The Mysterious Disappearance Of A.J. Breaux Explained
A.J. Breaux was well known to his community as someone who anyone could count on for help, and as of 1991, he had managed to maintain sobriety for eight years. By all accounts he was a shining example of recovery, with a good family and a job as a sales clerk, yet in August of that year he vanished (via HL Arledge's Bayou Justice). He was supposed to return home to one of his daughters, but after purchasing some milk at a local store never made it back, leading to one of Louisiana's most notorious cold cases in recent history.
Kenneth Pelligran, who was familiar with Breaux and possibly the last person known to have seen him alive or dead, saw him before his disappearance and noted that his attire was extremely casual. This was a departure from his normally well-groomed appearance. Outside the convenience store where the encounter took place, Breaux also appeared distressed while looking in the direction of a red car with three men inside (via Unsolved Mysteries).
An ominous note and several supposed sightings
Per Kenneth Pelligran's account, both A.J. Breaux and the red car were gone, and later in the day Breaux's car was found abandoned with both the keys and the milk missing (via The Charley Project). Some witnesses claimed to see him in a red car with three other men, but these tips didn't lead anywhere. A cryptic note was delivered to the police station detailing his supposed suicide and the disposal of his remains near a dam. Nothing was found, however, and anything beyond that has been mere speculation.
One woman, Christy Boudreaux, claimed to have seen a homeless man smelling of alcohol who she believed was Breaux, but this individual was never found. Possible scenarios include murder by an assailant (perhaps targeted for his sexuality, as Breaux had come out as gay in recent years), memory loss stemming from a possible relapse or injury, or suicide for some unknown reason (via Hammond Star). Breaux's daughters believe that he is still alive, and while he has been legally declared dead they still hold out hope for new information.