Those who’ve watched the Netflix documentary Into the Fire: The Lost Daughter will know the heartbreaking story of how Aundria Bowman (born Alexis Badger) was killed at the hands of her own adoptive father, Dennis Bowman.
But what happened to Aundria’s sister, Vanessa Bowman, who is also mentioned in the documentary? And where is she now?
Who is Aundria Bowman’s sister, Vanessa?
Vanessa Bowman is the biological daughter of Brenda and Dennis Bowman, and was born when her adopted sister, Aundria, was in her early teenage years. Brenda and Dennis didn’t believe they’d ever be able to conceive naturally, as explained in the documentary, so Vanessa’s birth came as a surprise.
According to Aundria’s friends and loved ones who appear in Into the Fire, Aundria doted on her baby sister Vanessa, and wanted to protect her from their evil father, Dennis, whom Aundria claimed had sexually abused her. Her claims were dismissed by her parents and Aundria was forced to recant her allegations when their local church became involved, pressuring her to take them back and to clear her father’s name.
Vanessa was just a one-year-old when Aundria “went missing” on March 11, 1989. It would take almost 30 years for the truth to come out and for Dennis to confess that Aundria didn’t run away from home as first suspected, but that he had killed and dismembered her body, burying it in the family home’s back garden, while Vanessa was also in the family home.
Little is known about Vanessa, but a post shared in 2018 by the “Justice for Aundria M Bowman” Facebook page, created by Aundria’s birth mother, Cathy Terkanian, features an image of a woman who is supposedly her. However, we cannot vouch for the accuracy or authenticity of whether this is indeed Vanessa.
In the documentary, a friend of Aundria’s says, “[Aundria] took care of [Vanessa] all the time, changed her diaper, would feed her bottle. She loved her little sister. She was panic-stricken about leaving her little sister there by herself…She said she was going to leave when Vanessa was older and go find her real mom.”
What has Vanessa Bowman said about ‘Into the Fire’?
While archive recordings, police footage, and old family photos appear in the documentary, neither Dennis, Brenda, nor Vanessa Bowman agreed to speak on camera for it.
At the end of the Netflix documentary, text appears explaining, “Brenda Bowman declined to be interviewed and did not respond to requests for comment.”
Does Vanessa Bowman support her father, Dennis Bowman?
It is not known how Vanessa feels about her father now, but Allegan County Sheriff’s Office detective Chris Haverdink reportedly once said the following when recalling why it was difficult to initially prosecute Dennis: “He was difficult. He was stubborn, because he had a support group in his corner. Brenda Bowman was supporting of him. His (biological) daughter [Vanessa, he claims] was supporting of him.”
Where is Vanessa Bowman now?
Vanessa Bowman’s current whereabouts are unconfirmed, but it is believed that her mother, Brenda, still lives in Michigan.
