TX TX - Houston, 'Swimsuit Boy' WhtMale 15-19, UP4547, Dean Corll victim, Aug'73

[TheHauntedOne]

This is from Clear Creek High School, League City

Thank you, I hadn't gotten to this school yet, amazing find

 

[Billycoltrane]

Here are the years 1970 to 1972.

 

[BigKeyManatee]

Here are the years 1970 to 1972.

Impressive work!
I wanted to compare the many faces of “Bobby French” so I made a composite from his high school pictures to compare to the one in the KHOU.com article.
It doesn’t say in the article but I believe that a portfolio of photos was mysteriously sent to Dr. Sharon Derrick, with a young man identified as Bobby French.
What do you think? (Apologies for the less than stellar quality)

 

[TheHauntedOne]

Yes, the envelope of pictures anonymously dropped off with the forensics unit, I took pics of them but for some reason they won't upload here.
They are all at the bottom of this page:
(Don't need a Facebook account to see them, just bypass when it asks you to sign in)

Log In or Sign Up to View

Impressive work!
I wanted to compare the many faces of “Bobby French” so I made a composite from his high school pictures to compare to the one in the KHOU.com article.
It doesn’t say in the article but I believe that a portfolio of photos was mysteriously sent to Dr. Sharon Derrick, with a young man identified as Bobby French.
What do you think? (Apologies for the less than stellar quality)

 

[Friday Fan]

Here are the years 1970 to 1972.

What are the classes associated with the yearbook pages? Is 1970 Freshman class?

I find several with name who were born in Harris County and Galveston County between 1954 and 1957, but all were accounted for via marriage after 1973 (So those could not be him, if he was born in Harris or Galveston County)

There is the possibility of someone born in a surrounding county. I can't find further records for him. His family was living in Houston in the 1960s.

 

[TheHauntedOne]

If you're talking about Bobby French, can you provide the information, would be helpful to see it

What are the classes associated with the yearbook pages? Is 1970 Freshman class?

I find several with name who were born in Harris County and Galveston County between 1954 and 1957, but all were accounted for via marriage after 1973 (So those could not be him, if he was born in Harris or Galveston County)

There is the possibility of someone born in a surrounding county. I can't find further records for him. His family was living in Houston in the 1960s.

 

[Billycoltrane]

What are the classes associated with the yearbook pages? Is 1970 Freshman class?

Yes. 1970 was his Freshman class and 1972 his Junior class. There is no further mention of this Bobby French and he does not appear in the 1973 Yearbook. If this the individual we're looking for, this would make sense. I've been through the 70, 71 and 72 yearbooks in their entirety and can find no further images of Bobby to assist with facial comparisons. I've also conducted thorough researches on "Ancestry.com" , "My Heritage.com" and "Familysearch.org" and can find no record of a "Bobby" or "Robert French" who was born during the 1950's and whose records cease on or about 1972. All of the individuals I have been able to find have lived, worked and been married beyond 1973. I have also conducted thorough researches on Newspapers.com and Newspaperarchive.com and find no record of any missing person named Bobby French. I can also find no mention of a missing "Bobby French" in the existing police files, the Houston list which I have enclosed here. All of our research depends upon the name on the envelope being correct and the envelope writer being truthful. I have seen postings on reddit claiming the images of Bobby are taken from a gay *advertiser censored* magazine and note that numerous magazines were seized by police during the raids of 1975. Even if the images were taken by Brooks as claimed, how to we know that the boy in the pictures gave Corll and Brooks his real name? I want so much to believe that this is our "Swimsuit Boy" but I think we need to be careful. When was the envelope delivered to Sharon Derrick? There was so much publicity after the identification of Randall Harvey in 2008 and Roy Bunton during 2011 that it would not be difficult for someone with malicious intent to set up a hoax based upon what was already known. The boy was buried beside Corll's 9th known victim, Ruben Watson/Haney who was killed in August 1971. Due to his swimsuit, Sharon Derrick tells the public it's likely the unknown boy was killed during the summer months. All a hoaxer would need to do, is obtain the images from a magazine, come up with a name and call it the "eleventh victim". The "eleventh victim" claim is particularly clever as it fits with the burial location and "summer months theory" and cannot be disproved by Henley as it occurred prior to his involvement. As the boy in the picture is unlikely to come forward, the hoaxer sends us off on a wild goose chase and the envelope becomes the "Corll equivalent" of the famous "Dear Boss letter" and "Saucy Jack letter" in the Jack the Ripper case. I don't know if the envelope is genuine or not and hope that it is. I just think we need to avoid becoming too attached to the name "Bobby French". Aside from Raymond Blackburn, all of the victims were from Texas and I'd wager that Swimsuit Boy is no different. Having said that, I recently discovered this second Bobby French in Houston (Alief Hastings High 1972 Freshman year) and will continue to search. I also reckon we start working on John Harmon who was also mentioned by Sharon Derrick and is listed as missing in the police documents.

