Felony charged reduced for former Fort Smith city internal auditor hire
Rebecca Cowan, 48, was previously accused of felony stalking in Oklahoma.
Court documents filed in LeFlore County say on March 15, 2023, a man identified as Cowan's husband received a notification on his phone that there was an Apple AirTag near him.
The man went to a friend's house, and they found the tag zip-tied under his truck.
Fort Smith human resources director retires amid internal auditor hiring controversy
Authorities later found that the AirTag was linked back to Cowan's phone number. The man said he was divorcing Cowan at the time and this was not the first time he had been tracked by her, according to the affidavit.
A detective with the LeFlore County Sheriff's Office spoke with Cowan over the phone to get her side of the story. Cowan said she only put an AirTag in her daughter's bag.
The detective tried to contact Cowan multiple times two weeks later, but she reportedly did not answer any of the calls, the affidavit said.
The husband's friend gave a statement detailing where they found the AirTag and said Cowan had a previous history of stalking.
Cowan was arrested in connection with that case in Sebastian County on June 7, 2024, and was transferred to LeFlore County on June 10, 2024.
Court records say on May 21, LeFlore County District Attorney Tim Webster filed to dismiss the felony stalking charge and added a misdemeanor violation of the Computer Crimes Act charge.
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Cowan is set to appear in court on July 2.
Cowan's time as the internal auditor for the City of Fort Smith was short-lived.
The Board of Directors appointed Cowan as the city's internal auditor on April 22, and she was set to start on May 27.
Days after her hiring, Cowan's stalking charge became public and, on April 24, the board voted in a special meeting to terminate the agreement between Cowan and the city.
A statement from a city spokesperson said that the city was aware of media reports concerning Cowan.
'The applicant disclosed references to ongoing legal issues as part of her application materials,' the spokesperson said.
Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
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