GA GA - Monica Bowie, 34, Dekalb County, 5 July 2007

christine2448 · #1 07-09-2007, 10:38 AM

Woman believed to have been kidnapped

Published on: 07/09/07

Police are searching for a 34-year-old woman whom they believe was kidnapped in DeKalb County.

Witnesses told police they heard Monica Renee Bowie screaming and saw a 2002 burgundy Mercury Sable speed away from the 1000 block of Gables Drive at about 11:10 p.m. Thursday.

Although witnesses did not see Bowie being put into the vehicle, police said, officers found evidence of a struggle in the parking lot.

Police have found the vehicle and identified two men as suspects.

They are searching for a heavy set black man with a beard, low cut and possibly wearing a plaid shirt in his late 20's to early 30's and a small dark-skinned man in his early 30's.

http://www.ajc.com/news/content/metr...ge_tab_newstab

christine2448 · #2 07-09-2007, 10:40 AM

I believe the car was found burned, but not positive, with no signs of Monica.

http://www.wpxi.com/news/13644541/detail.html
An Atlanta woman was kidnapped and her mother in Pittsburgh is searching for answers.

Channel 11 has learned that Monica Renee Bowie was abducted from her Atlanta area apartment on Thursday.

Her mother, Linda Howard, lives on Pittsburgh's North Side and talked with Channel 11.

Howard said, “I'm going to go to Atlanta if I have to walk I'm going to Atlanta.”

Howard and her family are frantic. Howard learned on Sunday that her 34-year-old daughter is believed to have been kidnapped.

Her daughter's friends called and told her that Bowie’s disappearance was all over the Atlanta news.

“There were plenty of witnesses -- screaming to the top of her lungs, ‘Help me. Help me. Help me,” Howard said.

She said Bowie’s purse was found in the parking lot of her Dekalb County apartment.

Howard said, “They witnessed two guys putting her into a car -- two black males, one heavy, one small -- putting her into a car.”

Police have now found a burgundy Mercury Sable suspected to be involved, but there is still no sign of the men or Bowie. Howard said she last talked to her daughter on the Fourth of July. She was planning her wedding.

christine2448 · #3 07-09-2007, 10:44 AM

Police said the missing DeKalb County woman, 34-year-old Monica Bowie, was arrested last month on felony drug and weapons charges. She disappeared on Thursday night -- and was possibly kidnapped -- from her own apartment complex off Roxboro Road.

On Friday night, police found the car that may have been involved in her disappearance. Other residents said they saw a car speeding out of the complex -- a burgundy, Mercury Sable. Inside the car, two men, in their late 20s or early 30s. One of them, heavy-set with a beard. The other man, small. Police said they found evidence of a struggle in the parking deck. DeKalb County detectives are examining that car, looking for fingerprints and other possible evidence.

http://www.11alive.com/news/article_...?storyid=99712

lizzybeth · #4 07-09-2007, 10:59 AM

I'm not sure if any of you guys watch The First 48 on A&E but there was a case that sounds a little like this one. A young woman had been arrested on drug charges and decided to tell everything she knew. The drug dealers decided she was a snitch and set her up. Her body was found in her vehicle, both burned.
I hope this isn't the case for this young woman. Hopefully she'll be found alive .

http://www.aetv.com/the_first_48/fir...episode=180921

czechmate7 · #5 07-09-2007, 11:03 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by lizzybeth

I'm not sure if any of you guys watch The First 48 on A&E but there was a case that sounds a little like this one. A young woman had been arrested on drug charges and decided to tell everything she knew. The drug dealers decided she was a snitch and set her up. Her body was found in her vehicle, both burned.
I hope this isn't the case for this young woman. Hopefully she'll be found alive .

http://www.aetv.com/the_first_48/fir...episode=180921

Lizzy~ I saw that episode... It's so sad when individuals get caught up in this kind of lifestyle. I hope they find her soon.

christine2448 · #6 07-09-2007, 12:27 PM

Police arrested a man for the theft of a car involved in the kidnapping of a DeKalb County woman.

Monica Renee Bowie, 34, was taken kicking and screaming from her apartment at the Berkshire Apartments on Gables Drive Thursday, according to witnesses.

