NEW COLUMBIA, Pa. — Two-year-old Corey Edkin went missing from his home in New Columbia, Union County on October 13, 1986. Now 37 years later, a Mifflinburg man has been charged with Obstruction of Administration of Law.
54-year-old Henry Bush gave up his right to a preliminary hearing in district court on Tuesday. Investigators say Bush lied about his relationship with Corey's mother Debbie Mowery.
According to State Police, Corey was sleeping in his mother's bed before he went missing. Investigators say Mowery left the home in the middle of the night to get pizza, leaving Corey and his siblings with a roommate. When Mowery got home, Corey was not there.
A grand jury report reveals that Henry Bush spent an excessive amount of time with Debbie Mowery in the days before Corey's disappearance. Bush was 18 at the time. The grand jury report shows that in 2020 Bush told investigators that he was not romantically involved with Mowery back in 1986, but sometimes washed her car and mowed her lawn. Bush told investigators that he was not at Mowery's house at the time of Corey's disappearance.
But in the grand jury report, investigators reveal there was a fire in a burn barrel in Mowery's backyard the day after Corey went missing. The burn barrel contained torn children's clothing and one of Henry Bush's shirts.
According to court papers, when interviewed in 2020, Bush told investigators he had not had contact with Mowery for at least several days. He also said in 2020 that he could not remember if he stayed overnight at the home on the weekend when Corey disappeared. Then, a couple years later, Bush told the grand jury that he had lied to State Police about his relationship with Mowery.
Henry Bush is due back in court next month.
According to State Police, investigators believe a family member was involved in Corey Edkin's disappearance.
A $10,000 reward is being offered for information that solves this cold case. Corey Edkin would be 39 years old today. If you have any information on his disappearance, call State Police.