Two men charged with first degree murder in case of Mission man missing for 6 years

A six-year-old missing person case has ended in first degree murder charges for two B.C. men.

Insp. Donna Richardson of the provincial unsolved homicide unit said today that the men, who were underage at the time and cannot be named, were charged with murder in the death of 21-year-old Mission resident Joshua Bowe.

One of those men have also been charged with accessory after the fact, according to Richardson.

Bowe was reported missing in November 2010 by his former foster parent. Evidence collected early in the investigation made Mission RCMP suspect foul play.

The case was initially handled by Mission RCMP before being handed over to the Integrated Homicide Investigation Team (IHIT) in February 2011. In March 2014, the provincial homicide unit took over the file.

Evidence gathered by investigators led police to believe that Bowe, and whoever was responsible for his disappearance, knew each other and that the disappearance was not a random act.

Richardson said police withheld that information from the public to protect the integrity of the investigation.

“Even though the nature of investigation may have changed since initial reports, the police remained committed to finding whoever was responsible for Joshua’s disappearance,” Richardson said on Monday.

Bowe’s grandmother, Hope Bowe, said in a statement that the last time she saw him was on his 21st birthday and what surprised her the most was how many people knew and cared about him.

“I want to thank all of those people, as well as the RCMP and other police forces that helped me to find Joshua. After 6 years I know he can’t come home anymore and I miss him. He meant everything to me. I wish I could hate the two boys who did this, but their futures look so scary and there are two other families who are also coming to terms with this. I can only imagine how they feel,” Hope Bowe said.

Tweet This Click to share quote on Twitter: "I want to thank all of those people, as well as the RCMP and other police forces that helped me to find Joshua. After 6 years I know he can't come home anymore and I miss him. He meant everything to me. I wish I could hate the two boys who did this, but their futures look so scary and there are two other families who are also coming to terms with this. I can only imagine how they feel," Hope Bowe said.

Due to the case being in front of the courts, police would not offer further information or disclose where Bowe’s remains were found.

The provincial homicide unit is still continuing with their investigation and asks if anyone has further information, to please contact their local police.