Philip Cowan's murder investigation continues

On March 25, 2001, Hawke's Bay cannabis dealer Philip Cowan vanished in central Wellington. It is thought he was murdered.

A year on, a dedicated team of investigators working out of Wellington Central Police Station has not forgotten. They will not give up, they are certain they will recover Mr Cowan's body and nail his killer.

Mr Cowan left his Flaxmere, Hastings, home on the morning of Wednesday, March 21, 2001. He drove a silver Nissan Sunny -- registration NA 670 -- and arrived in Wellington later that day.

He began visiting people; some of them friends, some of them customers and some of them both. That night, and those following, he stayed with several different people. On Saturday evening, he attended a 21st birthday party in suburban Island Bay.

Mr Cowan was seen "crashed" on the sofa at the party some time between 3am and 4am on Sunday. At some stage that morning he left, driving to a house in Mt Victoria to collect large blue plastic barrels of cannabis.

About midday he travelled to Makara, 10km west of central Wellington, where he met friends and attended a fair, spending a few hours there before heading back to town.

The last known sighting of Mr Cowan was about 4.30pm at an Abel Smith St, Te Aro, commercial cleaning business. People there said he left. He has not been seen since.

Mr Cowan was expected back in Hawke's Bay early the next week but never showed up. Yet it was not until late May that a missing person report was filed; his transient lifestyle meant he could be away for long stretches before friends and family became concerned.

In June, Hawke's Bay police were tipped off that Mr Cowan's disappearance might be the result of foul play. Soon after, a connection was made between Mr Cowan and a silver Nissan found dumped in Kittyhawk Rd, Bulls, the last weekend in March.

It was his car but was not registered in his name. Blood, later identified as Mr Cowan's, was inside. Its ignition barrel had been tampered with and the passenger door interfered with.

A stepped-up missing person inquiry was launched in June. By September police had decided he'd been murdered and his body disposed of.

In the past year, police have interviewed almost 200 people in connection with the case. They have searched his Flaxmere flat and the central Wellington cleaning business.

Several search warrants have been executed and officers have scoured his cannabis plots in Hawke's Bay. All to no avail.

Investigation head Wellington Detective Senior Sergeant Steve Vaughan put a $50,000 price tag on the killer's head with a reward for information leading to a conviction. And he is not about to give up.

"Some people have said he's just a drug dealer, why are you bothering. He was a person who had a lot of mates who really liked him ... But first and foremost, he was a son that his parents loved. He loved his parents and we don't know where he is. We really want to give them the gift of closure."

Mr Cowan was a talented designer. He was a deep thinker, described as philosophical and spiritual, and wrote poetry. He enjoyed his own company as much as that of others.

He also had an entrepreneurial streak, putting his talents to use in cannabis dealing -- it is believed he had up to $150,000 on him when he disappeared -- and personalised plate investment.

A desire to collect number plates connected to German car manufacturer Volkswagen led to the Operation Veedub name for the police investigation.

"If the people who are responsible for his death believe a 12-month timeframe between his disappearance and them not being arrested equals an inability for police to ever arrest them, then they're mistaken," Mr Vaughan warned today.

"It might not be today and it might not be tomorrow but we will make an arrest and we will reunite Phil with his parents ... I can't imagine being a parent and not having that sense of closure."

- NZPA