What happened to Aundria Bowman? Details about Netflix's Into the Fire: The Lost Daughter subject explored

Netflix's latest docuseries, produced by Charlize Theron, delves into the murder of Aundria Bowman and her biological mother's quest to find the truth about her. In what remains one of the most spine-chilling cases ever heard of, Aundria Bowman was murdered by her adoptive father, who was also a part of another crime.

Netflix's Into the Fire: The Lost Daughter, which premiered on September 12, 2024, covers this case and the mother's perspective in detail. The synopsis for the docuseries reads:

"A tenacious mother unravels the complex mystery surrounding the 1989 disappearance of the daughter she placed for adoption."

Aundria Bowman disappeared when she was 14, shortly after she accused her adoptive father of molesting her. She remained a missing person for over 30 years. Her murder was only solved after Dennis Bowman was arrested for the murder of Kathleen Doyle in Norfolk, Virginia.

Before you watch Netflix's Into the Fire: The Lost Daughter, here is a breakdown of what happened to Aundria Bowman.

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Who was Aundria Bowman and what happened to her?

Aundria Bowman was born Alexis Miranda Badger on June 23, 1974. She was born to Cathy Terkanian in New Orleans, Louisiana. But when she was just nine months old, Cathy gave her up for adoption. She was initially put in foster care, but soon, the Bowman family decided to adopt her.

She was nearly two years old when the Bowman family took her in and renamed her Aundria Bowman.

Not much is known about Aundria's childhood days, but in 1988, something serious came up. Some staff in her high school noticed that Bowman was fearful of returning home. Concerned about her well-being, the school authorities involved the police. Upon questioning, Bowman claimed that her adoptive father was molesting her.

A social worker went to the Bowman residence and confronted Dennis. Both Dennis and his wife vehemently denied the accusations and claimed that it was Aundria's response to finding out she was adopted.

However, quite suspiciously, the Bowmans soon moved to a mobile home in a rural area of Allegan County. Aundria was last seen here before she disappeared on March 11, 1989. Her family reported her missing shortly after she was last seen, and Denis Bowman even claimed that she had stolen money from him before running away.

For the years to come, Bowman was classified as an "endangered runaway."

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Who was behind the murder of Aundria Bowman?

After her disappearance, Aundria's biological mother, Cathy Terkanian, engaged in a long process to uncover the truth by piecing together what happened to her daughter.

While the investigation did not lead anywhere initially, Denis Bowman remained a suspect, given his long history of crimes dating back to 1980. After years and years, Denis was finally arrested in 2019 in connection to the murder of 25-year-old Kathleen Doyle in Norfolk, Virginia, which occurred on September 11, 1980.

While incarcerated and pending trial for this murder, Denis Bowman finally confessed to killing his adoptive daughter, Aundria. It was revealed weeks later that Aundria's remains were found at the 3200 block of 136th Avenue in Monterey Township. On May 15, 2020, Dennis Bowman was finally charged with the murder of Aundria, putting to stop a decades-long search for truth.

He was sentenced to two life sentences, which means Denis will spend the rest of his life behind bars.

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Into the Fire: The Lost Daughter covers this case in more detail on Netflix.