Police said she was forced into a 2002 burgundy Mercury Sable and driven away.

The car was found abandoned in Atlanta on Friday.

http://www.wsbtv.com/news/13645119/d...11000307092007

angelmom · #7 07-09-2007, 12:34 PM

I pray that this woman is found alive. It is scary to think that people were close enough to hear her screaming but couldn't save her. The men who took her must have been truly brazen.

I hope the guy they arrested can help them find the others. I'm sure for some sort of plea deal he will think of something.

praying for Monica and her family!

tennessee · #8 07-09-2007, 02:01 PM

Didn't anyone rush to help her when they heard her screams? I pray they find her alive soon.

MREG2 · #9 07-09-2007, 03:02 PM

Prayers for Monica and her family!

Dark Knight · #10 07-09-2007, 05:15 PM

Maybe she faked her kidnapping to avoid trial? Probably not, but stranger things have happened.

lizzybeth · #11 07-09-2007, 06:55 PM

I thought about that too Dark Knight.

christine2448 · #12 07-09-2007, 07:37 PM

4:35 PM UPDATE: Police have arrested Gasper Keels and charged him with stealing a car that was seen speeding from the scene. Keels is being held in the Dekalb County Jail, charged with theft of a motor vehicle. Police are still searching for Bowie.

angelmom · #13 07-10-2007, 07:28 AM

Christine, that is great. I hope she will talk to you as the family is refusing to speak to the media. While I understand that they don't want to be hounded, the best way to get the attention on their daughter is to be right in a camera as often as possible so people will remember.

I was talking with my DH, my MIL and my FIL last night, all of whom listen to AM news and read the paper, and none of them knew there was a missing woman in the area. They need to get this out there.

Totally OT, but this is what I meant in the threads about why some people get more attention than others, and it's not always about race or status. By this point Laci and Natalie's families had fliers out, had done multiple press conferences, and had a command center set up. There was stuff for the talking heads to talk about.

The media may be annoying at times, but they are our best ally in these cases. You've gotta feed the machine to get the word out.

Prayers for Monica and her family. I hope she is found safely and SOON!!!

christine2448 · #14 07-10-2007, 09:01 PM

I spoke to mom. She sounded a bit frazzled. I didn't not ask anything about the case. Told her who I was, a little about WS, LTWH, and offered assistance. Gave her my #'s...told her I would be brief, just want her to know we are here. I told her to start a notebook, and that I'd like to speak with her again when she has time to sit down and take a breath. She has been with LE. I didn't question her, I'm sure she is afraid and not sure who she can trust, also being in a strange place. I told her I knew she was not talking with media and asked if she needed me to set her up with someone to represent her w/media, she said "not at this time'. Anywho, she said she'd call me.

It is NOT in the news. A small blurb last night 11 oclock, I haven't seen anything since.

I am afraid to learn the outcome of this one.

angelmom · #15 07-11-2007, 03:31 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by christine2448

I spoke to mom. She sounded a bit frazzled. I didn't not ask anything about the case. Told her who I was, a little about WS, LTWH, and offered assistance. Gave her my #'s...told her I would be brief, just want her to know we are here. I told her to start a notebook, and that I'd like to speak with her again when she has time to sit down and take a breath. She has been with LE. I didn't question her, I'm sure she is afraid and not sure who she can trust, also being in a strange place. I told her I knew she was not talking with media and asked if she needed me to set her up with someone to represent her w/media, she said "not at this time'. Anywho, she said she'd call me.

It is NOT in the news. A small blurb last night 11 oclock, I haven't seen anything since.

I am afraid to learn the outcome of this one.

So glad you finally got to speak to her. I hope she calls back. They need to get this back in the news or everyone is going to forget Monica and move her to the back burner, then off the stove completely. All it will take is another juicier disappearance.

Sounds like LTWH is very needed, since she doesn't have someone helping her deal with all of this. That may be her choice, or it may not have been offered. Who knows?

Please keep us up to date and let us know what you need.

for all you do!

christine2448 · #16 07-11-2007, 01:53 PM

No call back

I can only offer help, if the family doesn't take it, there is nothing I can do.

