Family, friends still hunt for answers on missing woman 10 years later
On April 10, 2014, young mother of two Jayme Bowen – who was 22 at the time – disappeared while on a short walk from her sister’s home to her parent’s home near the Southern Orchards neighborhood in south Columbus.
More than 10 years have passed since, and no signs of her have been found, Bowen’s mother Nancy Bowen said on Sunday.
“I’m crazy, I mean you always look over your shoulder, always looking for her, asking questions. And I’ll be honest with you, I look at some people funny. I think ‘What do they know? What do they not tell us?’,” Nancy Bowen said.
Family and friends of Jayme gathered in Schiller park on Sunday for a vigil and balloon release to urge the public to help find Bowen and to raise awareness of her. Those gathered clutched purple star balloons and missing posters as they swapped stories about Jayme.
“She was just bubbly. Didn’t know a stranger. That’s probably what got her in trouble,” Nancy Bowen said.
The family tries to do an awareness event every year on the anniversary of her disappearance and on her birthday, family friend Erick Bellomy, who organized Sunday’s vigil, said.
According to the National Unidentified and Missing Persons System (Namus), Bowen’s last known location was on a side street between Stewart and Deshler avenues. She was wearing baggy
red sweatpants and a large gray hoodie at the time. Bowen was 22, 5’0” and 110 pounds at the time of her disappearance. She had blonde hair, blue eyes and a “George III” tattoo on her neck and a tattoo of “Jayden” on her right shoulder, according to Namus.
If you have information about Jayme Bowen, contact the Columbus Police Department at 614-645-4545.
“We still have no clue. We just know she’s gone and keep looking,” Bowen said.
Nhart@dispatch.com @Partofmyhart