What Happened To Little Bobby Dunbar?

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CALDWELL WATCHMAN, COLUMBIA LOUISIANA  APRIL 17 1914 FRONT PAGE

https://www.newspapers.com/image/221401938/?terms=Bobby%20Dunbar&match=1

William Cantwell Walters New Orleans Daily States 4-12-1914.

https://greensboro.com/editorial/books/down-a-sordid-path-to-lock-up-a-family-secret/article_067900cf-5db9-58e8-b55d-7feea1890750.html

Bobby Dunbar (1913). Public Domain. https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Bobby_Dunbar_(1913).jpg

Two Boys Side by Side 1914. Public Domain. https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Twoboyssidebyside-thedaybook-feb18-1914.jpg

Opelousas Louisiana Main Street Xmas Eve 1900. Public Domain. https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Opelousas_Louisiana_Main_Street_Xmas_Eve_1900.jpg

American Alligator (2015)  CC0 1.0 UNIVERSAL PUBLIC DOMAIN DEDICATION ALAN SCHMIERER  https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:AMERICAN_ALLIGATOR_(Alligator_mississippiensis)_(11-3-2015)_cameron_pa,_louisiana_(3)_(23182397321).jpg

Alligator Bayou Scenes. CCA 2.0 GENERIC. https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Alligator_Bayou_Scenes_-_161753432.jpg

St. Landry Parish Courthouse at Opelousas  Public Domain. https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:St_Landry_Parish_Courthouse_at_Opelousas_during_the_Civil_War.jpg

Map of Part of the State of Louisiana Public Domain. https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Map_of_a_part_of_the_State_of_Louisiana_exhibiting_the_route_of_the_New-Orleans,_Opelousas_%26_Great_Western_Rail_Road._LOC_gm72003017.tif

BD 1  THE SHREVEPORT JOURNAL  9 APRIL 1914. https://www.newspapers.com/article/the-shreveport-journal-bobby-dunbar-tria/46149522/

BD 3. THE TOWN TALK  ALEXANDRIA LA. 22 APRIL 1913 https://www.newspapers.com/article/the-town-talk-bobby-dunbar/130049268/

BD 5   TIMES DEMOCRAT. NEW ORLEANS LA. 8 JUNE 1913. https://www.newspapers.com/article/the-times-democrat-bobby-dunbar/130048356/

BD 6  THE SHREVEPORT JOURNAL. SHREVEPORT LA. 9 APR 1914. https://www.newspapers.com/article/the-shreveport-journal-bobby-dunbar-tria/46149522/

JA 2. THE TIMES. SHREVEPORT LA. 30 APR 1913.

https://www.newspapers.com/article/the-times-julia-anderson-mother-of-bobby/130049727/

BD 7.   THE TACOMA TIMES 23 FEB 1914. https://www.newspapers.com/article/the-tacoma-times/1527388/

BD 8  THE TIMES-DEMOCRAT  NEW ORLEANS LA. 3 MAY 1913.

https://www.newspapers.com/article/the-times-democrat/23492171/

BD 9  ST. LANDRY CLARION OPELOUSAS LA. 2 MAY 1914. https://www.newspapers.com/article/st-landry-clarion/112293384/

BD 10  THE ERA-LEADER. FRANKLINTON LA  JULY 2 1914. https://www.newspapers.com/article/the-era-leader-franklinton-la-era-leader/112293783/

BD 11  THE CROWLEY SIGNAL. CROWLEY LA. 21 JUNE 1913. https://www.newspapers.com/article/the-crowley-signal-bobby-dunbar/130048159/

BD 12  THE TIMES-DEMOCRAT. NEW ORLEANS 2 FEB 1914. https://www.newspapers.com/article/the-times-democrat-innocent-w-c-walters/46149603/

BD 13  THE SAN FRANCISCO EXAMINER 22 MARCH 1914. https://www.newspapers.com/article/the-san-francisco-examiner-bobby-dunbar/46149550/

BD 14. THE SHREVEPORT JOURNAL MARCH 12 1932. https://www.newspapers.com/article/the-shreveport-journal-bobbys-story-p/77453790/ 

Following Photos Courtesy of Carola Lillie Hartley Collection, Opelousas LA. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED.  Used with gracious permission of Ms. Hartley.

