By: Shane Lambert
Original time of writing: March 18th, 2025
Unraveling the Trail of Bobby Jack Fowler: A Suspected Serial Killer’s Hidden Years in Beaufort County
In the annals of American crime, few figures cast as dark and elusive a shadow as Bobby Jack Fowler, a suspected serial killer whose violent spree spanned decades and countries. Although his country of birth was the USA, Bobby Jack Fowler (BJF), is as much a dark figure in that country as he is north of the border in Canada. In this blog post, I will attempt to convince the reader that there is a chance (and not just a remote one) that he disappeared a teenager in South Carolina, in addition to his already known crimes.
Diving Into Bobby Jack Fowler's Whereabouts
Born on June 12th, 1939, in Texas, Fowler’s criminal history is a mixture of confirmed and suspected murders. Yet, there is a critical gap in his timeline, meaning not enough is known about the whereabouts of this individual. Between parole in March 1986 and the 1992 murders of two girls in Oregon, BJF's whereabouts are generally only speculated on.
I decided to investigate this gap in his timeline, the one between March 1986 and May 1992. I believe he can be placed in Beaufort County, South Carolina. His Wikipedia page, without any supporting links, does say he spent time in South Carolina. Have a look at the following two newspaper clippings. Note that they both include an address.
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| February 14th, 1990. The Beaufort Gazette. |
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| September 2nd, 1987. The Island Packet. |
Summary of the Two Beaufort County Clippings
On August 28th, 1987, someone named Bobby Jack Fowler, aged 48, was arrested in Beaufort County and charged with public disorderly conduct, as reported by The Island Packet. His address was listed as 95 Mathews Drive, Hilton Head.
A second incident, documented in The Beaufort Gazette on February 14th, 1990, cites the name "Bobby J. Fowler," for a DUI. The date range for a license suspension is December 14th, 1989, until June 14th, 1990.
Can These Citations Be Authenticated as Bobby Jack Fowler (BJF), the serial killer?
The two articles above are interesting. The one from The Island Packet lists BJF by first, middle, and last name with perfectly corresponding spelling. It also includes his age, which is strong evidence that we are talking about BJF, the serial killer, and not just a same-name match.
The other article omits the middle name but uses a middle initial. However, the two clippings are linked via an address -- almost. One lists 95 Mathews Drive while the other lists 95 Matthews Drive (ie. one 't' in Mathews vs. 2 't's). Phonetically, the two addresses sound the same and are probably one and the same address and the two newspaper clippings involve the same person.
In fact, I do believe the clippings both reference the serial killer, placing him in Beaufort County over the long term. The exact spelling match and his age match BJF. He was presumably at the 'address' from August 1987 to December 1989 and maybe even longer.
This hypothesis raises critical questions. One question I would like to look at is the missing people in and around Beaufort County who fit the profile of his murder victims. As of March 18th, 2015, I do think I've found a missing person who might be linked to BJF's 'address' the night she went missing. But first, let's look at the profile of BJF's victims.
Profile of Bobby Jack Fowler’s Female Murder Victims
Bobby Jack Fowler, a suspected serial killer active from the 1970s to 1990s, targeted young adults and upper teens who were women. Gale Weys (19), Pamela Darlington (19), and Colleen MacMillen (16) are three Canadian women that he is thought to have killed, with DNA evidence linking him to the latter. He targeted hitchhikers but not exclusively.
BJF's suspected murders also include Sheila Swanson (19) and Melissa Sanders (17), who disappeared on May 3rd, 1992, at Oregon’s Beverly Beach State Park. They were later found dead.
Meanwhile, Jennifer Esson (16) and Kara Leas (16), vanished on January 28th, 1995. All of these cases show that he targeted young adults and teens close to adulthood.
He had other attacks like his 1969 Texas attack and his 1995 Tides Inn assault, These highlight his violent pattern. These were also attacks against women. But looking at the other victims or assumed victims, it's clear that he targeted teenage females.
Next, let's look at a missing teenage female near his 'address.' She might have been walking his way the night she disappeared.
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The Disappearance of Kristina Joanne Porco: A Summary
The following summary uses general facts regarding Kristina Joanne Porco's case with details to follow.
Kristina Joanne Porco, a 16-year-old resident of Hilton Head Island, Beaufort County, South Carolina, vanished under mysterious circumstances on Saturday, November 29th, 1986. This is a case that has gone unsolved for nearly four decades as her missing person profile at NamUs remains active.
Kristina lived with her family at the Woodlake Villas condominium complex on Hilton Head. On the night she disappeared, Saturday, November 29th, she was wearing light blue jeans, an orange sweatshirt, and white sneakers. After a curfew-related argument around 10:30 pm, Kristina stormed out of the family’s residence taking no extra clothes, money, or belongings beyond what she was wearing.
Shortly after leaving, Kristina made a phone call to a friend from a nearby phone booth, asking if she could spend the night. The friend’s mother refused, leaving Kristina without a safe place to go.
During this phone call, Kristina mentioned she might sleep by the apartment complex’s pool. There was also some kind of exchange where Kristina noted a taxi passing by slowly.
Concerned, her friend went to the pool to check on her at some point a little later. She would only a red sweater, which most have associated with Kristina.
The teenager went missing and has not been seen or heard from again. At one point, she was considered a runaway. However, NamUs uses "FOUL PLAY SUSPECTED" in her profile, with their use of all caps.
