VOLUSIA COUNTY, Fla. — Nearly three dozen people wielding sticks scoured the woods and thick brush around Edgewater’s Rotary Park on Wednesday, searching for Ashlyn Nicole Bowman who was reported missing almost a month ago.
Bowman, who was 17 when she was reported missing, was last seen June 22 in the area of the park, where investigators are focusing their search efforts.
"We are looking for anything that will lead us to Ashlyn," said Andrew Gant of the Volusia County Sheriff's Office.
The area has been searched before in hopes of finding some trace of the missing teen, but authorities did not find anything.
Bowman’s grandmother, Pauline Chaffee, said the last time she talked with Bowman, she was planning to spend the night at a friend’s house.
It has been terrifying just to leave the house since Bowman disappeared, Chaffee said.
“I’m afraid I’m going to miss a phone call from her or from the deputies or the sheriffs or anybody,” she said. “(I’m) afraid that she might walk through the door and I’ll miss her.”
Bowman's mother, Carrie Roehl, said the family is devastated by her disappearance. Since she they last saw her, she turned 18. Several rumors have circulated around the community and on social media about what happened to her.
"I mean, you name it, we've heard them. Our family chooses not to believe that. We believe that somebody has her at this point or knows where she is," said Roehl.
Since Bowman’s disappearance, a Facebook group called “Find Ashlyn Bowman” has been established, and members assisted search teams Wednesday, the sheriff’s office said.
Some posts on the group’s page expressed frustration over the amount of time that has passed with no sign of Bowman.
The Volusia County Sheriff’s Office addressed those concerns, saying: “Our priority is finding her.”
"Please just let us know that you are OK. She knows that we love her very much and we know that she loves us very much," Bowman’s grandfather Gerry Chaffee.
“We’re out there chasing down every viable lead and taking every step possible to do so,” the sheriff’s office said in a post on the group’s page. “You may not see it, but it’s happening.
“Ashlyn’s photo is still on the front of our website and still at the top of our minds.”
Anyone with information on Bowman’s disappearance is asked to contact the Sheriff’s Office at 386-409-8276.
“The smallest piece of information or possible sighting might seem insignificant to you, but it might be the break this case needs,” the Sheriff’s Office said.
Cox Media Group
