Current:Home > FinanceLogan Bowman, 5, went missing 20 years ago. Now his remains have been identified. -FutureProof Finance
Logan Bowman, 5, went missing 20 years ago. Now his remains have been identified.
View
Date:2025-04-11 13:49:57
Human remains discovered in Virginia were identified as belonging to a 5-year-old boy who went missing over 20 years ago, police said.
Logan Nathaniel Bowman went missing in January 2003, and his mother, Cynthia Davis, and her then-boyfriend, Dennis Schermerhorn, were charged in the child's disappearance. The Carroll County Sheriff’s Office said in a statement on social media last week that additional charges are expected to be filed.
Logan's remains were discovered in September 2022 in Galax, Virginia, the sheriff's office said.
Remains found nearly 20 years after disappearance
His remains were discovered in a wooded area of Galax, a southwestern Virginia city of about 6,700 residents, on Sept. 6, 2022, the sheriff's office said. They had been there "for an extended period of time," investigators determined.
Investigators worked with Texas-based forensic genealogy company Othram Inc. to use DNA and compare it to Logan's relatives, confirming the identity of the remains.
The remains were in a trash can, according to DNASolves.com, a site owned by Othram. Also found with the body were a sleeping bag, a Winnie the Pooh blanket and a cloth fragment, the site said.
Logan went missing from nearby Grayson County in 2003 in what DNASolves.com said was "suspicious circumstances." The site said he was entered into the National Missing and Unidentified Persons System, which noted Logan had a healing fracture in his left arm, tooth decay and burn scars on his feet. Logan's case in the NamUs system is no longer available online.
The boy's father, Wayne Bowman, told WFXR after the remains were identified that Logan was a "good kid" and he would finally be able to give him a proper burial. Wayne Bowman said he hopes the identification of his son's remains could lead to justice.
"I can go on, I know where he’s at now. I don’t have to worry where he’s at. I know it hurts, but it’s going to be OK," Wayne Bowman said.
Mother, boyfriend could face additional charges
Davis pleaded guilty to two counts of child neglect and one count of homicide, court records show. She was sentenced to 10 years for each count of child neglect and 30 years for homicide, with a suspended sentence of 15 years in prison and 15 years of probation.
Davis had been released from prison before her son's remains were identified, following her sentence for the earlier convictions, Carroll County Sheriff Kevin Kemp told USA TODAY.
Schermerhorn was sentenced to a year in jail for one charge of child neglect, according to court records. A murder charge and another child neglect charge filed against Schermerhorn were later dropped, the records show.
"We are still exploring our options for additional charges," Richard Vaughan, sheriff in Grayson County where Logan went missing, told USA TODAY on Wednesday.
Neither Davis nor Schermerhorn was in police custody or currently incarcerated, Kemp and Vaughan said.
Attorneys listed for Davis and Schermerhorn in their previous court cases could not be reached.
veryGood! (57496)
Related
- Whoopi Goldberg is delightfully vile as Miss Hannigan in ‘Annie’ stage return
- A 22-year-old skier died after colliding into a tree at Aspen Highlands resort
- House Republicans release articles of impeachment against Alejandro Mayorkas
- London police fatally shoot a suspect reportedly armed with a crossbow as he broke into a home
- Meet first time Grammy nominee Charley Crockett
- Taylor Swift attends Kansas City Chiefs, Baltimore Ravens AFC championship game
- Aryna Sabalenka defeats Zheng Qinwen to win back-to-back Australian Open titles
- US Navy crisis: Standard drops to allow recruits without high school diplomas
- Hackers hit Rhode Island benefits system in major cyberattack. Personal data could be released soon
- EU moves slowly toward using profits from frozen Russian assets to help Ukraine
Ranking
- Why Sean "Diddy" Combs Is Being Given a Laptop in Jail Amid Witness Intimidation Fears
- Horoscopes Today, January 29, 2024
- Fellini’s muse and Italian film icon Sandra Milo dies at 90
- Maine lawmakers consider request to give subpoena power to committee investigating mass shooting
- Former Syrian official arrested in California who oversaw prison charged with torture
- Light It Up With This Gift Guide Inspired by Sarah J. Maas’ Universe
- 2024 Super Bowl is set, with the Kansas City Chiefs to face the San Francisco 49ers
- Electrified Transport Investment Soared Globally in ’23, Passing Renewable Energy
Recommendation
Woman dies after Singapore family of 3 gets into accident in Taiwan
11-year-old girl hospitalized after Indiana house fire dies, bringing death toll to 6 young siblings
Amazon calls off bid to buy iRobot. The Roomba vacuum maker will now cut 31% of workforce.
In 'Martyr!,' an endless quest for purpose in a world that can be cruel and uncaring
Could your smelly farts help science?
Gossip Girl Alum Ed Westwick Engaged to Amy Jackson
In the battle over identity, a centuries-old issue looms in Taiwan: hunting
Dozens are presumed dead after an overloaded boat capsizes on Lake Kivu in Congo