Into The Fire: The Lost Daughter True Story?

Warning: This article contains mentions of sexual assault and murder.

Netflix’s latest true crime show,Into the Fire: The Lost Daughter, tells the true story of Cathy Terkanian’s search for the daughter she gave up for adoption, Aundria Bowman, who went missing in March 1989. In 2010, Cathy Terkanian received a letter from the adoption agency requesting Terkanian’s DNA to see if she would match an identified dead body because her daughter had been missing since 1989. The letter Terkanian received ignited a 10-year search to find out what happened. Cathy Terkanian learned that her daughter’s name was Aundria, and a young couple, Brenda and Dennis Bowman, had adopted her.

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Authorities had presumed Aundria Bowman had run away, but Cathy Terkanian became determined to learn the circumstances of Aundria Bowman’s disappearance and figure out what happened to her daughter. Cathy Terkanian embarked on a 10-year journey to discover how Aundria Bowman disappeared and the circumstances leading up to it. She reached out to Aundria Bowman’s friends, relatives, and anyone else who might have known her.Cathy Terkanian’s hard work and perseverance eventually led to the truth, as shown in theNetflix original show.

Aundria Bowman Disappeared In March 1989 When She Was 14

In March 1989, Dennis Bowman contacted police to report his daughter, Aundria Bowman, as missing. Dennis Bowman noticed peculiarities in the house—the door was unlocked, and several items were gone, including an envelope of cash, a carry-on bag, and Aundria’s purple jacket. Dennis and Brenna Bowman talked about their daughter being troubled, claiming she stole, took drugs, and lied. When Cathy Terkanian learned about her daughter’s troubled years,she knew the police had not investigated Aundria Bowman’s disappearance properly because of the assumption that she ran away, so Terkanian became even more determined to find her.

Aundria Bowman’s Birth Mother Investigated The Murder Starting In 2010

Cathy Terkanian Learned Of Aundria’s Disappearance & Became Determined To Find Her

After learning about her daughter’s disappearance and possible death, Cathy Terkanian created a Facebook page called Find Aundria M Bowman, hoping that Aundria’s friends and family would reach out with information. She became more determined after receiving the DNA results and learning that Jane Doe’s body did not match Terkanian’s DNA. Then,a local woman named Metta McLeod contacted Cathy Terkanian, believing her story might be connected to Aundria’s. When Metta McLeod was 6 years old, a man abducted and sexually assaulted her, but he ran away because of dogs barking in the distance.

Metta McLeod thought her case might have something to do with Aundria Bowman because Aundria disappeared in the same area in Michigan the same year. After reading more about Aundria Bowman’s case, Metta McLeod discovered that the man who had hurt her was most likely Dennis Bowman. Cathy Terkanian, forensic artist Carl Koppelman, and Metta McLeod investigated the circumstances thoroughly and concluded that Dennis Bowman kidnapped and hurt McLeod. This discovery led Cathy Terkanian to interview Aundria Bowman’s friends and family, who all believed that Dennis Bowman physically and sexually abused his daughter, with incidents to corroborate that.

into the fire (2024)

However, detectives did not have enough evidence to arrest Dennis Bowman, even though he was a person of interest.

Cathy Terkanian requested information on Dennis Bowman based on the Freedom of Information Act anddiscovered Bowman had a serious criminal history. Cathy Terkanian became convinced that Dennis Bowman had murdered Aundria and buried her in his backyard. For the next several years, Terkanian did everything she could to expose him. She put up missing person posters and billboards; she camped outside the Bowmans' house.

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She confronted Brenda Bowman and called her regularly to get Dennis Bowman to confess. TheNetflix true crime docpoints out that detectives did not have enough evidence to arrest Dennis Bowman, even though he was a person of interest.

Dennis Bowman Confessed To Killing Aundria

Dennis Bowman Sexually Assaulted & Abused His Adoptive Daughter, Aundria

When the police finally arrested and charged Dennis Bowman, Cathy Terkanian was shocked to learn it was for an entirely different crime. However,this arrest eventually led to Dennis Bowman confessing to his involvement with Aundria Bowman’s death. The crime police had charged Dennis Bowman for occurred in Norfolk, Virginia, in 1980. That case had also been cold for several decades, but a breakthrough in DNA technology allowed Virginia detectives to place Dennis Bowman at the scene. After Dennis Bowman’s arrest, the detectives assigned to Aundria Bowman’s case created a plan.