 

[Friday Fan]

Yes. 1970 was his Freshman class and 1972 his Junior class. There is no further mention of this Bobby French and he does not appear in the 1973 Yearbook. If this the individual we're looking for, this would make sense. I've been through the 70, 71 and 72 yearbooks in their entirety and can find no further images of Bobby to assist with facial comparisons. I've also conducted thorough researches on "Ancestry.com" , "My Heritage.com" and "Familysearch.org" and can find no record of a "Bobby" or "Robert French" who was born during the 1950's and whose records cease on or about 1972. All of the individuals I have been able to find have lived, worked and been married beyond 1973. I have also conducted thorough researches on Newspapers.com and Newspaperarchive.com and find no record of any missing person named Bobby French. I can also find no mention of a missing "Bobby French" in the existing police files, the Houston list which I have enclosed here. All of our research depends upon the name on the envelope being correct and the envelope writer being truthful. I have seen postings on reddit claiming the images of Bobby are taken from a gay *advertiser censored* magazine and note that numerous magazines were seized by police during the raids of 1975. Even if the images were taken by Brooks as claimed, how to we know that the boy in the pictures gave Corll and Brooks his real name? I want so much to believe that this is our "Swimsuit Boy" but I think we need to be careful. When was the envelope delivered to Sharon Derrick? There was so much publicity after the identification of Randall Harvey in 2008 and Roy Bunton during 2011 that it would not be difficult for someone with malicious intent to set up a hoax based upon what was already known. The boy was buried beside Corll's 9th known victim, Ruben Watson/Haney who was killed in August 1971. Due to his swimsuit, Sharon Derrick tells the public it's likely the unknown boy was killed during the summer months. All a hoaxer would need to do, is obtain the images from a magazine, come up with a name and call it the "eleventh victim". The "eleventh victim" claim is particularly clever as it fits with the burial location and "summer months theory" and cannot be disproved by Henley as it occurred prior to his involvement. As the boy in the picture is unlikely to come forward, the hoaxer sends us off on a wild goose chase and the envelope becomes the "Corll equivalent" of the famous "Dear Boss letter" and "Saucy Jack letter" in the Jack the Ripper case. I don't know if the envelope is genuine or not and hope that it is. I just think we need to avoid becoming too attached to the name "Bobby French". Aside from Raymond Blackburn, all of the victims were from Texas and I'd wager that Swimsuit Boy is no different. Having said that, I recently discovered this second Bobby French in Houston (Alief Hastings High 1972 Freshman year) and will continue to search. I also reckon we start working on John Harmon who was also mentioned by Sharon Derrick and is listed as missing in the police documents.

The student from Alief is probably the one that was born in an adjacent county. I found him residing in Washington state fairly recently. He does not look anything like the "Bobby French" in the picture circulating as Dean Corll's victim.

I can't find any reference to a missing "Bobby French" anywhere. The only mention is a "tip", but there is no mention of a family correlating with any missing "Bobby French".

Investigators received a tip that a boy named Bobby French could be the last unidentified victim of Corll, but they are still looking into that tip and so far haven't been able to confirm the identity with any family members.Investigators received a tip that a boy named Bobby French could be the last unidentified victim of Corll, but they are still looking into that tip and so far haven't been able to confirm the identity with any family members.Murder mystery: Houston serial killer 'Candy Man's' last victim still not identified | khou.com

It could be a hoax. The media often does not vet much of this stuff carefully and they rarely follow up on it. A few years ago, we had a small tornado and a viewer submitted a picture of a monster tornado from Kansas and the local news showed it

 

[Billycoltrane]

I hop in and outta here, but I pulled up the Lt Cpl. Douglas Robert French on Ancestry. According to my (very hasty) search, he and his dad both predeceased his mom and younger brother...Randall James French. Not saying it's not an uncle or cousin. I'll see if I can find out any more relatives, if you like. Do you happen to have a DOB for Bobby?

This Randall James French was born on 28 October 1948 to J.A French and Gwendolyn Adeline French (nee Zedlitz) and is indeed the younger brother of Lt Cpl Douglas Robert French. He was alive in 2006 and living in South Houston.

 

[TheHauntedOne]

Thank you for all your thoughts, all are quite valid and good things to keep in mind. I will take up the John Harmon lead suggestion. Check out the Garry Mitchum imagine I uploaded and let me know what you think.

