What happened to Andre Bryant’s mother Monique? All the theories on Unsolved Mysteries case

One of the most disturbing episodes of the latest batch of Unsolved Mysteries episodes is called Stolen Kids, exploring the disappearances of three children which may or may not be connected.

The case of Monique Rivera and Andre Bryant is particularly tragic and very few leads have presented themselves in the three decades since it unfolded.

On 28th March 1989, Monique encountered two African-American woman who took great interest in her infant son Andre, who was only one month old at the time.

They took her shopping for new clothes and offered to do so for a second time the next day, so Monique arranged for her sister-in-law to babysit Andre for the afternoon.

However, when the time arrived, the women insisted that she bring Andre with them and Monique obliged; they were last seen getting into their car on 29th March 1989 at 2pm.

The following morning, Monique's body was found. She had been hit over the head and strangled, while Andre was missing altogether with no sign of his whereabouts. The child has never been found to this day.

Theory one: Monique knew her attackers from school

As stated by The Charley Project, an organisation which maintains a database on missing persons cold cases, it is believed that Monique may have known one or both of her attackers from middle school.

This, combined with the violent nature of her death, has led some to believe that the murder and abduction of Andre could have been the result of a long-held personal grudge.

However, the two women have never been identified and this has made it difficult to determine with any certainty whether Monique really did know them.

Theory two: Monique's attackers wanted Andre

The disappearance of Andre Bryant has been associated with the kidnapping of two other children, Christopher Dansby and Shane Walker.

Both had been playing in Martin Luther King Jr. Towers playground with two older children, before disappearing virtually without a trace to never be seen again.

Some have theorised that they were abducted to be sold into a black market adoption ring, suggesting that Monique and Andre could have been victims of the same criminal scheme.

According to Monique's husband, she had noticed that the women had been using a fraudulent credit card on their shopping trip, which implies they could have been mixed up in other illegal activity.

However, the circumstances of Christopher and Shane's disappearances are remarkably similar, with both having lived in the same apartment building and been abducted from Martin Luther King Jr. Towers playground, after playing with the very same two children.

Yet Andre's abduction is different in terms of both the people it involved and the fact that it ended with a murder, suggesting these could have been unrelated tragedies.

Unsolved Mysteries Volume Two is available to stream on Netflix from Monday 19th October 2020. Looking for something else to watch? Check out our guide to the best TV series on Netflix and best movies on Netflix, visit our TV Guide, or find out about upcoming new TV shows 2020.

Find out more about the Unsolved Mysteries cases including JoAnn Matouk Romain, Jack Wheeler, Lester Eubanks, Jennifer Fairgate and the Stolen Kids.