Aundria Bowman’s Timeline

Date

Cathy Terkarnian gives birth to Aundria Bowman, names her Alexis Miranda Badger

June 02, 2025

Cathy Terkarnian gives Alexis up for adoption; the Bowmans adopt her and rename her Aundria Michelle Bowman

Aundria Bowman accused Dennis Bowman of sexually abusing her

Aundria Bowman disappears, later revealed to have died

July 16, 2025

The adoption agency contacted Cathy Terkarnian for a DNA test to identify Aundria Bowman

2010

Cathy Terkarnian investigates her daughter’s disappearance

2010-2019

Metta McLeod reaches out to Cathy Terkarnian, which eventually leads to Terkarnian suspecting Dennis Bowman

2013

Virginia authorities arrested Dennis Bowman for a separate murder that occurred in Norfolk, Virginia, in 1980

Dennis Bowman confessed to murdering his adoptive daughter, Aundria Bowman

Michigan authorities charged Dennis Bowman for second-degree murder

August 17, 2025

Dennis Bowman pleaded guilty to the second-degree murder of Aundria Bowman

August 22, 2025

The authorities would offer Dennis Bowman the chance to be imprisoned in Michigan, closer to his family, if he confessed to Aundria Bowman’s murder and revealed the location of her body. After much back-and-forth, he finally confessed to his wife about what happened to Aundria. Dennis Bowman claimed that when he arrived home, he went upstairs to discover that Aundria Bowman was leaving and would tell authorities that her father was sexually abusing her. Dennis Bowman got so upset that he hit her, whichled to Aundria Bowman falling down the stairs and fatally breaking her neck.

However, Dennis Bowman did not admit to where he buried his daughter. Every time the detectives or Brenda asked, he came up with a different story. It was not until Brenda Bowman was at her wits' end that Dennis Bowman finally confessed on a phone call where their daughter had been all this time.Dennis Bowman admitted he placed her in a barrel and buried her in their backyard, and when the Bowmans moved to another house, he took the barrel with them and reburied it in their new backyard.

They could not go for first-degree murder based on Dennis Bowman’s confession. However, given that his stories for each crime he committed constantly changed, it is unlikely that anyone will truly know how Aundria Bowman died.

Detectives and anthropologists went back to the Bowmans' backyard and excavated the territory until they found the barrel and Aundria Bowman’s bones. Her remains were distributed in a few different bags,suggesting that Dennis Bowman had cut her up. Police finally charged Dennis Bowman with second-degree murder of Aundria Bowman.

The documentary currentlystreaming on Netflixalso points out that the police could not go for first-degree murder based on Dennis Bowman’s confession. However, given that his stories for each crime he committed constantly changed, it is unlikely that anyone will truly know how Aundria Bowman died.

Dennis Bowman’s Other Criminal Cases Explained

Dennis Bowman Committed Other Sexual Assaults & Murders Over The Years

Michigan police were able to successfully charge and convict Dennis Bowman because of the other crimes he committed over the years. In November 2019, Virginia authorities arrested Bowman for the sexual assault and murder of Kathleen Doyle, which occurred in September 1980. The detectives working the case connected Dennis Bowman to the crime because of his DNA confirmed at the scene, his whereabouts placing him in Norfolk, Virginia, at the time, and his confession to police. However, this was not the only violent crime Dennis Bowman committed.

Sexually assaulted a woman

Sexually assaulted two women

Attempted murder & sexual assault of teenage girl

1980

5-10 years (served 5)

Sexually assaulted & murdered Kathleen Doyle

two life sentences (serving)

Early 1980s

A trailer park

life in prison (serving)

Abduction & sexual assault of Metta McLeod

Breaking & entering a co-worker’s apartment

1998

Ottawa County, Michigan

One year in prison (served)

Although Dennis Bowman was never formally charged and convicted, Metta McLeod is confident that he had abducted and assaulted her when she was six years old, in September 1989, six months after Aundria Bowman’s disappearance. In 1980, Dennis Bowman was arrested for attempted murder and pleaded guilty to the crime of intent to commit sexual assault,which landed him a prison sentence of 5-10 years. The judge on the case believed Dennis Bowman was a danger to women. In 1998, Dennis Bowman also received a one-year sentence for breaking and entering into a co-worker’s home.

Brenda Bowman cremated Aundria Bowman’s remains and gave half of them to Cathy Terkarnian.

Dennis Bowman also confessed to Michigan authorities and his wife that he had committed various sexual assaults over the years across the United States. Despite everything Dennis Bowman had done, Brenda Bowman still stood by him, believing he was just a man who had made many mistakes. Notably, Brenda Bowman declined to participate in Netflix’sInto the Fire: The Lost Daughter. The judge in Aundria Bowman’s case sentenced Dennis Bowman to life in prison, while the judge in Kathleen Doyle’s case sentenced Dennis Bowman to two life sentences.Dennis Bowman is currently serving prison time in Virginia.