Body Positively IDed as Missing Mother of Three

(UnitedVoice.com) – Two years ago, on August 13, 2021, Olivia Samantha Fowler was seen walking along a road in Meriwether County, Georgia. She was reported missing the next day. Now, her family finally has some answers.

On August 22, the Meriwether County Sheriff’s Department announced they identified remains as belonging to Fowler. The remains were found on December 16, 2022, in a rural part of the county. The remains were sent to the Georgia Bureau of Investigation Crime Lab. The state sent samples off to the FBI’s lab in Quantico, Virginia, which led to the positive identification.

Olivia was 26 years old when she suddenly disappeared. Last year, Roxanne Fowler told NBC’s “Dateline” that her sister spent the night with her boyfriend the night before she went missing. That boyfriend told her family that he’d last seen her before he went to bed, but when he woke up on August 13, she was gone.

The remains of Georgia's mother Olivia Samantha Fowler, missing for over two years, were identified using DNA technology.

The investigation is ongoing, cause of death is undisclosed. The family requests privacy to grieve. #Theft #CrimeNews pic.twitter.com/gpOjo0WqHJ

— US-Crimes (@OfficialUScrime) August 24, 2023

Around 10 a.m. that day, an officer with the Georgia Department of Natural Resources spotted Olivia walking. Roxanne said she believed her sister was headed to a part of town called The Cove. On August 14, she said her mother called her and asked if she’d heard from Olivia. Roxanne told her mom she had not spoken to her sister. Their mother told her that her father had been looking for Olivia.

Olivia’s cousin reported her missing on August 14, 2021. The family went on to create a social media campaign to try to bring her home but were unsuccessful.

Meriwether Chief Deputy Byron Hadley told Dateline that the department had carried out more than 20 search warrants in relation to the case and had looked for her in multiple states and counties. They’d also carried out searches by land, air, and with K-9s.

Law enforcement has not ruled the death a homicide but believes it is suspicious. Olivia was the mother of three children. Her cousin has custody of the kids.