CA CA - Debra Vowell, 21, San Diego, 24 Jan 1979

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The Doe Network:
Case File 2206DFCA

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Left & Center: Vowell, circa 1979; Right: Age Progressed Composite (circa 2007)

Debra Lee Vowell

Missing since January 24, 1979 from Southern California
Classification: Endangered Missing

Vital Statistics

  • [*]Date Of Birth: October 27, 1957
    [*]Age at Time of Disappearance: 21 years old
    [*]Height and Weight at Time of Disappearance: 5' 2"; 107 lbs.
    [*]Distinguishing Characteristics: White female. Blonde hair; hazel eyes.
  • AKA: Debra Powers; Debbie
  • DNA/Dentals: Available

Circumstances of Disappearance
Vowell was last seen in Southern California on January 24, 1979. Debra had been married just a short time at the time of her disappearance. On that day, Debra, her husband Dennis Vowell and Gary Newton disappeared off the coast of San Diego on their 41 foot fishing boat,"The Armistice".
An air/sea search by the United States Coast Guard from San Luis Obisbo to Ensenada, Mexico yielded negative results.
Two years later, Debra's grandfather, a Los Angeles Sheriff Sergeant received a collect call late at night. When he asked the operator who it was from he heard Debra shout "it's Debbie I am trying to get to California." The phone then went dead and there has been nothing heard from her since.A background investigation into the history of The Armistice linked the boat to a large scale marijuana smuggling organization which was connected to several sunken boats and other crew members missing.On 1979, Debra's parents reported her missing to the Coast Guard only. In 2003, a family member asked an investigator with the Los Angeles Cold Case Unit for help. At the request of this investigator, Orange County Sheriff took a courtesy report, and then the Los Angeles County Sheriff's Department Cold Case Unit opened an investigation into Debra's disappearance.
Debra is the daughter of retired Hollywood producer David Powers. The boat and all occupants are still missing.

DLVowell_boat.jpg

Debra in front of "The Armistice".

Investigators
If you have any information concerning this case, please contact:
Los Angeles County Sheriff's Department
Cold Case Unit
Sgt Paul Mondry
Investigator Richard Kennerly
323-526-5541
Email
OR
Orange County Sheriffs Department
714-647-7000

Agency Case Number:
03-00067 & 03222469

NCIC Number:
M-393603971

Please refer to this number when contacting any agency with information regarding this case.
Source Information:
Los Angeles County Sheriff's Department - Cold Case Unit
California Department of Justice
Doe Network link case
http://www.doenetwork.org/cases/2206dfca.html






 
This is certainly an intriguing case. One has to wonder if that phone call really was her, and if it was, why she was never able to call back or give any other information on her whereabouts.

I looked up the weather in San Diego that day, and there were reports of scattered showers. It was quite chilly as well. Not the best day to go out onto the water.

Is anyone else interested in working together to dig up more information on this case? :)
 
Thank you! :loveyou: I am just getting started with sleuthing, and would love to team up with a couple other members on a case. Are you interested in working together on this case? :sleuth:
 
Sadly, this is likely to be a difficult case for anyone to solve. I personally don't know what to think, whether foul play was involved or if The Armistice just sank. Between the alleged illicit activities and no missing persons reports being filed until a considerable amount of time had passed, the investigation had decades of catching up to do. No telling what evidence and leads were lost there. The inclement weather that day is also something that should probably factor in (good work on finding that). I wonder if they shared their plans or itinerary for the day with anyone? Debra's Charley Project page: http://www.charleyproject.org/cases/v/vowell_debra.html.
 
It is not quite accurate to say (as it does on Charley Project) that no sign of the missing trio was ever found. In late February 1979 there is a report in the LA Times of 3 bodies lashed together being sighted in a kelp bed off Baja California by an abalone diver. Navy divers were sent to search for and recover the bodies but failed due to strong currents. It was speculated that the bodies were the Vowells and Newton, and it seems a great coincidence if there was another group of 3 missing at sea in the same area at the same time. I can only read the ocr of the story which is at The Los Angeles Times from Los Angeles, California on February 27, 1979 · 19 . Someone with a newspapers.com subscription may be able to get more detail.

The interesting reference is to "lashed together". This could be interpreted in different ways; some may see it as possible evidence of a crime. A more likely explanation seems to be shipwreck when survivors might tie themselves together for mutual support. The ship was sighted fishing on the Cortes Bank on 24 January just before a big storm (see http://archive.newportbeachlibrary.org/NBPL/0/edoc/1235501/1979-02-13 - Orange Coast Pilot.pdf ).

It seems overwhelmingly probable that all three died at sea (probably by shipwreck) and that the call made to the grandfather was a hoax.
 
This Thursday marks the 40 year anniversary of their disappearance...
 
A couple of questions:

Is there a reason that Dennis Vowell and Gary Newton are given so little attention—not even part of the title of the thread? It feels strange—almost as though they’re considered non-persons.

And—the Doe Network article refers to the history of the boat being linked to drug smuggling. That seems to me like a vague way to phrase things. If it’s the history of the boat before it was owned by the Vowells, is that even relevant?

ETA: Charley Project—I assume we can link to that—offers some clarification on the drug question. However, even drug-smuggling boats can get caught in bad storms and sink...
Debra Lee Vowell – The Charley Project
 
Last edited:
Debra Lee Vowell
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Debra, circa 1979; Age-progression to age 50 (circa 2007); The Armistice

  • Missing Since 01/24/1979
  • Missing From Orange County, California
  • Classification Endangered Missing
  • Sex Female
  • Race White
  • Date of Birth 10/27/1957 (62)
  • Age 21 years old
  • Height and Weight 5'2, 107 pounds
  • Distinguishing Characteristics Caucasian female. Blonde hair, blue eyes. Debra may use the alias last name Powers. Her nickname is Debbie.
Details of Disappearance
Debra was last seen in southern California on January 24, 1979. She and her husband, Dennis Vowell, and a companion, Gary Newton, disappeared off the coast of San Diego on their 41-foot fishing boat, the Armistice. A photograph of the boat is posted with this case summary.

An extensive air and sea search by the United States Coast Guard covered the ocean between San Luis Obispo, California and Ensenada, Mexico, but no sign of the Vowells, Newton, or the boat was ever found.

Two years after the Vowells vanished, Debra's grandfather, a sergeant with the Los Angeles Sheriff's Department, received a collect telephone call in the middle of the night. When he asked the operator who it was he heard someone shout, "It's Debbie. I am trying to go to California." Then the call disconnected.

Debra's grandfather, who is now deceased, believed the voice he heard was Debra's. No one in her family has heard from her since and the caller has never been definitively identified.

Authorities believe the disappeared of the Armistice and its occupants is linked to a large-scale marijuana smuggling organization which has been connected to other missing boats and crew members.

The Armistice was owned by Dennis and a San Clemente, California surgeon, Morris Frederick Skinner. Skinner had a business partner, Luis Alvarez, who is suspected in cases of fraud, theft, organized crime, car bombings, narcotic sales, smuggling, kidnapping and murder.

Debra's case was investigated only by the Coast Guard in 1979. In 2003, one of her family members filed a missing persons report with the Orange County Sheriff's Office, and the Los Angeles County Sheriff's Department's cold case unit opened an investigation. Her disappearance, her husband's, and Newton's remain unsolved.

Photographs of Dennis and Newton are unavailable. Dennis's date of birth is June 11, 1956 and Newton's is March 12, 1956; the men were 22 years old in January 1979.
Investigating Agency
  • Orange County Sheriff's Department 714-647-7000
Source Information
 

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