Investigators still searching 2 years after Penn Hills twins reported missing

PENN HILLS, Pa. — For two years, the Penn Hills police have tracked down tips, trying to figure out what happened to the Fowler twins.

Ivon and Inisha Fowler have not been seen in more than a decade, and the only woman who may have the answers isn't talking.

It started two years ago, when Penn Hills Police Det. Leo Johe went to a home in Penn Hills to conduct a welfare check.

“I figured it was a simple misunderstanding, and when we first talked to her, she was great. She invited us in the house showed us around and said, ‘Here's all the information,’” Johe told Target 11 investigator Rick Earle.

Patricia Fowler told Johe her twins had gone to live with relatives down south. Police investigated and did not find any evidence to back that up. They brought Fowler in for questioning, and her story changed.

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“At one point, she said she sold them,” Johe said. "After a few minutes, we told her that's not something she should have done. She changed her mind and she said, ‘Well, then I didn't sell them.’”

Police filed several charges against Fowler, including endangering the welfare of children. Last year, a judge dismissed most of the charges. Fowler was able to plead guilty to two misdemeanors and was given credit for time served and released from jail.

Police say they still get tips about the twins.

"Every day, I glance at something," Johe told Target 11. "People still ask what's going on with it. We still get leads. Not as many as we used to, but we still get them and we're still looking."

Target 11 tried to track down Patricia Fowler. We found her mother instead. She told us she has no idea where Fowler is now, and said she had not seen the Ivon and Inisha in years.

They were born in 1998 and will turn 20 in October. The last time relatives remember seeing them, they were just two or three years old. Ivon was in the hospital at the time for an accidental hot water burn.

“I sure do want to know the truth, but if she don't want to tell it, that's up to her,” said Fowler's mother. “I turned it over to God, so it's in God's hands.”

Johe just wants answers, and knows Fowler could be the key to the case.

“Our main concern is just finding these kids, and making sure they're OK or finding out what happened to them,” he said. “So the family and their relatives can have closure on this, one way or another.”

Cox Media Group