Yes. 1970 was his Freshman class and 1972 his Junior class. There is no further mention of this Bobby French and he does not appear in the 1973 Yearbook. If this the individual we're looking for, this would make sense. I've been through the 70, 71 and 72 yearbooks in their entirety and can find no further images of Bobby to assist with facial comparisons. I've also conducted thorough researches on "Ancestry.com" , "My Heritage.com" and "Familysearch.org" and can find no record of a "Bobby" or "Robert French" who was born during the 1950's and whose records cease on or about 1972. All of the individuals I have been able to find have lived, worked and been married beyond 1973. I have also conducted thorough researches on Newspapers.com and Newspaperarchive.com and find no record of any missing person named Bobby French. I can also find no mention of a missing "Bobby French" in the existing police files, the Houston list which I have enclosed here. All of our research depends upon the name on the envelope being correct and the envelope writer being truthful. I have seen postings on reddit claiming the images of Bobby are taken from a gay *advertiser censored* magazine and note that numerous magazines were seized by police during the raids of 1975. Even if the images were taken by Brooks as claimed, how to we know that the boy in the pictures gave Corll and Brooks his real name? I want so much to believe that this is our "Swimsuit Boy" but I think we need to be careful. When was the envelope delivered to Sharon Derrick? There was so much publicity after the identification of Randall Harvey in 2008 and Roy Bunton during 2011 that it would not be difficult for someone with malicious intent to set up a hoax based upon what was already known. The boy was buried beside Corll's 9th known victim, Ruben Watson/Haney who was killed in August 1971. Due to his swimsuit, Sharon Derrick tells the public it's likely the unknown boy was killed during the summer months. All a hoaxer would need to do, is obtain the images from a magazine, come up with a name and call it the "eleventh victim". The "eleventh victim" claim is particularly clever as it fits with the burial location and "summer months theory" and cannot be disproved by Henley as it occurred prior to his involvement. As the boy in the picture is unlikely to come forward, the hoaxer sends us off on a wild goose chase and the envelope becomes the "Corll equivalent" of the famous "Dear Boss letter" and "Saucy Jack letter" in the Jack the Ripper case. I don't know if the envelope is genuine or not and hope that it is. I just think we need to avoid becoming too attached to the name "Bobby French". Aside from Raymond Blackburn, all of the victims were from Texas and I'd wager that Swimsuit Boy is no different. Having said that, I recently discovered this second Bobby French in Houston (Alief Hastings High 1972 Freshman year) and will continue to search. I also reckon we start working on John Harmon who was also mentioned by Sharon Derrick and is listed as missing in the police documents.

 

[Billycoltrane]

Thank you for all your thoughts, all are quite valid and good things to keep in mind. I will take up the John Harmon lead suggestion. Check out the Garry Mitchum imagine I uploaded and let me know what you think.

It's not our guy.

 

[TheHauntedOne]

During my research I found a picture of Frank Aguirre that I'd never seen before. Thought some might be interested in seeing also.

 

[TheHauntedOne]

Ok everyone, been painstakingly going through all the back threads and comments, researching each link, each boy mentioned...I really think we need to take another look at David Yeager. Though he is heavier when he went missing, you can't change certain features, no matter how a person's weight changes. If he had somehow been abducted in Louisiana and trafficked, it's easy to assume he'd lose weight. If he made his way into the arms of Corll, he could definitely be Swimsuit Boy.

I posted some side by sides here: Log in or sign up to view

I share every step of my research with a close friend, who has been critical of all the images of different boys I've shown her, but David she is fairly sure about. I'm sharing an image of her response when she saw his face...

 

[Alleykins]

From my observation, one has detached, dangling earlobes, and the other one doesn't.

 

[TheHauntedOne]

From my observation, one has detached, dangling earlobes, and the other one doesn't.

Looks that way, any chance hair or angle of pictures could obfuscate part of the ears? Otherwise most facial features match...wish I had facial comparison software

 

[TheHauntedOne]

From my observation, one has detached, dangling earlobes, and the other one doesn't.

Shared your thoughts with my friend, here are her comments: I double checked the ears too... and it's too tough to tell from any of the angles of photos whether or not they are similar enough. There was one photos where it looked the same and another where it looked totally different. That's when I decided to focus on the other features and too many of them were spot on.

 

[Billycoltrane]

Here's some phots of David Claude Yeager for you. He attend Byrd High School in Shreveport Louisiana and was last seen on February 7 1971. That's Winter and 6 months before Ruben Haney/Watson was killed. I think it's unlikely.

 

[TheHauntedOne]

Here's some phots of David Claude Yeager for you. He attend Byrd High School in Shreveport Louisiana and was last seen on February 7 1971. That's Winter and 6 months before Ruben Haney/Watson was killed. I think it's unlikely.

Thank you... actually that time frame is perfect for my trafficking theory, allowing time for him to both lose weight and be moved closer to Texas and Dean. I at least think his DNA should be compared since there is familial DNA waiting to be tested.

 

[Billycoltrane]

Sharon Derrick at 35.20

The Candyman Murders

 

[TheHauntedOne]

Decided to go through David Yeager's yearbook, each page, not just those he's listed on in the index. So far found a previously unseen photo that wasn't noted in the back.