The Body of Aundria Bowman Was Discovered 31 Years After She Disappeared — What Happened?

In 1993, the band Soul Asylum released a heartbreaking song about a child who was suffering so greatly, they chose to leave their home. The lyrics can be interpreted in any number of ways, but the core question was clear: Was fleeing the right choice? A video for the song "Runaway Train" aired on MTV not long after the single dropped and featured actual pictures of 36 kids who were missing.

According to People, of those 36 children, all but 11 were found. Unfortunately, not all of these stories are about troubled teens who left a difficult home life. Some involve kids who were forcibly taken and in some cases, murdered. Sadly, Aundria Bowman falls into the latter category. She disappeared in 1989 and in 2020, her body was finally found. What happened to Aundria Bowman? Details to follow.

Aundria's story is told in the Netflix documentary Into the Fire: The Lost Daughter. The title not only references Aundria's disappearance but also addresses the fact that she was given up for adoption by her biological mother in 1974. Cathy Terkanian was 16 years old at the time and was not ready to be a parent. When she gave her daughter to Dennis and Brenda Bowman, Terkanian thought she was giving Aundria a better life. Years later, Terkanian learned that Aundria had been missing since 1989.

It would later be revealed that Dennis had been sexually abusing his adopted daughter, which led to an argument on March 11. He had returned home from work to find Aundria packing a bag with the intention of running away. She informed him of her plan to tell authorities about the sexual abuse. The two argued which resulted in Dennis punching Aundria in the face. She fell down a set of stairs and broke her neck.

Dennis dismembered Aundria's body in a nearby barn, then placed her body parts in a barrel. He buried it on the Bowman's property and dug it up when they moved, only to rebury it at the new house. He would later tell his wife Brenda that Aundria stole $100 from them and ran away from home. The couple had a 3-year-old daughter who was born in 1986, which is part of the reason why Dennis hid what he did for so long.

In November 2019, while in jail awaiting trial for another murder charge, Dennis confessed to killing Aundria, per the Holland Sentinel. In a letter, he wrote, "Fearing more prison time and losing my loved ones, I hid the body and then disposed of it days later. I have kept it to myself these many years so I could live with Brenda and watch Vanessa grow into a successful young lady." He then added, "Please with all love I ask you to support Brenda because I have caused her hurt and left her desolate."

In February 2022, Dennis was sentenced to 35 to 50 years after being convicted of second-degree murder in the death of Aundria, reported WOOD-TV. "Mr. Bowman is not safe to be in our community," said Judge Margaret Zuzich Bakker. "His numerous assaults, his behavior in this case, other convictions all indicate Mr. Bowman is a serious, dangerous man that has harmed many communities, many families," she said. Judge Bakker went on to say that what Dennis did was sickening.

He was previously convicted of the 1980 murder of Kathleen Doyle and was already serving a life sentence in a Virginia prison. He was sent back to Virginia in order to serve out both sentences and is currently housed at River North Correctional Center. Two years before his second conviction, Dennis told authorities where they could find Aundria's remains. Terkanian was disgusted by what he did but was comforted by his sentences. "He is off the street. I am very relieved," she said to WOOD-TV.