A 60-year-old North Whidbey man accused of child molestation and selling methamphetamines is wanted on a $500,000 bench warrant.
Judge Alan Hancock authorized the warrant Tuesday afternoon after John Cowan failed to appear for a hearing in Island County Superior Court.
Cowan was out of jail after posting the $50,000 bail that was set in a telephonic hearing. The Sheriff’s Office requested $250,000 bail. Typically, a defendant pays 10 percent to a bail bond company, which pays the rest.
Prosecutors charged John Cowan in Island County Superior Court Jan. 7 with four counts of child molestation in the first degree, one count of communication with a minor for immoral purposes, one count of possession with intent to manufacture methamphetamine and three counts of unlawful possession of a firearm in the first degree.
Island County Undersheriff Kelly Mauck said detectives are in the process of trying to find Cowan, who is likely on the lam in the face of a potential lengthy prison term.
“It’s definitely concerning to us,” he said.
Detective Ed Wallace said Cowan probably isn’t on Whidbey anymore.
“Some of our informants say he may have left the state,” Wallace said.
The investigation into Cowan was a joint venture by the Island County Sheriff’s Office and Oak Harbor Police. It culminated in a highly visible raid of Cowan’s home in the Rolling Hills development south of Oak Harbor Feb. 2. Investigators had Cowan under surveillance and pulled over his truck at Highway 20 and Boon Road.
Sgt. Tim Sterkel, the Oak Harbor Police drug enforcement officer, wrote in his report that a confidential informant purchased meth from Cowan. Based on the purchase, the detectives obtained a search warrant of Cowan’s Paul Avenue home.
On Feb. 2, officers executed the warrant and discovered more than $10,000 worth of suspected meth and several handguns, Sterkel said.
In a separate part of the investigation, Detective Sue Quandt with the Island County Sheriff’s Office looked into allegations that Cowan sexually molested an Oak Harbor girl multiple times when she was 9 and 10 years old, court records state.
According to court documents, Cowan was previously arrested for allegedly molesting a nine-year-old girl in Salt Lake City in 1984. His criminal history includes convictions for forcible sexual abuse in the second degree and three drug-related offenses in Utah, Quandt wrote.
If convicted of the current charges, Cowan would face from 12 years and five months to 16 years and six months in prison under the standard sentencing range.
Anyone with information on Cowan’s whereabouts should call the emergency dispatch center at 679-9567.
