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in: Louisiana, 1991, Disappearances,
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A.J. Breaux

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Real Name: Adam John Breaux
Nicknames: A.J.
Location: Houma, Louisiana
Date: August 28, 1991

Bio[]

Occupation: Clothing salesman
Date of Birth: January 14, 1941
Height: 5'11"
Weight: 150 - 160 lbs.
Marital Status: Divorced
Characteristics: White male with brown hair and brown eyes. He has a small light-colored birthmark on his knee, a scar on his abdomen from ulcer surgery, and a scar over his left eyebrow. He occasionally wears eyeglasses with square-shaped gold frames. He was last seen wearing a white long-sleeved shirt, a tie, slacks, and a gold watch.

Case[]

Details: Fifty year old A.J. Breaux was a fixture in Houma, Louisiana. The town, with a population of 31,000, lies in the heart of Cajun Country, steeped in the romance of backwater bayous and sweeping magnolias. He had lived there his entire life, raised three daughters, and worked as a salesman at Earl Williams Clothing Store for more than thirty years. Everyone in Houma knew that he was a man you could depend on. His daughter, Melissa Tardo, says he was a very friendly and nice person. Everybody who knew him knew that if they needed something, he would be there to help them.
A.J. had not come by his reputation easily. For years, he had battled a drinking problem. It eventually led to his arrest for drunk driving and contributed to the breakup of his marriage in 1974. However, by 1991, he had conquered his demons and had been sober for eight years.
Nearly every evening, A.J. could be found at the "Easy Does It Club", a support group for people with drinking problems. The club was headquartered in an old warehouse on Bernard Street. It often held Alcoholics Anonymous (AA) meetings; he was the secretary of the local chapter. He was dedicated to sobriety and was available at any hour of the day or night to assist those who were in desperate need of help. He also frequently sponsored other alcoholics who were trying to stay sober.
Melissa says that once A.J. got involved with the club, it changed his whole life. He became more responsible, dependable, and trustworthy. He also became "more of a friend" because he was involved with more people. Despite his previous issues, he had a good relationship with his ex-wife and daughters. He had recently come out as gay to his family, and they accepted his orientation.
On the evening of Wednesday, August 28, 1991, A.J. attended an AA meeting at the club. After the meeting was over, he helped clean up. He left at approximately 8:30pm; he was one of the last to leave. A half an hour later, he stopped at the Time Saver convenience store on Barrow Street to buy a quart of milk. He complained to the cashier about its rising cost. He then told her that he was on his way home, where he lived with his daughter Tania. He never arrived. The next morning, she reported him missing.
Two days after A.J. disappeared, his car, a silver four-door 1988 Ford Tempo, was found abandoned in Jim Bowie Park, across the street from the club. His daughters immediately drove to the scene. Before leaving her house, Melissa called the police department and asked someone to meet them there. The car was locked, so his daughters were unable to get in. They immediately began to cry. They were very emotional and scared. Moments later, Detective Troy Naquin arrived at the scene. They told him that they knew it was A.J.’s car because he had a cracked blinker plate in the front.
Melissa’s instinct told her that A.J. was dead and in the trunk. She immediately thought he was the victim of foul play; she said it would not be like him to park his car where everybody could find it and then disappear. But that is apparently just what he did. His body was not in the trunk. There was no sign of foul play. And a search of the park turned up nothing.
There were very few clues; heavy rains had destroyed any potential forensic evidence on or around the car. A.J.’s wallet (with no money in it) was found tucked beneath the front seat. His checkbooks (his personal one and the one for the AA chapter) and a brown bank bag containing $165 of AA-group money were found in the trunk. His car keys and the quart of milk he had bought were missing. It was discovered that he had purchased $10 worth of gasoline just hours before he vanished. Yet, the car was very low on fuel.
The entire town was mystified. A.J. seemed the least likely person in Houma to disappear. Authorities launched an immediate investigation and distributed missing persons fliers throughout the state. Soon, a number of witnesses came forward, witnesses who told intriguing tales of seeing A.J. after he disappeared.
On Friday, August 30, the same day that A.J.’s car was found, a local resident named Kenneth Pellegrin claims that he ran into A.J. outside of a convenience store in Houma. Kenneth had known him since he was seven. Kenneth said to him, "Hey A.J., how’s it going?" A.J. was using a payphone; all he said was "Okay." Kenneth says the situation was strange because A.J. did not look the same as he normally did. He was wearing a lumberjack-style flannel shirt, loose fitting brown pants, and old tennis shoes.
Kenneth felt something was not right because he had never seen A.J. with his hair out of place and not dressed up neatly. Kenneth says that A.J. was nervous. It was like he was being watched. Kenneth also observed a red compact car parked in front of the store. He noticed that three men were sitting in it. He could hear its engine running. A.J. was looking in the direction of the car while he was on the phone. When Kenneth came back out of the store, A.J. and the car were both gone. Kenneth did not know A.J. was missing at the time; he says that if he did, A.J. would have been found then.
Soon after Kenneth called the police, Detective Naquin received a call from another witness who said that he saw A.J. in a car with three other men. The witness described the car as red, small, and compact. The car was driving on a rural route about eight miles out of town. The witness waved to A.J., but A.J. did not wave back. It was very uncharacteristic of him not to wave back. The witness did not think anything of it at the time because he did not know that A.J. was missing.