I was correct, the car was found BURNED.

http://www.11alive.com/news/article_...?storyid=99812

Now police have arrested Jasper Keels, 24, and charged him with theft by taking, of that same Mercury Sable, which was later found burned in Atlanta.

Police said that so far, there is no connection between Keels and Bowie's kidnapping.

Police have also released a timeline before and after the alleged kidnapping.

On July 4, police said Keels borrowed the vehicle from another man, Tyrone Crawford, who police have said is another victim. On July 5, Thursday, the kidnapping of Bowie took place. On July 6, the car was found burned in Atlanta, and was reported stolen by Crawford. On July 7, Saturday, Keels was arrested.

DeKalb police said Bowie had been arrested on drug and weapons charges last month, but they are not sure if or how that arrest could be related to her disappearance.

Police also would not comment on whether there had been any activity on Bowie's cell phone or credit cards.

christine2448 · #17 07-11-2007, 01:55 PM

ATLANTA (FOX 5) -- DeKalb police said they've identified a suspect in the kidnapping of a 34-year-old woman. Monica Renee Bowie has been missing since Thursday.

Jasper Keels, who police are calling a suspect, denied the charges.

"Mr. Keels, did you have anything to do with the kidnapping?" asked FOX 5 News.

"I don't know what you're talking about," said Keels.

Jasper Keels walked out of court, trying to hide his face from the camera. In court Monday night, he couldn't hide from the judge. Keels denied any involvement in the kidnapping of 34-year-old Monica Bowie. She has not been seen since late last Thursday night.

"I've got a dislocated shoulder and a bad hip --how can I kidnap somebody?" said Keels.

Fox Atlanta

christine2448 · #18 07-11-2007, 02:02 PM

This gives us a better picture of who Monica was, what she did. She was an upstanding citizen, a business owner. Also, gives an account of her recent arrest on drugs/weapons charges, seems she took the rap for her BF

AJC Dekalb

Griggs described Bowie as an "upstanding" member of the community who owns several companies. The list includes Go2girl Promotions Inc., a company that has promoted performances in metro Atlanta by a number of top hip-hop acts, and LaCoca Wear Clothing, a boutique on Metropolitan Parkway in southwest Atlanta.

Bowie had no criminal history before her June 20 arrest on drug and weapon possession charges by Atlanta police, said Griggs and relatives, who consider her recent legal troubles and kidnapping unrelated. The Cheyney University of Pennsylvania graduate was taken into custody in June after she went to retrieve her car from a crime scene, Griggs said.

According to an Atlanta police report, Shernotta Walters was spotted standing in a Campbellton Road parking lot by an officer who "smelled a strong odor of marijuana." The officer had Walters point out his car, where marijuana, cash and a firearm were found. When Bowie arrived, she reported that Walters, her boyfriend, had borrowed her car, and she also was arrested.

Walters remains in the Fulton County Jail. Bowie denied ownership of the weapon or drugs found in the vehicle, Griggs said.

The charges against Bowie, according to Griggs, subsequently were dismissed in Fulton County Magistrate Court.

Dennis Scheib, an Atlanta lawyer representing Walters, said he first learned of Bowie's disappearance from his client, who called him crying and screaming into the phone, "Monica has been kidnapped. She's been kidnapped."

Griggs said the couple had been living together and was engaged.

The charges against Walters, 35, were dismissed after police failed to show up at his probable cause hearing. But Walters, a parolee, will remain in jail, Scheib said, until a parole board decides on his release because of the new charges. Walters went to prison in July 2004 on a drug conviction in Cobb County. He was paroled in April 2006, according to the state Department of Corrections database.

christine2448 · #19 07-12-2007, 10:18 AM

I just spoke with Monica's sister, who was on her way into the attorney's office to do a press release!

I told her how important it is this stays in the news, I have only seen a couple of blurbs, this needs to stay alive!

I didn't get a chance to get an update...she said she'd try to get mom to call me after the presser.

We shall see.

I will update y'all as I am.

PrayersForMaura · #20 07-12-2007, 10:30 AM

so her fiance, not boyfriend, called her mom about Monica being kidnapped?
Did he hear she was kidnapped or see her being kidnapped? I'm confused!

