John Cowan’s status as fugitive from justice didn’t last long.

The morning after the accused child molester’s face was splashed all over TV news, Anacortes police quietly picked him up at a motel where he had been staying.

Cowan, 61, appeared in Island County Superior Court Wednesday afternoon. Judge Alan Hancock set his bail at $500,000 after hearing from attorneys and the mother of the alleged victim.

“I know him as well as he knows himself,” Kathleen Gonzales of Oak Harbor told the judge. “If you let him out of here today, you’ll never hear from him again and my daughter will have to live in fear.”

Prosecutors charged Cowan 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 or deliver methamphetamine, and three counts of unlawful possession of a firearm in the first degree.

If convicted of the current charges, Cowan could face up to 16 years and six months in prison under the standard sentencing range.

Cowan was supposed to appear in court Feb. 20, but didn’t show up. Hancock ordered a $500,000 bench warrant. The Island County Sheriff’s Office quickly sent out a press release to media organizations stating that Cowan “may be attempting to or has already fled the state.”

In court, Cowan’s public defense attorney, Frank Lockhart, offered a different story. He said Cowan didn’t intend to run from the law and his failure to show up in court was a simple misunderstanding.

Lockhart said Cowan doesn’t recall receiving the paperwork summoning him to appear in court on Jan. 20. Cowan had a heart attack while he was in jail, Lockhart said, and couldn’t return to his home in the Rolling Hills development near Oak Harbor because police had seized it.

To make matters worse, Cowan switched attorneys and his new attorney couldn’t reach him. Cowan had been staying at the inexpensive San Juan Motel in Anacortes. A woman had registered for him under her name, according to Anacortes Police.

“He had no intention of fleeing the jurisdiction,” Lockhart said. “He just wanted to get his heart medication.”

Lockhart requested that Cowan’s bail remain at the $50,000 that Judge Vickie Churchill originally set at a telephonic hearing Feb. 3, the day after the police raided Cowan’s home and allegedly found $10,000 worth of methamphetamines, court documents state.

While Detective Sue Quandt with the Sheriff’s Office requested $250,000 bail, Lockhart said Churchill set the bail at the lower amount because investigators hadn’t provided enough probable cause for all the crimes he was accused of committing.

Cowan got out of jail earlier this month after posting $50,000 bail.

Chief Criminal Prosecutor Andrea Vingo, however, argued that Cowan should be held on $500,000 bail, suggesting that he purposely went on the lam.

“He admitted that he knew a warrant was out for him because he was watching TV,” she said.

In ruling on the bail, Hancock pointed out that Cowan received the summons and the charging information, separately, while he was in jail, and it was his responsibility to attend the hearing.

Cowan is accused of sexually molesting an Oak Harbor girl multiple times when she was 9 and 10 years old, court records state. In addition, he’s accused of dealing meth and possessing handguns, which is illegal because he has a felony record, according to court documents.

Cowan’s criminal history includes convictions for forcible sexual abuse in the second degree and three drug-related offenses in Utah, court documents show.

Vingo also asked for a sexual assault protection order to keep Cowan away from the victim if he’s able to bail out. Hancock agreed.

An alert Anacortes police officer discovered Cowan at the motel. Bonnie Bowers, the administrative captain for the Anacortes Police, said Officer Leif Jacobson was following up on vehicle prowls from the night before in the area of the motel. He noticed a car parked at the motel that matched reports about Cowan.

Bowers said the officer got a photo of Cowan e-mailed to his laptop computer from KOMO News. He took the photo to the manager at the motel, who identified Cowan as one of the guests. Officers arrested him without incident.

“It was heads-up police work,” Bowers said.

After the hearing Wednesday, Gonzales spoke to TV reporters and described how her daughter has become withdrawn and depressed because of the assault. She said her daughter hasn’t been in school for a week because the girl and the rest of the family were afraid after Cowan was out on bail.

Gonzales said she had considered Cowan a good friend and was shocked when her daughter confided that the older man had molested her.

“How many other little girls did he do this to?” she said.

You can reach News-Times reporter Jessie Stensland at jstensland@whidbeynews

times.com or call 675-6611.