Authorities identify remains found in wooded area as belonging to a 5-year-old boy who went missing 20 years ago

By Nic F. Anderson, CNN

(CNN) — Human remains discovered in a Virginia city’s woods last year have been identified as belonging to 5-year-old boy who went missing more than 20 years ago, authorities said.

The Carroll County Sheriff’s Office discovered the remains in Galax, Virginia, in September 2022, and determined they had been there for an “extended period of time,” the office said in a news release. On Thursday, the office identified the remains as those of Logan Nathaniel Bowman, who went missing in January 2003, the release said.

Authorities enlisted the help of a Texas-based company specializing in forensic-grade genome sequencing and genetic genealogy to identify the remains, the release said.

The company was able to develop a full DNA profile of the remains and compare them to the child’s family members, confirming the remains belonged to Logan.

Logan’s biological mother, Cynthia Davis, and her then-boyfriend, Dennis Schermerhorn, were charged in February 2003 in connection with the child’s disappearance, according to the sheriff’s office.

Davis entered a plea deal to serve 15 years in prison and 15 years on probation on two felony charges of child neglect and one felony charge of homicide in April 2004, Grayson County Court documents show.

CNN has reached out to an attorney for Davis and did not receive an immediate response.

Schermerhorn was sentenced in 2004 to one year in jail on one felony count of simple child neglect, according to court documents. A judge dismissed a murder charge and a neglect charge against him.

CNN has reached out to attorneys listed for Schermerhorn for comment.

The Carroll County Sheriff’s Office said the investigation is ongoing and it anticipates new charges in the case.

CNN’s Samantha Beech and Celina Tebor contributed to this report.

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