Stephen Glynn Bovard

Bovard, circa 1983; Bobby Joe Ferguson

  • Missing Since 01/31/1983
  • Missing From Zachary, Louisiana
  • Classification Endangered Missing
  • Sex Male
  • Race White
  • Date of Birth 07/23/1962 (61)
  • Age 20 years old
  • Height and Weight 5'6, 135 pounds
  • Clothing/Jewelry Description A gold chain and a white gold ring with a small diamond.
  • Distinguishing Characteristics Caucasian male. Brown hair, green eyes.

Details of Disappearance

Bovard was last seen at the home of a Zachary, Louisiana man, Bobby Joe Ferguson, on January 31, 1983. His parents, with whom he lived in the 17000 block of south Harrell's Ferry Road in Baton Rouge, Louisiana, reported him missing after he didn't come home for several days.

He has never been heard from again. On February 3, his truck was found abandoned and burned in the Tunica Hills northwest of St. Francisville, Louisiana.

A week before he vanished, Bovard had been arrested on drug charges. Police confiscated twelve grams of cocaine, 53 Quaalude tablets, one and a half pounds of marijuana, a .357 magnum pistol, and $5,000 in cash. He was facing a minimum of ten years in prison if convicted, unless he chose to cooperate with the investigation.

Investigators believe Bovard is dead, and issued a warrant for Ferguson's arrest for second-degree murder in the case, but Ferguson fled to avoid arrest. A photo of Ferguson is posted with this case summary. Another suspect, Morris Ronald Allen, in March 1983 and charged with being an accessory to second-degree murder after the fact.

Allen told investigators that on February 4, he'd helped Ferguson dump a carpet-wrapped body, weighted with two tire rims, in the Atchafalaya River at Highway 190 near Krotz Springs. He didn't see whose body it was, but saw an arm and knew it was a human body.

Authorities searched the Atchafalaya River with sonar and found an object which they thought was a body, but conditions prevented divers from recovering it. When police checked Ferguson's home, there was bloody on the wall and ceiling, and a section of carpet had been cut out.

Bovard was employed as a mechanic with Odom Offshore Surveys at the time of his disappearance; he'd worked there about a year. The outcome of the murder case is unknown, but foul play is suspected due to the circumstances involved.

Investigating Agency

  • East Baton Rouge Parish Sheriff's Office 225-389-5000

Updated 4 times since October 12, 2004. Last updated May 21, 2019; details of disappearance updated.