In 1912, four-year-old Bobby Dunbar vanished during a family fishing trip to Swayze Lake in Louisiana, sparking a massive eight-month search. When authorities found a boy matching Bobby's description in Mississippi with traveling handyman William Walters, the Dunbar family claimed him as their son. But another woman, Julia Anderson, recognised the boy's picture in the paper and insisted he was actually her son Bruce. After a sensational trial, the court awarded the child to the Dunbars, and he lived his entire life as Bobby Dunbar. But nearly a century later, DNA testing revealed the shocking truth.
We give you Just The Gist, but if you want more, there's this:
Disappearance of Bobby Dunbar Wikipedia page - Complete case details and DNA revelation
This American Life episode - "The Ghost of Bobby Dunbar" comprehensive investigation (2008)
This American Life transcript - Full episode transcript with all details
Medium retrospective - "The Disappearance of Bobby Dunbar: The story of the missing boy who was replaced with another" (2020)
Newspapers.com clipping - "But where is Bobby?" vintage newspaper coverage (2019)
A Case for Solomon book - Tal McThenia and Margaret Dunbar Cutright's definitive account (2012)
BuzzFeed Unsolved episode - "The Bizarre Disappearance of Bobby Dunbar" (2018)
History by Day analysis - "Who Was Bobby Dunbar? A Century-Old Case Finally Solved"
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