The Carroll County Sheriff’s Office responded to the area of Iron Ridge Road in Galax on a report of human remains being discovered in a wooded area.
According to Sheriff Kevin A. Kemp, the investigation determined that the remains had been there for an extended period of time. The office sought the help of Texas-based Othram Inc., which was able to develop a full DNA profile that allowed them to use Forensic Genetic Genealogy.
Two DNA comparisons of family members allowed the Sheriff’s Office to identify the remains as Logan Nathanial Bowman.
Logan was 5 years old when he went missing in Grayson County in January 2003. According to the Sheriff’s Office, Logan’s biological mother, Cynthia Davis, and her then-boyfriend Dennis Schermerhorn were charged in 2003 by Grayson County law enforcement with his disappearance.
Davis pleaded guilty to two counts of child neglect and one count of homicide associated with her son’s presumed death. She was sentenced to a 20-year suspended sentence on the child neglect charges and 30 years, with 15 suspended, on the homicide charge. Schmermerhorn was convicted of one county of child neglect and sentenced to one year in jail.
The Carroll County Sheriff’s Office said the investigation is ongoing and new charges are anticipated.
The remains were discovered in September 2022.
