How could a mother in her 30s and her teenage daughter vanish from their New Hampshire home, never to be seen again?
That’s what happened to Tina Sinclair and her 15-year-old daughter, Bethany, who were last seen together at their home in West Chesterfield, N.H., over the weekend of Feb. 3 and 4 in 2001.
They had been living with Tina Sinclair’s boyfriend, Eugene Van Bowman, at 182 Mountain Road, then an isolated dirt road next to the Connecticut River.
On Friday, Feb. 2, Tina went to her job, and Bethany went to school. Then they disappeared.
Authorities first learned they were missing when Keene High School told police that Bethany had missed several days of school, the Brattleboro Reformer reported in February 2001.
A female had left a message on the school’s voicemail on Feb. 5, saying that Bethany was sick, the newspaper reported.
“The message has been destroyed, but officials are working on a ‘phone dump’ to trace incoming calls that morning,” the newspaper reported.
Bowman told police he had fought with Tina Sinclair the night before they vanished. He said he left the house after their argument and that Sinclair and her daughter were gone when he returned, the Associated Press reported at the time.
The Sinclairs’ cat was still at Bowman’s house, and Tina Sinclair’s car was still parked there, according to media reports at the time.
At the time of their disappearance, Bowman was facing criminal charges for allegedly sexually assaulting a young girl a decade earlier.
Sinclair’s niece told the Brattleboro Reformer that her aunt had been upset with Bowman about a development in that court case.
Bowman was ultimately convicted of three counts of aggravated felonious sexual assault on a victim under 13 years old. He was sentenced to two to 15 years in state prison, records show.
In May 2001, Sinclair’s mother, Mary Lewis, told the Associated Press that her daughter’s relationship with Bowman had been stormy and feared that her daughter and granddaughter were “probably dead.”
She recounted one incident in which Bowman may have tried to set Sinclair on fire, she said.
“She came over drenched in kerosene,” Lewis said in the interview. “He poured kerosene all over her.”
The Associated Press reported that the incident was reported to police but there was no record that Sinclair ever sought court protection against Bowman. In fact, Bowman had filed a restraining order against Sinclair the previous July.
“Tina is very unstable and gets very physically violent,” Bowman wrote in a court affidavit. “I fear a physical attack.” A Keene District Court judge issued a temporary restraining order against Sinclair on July 3, 2000, but Bowman withdrew the order three weeks later, the Associated Press reported.
Bowman, 67, has been out of prison since 2007 and still lives in West Chesterfield, about five miles from the riverfront property on Mountain Road where he once lived with Tina and Bethany Sinclair.
That home was torn down in 2008, and a new house now stands on the property, overlooking the river.
Bowman is currently registered as a sex offender, as he’s required to do under New Hampshire law.
Reached by phone, Bowman declined to comment.
He has not been named a suspect in the case, nor has anyone else, said Michael S. Garrity, a spokesperson for the New Hampshire Department of Justice.
“At this time, the NH Cold Case Unit has not named a suspect in this case,” Garrity said by email.
Tina and Bethany Sinclair remain missing, 25 years later.
“Despite extensive searches conducted over the past two decades, including operations at their former residence and diving operations in the Connecticut River, their whereabouts remain unknown,” officials said in a statement in February.
In June 2014, authorities searched an area near the Vernon Dam in Hinsdale, N.H., as part of the investigation.
“While dives have been conducted on the Connecticut River in the past, new techniques, training, and resources gained in past years have made it possible to search additional areas not previously accessible to searchers,” officials said at the time.
February marked the 25th anniversary of the Sinclairs’ disappearance, and officials said cold case investigators are using the latest technology to reexamine evidence and pursue new leads.
“Time can be an adversary in an investigation, but it can also be an ally,” Senior Assistant Attorney General R. Christopher Knowles, chief of the cold case unit, said in a statement in February. “Over a quarter century, relationships change, friendships fade, and the weight of a secret can become too heavy to carry. We know there are people who have information about that night in February 2001. We are asking them to finally break their silence and help bring answers to a family that has waited far too long.”
The family of Tina and Bethany Sinclair also released a statement, noting that Tina, 34 at the time of her disappearance, would be turning 60 this year. Bethany would be turning 41.
“Time has passed and life has moved on for so many of us,” the family said. “Tina and Bethany remain in our hearts and memories; however, there are so many unanswered questions. Where did they go on that cold February night 25 years ago? Does anyone know? Does anyone remember anything that may help us solve this cold case and end the heartache?
“If you can contribute anything, no matter how minor you think it may be, please reach out to the New Hampshire Cold Case unit. On behalf of the family friends and loved ones of Tina and Bethany, we thank you for anything that you can do to help us find the answers.”
Anyone who has information that could help the investigation is urged to contact the Cold Case Unit by phone at 603-271-2663, by email at coldcaseunit@dos.nh.gov, or by submitting a tip online using this form.
Emily Sweeney can be reached at emily.sweeney@globe.com. Follow her @emilysweeney and on Instagram @emilysweeney22.