Wasilla man arrested for kidnapping two girls in North Pole

ANCHORAGE — Law enforcement officials are asking for help in identifying possible victims after an alleged kidnapping involving a Wasilla man in North Pole earlier this month.

Michael D. Bowen Jr., 40, faces a single count of kidnapping in U.S. District Court in Anchorage after authorities say he grabbed two girls, ages 7 and 9, off of Santa Claus Lane on Aug. 1. He allegedly drove several miles down the road with them in his truck before ultimately letting them go near where he found them, federal court documents show.

According to an affidavit filed on Monday, the girls told authorities they were returning home from Safeway when a man grabbed them from behind off of their bicycles and locked them in his pick-up, then tossed their bikes in the back of the truck.

When the girls did not return home as expected, their parents made several attempts to call the older girl on a cell phone, but were unable to reach her. Bowen first prevented the girl from answering her phone, then took it away from her. He later told investigators he threw it out the window.

The girls remembered several details about the truck, including a small American flag hanging from the windshield.

After seizing the girls, Bowen allegedly drove south on the Richardson Highway. One of the girls told her captor that her father worked with the police.

FBI agents used video cameras to track the truck via security footage, and eventually tracked Bowen’s Dodge Ram to the parking lot along Van Horn Road, where they spotted an American flag hanging from the rearview mirror. The girls also later identified Bowen in photo arrays, according to law enforcement officials

Asked about the incident, Bowen first denied being present in the area, then admitted to abducting them and putting them in his truck and driving toward the nearby community of Salcha, according to an affidavit written by FBI Agent Derik Stone.

“Bowen believed the girls were too young to be out there on their own,” Stone wrote. “When asked what he thought the parents would think when the girls didn’t come home, Bowen said if they were his kids, he would think that they were dead at the bottom of a lake. Bowen said he wanted to teach the girls’ parents a lesson. Bowen admitted that he knew what he did was wrong and further stated that he did it once and he would likely do it again.”

The FBI is asking for anyone with information about the truck to call (907) 276-4441 or local police with information.

Contact Brian O’Connor at 352-2269, brian.oconnor@frontiersman.com, or on Twitter @reporterbriano.