Bobby Dunbar was four years old when he disappeared in Louisiana. It was August of 1912, and his family, from a small town in central Louisiana, had taken a trip to Swayze Lake. Bobby went missing sometime during the fishing trip, and the search for the missing boy began immediately.
Eight months after his disappearance, police found Bobby Dunbar—or a child they believed was Bobby Dunbar—with a man named William Cantwell Walters. Walters maintained that the boy was not Bobby Dunbar but a boy by the name Bruce Anderson, the child of a friend whom he had temporary custody of. Both sets of parents were asked to identify the child. The Dunbars said that the boy was their son, while Bruce’s mother admitted she hadn’t seen him in 13 months. There are different stories told about the boy’s reaction, with some saying he cried upon seeing the Dunbars, and others saying he ran up and yelled, “Mother!” upon seeing Leslie Dunbar. Custody was granted to the Dunbars, with a judge ruling that this boy was, in fact, Bobby Dunbar.
Bruce Anderson’s mother had three children out of wedlock, which did not bode well for her in the courtroom. While the law had decided that the boy was Bobby Dunbar, in her mind, her son was being kidnapped by the Dunbars. She consistently maintained that the boy was her son, Bruce. After two years in jail for kidnapping, William Cantwell Walters was released, and the boy was raised as Bobby Dunbar. He got married, had children, and raised his family as a Dunbar.
Years later, in 2004, Bobby’s son was curious about the story, so he decided to have a DNA test done. He had his DNA compared to that of his cousin, and it was found that there was no familial match. To this day, no one knows what happened to the actual boy named Bobby Dunbar. There are all sorts of theories, ranging from his parents harming him and taking in the other boy to cover up their crimes, to him being kidnapped and switched by Walters.