PrayersForMaura · #21 07-12-2007, 10:31 AM

Can we put Monica's name in the title of the thread by chance?

christine2448 · #22 07-12-2007, 10:54 AM

I saw this on the news last night, I wish I had known about this, my family, friends and I would have went to support them, pray with them.

http://www.11alive.com/news/article_...?storyid=99928

Vigil Held For Kidnapped Woman
Video Available

Family and friends of a missing DeKalb County woman are praying for her safe return. It has been nearly a week since police said Monica Bowie was kidnapped from her apartment complex.

Police said Bowie was kidnapped from her apartment complex on Roxboro Road. Witnesses said they heard a woman scream, then they saw a car take off.

Investigators said they found that car abandoned and burned, but with no sign of Bowie.

"Somebody knows where my baby is," said Robin Gresham. "Just let her go. Just let her come home. I'm not concerned about why, I'm not concerned. I don't care why."

angelmom · #23 07-15-2007, 11:05 PM

http://www.ajc.com/metro/content/met...dnap_0713.html

Linda Howard's eyes were wet, as though she hadn't stopped crying in a week. Her answers were sometimes one word — "yes" or "no." As she met with reporters Thursday morning in a Decatur lawyer's office, she said she had little choice but to take her pain and loss public.

Otherwise, her daughter, Monica Renee Bowie, who is missing and apparently abducted, would be forgotten.

"Once the media stops, it's hard to start it again," Howard said.

Bowie, 34, was taken from her apartment complex in DeKalb County on the night of July 5. Neighbors said they heard her scream: "Someone help! I need help! Help me!" Investigators found evidence of a struggle in the parking lot. The next day, the car used in her abduction was found torched.

On Saturday, DeKalb County police arrested Jasper Keels, 24, charging him with theft by taking of the car and drug possession. Police said they don't know whether there's a connection between Keels and Bowie's abduction. Howard and family members, meantime, are clinging to hope — and hoping her abductors are listening.

more at link...

angelmom · #24 07-16-2007, 03:15 PM

http://www.ajc.com/metro/content/met...sing_0716.html

More than a week after Monica Renee Bowie's disappearance, DeKalb County police remain stumped in trying to solve her apparent abduction.

Deputy Chief Mike Burrows indicated as much in his comments on Sunday, after Linda Howard offered a heartfelt plea for information leading to her daughter's safe return and announced the establisment of reward funds and a web site developed in connection with the case.

Authorities are hoping results from items being tested at the state crime lab, database searches, continued interviews with and background checks on persons of interest will help.

Police aren't certain that Bowie's mysterious disappearance on July 5 didn't involve a stranger and are concerned that tips have reduced to a trickle.

more at link...

KOOL LOOK · #25 07-16-2007, 03:44 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by angelmom

http://www.ajc.com/metro/content/met...dnap_0713.html

Linda Howard's eyes were wet, as though she hadn't stopped crying in a week. Her answers were sometimes one word — "yes" or "no." As she met with reporters Thursday morning in a Decatur lawyer's office, she said she had little choice but to take her pain and loss public.

Otherwise, her daughter, Monica Renee Bowie, who is missing and apparently abducted, would be forgotten.

"Once the media stops, it's hard to start it again," Howard said.

Bowie, 34, was taken from her apartment complex in DeKalb County on the night of July 5. Neighbors said they heard her scream: "Someone help! I need help! Help me!" Investigators found evidence of a struggle in the parking lot. The next day, the car used in her abduction was found torched.

On Saturday, DeKalb County police arrested Jasper Keels, 24, charging him with theft by taking of the car and drug possession. Police said they don't know whether there's a connection between Keels and Bowie's abduction. Howard and family members, meantime, are clinging to hope — and hoping her abductors are listening.

more at link...

Christine, it appears she has been listening to you and taken your advice. You probably haven't been the only one to make these reccomendations, but you and others that are experienced have and I can't help but feel your input was important in the mother's decision making to go public. It did educate her with the ins and outs of a case like this, that she otherwise had no prior knowledge or experience.

Excellent good samaritan award goes to Christine.