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."