DETROIT – Nearly seven months after authorities found 15-year-old Lawrence “Low” Dowl dead at Mt. Hazel Cemetery on Detroit’s west side, his family says they are still waiting for answers — and they’re worried his case is growing cold.
His mother reported Dowl missing on Aug. 12, 2025, after leaving his west side home with a friend for what was supposed to be a quick trip to the store. His family says he had no reason to run away and immediately told Detroit police something was wrong.
“It’s really unexplainable. I don’t think I can really explain that. It’s hard to deal with,” said his sister, Nakiya Coles. “He was just a kid.”
In the days after Dowl disappeared, relatives say tips started pouring in — many pointing them toward Mt. Hazel Cemetery and the area behind the Detroit Service Learning Academy and nearby park.
“I got some calls, two from a girl specifically, telling me that he was behind DSLA or that he was in the park or at the cemetery,” said his aunt, Lamisha Pullom.
Frustrated with what they describe as a lack of urgency, the family organized their own searches, canvassing the neighborhood, handing out flyers and combing the woods near the cemetery.
“We had organized our search ourselves because they never took it seriously,” Pullom said. “We were knocking on doors, passing out flyers in the woods. They were feeling like we were getting ahead of the search.”
Dowl was later found dead in the cemetery. The family disputes the widely shared account that someone visiting a grave stumbled upon his body, saying they directed investigators to the area after receiving calls.
“I walked over there and I told the lead detective face to face that I had got the phone call and that they said it was here,” Pullom said. “We sent them here because we were actively basically questioning the neighborhood ourselves.”
The family is also questioning why an AMBER Alert was never issued, especially after they say they made it clear to police that Dowl was not a runaway.
“An AMBER Alert should have been put out,” Pullom said. “Something should have been put out so that either his life could have been saved or we would have been able to get the evidence we need right now to convict the guys that they have because it’s lack of evidence.”
Coles said she never felt a sense of urgency from investigators.
“No,” she said when asked if police treated the case with urgency. “I feel like they stereotyped him from day one.”
Detroit police confirmed to Local 4 that Dowl’s death remains an active investigation. A department spokesperson said it could not discuss potential motives or specific evidence but did confirm that two people are currently in custody on unrelated charges.
Pullom says the family has been told those two individuals were with Dowl the night he disappeared and were captured on video at a Green Light gas station.
“For some reasons, you know, DPD is not pushing it forward,” Pullom said. “We’re not getting no justice. It’s like, to me, they’re treating it like a young gang-related thing. He wasn’t in a gang.”
The family says they’ve also never been shown the anonymous tip information or had Dowl’s aunt’s phone — which was receiving many of those calls and texts — taken as evidence.
“For my phone to get all the tips, I didn’t understand why my phone wasn’t at least taken, or [why they didn’t look at] who were the people that was calling or texting my phone,” Pullom said.
As they press for answers, Dowl’s loved ones are trying to keep his memory at the center of the conversation.
“He was very, very loved,” Pullom said. “He had family, he had grandmother, he has grandfather, he has siblings, he have aunts, he has uncles, he is a father, he has a mom. His little brothers and stuff look up to him. My kids, his little cousins look up to him.”
Coles said she misses her brother’s energy most.
“His laughing, dancing… his laugh,” she said, fighting back tears.
Seven months later, they say they can’t bring him back — but they refuse to let his case fade.
“We all want answers for our kids. This could be anybody’s 15-year-old,” Pullom said. “We can’t bring him back, but we just want to go forward. We at least want some justice served.”
Detroit police are asking anyone with information about the case to reach out to the Homicide Unit at (313) 596-2260, CrimeStoppers or Detroit Rewards TV.