Half Moon Lake on the OG-N-E-Railroad about 1908 St. Landry Parish

OGEE Fishing Trip 1909

Railroad Crew on OGEE Railroad Rides Down Landry Street in 1907

Bobby and his mother Lessie Dunbar after he was taken to Opelousas

The Dunbar family at their home in 1914

Train Station stop along the route – Finding Bobby

Bobby Dunbar with horse and hat

Julia Anderson Floyd in 1914

Swimming in the lake – Swayzee

Swimming in the lake – Swayzee (2)

SELECT BIBLIOGRAPHY AND FURTHER READING SUGGESTIONS 

Hartley, Carola Lillie  “The Bobby Dunbar Kidnapping Case Leaves Unanswered Questions”. 17 August 2018 ACCESSED 3 August 2023. https://www.dailyworld.com/story/news/2018/08/17/walters-dunbar-kidnapping-case-part-2/1018090002/

Hartley, Carola Lillie  “The Mystery Continues: Opelousas Kidnapping Case Remains Unsolved”. 19 July 2018 ACCESSED 3 August 2023.  https://www.dailyworld.com/story/news/2018/07/19/mystery-continues-opelousas-kidnapping-case-remains-unsolved/799919002/

“The True Story of The Boy Who Vanished and Came Back as a New Child, 1912”. HISTORY DAILY.  ACCESSED 9 August 2023. https://historydaily.org/the-bobby-dunbar-story

Breed, Allen. “Family Sleuth Wavers in Solving 92-Yearv Mystery”. LOS ANGELES TIMES  1 Feb 2004. ACCESSED 3 August 2023. https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-2004-feb-01-adna-bobby1-story.html

Jones, Terry. “The Strange Case of Bobby Dunbar”  COUNTRY ROADS MAGAZINE  22 Feb 2021. Accessed 10 August 2023. https://countryroadsmagazine.com/art-and-culture/history/the-strange-case-of-bobby-dunbar/

“352: The Ghost of Bobby Dunbar” This American Life. Podcast Transcript Undated. Accessed 3 August 2023.  https://www.thisamericanlife.org/352/transcript

Felton, James “The Disappearance of Bobby Dunbar, And The Boy Who Came Back”. IFL Science. Accessed 19 July 2023. https://www.iflscience.com/the-disappearance-of-bobby-dunbar-and-the-boy-who-came-back-67246

Breed, Allen G.  “Family continues search for Bobby Dunbar” Oakland Tribune 1 Feb 2004 via Web Archive. Accessed 19 July 2023. https://web.archive.org/web/20090318120501/http://findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_qn4176/is_20040201/ai_n14567928

Good, Meaghan  “Bobby Dunbar”  THE CHARLEY PROJECT ACCESSED 19 JULY 2023. https://charleyproject.org/case/robert-clarence-dunbar

Rossen, Jake. “The Bizarre Kidnapping Mystery That Stunned the 1910s South”. Mental Floss 18 Dec 2017. ACCESSED 10 Aug 2023. https://www.mentalfloss.com/article/516444/bizarre-kidnapping-mystery-stunned-1910s-south

“DNA test solves Bobby Dunbar mystery. Daily World Newspaper 2 May 2004. Accessed via Newspapers.com. https://www.newspapers.com/article/11904045/daily_world/

Galloway, Taraya  “The Mysterious Case of Bobby Dunbar”. Newspapers.com 18 August 2016. Accessed 3 August 2023. https://blog.newspapers.com/the-mysterious-case-of-bobby-dunbar/

Ardoin, Bobby  “Mississippi-Based Film Crew Interested In Opelousas Kidnapping Case”. St. Landry Now 7 Feb 2023. Accessed 10 August 2023. https://www.stlandrynow.com/local-area-history/mississippi-based-film-crew-interested-in-opelousas-kidnapping-case/

Hartley, Carola “Photo from the Past – Half Moon Lake. St. Landry Now  22 Jan 2022. Accessed 9 August 2023. https://www.stlandrynow.com/local-area-history/photo-from-the-past-half-moon-lake/

Personal correspondence and conversation with Carola Lillie Hartley, August 2023.

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