Real Names: Roy Jr., Ernest Lee, David Ray, and Norma Ruth Stallings
Case: Lost Siblings
Location: Tipton, Oklahoma
Date: November 1948
Case
Details: In 1948, a family tragedy began to unfold just north of Tipton, Oklahoma. Roy Lee and Lela Stallings had six children: twelve-year-old Roy Jr., ten-year-old Mary Ester, nine-year-old Michael Joseph “Joe”, six-year-old Ernest Lee, four-year-old David Ray, and two-year-old Norma Ruth. They existed on the edge of abject poverty, living in an old school bus. Roy Lee worked sporadically as a sharecropper and was rarely at home. He gambled away what little money he brought in. Joe recalls that Roy Lee was fatherly “in his own way” by trying to make a living for the family. However, he was rarely at home with them. Lela was the disciplinarian. She cooked the food, supplied the meals, and did just about everything else for the children.
In spite of almost insurmountable odds, Lela struggled to maintain a home life that was as normal as possible. Mary recalls that they had always had something to do. They had toys and each other to play with. They did not think of themselves as being different. Although Lela could neither read nor write, her Bible meant a lot to her. She would see pictures and tell the children Bible stories from the pictures. As a result, the children grew up with a very direct sense of what was right and wrong. They were all very close to each other. Joe was both big brother and role model to Ernest. Mary was like a second mother to her siblings.
To the children, the old school bus was home, a haven and a safe place. But others, notably Melvin Purdy, a family friend, had different ideas. He did not hesitate to make his feelings known to Lela. He felt that the school bus was not a good place for the children to live. She believed that he wanted to split the family up. She refused to let him take any of her children. She told him to leave and never come back. Before leaving, he said “I don’t think you’re going to have any of those kids for very long!” The only child Melvin wanted to raise himself was David, the youngest boy. But he thought all the children were neglected.
The final straw came a few weeks later when the school bus was taken away. Apparently, Roy Lee had lost it in a poker game. Melvin, along with several others, wasted no time contacting the authorities. Roy Lee and Lela were charged with “omitting to provide for the care of minor children.” In court, they both pleaded not guilty. The judge ordered them to be held in jail pending trial. The children were then placed in the care of the child welfare department. The children were in court that day. Mary remembers seeing Roy Lee and Lela being placed in handcuffs and taken out a side door. Mary says that is was very strange to see her parents being taken away like that.
Over the next few days, the children were all taken to foster homes. Mary vividly remembers the last time she saw her three youngest siblings. She told Ernest to get into the social worker’s car and he did. She then put David in the car. Norma, however, held onto her and would not let go. The social worker pulled her from Mary’s arms and put her in the car. Ernest pulled on the windows in an attempt to open them up, but was unsuccessful. They waved goodbye to Mary as they were driven away.
Within a week, the charges against Roy Lee and Lela were dropped. But the damage had already been done. Lela was told that all of her children, except the oldest, Roy Jr., had been put up for adoption. Two years later, after Roy Lee and Lela divorced, Mary was allowed to go home and live with her mother. Joe, who was adopted by the Dillahunty family, was reunited with Lela and Mary in 1959. Sadly, Lela passed away in 1989. Mary and Joe still desperately want to be reunited with their brothers and sister.
Mary says that they have never given up hope that their siblings are still alive and that they will be able to find them. She wants to know what their lives are like now, if they have families, and what they have made of themselves. She also hopes that finding them and them learning about their past does not hurt them. Joe says that he has tried every avenue that has come before him to try and locate his siblings. He says that he will never quit until the last day of his life.
Extra Notes: This case first aired on the January 13, 1995 episode; it was updated briefly on the January 20, 1995 episode, with a full one on the May 19, 1995 episode.
Lee and Joe reunited
Results: Solved. The day after the broadcast, thirty-five years of frustration began to come to an end for Joe and Mary. A man named Lee Schulien of Owasso, Oklahoma, called the tele-center. He identified himself as Ernest, who was only six when the family was split apart. He remembered his siblings and the fact that they lived in a school bus by the river. He was thrilled to hear that Joe and Mary were looking for him and was anxious to meet them.
Three weeks later, Lee arrived at a hotel in Tulsa, Oklahoma, where he was reunited with Joe. The brothers had not seen each other in nearly half a century. Joe says that it was a wonderful feeling to find him and hug him. Lee says that he was not sure how he was going to react, being separated for so many years. He says that he felt a lot better than what he thought. He says that it felt really good to hug him. That day, the two made plans to get together again and go fishing. Joe says that they have a future ahead of them to be together and enjoy each other.
Sadly, Mary was unable to attend the reunion. However, she was able to spoke to Lee on the phone and they have since reunited. For Joe, being reunited with Lee added one more piece to the family puzzle. However, at the time of their reunion, three more siblings, David, Norma, and Roy Jr., were still missing.
Joe, Mary, and Lee eventually located David, now David Perkins, and Norma, now Dee Alexander; they had been adopted into the same family. They also learned that Roy Jr. passed away several years earlier. Sadly, on August 27, 2021, Joe passed away at the age of eighty-one.
Links:
- 6 Kiddies Found Living With Their Folks Out-of-Doors - December 3, 1948
- Joe Dillahunty's Obituary