The sightings of A.J. make Melissa think that somebody knows something about his disappearance. She notes that both witnesses have known A.J. for years. And they both saw him in the same type of car with three men in it. She is convinced that somebody, somewhere knows something.
For the next two weeks, there were no further sightings, and no clues to A.J.’s disappearance. Then, a chilling handwritten note came into the police station. It read: A.J. Breaux. He was drunk at the time. Self-inflicted gunshot wound. Stomach. Draw-string cotton sack. Put in by friend. Rolled over steep grassy bayou bank. Near dam. The note was signed "Helene."
The note painted a bizarre scenario in which A.J. had been drinking and accidentally shot himself. Then someone, for some unknown reason, dumped his body in the bayou. Detective Naquin says that the area described in the note matches the area where A.J.’s car was found. The Sheriff’s Office’s water patrol units dredged both sides of the dam on three different occasions but were unable to find anything.
Soon, the case took another strange twist. Authorities received a surprising report which indicated that A.J. might still be alive. On September 28, four weeks after he disappeared, a woman named Christy Boudreaux was sitting on the front porch of her home in Lockport, Louisiana, thirty miles northeast of Houma, when she saw a van drive up and down the street two times. It appeared that the van’s driver was lost.
The van then stopped in front of Christy’s house. The driver got out, reached over the driver’s seat into the middle of the van, and picked up a bag. As the man walked up to her porch, he appeared very nervous and was shaking. He asked her if she wanted to buy frozen fish. She told him no. She smelled alcohol on his breath. She noticed that he looked homeless and "kind of straggly." He said, "Okay, thanks anyway," and then walked away. When he was about ten feet away, he turned around and glanced at her. She then realized that she had seen him on a missing persons flier in the post office.
After Christy reported her sighting, Detective Naquin met with her and showed her some photographs of A.J. One photograph was used on the missing persons flier; she was not too sure about that one. Then, he showed her A.J.’s mugshot. She was almost certain, based on that photograph, that the man she had seen was him. She said she was 99.9% sure it was him.
Detective Naquin notes that A.J. is a recovering alcoholic. He says that if A.J. did start drinking again, there are all sorts of things that could have happened. A.J. could have had a blackout, and not remember who he is. His family, however, refuses to believe he has turned to alcohol once again and disappeared by choice. Because his wallet and checkbook were found in his car, they are convinced that he was abducted. They note that he was supposed to receive an award that weekend during a local AA convention; they do not believe he would have missed that.
Melissa wonders if A.J. may have seen or heard something that he was not supposed to when he was at the park. Another possibility is that he was attacked when he stopped to help someone who appeared to be in need. A few days after his disappearance, a golf course maintenance worker had called the city police. He reported that he had seen three men forcing a fourth man into a white automobile, in the park where A.J.’s car was found. But the details were sketchy, and nothing ever came of it.
What really happened to A.J.? While there is some evidence that he may have been abducted, there is no indication as to why someone would kidnap him. Authorities now suspect that the note detailing his accidental suicide was a mean-spirited prank. Detective Naquin says that A.J. is still listed as a missing person. He says they have no evidence of foul play. But he also says they have no evidence that A.J. "just got up and left", either. So, they really do not know what happened to him.
Melissa says it is not like A.J. to disappear and not notify his family. She says it feels like forever since he disappeared. She says it has been very hard, like torture. And she and the rest of the family want it to end.
Suspects: None known; two separate witnesses claimed to have seen A.J. with three unidentified men in a red compact car shortly after his disappearance. Another witness claimed to have seen three men forcing a fourth man into a white automobile in the park where A.J.'s car was abandoned.
Since money was left behind in A.J.'s car, police do not believe robbery was a motive.
Extra Notes:

  • This case first aired on the November 4, 1992 episode.
  • It was also featured on The Trail Went Cold podcast.
  • Some sources state that A.J. was last seen at 10pm in the vicinity of the 120 block of Bernard Street; that he bought a gallon of milk; that the checkbooks were under the front seat; and that the car was found the afternoon following his disappearance.

Results: Unsolved - On August 12, 1998, A.J.’s daughters filed a petition with the local courts to officially declare him dead. A judge declared him legally dead soon after. His daughters felt it was necessary to do this in order to handle certain parts of his finances.
In 2006, Ronald Dominique, a serial killer who targeted gay men in Louisiana, was arrested. A.J.’s family wondered if he was one of Dominique’s victims. However, police noted that Dominique mainly targeted transient and homeless gay men. A.J. did not fit that profile. Also, Dominique's murder spree reportedly did not begin until 1997, several years after A.J. disappeared. As a result, they do not believe he was one of Dominique’s victims.
Sadly, all of A.J.'s siblings have since passed away. In January 2016, Kenneth passed away from a heart attack. A.J.'s family is offering a $1,000 reward for information leading to an arrest.
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