Jake Kennedy, Terry Halifax and Lynn Lau
Northern News Services

Yellowknife (Oct 07/02) - Residents of Inuvik are shocked after learning an American who had been living in the community for about a month is a "person of interest" in connection with the murder of a family in the U.S. in August.

"He was an excellent guy. He did a lot of work for us, and he did a great job," said Loretta Dicks of Inuvik, who hired the man to install a linoleum floor in her apartment.

When she heard the man was wanted for questioning on the triple homicide, Dicks found it hard to believe he would be capable of murder.

"I don't think he would do that."

Garrison (Gary) Storm Bowman, 66, is being held in police custody under the Immigration Act, and is awaiting questioning over the deaths of three people near Bassett, Virginia, said Sgt. Phil Johnson of the RCMP.

Michael Short, 50, and wife Mary Short, 36, were found dead in their home, each with a gunshot wound to their head, on Aug. 15.

Their nine-year-old daughter, Jessica, was missing and became the subject of a nationwide search as police believed she had been kidnapped. Human remains found about one kilometre from Bowman's home were identified by DNA Friday as Jennifer Short.

Bowman's home is about 50 kilometres from the Short's home.

Johnson said that although Bowman is being detained for questioning in the three murders, "he's not considered a suspect yet."

"He wasn't a bad guy," said Jess Fletcher, a lot attendant at Norcan Auto Leasing Ltd., who had spent the past month driving Bowman around Inuvik to pick up building materials.

Sherrif Sam Page, of Rockingham County where Bowman lived, said Saturday that his department, as well as law enforcement officials from Virginia and the FBI, were making arrangements to come to Yellowknife to question Bowman.

"We feel we need to talk to him," Page said.

"We're considering him a witness to the murders that we need to interview."

Johnson said the RCMP have not yet been asked to provide assistance, such as gathering evidence, but they have talked to people in Inuvik to find people that may have known him in the month he spent there.

Johnson said he did not want to speculate on why Bowman was in Inuvik, but he said the RCMP were unaware of Bowman having any family connection to the area.

Page said American enforcement officials were tipped off to Bowman's whereabouts by a relative that had made contact with him.

Authorities had begun looking for Bowman in late August, after a search of his mobile home in Rockingham County turned up a map on which the community around the Short home was marked.

Bowman was last seen on Aug. 16, the day after Michael and Mary Short had been found dead in their home.

According to two search warrants obtained by Northern News Services, Rockingham County officials conducted two searches of Bowman's property, about a month apart.

The search warrants were based on statements given to investigators by Gary Lemons, Bowman's landlord.

On Aug. 13, according to the warrant, Bowman called Lemons to ask if he would move a mobile home. He told Lemons he'd already paid a man in Virginia to move it, but the man wouldn't do it.

According to the warrant, if the man didn't complete the job, or return his money, Bowman said he would have to kill the man.

The Shorts owned a mobile home moving business.

On Aug. 15 -- the day the Shorts' bodies were found -- Lemons went to Bowman's house. Lemons said Bowman came around the corner of the house, holding a pistol and told Lemons to leave.

The next day, the Shorts were found shot in the head with a small calibre weapon.

The same day as that the Shorts were found, Lemons returned to Bowman's house to find it abandoned, with the front door of the house wide open.

Bowman appeared again on Aug. 31, in Fort McPherson, where he was arrested and charged with impaired driving after allegedly crashing his car on a turn on the Dempster highway.

Randy Gurlock, a spokesperson for Citizenship and Immigration Canada, said a hearing will be held early this week, possibly today or Tuesday, to determine if Bowman should be deported back to the U.S. or not.

"Our job here is to determine if a person is in Canada legally or illegally, and if it's appropriate to deport the person to another country," he said.

Under Virginia law, anyone convicted of multiple homicides faces a possible death sentence.