Pubdate: Wed, 19 Sep 2001
Source: Dominion, The (New Zealand)
Page: 13, second edition
Copyright: 2001 The Dominion
Contact:  http://www.inl.co.nz/wnl/dominion/index.html
Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/128
Author: Sarah Prestwood

PARENTS IN ANGUISH, POLICE PERPLEXED

The Disappearence Of A Small-time Drug Dealer May Not Elicit Public 
Sympathy, But It's Got Police Worried, Writes Sarah Prestwood

Police Believe Someone Visited Phil's Cannabis Plots After His 
Disappearance Because Some Of The Plants Have Gone

INSIDE the Taradale home of Simon and Catherine Cowan sits a corner 
cabinet, designed and carefully carved by their son, Phil. The intricate 
piece of furniture is a constant reminder of their son's desire to be 
anything but ordinary.

"Phil could have designed something easy, like a coffee table or chair, but 
he chose to make a three-cornered cabinet instead. It was just part of his 
nature to do something different," says Mr Cowan.

Life for the Cowans has changed irrecoverably since Phil, 26, went missing 
in March. The small-time Flaxmere drug dealer was last seen alive in 
Wellington on March 25. Described as a drifter, with a fondness for poetry 
and hitch-hikers, he mysteriously disappeared the same month that his 80 
cannabis plants were due to be harvested. Last month, police upgraded the 
inquiry to a homicide. But the trail is still cold.

His family now believe he has been murdered, but say they haven't 
completely given up hope that one day he might turn up for the evening meal.

"On one hand we do think when he's ready he might just return, but the 
reality is that there's been no movement of his financial transactions. 
Police say it looks more like a homicide and I now share that conclusion," 
Mr Cowan says.

Until there's concrete evidence, however, the family are left in an 
emotional limbo. "It really is difficult to put into words what it's like. 
You're just left in this sort of hiatus, feeling completely numb," he says.

A natural-born wanderer, Phil lived a transient lifestyle, moving from one 
group of friends to another. Earning a living as a small-time drug dealer, 
he routinely travelled from his Flaxmere home to Wellington, selling 
cannabis to business people, students and friends.

Growing up in suburban Napier, his father an accountant, his mother a 
school teacher, and the middle son, he was a diligent school student who 
achieved an A bursary and a scholarship in graphic design. His father 
describes him as a compassionate person and a perfectionist.

A deep thinker, Phil wrote poetry and short stories that he would send to 
publishing companies, each time unsuccessfully. But his intellectual side 
contrasted with his scruffy appearance and inability to cope with a "nine 
to five" work environment, Mr Cowan says.

"He'd let his hair grow really long then all of a sudden he'd just decide 
to completely cut it off. It was Jekyll and Hyde kind of stuff."

He would often disappear for long periods, buying a Combi van and 
travelling around the South Island, even going "bush" at one time.

After completing the seventh form in Napier he moved to Wellington to study 
graphic design, but was unable to cope with the regimentation of the 
university curriculum, Mr Cowan says.

Two years ago, he moved to Flaxmere where he launched his cannabis career, 
growing and selling marijuana to supplement his income. He became known to 
police and had faced drug possession charges.

Mr Cowan says he knew his son smoked marijuana and their relationship 
became strained as the pair would often debate the issue of legalising 
cannabis. Phil would still visit his parents every few weeks, but it was 
six weeks after he failed to return from a week in Wellington that alarm 
bells were raised.

Phil is now presumed dead, and the only clue police have is his 
blood-stained car, discovered in Bulls one week later. The blood has been 
confirmed as belonging to him.

Detective Senior Sergeant Steve Vaughan, head of the police inquiry, 
Operation Veedub, says Phil's nomadic lifestyle has made the inquiry difficult.

His life mainly revolved around 80 cannabis plants in the Gwavas Forest, 
near Tikokino, 20 minutes' walk from a forestry road.

Phil learnt the ropes from his silent business partner, who was said to be 
responsible for a snare and armed booby traps discovered throughout the 
growing area. The drug-dealing operation is estimated to have been worth 
tens of thousands of dollars, however Mr Vaughan says: "Often dealers 
reputations can be bigger than their ability or client base."

Phil's lifestyle showed few signs of material wealth. He had no possessions 
and lived in a modest two-bedroom house in Flaxmere with his Canadian 
tourist girlfriend, whom he had picked up two months earlier when she was 
hitch-hiking.

Police believe Mr Cowan drove to Wellington from Flaxmere sometime between 
March 19 and March 21 to sell drugs, attend a party, and, most importantly, 
collect money that he was owed. On the night before his disappearance he 
attended a 21st birthday party in Island Bay, but details of his last few 
hours are sketchy. On Sunday morning he drove to a fair in Makara, where he 
caught up with two friends. He then returned to Wellington at about 4.30pm 
and was supposed to drive back to Hawke's Bay. That was the last time he 
was seen.

HIS bank account, containing his unemployment benefit, has not been touched 
since March 19. A regular cellphone user, no calls have been made from his 
phone since March 25.

One week later, his car was found abandoned on a residential street near 
the Ohakea air force base accommodation in Bulls. The ignition barrel had 
been removed. Police believe the car was either stolen or made to look like 
it was taken from Wellington.

By the time police discovered the crops it was more than four months after 
the plants should have been harvested. Police believe someone visited the 
site after Phil's disappearance because some of the plants have gone.

A "significant" amount of money was owed to Phil, and this remains the 
strongest motive for his killing, Mr Vaughan says. More than 12 people owed 
him money at the time of his disappearance, as he often lent money to 
associates or handed over drugs without payment, Mr Vaughan says.

At the time of his disappearance he had cut back his dope smoking, 
according to friends. Mr Vaughan says there is a remote possibility Phil 
was killed by a hitch-hiker, because he often picked up travellers between 
Wellington and Hawke's Bay.

Investigating the death of a drug dealer doesn't raise as much public 
sympathy as some other inquiries, Mr Vaughan says, but adds: "While people 
might have objections to the growing and distribution of cannabis, you 
can't get away from the fact that Phil Cowan was someone's son, brother and 
friend. He's a person who had a right to live just like anyone else."
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