildren, Margaret Dunbar, wanted to find out the truth of her family history…
Diving In
Margaret decided to dive into the case with the intention of proving her grandfather’s true Dunbar heritage. She interviewed other members of her family and the grandchildren of the Anderson family. It wasn’t until some testing that her case really broke through…
A Verdict
After some research, the Associated Press got involved. The publication issued a DNA test to Bob Dunbar Jr. and the son of Alonzo Dunbar. The results shocked the family…
Test Results
The DNA tests revealed that Bob Dunbar Jr. and Alonzo’s son were not related, proving once and for all that Bobby Dunbar was not a member of the Dunbar family. In all likelihood, he was Bruce Anderson. So what really happened to Bobby? Margaret found out.
Bobby’s Fate
Though it cannot be proven, Margaret thinks she discovered what happened to the real Bobby Dunbar. Based on location and other factors, it is believed that Bobby fell into Swayze Lake and was eaten by an alligator. Though this is assumed, it will forever remain unknown…