Kristina Joanne Porco: Case Details
The 'average' description of Kristina's missing person case online does not jive for some of the journalism at the time of her disappearance. For example, Kristina was reportedly seen after the phone call with her friend.
One detail I found in researching her case was that Kristina was last seen on Sunday, November 30th, in the area of Port Royal Plaza. I took that to mean she left the pool area of the apartment complex for some reason, possibly because the cab creeped her out. The following snippet comes from the December 8th, 1986 edition of The Island Packet.
That she was reportedly seen on Sunday, November 30th, does not mean she survived the night. After leaving home at 10:30pm, a change of date would be just 90 minutes later.
Technically, her last seen date appears to be November 30th, not November 29th. But her November 30th sighting could be the very early minutes or very early hours of Sunday, November 30th.
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| March 19th, 1987. The Island Packet. Reconfirms that Port Royal Plaza is relevant |
Now for the Bombshell
The article above says she was in the Port Royal Plaza area. Importantly, that is basically Bobby Jack Fowler's 95 Mathews Drive address as per the articles posted earlier.
He gave an address of 95 Mathews Drive when arrested. When I researched this address from that time frame, "95 Mathews Drive" returned links to advertisements for businesses at Port Royal Plaza. I selected four ads below to show the address is linked to a shopping mall or district but could have selected dozens.
So Bobby Jack Fowler, Known to be a Transient, Lives in a Parking Lot?
Why does Bobby Jack Fowler give an address that matches a shopping district when dealing with the law? How does this make sense? Does Bobby Jack Fowler live in a business? Is he renting a room above one? Is he working with staff accommodation provided? This latter scenario is more common with remote jobs, not ones in urban areas.
I can see why the reader might be confused because, for a time, I was. But then I remembered that Bobby Jack Fowler was a transient.
I would suggest that what makes the most sense is simply that he's living in a vehicle after his parole. 95 Mathews Drive, his published address alongside his citation, is the parking lot of the Port Royal Plaza shopping center and that's where he parks his car.
People living in vehicles in parking lots are by no means unheard of. I would think that the only way to make sense of BJF's address is that he doesn't have a real one -- except for the parking lot. It could be that he had to give an address when confronted with the legal situations in the newspaper clippings.
The address of the parking lot where he lived in his car may have been the only thing he could provide. When confronted with everything factual, this is the most reasonable scenario I could conjecture.
Proposed Timeline and Events for Joanne Porco
- She leaves home at 10:30pm on November 29th, 1986.
- Kristina goes toward a friend's place and phones her from a payphone.
- The mother of the friend denies Kristina entry. the 16-year-old decides she will sleep by a pool.
- Joanne changes her mind, finding the area too sketchy, and is fearful of a 'lurking' cab.
- Her friend checks on her well-being but finds that she is gone.
- Presumably, Kristina went for a walk.
- Reportedly, she was spotted in the area of Port Royal Plaza on November 30th, which could mean she was spotted in the early minutes or early hours of the day.
- If she is determined not to go home, then she is now looking for a place to sleep and/or is dependent on the kindness of strangers.
- In my proposed timeline, she doesn't meet a kind stranger in a parking lot on Saturday night/Sunday morning.
- Instead, I think she is abducted and presumably murdered with Bobby Jack Fowler linkable to the parking lot she is seen in.
Critical Assessment of the Timeline: Educated Guess as Opposed to Confirmed Fact
As for logical reasoning, there are problems with this timeline. I can't prove Bobby Jack Fowler was in the parking lot the night Joanne disappeared. All I can do is show an association with the address of the parking lot -- and that association is several months later.
Furthermore, I do rely on Wikipedia stating that he had associations with South Carolina. Anyone can edit Wikipedia, which is the problem with using it as a source. It's known that pranksters sometimes target the site.
However, I will say that he was associated with the same parking lot over the long term. The first association is in 1987 and the second is in 1989.
It seems like he was living in some kind of vehicle or maybe a tent for quite a long time at 95 Mathews Drive. Based on that, I don't think I am being liberal in suggesting that he might have been there the night Kristina disappeared, even if the newspaper clipping is dated several months after.
As for using Wikipedia, all I can say is I don't think people generally write things there arbitrarily or as pranks. The information is generally true.
On another matter, there is that lurking taxi cab to think about. Did the driver abduct her?
In my opinion, the taxi is a red herring for two reasons. Mainly, Joanne was reportedly spotted at Port Royal Plaza. As long as someone didn't just arbitrarily report that, it means she survived the scene by the pool and retained her freedoms at that point.
Secondly, I have a "take it or leave it" opinion. I don't think the taxi was 'lurking' at all. I think the taxi driver is just wondering if this young woman on the phone might be a customer. Taxis lurk around people who might need a ride all the time as nothing more than just an attempt to get some revenue. We've all had taxi drivers watching our footsteps in public.
Conclusion: Be Aware of Bobby Jack Fowler When Looking at Joanne Porco
Joanne's age, sex, and vulnerability do align with Bobby Jack Fowler's preferred victims. She was 16 and female, just like some of the other ones associated with his profile. Furthermore, I know a lot of his assumed victims were Caucasian, like Joanne.
Last, but certainly not least, Joanne was reported to be at BJF's 'home' as her last known location. That is true if you agree that his use of 95 Mathews Drive, which is nothing more than a business complex, as his address meant that he was living in a parking lot in the time frame following his parole release. There's nothing unbelievable about that as he is described as a transient in numerous sources.
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