Killer's Riddle

Bobby Dunbar

**The Disappearance:**

In August 1912, the Dunbar family, consisting of Percy and Lessie Dunbar and their children, embarked on a fishing trip near Swayze Lake in Opelousas, Louisiana. During the outing, 4-year-old Bobby Dunbar vanished without a trace. The family and the local community initiated an extensive search, hoping to find the missing boy.

**Discovery of a Boy and the Involvement of William Cantwell Walters:**

Eight months later, in Mississippi, a boy fitting Bobby's description was found in the company of a handyman named William Cantwell Walters. The boy was initially identified as Bobby by the Dunbar family, but the Anderson family from North Carolina claimed that the child was actually their son, Bruce Anderson, who had been entrusted to Walters.

**The Trial:**

The legal battle that followed was highly publicized. The Dunbars were determined to prove that the boy was indeed Bobby, while Julia Anderson, the mother from North Carolina, insisted that the child was Bruce. The court ultimately sided with the Dunbars, and Walters was convicted of kidnapping. The boy returned to Louisiana with the Dunbars, and life seemed to resume.

**DNA Testing and the Anderson Family's Perspective:**

Decades later, in the early 2000s, Margaret Dunbar Cutright, Bobby Dunbar's granddaughter, conducted genealogical research and initiated DNA testing. The results were unexpected — the boy raised as Bobby Dunbar did not share a biological connection with the Dunbar family. This revelation prompted a reevaluation of the case.The Anderson family, who had long maintained that the child was Bruce, felt vindicated by the DNA results. The conclusion was that the boy found with Walters in Mississippi was, indeed, Bruce Anderson. This raised questions about the accuracy of the court's decision in 1912 and the possibility of a child being switched or misplaced during the search.

**William Cantwell Walters' Motives:**

Walters' motives remain a subject of speculation. Some theories propose that he genuinely believed the boy was an orphan and sought a reward for finding him. Others suggest more sinister intentions, speculating that Walters might have been involved in the disappearance or might have orchestrated the whole situation for personal gain.

**Unanswered Questions:**

The case of Bobby Dunbar remains unsolved in many aspects. The true fate of the original Bobby Dunbar, the circumstances surrounding his disappearance, and the motivations behind Walters' actions are still subjects of speculation and debate among historians and true crime enthusiasts.The mystery surrounding Bobby Dunbar's disappearance and the subsequent events highlights the complexities of historical cases, especially when new evidence emerges long after the original events transpired.