The inquest revealed that Nottinghamshire Police initially assumed Bowman was still alive and "drunk somewhere," leading to a delay in finding him. This assumption was criticized by the Assistant Coroner as "unconscious bias" due to Bowman's background.
Bowman's daughter, Corrina, expressed the profound impact of not knowing what happened to her father on her mental health, leading to a suicide attempt. The inquest concluded that it was impossible to determine the exact cause of Bowman's death due to the advanced state of decomposition of his body. Four possible medical explanations were given: hypothermia, positional asphyxia, drug or alcohol use, and liver disease.
The coroner plans to issue a Regulation 28 report to the College of Policing to prevent future deaths, and recorded an open conclusion. The family hopes the case will lead to changes in how police handle missing persons cases, especially those involving individuals with vulnerabilities such as addiction.
Nottinghamshire Police stated that lessons will be learned from the case, while South Yorkshire Police acknowledged some learning points from their internal investigation. Det Supt Eleanor Welsh from South Yorkshire Police noted that the learnings have been shared across the force and implemented in teams.