A 4-year-old boy named Bobby Dunbar went missing on a family trip, and 8 months later they rescued him and reunited him with his family and they lived happily ever after. Almost a hundred years later, a DNA test confirmed that the child they rescued was not Bobby Dunbar. 1913.
(Pictured: The child standing in front of the car grew up to be Bobby Dunbar.)
The Disappearance of Bobby Dunbar
The story of the missing boy being replaced by someone else
Joe Donnan writes
On August 23, 1912, Percy and Lessie Dunbar took their oldest child, Robert Clarence Dunbar—affectionately known as Bobby—on a fishing trip to Swayze Lake near Opelousas, Louisiana. Little did they know that this excursion would have permanent consequences for their lineage, and in a fateful turn of events, Bobby disappeared without a trace before lunch.
A desperate search ensued across the United States.
Convinced that their firstborn had been abducted, the Dunbars began a frantic nationwide search for their missing son by announcing a $6,000 reward.. They had postcards of Bobby and his physical description printed and distributed widely: “A photo with big round blue eyes, hair..baby, very fair with rosy cheeks, well grown, firm but not too fat. It shows that the baby's left big toe is badly scarred due to burns.
Eight months into the massive rescue operation, authorities reported a description of a little boy matching Bobby's description: he had been found safe in Mississippi.
Among the photos..
Left: Boy found in Mississippi. Right: Bobby Dunbar, before his disappearance.
The boy in question was traveling with William Cantwell Walters, a handyman who specialized in tuning and repairing pianos and organs. Walters explained to police that his accomplice was Charles Anderson, his brother's illegitimate son and his family's longtime employee, Julia Anderson. According to Walters, Anderson gave him custody of his child for a few days while he was visiting relatives in Mississippi.
Despite his claims of innocence, Walters was arrested and taken to Opelousas to stand trial because kidnapping is a capital offense in Louisiana. Authorities then alerted the Dunbars, who immediately traveled to Mississippi to identify the child. After eight long months, "Bobby" will finally be returned to his parents.
Two reunions shrouded in uncertainty
According to many newspaper reports, the Dunbars initially did not believe that the boy presented to them was their son Bobby. Looking at him, Lacey herself is quoted as saying, “I don't know.” I'm not sure." The boy reportedly began to cry, apparently scared of the Dunbars. Later, when his younger brother Alonzo Dunbar met, newspapers reported that the children had no reaction to seeing each other.
The next day, Lacey had the opportunity to bathe the boy. Despite recognizing his scars at a glance - and ignoring the missing burns on his leg - she was adamant that the child was her son. On April 25, 1913, the Dunbars took the boy to Opelousas, where a parade was organized on the courthouse square to celebrate Bobby's return .. with a brass band and a big party for all the well-wishers.
After arrangements were made by a New Orleans newspaper, Julia Anderson arrived in Louisiana on May 1 to confirm Walters' innocence and corroborate his story. Like the Dunbars, she had trouble recognizing the baby as her son, Bice. Suddenly appearing in a spacious house filled with toys and a pony, the boy stood away from Anderson.
The next day, after a stern warning, Julia Anderson was allowed to undress the boy as she had done before Lessie Dunbar. Upon closer inspection, Julia is sure that her son is Bruce and tries to accompany him.
However, by this time, word had already spread that she had failed to recognize the boy the previous day, and thus her claims were invalid. In addition, the press questioned her moral character because she was an unwed mother - a situation many people faced in the early 20th century.
Legal battle over boy's custody
Unable to pay a lawyer to legally fight for the boy in court, a defeated Julia returned to North Carolina but returned to Louisiana in a second attempt to get Walters out of custody and reclaim the boy as her son.
This time she was accompanied by other residents of Poplarville, Mississippi, who also knew Walters well and claimed to have seen the boy in Poplarville before Bobby disappeared, ruling out the possibility that he could be the Dunbars' son.
Despite the reports of these witnesses, the court ruled in favor of Lessie and Percy Dunbar. From that moment on, the boy he met in Mississippi was legally recognized and lived the rest of his life as Robert Clarence Dunn.
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