SheWhoMustNotBeNamed
Former Member
Robert Clarence Dunbar
Endangered Missing from Opelousas, Louisiana since August 23, 1912
Age: 4 -- Hair Color: Blonde -- Eye Color: Blue
Robert's nickname is Bobby. His hair may have darkened to brown. He has a mole on his neck and a burn scar on his big toe.
Robert was last seen in Opelousas, Louisiana on August 23, 1912. He was with his parents and younger brother on a fishing trip at Swayze Lake. When his family went to the cabins for lunch at noon, Robert apparently wandered away. An extensive search of the area turned up no sign of him. Searchers did find a set of bare footprints leading out of the swamps to the railroad trestle, and there were reports of a strange man lurking in the area, so it was decided Robert must have been abducted.
In April 1913, William Cantwell Walters was arrested and charged with Robert's kidnapping. Walters was found in Mississippi with a child that closely matched Robert's description. He stated the boy was named Bruce Anderson and his servant had given him the child as a traveling companion. The servant identified the child as her son, and the boy denied that he was Robert, but a court decided that the boy was Robert.
Walters was convicted of kidnapping. The conviction was overturned on a technicality two years later and he was never re-tried. The child was given to Robert's family and was raised as theirs. The boy gave at least one media interview as an adult, claiming to recall details of the kidnapping, but his family said he was uncertain of his true identity his entire life. He had four kids and was buried under the name Robert Dunbar.
In 2004, DNA testing proved that the other child had not been Robert. With the results of the DNA testing, Robert was once again listed as a missing child. His fate is unknown.
Charley Project