ARCHIVED ARTICLE: Man Thought To Be With Missing Girl Found Dead - 5/23/2006

Man Thought To Be With Missing Girl Found Dead
May 23 2006 12:00AM
http://www.ap.org

Associated Press

Minot, N.D. - A man who police thought was with a missing 3-year-old girl was found dead in a van at a wildlife refuge Tuesday, but authorities said there was no sign of the girl.

Police Capt. Al Hanson said the body of Leigh Cowen, 22, was found inside the van on a gravel road at the Upper Souris National Wildlife Refuge northwest of Minot early Tuesday afternoon. The body was sent to the state medical examiner in Bismarck to determine a cause of death, but Hanson said Cowen appeared to have killed himself by carbon monoxide poisoning.

Hanson said authorities searched the area for 3-year-old Reachelle Smith, who was last seen the night of May 16.

"At this point, there's no indication that the girl was around that area," he said.

Authorities had thought Reachelle was with Cowen, a man who had been living with her aunt, the child's legal guardian. Hanson said authorities were looking for evidence at the site where Cowen's body was found to see if the girl had been with him.

The Patrol issued an Amber Alert for Reachelle after she was reported missing Monday by her aunt. Police said Cowen had been living with the child's aunt and his mother sometimes looked after her in Minot.

The 3-year-old was put to bed at about 10:30 p.m. on May 16 at her home, Minot Police Sgt. Winston Black said. "The following day, she was nowhere to be found," he said.

Cowen said the girl had been staying with his mother, but police said his mother had moved to Derby, Kan., within the past few days, and they had contacted her.

Reachelle Smith is described as white, about 3-foot-4 and weighs about 40 pounds, authorities said. She has brown eyes and straight, light brown hair.State officials said Cowen was on probation for theft of property in Ward County and was being supervised in Fargo when he failed to report in as required. A warrant was issued last month for his arrest on charges of violating his probation.

The Amber Alert program is named for Amber Hagerman, a 9-year-old girl who was kidnapped and murdered in her hometown of Arlington, Texas.