VA Bayard William Cousins, 22, Virginia Beach, 1 Feb 1975

[ChatteringBirds]

Too bad a copy of the note to his parents isn't available to compare to the note left by the Belle Chasse young man.

I think the age and height of Does are often just an estimate, and sometimes eye color is subjective, so he could definitely be Belle Chasse John Doe. The dates are so close...

(Bayard: 6'2" - 6'3", 22 years old, brown hair/hazel eyes, 150 lbs. Missing Feb. 1, 1975

Belle Chasse JD: 5'10" - 6'0", 16 - 17 years old, brown hair/brown eyes, 150 - 160 lbs, found February 14, 1975.)

 

[Romulus]

Quoted an old post on Bayard from

LA Thread 'LA - Belle Chasse, WhtMale 16-17, UP88342, hanged, suicide note, Feb'75'

Nov 15, 2005

3832UMLA <mod note: added link to OP>

I ran across this while researching something else.

On Valentine's Day in 1975, the body of a 16-17 year old white male was found in Belle Chasse, Louisiana. He had committed suicide by hanging himself from a persimmon tree using a bedsheet. He was wearing a maroon and yellow knit shirt, blue trousers and unmatched socks. He was not wearing shoes. A jar laying against the tree trunk was filled with note paper.

He left a suicide note, addressed to "mom and dad" which read in part: "When you stop growing you are dead. I stopped growing...

• Marilynilpa
• Replies: 1,049
• Forum: The Unidentified

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At post number 431

xoMoonRoseox said:
It does look similar in face and features in a way. The hair stands out but not to mention I had a family friend who had claimed to be a neighbor to the Bayard cousins back in 1975, he was 10 at the time and he said the sketch does look similar to that of David Bayard. The family friend said that a week before he disappeared a year before he was acting very strange when they were invited over to the Bayards house for dinner one night. He apparently excused himself early and shut himself up in his room for the rest of the night and wasn’t heard from since.

It's clear that Bayard was tormented, you can tell by his behavior, but who knows, I always hope he's made a new life for himself somewhere else.

 

[ekardh]

Quoted an old post on Bayard from

LA Thread 'LA - Belle Chasse, WhtMale 16-17, UP88342, hanged, suicide note, Feb'75'

Nov 15, 2005

3832UMLA <mod note: added link to OP>

I ran across this while researching something else.

On Valentine's Day in 1975, the body of a 16-17 year old white male was found in Belle Chasse, Louisiana. He had committed suicide by hanging himself from a persimmon tree using a bedsheet. He was wearing a maroon and yellow knit shirt, blue trousers and unmatched socks. He was not wearing shoes. A jar laying against the tree trunk was filled with note paper.

He left a suicide note, addressed to "mom and dad" which read in part: "When you stop growing you are dead. I stopped growing...

• Marilynilpa
• Replies: 1,049
• Forum: The Unidentified

• 
• 
• 

At post number 431

xoMoonRoseox said:
It does look similar in face and features in a way. The hair stands out but not to mention I had a family friend who had claimed to be a neighbor to the Bayard cousins back in 1975, he was 10 at the time and he said the sketch does look similar to that of David Bayard. The family friend said that a week before he disappeared a year before he was acting very strange when they were invited over to the Bayards house for dinner one night. He apparently excused himself early and shut himself up in his room for the rest of the night and wasn’t heard from since.

It's clear that Bayard was tormented, you can tell by his behavior, but who knows, I always hope he's made a new life for himself somewhere else.

Pretty sure that the Belle Chasse John Doe was unofficially solved. His dental charts and inner-mouth scar matched the missing Charles Wallace, but for some reason Wallace's mother failed to identify him. Whether she was in denial, didn't recognise him posthumously, or had some other motive... we'll never know, but it's pretty conclusive based on those identifiers.

 

[cenazoic]

It's clear that Bayard was tormented,

Based on an anonymous forum post?

it's pretty conclusive based on those identifiers.

Charlie Wallace was recently identified.

 

[Valiant]

Pretty sure that the Belle Chasse John Doe was unofficially solved. His dental charts and inner-mouth scar matched the missing Charles Wallace, but for some reason Wallace's mother failed to identify him. Whether she was in denial, didn't recognise him posthumously, or had some other motive... we'll never know, but it's pretty conclusive based on those identifiers.

Except Charles Wallace was found. And is not this person.

D

AR Thread 'AR- Near Tunica, Mississippi, Lee County John Doe, #UP5181, partial skeletal remains, Jan,.1997, DNA- Charles Howard Wallace, 21, 2025.'

Sep 5, 2025

After 48 Years, Lee County John Doe (1977) is Now Identified

Arkansas State Police Teams with Othram to Identify a 1977 John Doe

dnasolves.com

In January 1977, the partial skeletal remains of an unidentified individual were found in Lee County, Arkansas. Lee County is a rural area along the Mississippi River on the east side of Arkansas and is near Tunica, Mississippi and Memphis, Tennessee. Several law enforcement agencies responded to the scene and began collecting evidence and investigating. The remains were determined to belong to a man, likely between 16 and 30 years old, who likely died between 1972 and 1977. Despite a lengthy investigation...

• dotr
• Replies: 6
• Forum: Identified!

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[ChatteringBirds]

Pretty sure that the Belle Chasse John Doe was unofficially solved. His dental charts and inner-mouth scar matched the missing Charles Wallace, but for some reason Wallace's mother failed to identify him. Whether she was in denial, didn't recognise him posthumously, or had some other motive... we'll never know, but it's pretty conclusive based on those identifiers.

Go check out Charles' last thread again. You'll be as surprised as the rest of us .

 

[ekardh]

Go check out Charles' last thread again. You'll be as surprised as the rest of us .

Wow I didn't see that one coming. That blows the case right open!

Bayard is now back in the mix for BCJD. The points in his favour are that he disappeared not long before BCJD was found, and the gap in time could account for journeying from Virginia Beach to Louisiana. Perhaps Bayard wanted to put enough distance between himself and home to prevent his family from ever identifying him. Both men left notes addressed to their parents. Heights are about the same. Both of them appear to be well educated. The only real snag is the 5-6 year margin for error in ages, as Bayard didn't look particularly young for his age (granted that's based on a low-res black and white photo).

But as BCJD's remains are lost, unless Bayard is found at some point there's no way to rule him out.

 

[RedSlider]

Wow was not expecting Charlie Wallace to be identified as another Doe but I'm happy he found his way home.

Here's hoping Bayard will be found not long after.