SUMTER COUNTY, Fla. (WFLA) – Sumter County deputies announced Wednesday that “Little Miss Lake Panasofkee” has been identified as a Tampa woman, nearly 55 years after her murder.
Investigators said they used advanced latent print analysis to identify “Little Miss Lake Panasofke” as 21-year-old Maureen L. Miner-Loward, known to friends and family as “Cookie.”
On February 19, 1971, Sumter County deputies discovered the badly decomposed body of a woman floating in Shady Brook Creek in Lake Panasofkee, beneath the Interstate 75 overpass.
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Investigators said the woman was found wrapped in a carpet with a leather belt around her neck. Police believe the woman was thrown off the overpass about a month ago.
Throughout the investigation, Sumter County deputies worked with multiple agencies and laboratories to try to identify the woman. However, “the condition of her body was problematic to provide a viable profile.”
The sheriff’s office said multiple persons of interest were interviewed and numerous missing persons cases were compared and ruled out.
This case was also featured in “Unsolved Mysteries” in 1992. Deputies say they received numerous calls regarding the incident, but no information identifying the victims.
“What we recently learned is that someone saw the cookie and thought it might be her, but no one called,” the deputies said.
On October 1, investigators were finally able to identify “Little Miss Lake Panasofkee” as Cookie.
At or around the time of her murder, her known address was on Windermere Way in Tampa.
The Sumter County Sheriff’s Office announced that they have identified the person of interest in the case, her estranged husband Charles Emery Rowan Sr. (also known as “Emery”).
“We have learned that Cookie and Charles Emery Rowan had a turbulent marriage and were living apart right up until the time of her death. Emery’s actions and behavior leading up to their separation and continuing after Cookie’s body was discovered are suspicious enough to warrant a person of interest, but not to the point where we would like to formally identify him as a suspect,” the agents said.
Emery passed away in 2015, but investigators are still appealing to the public for information to bring justice to Cookie and her family.
Deputies said the couple has ties to Gainesville, Tampa, Jacksonville and Enigma, Georgia.
“If you know them at all, please call our tip line at 352-569-1915 or email SumterTips@SumterCountySheriff.org. As always, if you would like to remain anonymous and receive your reward, please call Crimeline at 1-800-423-TIPS,” Sumter County Deputies said.
