Remains of boy found in Va. ID’d
5-year-old went missing more than 20 years ago
Human remains discovered in Virginia were identified as belonging to a 5-year-old boy who vanished more than 20 years ago, police said.
Logan Nathaniel Bowman disappeared in January 2003, and his mother, Cynthia Davis, and her then-boyfriend, Dennis Schermerhorn, were charged in the case. The Carroll County Sheriff’s Office said in a statement on social media last week that additional charges were expected to be filed.
Logan’s remains were discovered in September 2022 in Galax, Virginia, the sheriff’s office said.
His remains were discovered in a wooded area of Galax, a southwestern Virginia city of about 6,700 people, on Sept. 6, 2022, the sheriff’s office said. They had been there “for an extended period of time,” investigators said.
Investigators worked with Texasbased forensic genealogy company Othram Inc. to use DNA and compare it with that of Logan’s relatives to confirm Logan’s identity.
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 vanished from nearby Grayson County in 2003 under what DNASolves.com said were “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 his son a proper burial.
Wayne Bowman said he hoped 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.
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 after 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 dropped, the records show.