Police are constructing a timeline in the deaths of two children and the abuse of a third in a case that spans several Maryland counties.

Montgomery County (web|news) Police have said that they believe the Renee Bowman's two adopted daughters have been dead since at least last fall and the bodies may have been moved several times. Lt. Paul Starks of the Montgomery County police says investigators are working on the premise that Bowman's daughters were killed while the family was living in Rockville. Bowman's former landlord there has told police the family moved away in November.

Montgomery County police began digging in the backyard of Bowman's former Aspen Hill home, as investigators in D.C. and Maryland fanned out to delve into all aspects her life. 
 

Bowman is being held on child abuse charges in Calvert County after she allegedly admitted to abusing one of her adopted daughters and storing the bodies of two others in a freezer for months.

Hovering over the scene in Aspen Hill, NewsChopper 7 captured pictures of what appeared to be officers digging and a cadaver dog.

Investigators say the dog indicated it was interested in something at that spot, but ultimately police found no remains in the house or grounds of the Montgomery County home.

Capt. Parry Walker of Montgomery County Police said that they dogs "gave us kind of a mixed signal... So that's why we dug into the ground but we didn't find anything."

Bowman lived at the home in 13100 block of Vandalia Drive in Aspen Hill until February, when she moved to Calvert County. Investigators say Bowman told them she had put two of her adopted daughters' bodies in the freezer before moving to Calvert County.

Neighbors say no one has lived in the rental home since Bowman moved out.

Autopsies on the two bodies found inside the freezer were scheduled for Tuesday. The results have not been released.

In the District, officials at the D.C. Child and Family Services agency reportedly spent the entire day in meetings related to the case. They are looking into whether proper procedures were followed in the adoptions of Bowman's three children.

Mayor Adrian Fenty said the investigation is ongoing.

"The child welfare system at the time had a number of different things that were supposed to have been done, that they did. Whether they did everything, that's probably too early to say," Fenty said.

The Board of Child Care, the private company which performed the background check on Bowman, has an office in Southeast D.C. No one returned phone calls seeking comment on the matter on Tuesday.

The investigation also leads to the District and its child welfare agency. The question many are asking is how or why Bowman was approved as an adoptive parent. There are reports she had financial issues, a bankruptcy, and even a criminal record at the time.

A D.C. court approved the adoptions and D.C. forwarded Bowman $2,400 a month in federal monies for parents who adopt children with special needs.

The general counsel for D.C. Child and Family Services said Tuesday there were no follow-up requirements for Bowman to keep receiving the money after the adoptions went through. But the agency's requirements specifically indicate there must be proof the children are registered in school for the payments to continue. Clarification for the apparent discrepancy was not immediately available.

Investigators have also questioned Bowman's longtime boyfriend, Jim Dickerson, who spent time at both the Aspen Hill and the Lusby houses. Investigators say he is not considered a suspect.

Neighbors say they had little contact with him

"He'd be sitting out there on the steps on his cell phone, and he'd wave and, of course, I'd acknowledge him back, you know. That was about it," recalled Bill Sears, a neighbor in Calvert County.

Maryland Department of Human Resources -- which oversees cases of child abuse and neglect in the state -- reports it has conducted a comprehensive review of the case and found no complaints connected to Renee Bowman.

Bowman's third adopted daughter, who escaped from the Lusby home Friday, triggering the investigation, remains at Children's Hospital. She could be released as early as Thursday, officials said. She will be placed in foster care.