Elena

And many of the searchers really quickly began speculating, like, we're not going to find this kid. Yeah. They were like out loud being like, I don't think we're going to find him. Yeah. Which must have been horrifying to hear. Nearby, a smaller group of men actually dynamited the stream for more than a mile in order to bring anything to the surface that was under the water.

And many of the searchers really quickly began speculating, like, we're not going to find this kid. Yeah. They were like out loud being like, I don't think we're going to find him. Yeah. Which must have been horrifying to hear. Nearby, a smaller group of men actually dynamited the stream for more than a mile in order to bring anything to the surface that was under the water.

I like dynamited as a verb. Right? It really is. But nothing worked. Nothing found. There was no sign of Bobby. These poor parents. They had searched the area for 18 hours and they found no sign of him. And Percy and Lessie reluctantly returned to Opelousas while what remained of the search party continued to comb the area. Oh, that's so sad. But they had to bring their other son home.

I like dynamited as a verb. Right? It really is. But nothing worked. Nothing found. There was no sign of Bobby. These poor parents. They had searched the area for 18 hours and they found no sign of him. And Percy and Lessie reluctantly returned to Opelousas while what remained of the search party continued to comb the area. Oh, that's so sad. But they had to bring their other son home.

Can you imagine you just like go out for a cute family outing? With two children and you come back with one. Like that is beyond. Unthinkable.

Can you imagine you just like go out for a cute family outing? With two children and you come back with one. Like that is beyond. Unthinkable.

Now, in the days after this, a smaller group continued to search the area. So people weren't giving up on this. Several divers did their best to search through the murky waters, but they never found even the slightest bit of evidence that Bobby had even been there. By the third day, many of them had given him up for dead.

Now, in the days after this, a smaller group continued to search the area. So people weren't giving up on this. Several divers did their best to search through the murky waters, but they never found even the slightest bit of evidence that Bobby had even been there. By the third day, many of them had given him up for dead.

Basically reasoning there was very little chance that a four-year-old could survive the elements alone for that long. Yeah. Much less in an area where there were gators. There were all so much wildlife there. Yeah. That was not going to be good. The main theory at the time was that Bobby had wandered away from the camp in the night and fallen into the lake and drowned.

Basically reasoning there was very little chance that a four-year-old could survive the elements alone for that long. Yeah. Much less in an area where there were gators. There were all so much wildlife there. Yeah. That was not going to be good. The main theory at the time was that Bobby had wandered away from the camp in the night and fallen into the lake and drowned.

And but some were holding out hope that he was still alive, saying that maybe, you know, maybe he's still alive because if he had drowned, then we probably would have found some evidence like a scrap of clothing, something which like, I don't know, with gators. Yeah, exactly. Exactly.

And but some were holding out hope that he was still alive, saying that maybe, you know, maybe he's still alive because if he had drowned, then we probably would have found some evidence like a scrap of clothing, something which like, I don't know, with gators. Yeah, exactly. Exactly.

Now, within a week, news of Bobby's disappearance had reached the wider public, and it quickly became a big fascination with the press. One reporter wrote, never in the history of this parish has an incident created such profound interest and such profound sorrow. Which I think is a really great way of saying it. The idea that a child could simply disappear without a trace.

Now, within a week, news of Bobby's disappearance had reached the wider public, and it quickly became a big fascination with the press. One reporter wrote, never in the history of this parish has an incident created such profound interest and such profound sorrow. Which I think is a really great way of saying it. The idea that a child could simply disappear without a trace.

That was enough of a mystery and enough of like a horrifying situation to think about. That was enough to grab the attention of the public very quickly. But there was also this really like macabre angle that the press couldn't ignore. One reporter asked, is little Robert at the bottom of Swayze Lake? And then this is like... The way that he wrote this, I'm like, okay. I mean, immediately.

That was enough of a mystery and enough of like a horrifying situation to think about. That was enough to grab the attention of the public very quickly. But there was also this really like macabre angle that the press couldn't ignore. One reporter asked, is little Robert at the bottom of Swayze Lake? And then this is like... The way that he wrote this, I'm like, okay. I mean, immediately.

Like, that's already jarring. Oh, it gets worse. Is little Robert at the bottom of the Swayze Lake? Is his little body the victim of the rapacious appetite of alligators, loggerhead turtles, garfish? Or has the little fellow been gnawed to death by mosquitoes, gnats in the jungles of the Atchafalaya Swamp?

Like, that's already jarring. Oh, it gets worse. Is little Robert at the bottom of the Swayze Lake? Is his little body the victim of the rapacious appetite of alligators, loggerhead turtles, garfish? Or has the little fellow been gnawed to death by mosquitoes, gnats in the jungles of the Atchafalaya Swamp?

Yeah, novels, fiction, you know? Nothing true. Use that prose for good. We don't need you using that flowery prose for someone's four-year-old. Yeah, real life situation. That they are holding out hope that they're alive. Jesus. I feel like reading that, I hope his family never read that. No. Because what the fuck? Oh, God. Yeah.

Yeah, novels, fiction, you know? Nothing true. Use that prose for good. We don't need you using that flowery prose for someone's four-year-old. Yeah, real life situation. That they are holding out hope that they're alive. Jesus. I feel like reading that, I hope his family never read that. No. Because what the fuck? Oh, God. Yeah.