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Cathy Terkanian's life changed forever when she received a letter in April 2010 from a social worker explaining what happened to her daughter. Thirty-five years ago, in 1989, Terkanian had given up her daughter for adoption. In 2010, hoping to reconnect with her, she started searching for her. It was then that she came to know her daughter had disappeared when she was only 14.
Charlize Theron's new Netflix documentary, Into the Fire: The Lost Daughter, follows the ten-year quest that Terkanian embarked upon, driven by the need to find answers to what happened to her baby girl.
The documentary chronicles her quest, bringing a chilling true-crime story to the fore while exploring a mother's unconditional love and the power of maternal instinct across space and time. Cathy Terkanian continued searching for answers till 2019, when what happened to her daughter came to light. She now lives a quiet life in Massachusetts with her husband.
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About Cathy Terkanian's search for her daughter
Cathy Terkanian was just a teenager when she gave birth to her daughter, Alexis. She put her up for adoption in the 1970s in the hopes that her daughter would have the life she deserved, which Terkanian could not provide for her then.
After 15 long years, keen to form some kind of relationship with her daughter, she reached out to social services, hoping that her daughter might want to meet with her. But her life was torn apart when she learned that Alexis (renamed Aundria by her adoptive family) had gone missing in March 1989 when she was just 14 years old.
What happened to Alexis?
Alexis Badger was adopted at 21 months by the Bowman family in Hamilton, Michigan, but went missing in 1989. For decades, she was considered a runaway. Ultimately, in 2020, the truth behind her disappearance came to light when her adoptive father, Dennis Bowman, confessed to her murder.
Dennis Bowman had accidentally killed her during an argument in which she confronted him about molesting her. Bowman's wife, Brenda, testified in court, saying that Alexis had confided in her about being molested by her father when she was 13.
Dennis Bowman confessed to confronting and striking his daughter, due to which she lost her balance and fell, leading to her death. Instead of calling for help, he cut up her body parts with an axe and machete and buried her on his property in Monterey Township, Michigan.
Dennis Bowman had a history of violent and criminal behavior. In 2019, he was arrested for the murder of Kathleen Doyle in Virginia in 1980 after more than four decades. While in custody, he also confessed to killing his adopted daughter.
Alexis' skeletal remains were found near Bowman's home, and he was charged with her murder in 2020. In June 2022, he pleaded to second-degree murder and was sentenced to 35 to 50 years in prison, in addition to his life sentence for the murder of Doyle.
Where is Cathy Terkanian now?
When Cathy Terkanian began the search for her daughter, she was told that Alexis had gone missing in March 1989. Social Services refused to reveal her name or her adoptive parents' names as it was a closed adoption.
However, Cathy was determined to find out what happened to her daughter. Without any help from authorities, she and her husband, Edward, became Internet sleuths and uncovered the name of her missing daughter, Aundria Bowman, on a Michigan police website.
Terkanian reached out to authorities in Michigan about her daughter’s case, passed out fliers, and worked with a private investigator to get to the bottom of the case.
Sadly, Cathy Terkanian got her answer in 2019 when Bowman was charged with the murder of 25-year-old Kathleen Doyle and pleaded guilty to the murder of his adopted daughter Alexis.
After finding out about her daughter's brutal killing, Cathy Terkanian plans to have her daughter’s adoption annulled and have her name changed back to Alexis. She wants to bring her remains home and cremate her as she was her child and ultimately belonged with her.
Cathy currently resides in Gloucester, Massachusetts, with her husband, Edward Terkanian, whom she married in 1991.
Catch the story of Cathy Terkanian on Netflix on September 12, 2024.
