Serial Killer Bobby Jack Fowler Timeline - Dates of Where He Was or May Have Been

Researcher: Shane Lambert

Original publication date: January 9th, 2021

Note: this is an on-going project that I will continually enhance. All statements in the timeline are believed to be accurate. In the event of an error, efforts will be made to correct the article.

The purpose of the information presented here is to provide a timeline of a known serial killer, Bobby Jack Fowler. The rationale is that the crimes that a serial killer commits may not all be known. It may help to find missing people to know where Bobby Jack Fowler went and when.

Serial Killer's name: Bobby Jack Fowler (1939 - 2006)

• Bobby could also be Rob, Robert, or Bob.

Relatives

Bobby Jack Fowler isn't a unique name. Given that, relatives of the serial killer's can be important when it comes to identifying him in a document. This is especially true when you come across less-specific names like "Bobby J. Fowler" "Robert J. Fowler" or even just "Bob Fowler."  It can be very difficult to know if the documents pertain to the same person.

For that reason, I list the relatives of Bobby Jack Fowler as cross-referencing material for anyone searching the documentary record for this serial killer. The association does not mean that the following people, who are all deceased, were immoral or criminals like Bobby Jack Fowler was. However, when faced with an abundance of names that could all be variations of Bobby Jack Fowler, a researcher needs to know who the other people are that were in his life.

In this case, I decided to only include relatives that were of his immediate family and deceased.

Father: Selva Fowler (1915-1968)

Mother: Oma Lee Fowler (nee Hathaway) (1916-1991)

Sister: Linda Susan Fowler (1950-2004)

Brother: Walter Frank Fowler (1935-2004)

Social Security Number: ******215

Addresses Associated With Bobby Jack Fowler

There are addresses that are associated with Bobby Jack Fowler using Ancestry.com. However, what I found was that addresses were that great in constructing a timeline. They don't contain specific information as to when someone was at a spot at an exact point in time. For example, his 1996 address what in Portland, however, I note that this address was after his June 28th, 1995 arrest.

If you want to have a look at his addresses, then use this exit link (membership with Ancestry.com may be required): Bobby Jack Fowler address search at Ancestry.com.

Timeline

Doubt is a constant in all disciplines. When it comes to using records that are published in newspapers or in searchable databases, there is plenty of room for doubt on any document. Handwriting on old records might not be legible, birthdates get written down wrong, and journalists can be sloppy. 

In this timeline, I decided to designate confidence levels at times with qualitative comments. In many instances, I ignored same-name hits when I wasn't sure if it was the same Bobby Jack Fowler. I did that to avoid casting another same-named individual in a false light. 

If, while doing your own research, you find evidence that refines or enhances his timeline, be sure that you have convincing evidence that it's the same Bobby Jack Fowler.

June 12th, 1939 -- Bobby Jack Fowler is born in Merkel, Texas

August 13th, 1968 - Death of father, Selva Fowler

• If Bobby Jack Fowler attended his father's funeral, then he would have been in Thurston County, Washington around the time of his father's death

1969

• He was charged with murder in Texas but was only convicted of discharging a firearm within city limits.

October 19th, 1973 -- Possibly in Clearwater, British Columbia

• Gale Weys of Clearwater, British Columbia goes missing sometime after 10PM that night
• Bobby Jack Fowler is considered a suspect. The Vancouver Sun. May 20, 2014.
  
  Sat, Jul 18, 1981 – 12 · Edmonton Journal (Edmonton, Alberta, Canada) · Newspapers.com

November 6th/7th, 1973 -- Possibly in Kamloops, British Columbia

• RCMP believed as of May 2014 that Bobby Jack Fowler may have been responsible for the disappearance of Pamela Darlington in Kamloops, BC.
• Darlington went out at about 930pm on November 6th and was thought to be dead by about 4AM on the 7th
• There is a description of a vehicle that was driving strangely in the area (ie. it seemed to want to beat a train to a crossroads; see below)
  
  Sat, Sep 21, 1974 – 5 · The Province (Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada) · Newspapers.com

August 9th, 1974 -- in Lac La Hache

• Colleen Rae MacMillen of Lac La Hache went missing on August 9th, 1974. Bobby Jack Fowler's DNA is ultimately tied to her disappearance. Thus, he can be placed in the area as of the date of her disappearance. During this year he was working as a roofer with a company called Happy's Roofing in Prince George, BC. 

July 30th, 1983 -- in Iowa

• Bobby Jack Fowler threw gasoline on his neighbor's house and the neighbor and threatened to set a fire; he had a lighter in his possession but did not set the fire; he was found guilty of second-degree arson

March 1986 -- Paroled in Iowa

• April 18th, 1986 edition of The Des Moines Register under the headline "paroled in March" Bobby Jack Fowler of Van Buren, Iowa is listed as serving 2 years and 7 months of a 10-year sentence.
  
• That would put him in prison or custody from about August of 1983 to March of 1986
• Note, that if he is in custody from August 1983 until March 1986 then he would not be responsible for the abduction of Bambi Lynn Dick in October of 1983; nor would he be responsible for the murder of Kelly Disney is March of 1984; in both cases, there are writers who have suggested that Bobby Jack Fowler should be looked at

Paroled in March Fri, Apr 18, 1986 – Page 17 · The Des Moines Register (Des Moines, Iowa) · Newspapers.com

May 9th, 1991 -- mother dies

• Oma L. Fowler -- buried at Mills and Mills Memorial Park Tumwater, Thurston County, Washington USA
• Not sure if Bobby Jack Fowler attended

May 3rd, 1992 at around 1AM.

• A crime that Bobby Jack Fowler is thought to have committed occurs
• Sheila Swanson and Melissa Sanders are abducted from Newport, Oregon 
• Later, their bodies were discovered in a wooded area near Eddyville, Oregon

Jan 28th, 1995 at around 1AM.

• A crime that Bobby Jack Fowler is thought to have committed occurs
• Jennifer Esson and Kara Leas are last seen walking on NW 56th Street in Newport, Oregon toward Highway 101
• Their bodies are later discovered in a wooded area north of Newport

June 28th, 1995 at about 843pm

• The night of June 28th, 1995 was the beginning of the end of Bobby Jack Fowler's freedom 
• He was at the Tides Inn Motel in Newport, Oregon.
• A woman went to Fowler's hotel room voluntarily. 
• However, Fowler kept her there after she desired to leave. 
• The woman bit Fowler, jumped through a window, and survived a two-story fall. 
• Her account of events ended up landing Fowler with a sixteen-year sentence. I don't think he was ever free after this evening.

May 20th, 2006 -- Death

• Wikipedia is one source that says he died before May 20th, 2006. 
• For our purposes, it doesn't really matter which date is correct, May 15th or May 20th of 2006, because he was incarcerated and not capable of abducting people. 
• However, I think May 20th is correct because I did see documentation of Oregon deaths in an American Death Index. It said May 20th, 2006 as the date of death for Bobby Jack Fowler and a certificate number of 06-18074.