The wreck lay forgotten for over three hundred years in the dark murky waters of Matagorda Bay. In the 1970s, Kathleen Gilmore of Southern Methodist University analyzed historical accounts of the La Salle shipwrecks, and gave general guidance as to where they might be found. In 1977, the Texas Historical Commission (THC) asked an independent researcher to search the archives in Paris for information on the shipwrecks. She found original copies of maps made by La Salle's engineer, Jean-Baptiste Minet. Before Minet returned to France aboard the "Joly", he had created detailed maps of Matagorda Bay and the pass and had marked the spot where "L'Aimable" had sunk. Other researchers discovered additional historical maps, including several that marked "La Belle's" resting place.