Bobby Jack Fowler was born on June 12, 1939, to Selva "Mutt" Fowler and Oma Lee (Hathaway) Fowler. He was the second of three children. His older brother, Walter, was born in 1934, and his younger sister, Susan, came along in 1950. Tragically, both Walter and Susan passed away in 2004, just two years before Bobby himself died. During their childhood, Bobby and his siblings endured physical abuse from their parents.

In his early adulthood, Bobby married Theresa Patton on March 6, 1959. Together, they had five children: Johnny, Janey, Pam, Loretta, and Randell. However, Bobby's life took a darker turn with two arrests in 1969, leading to significant changes. His marriage to Theresa ended in divorce on May 17, 1971.

Bobby Jack Fowler was a wandering construction worker known for his extensive travels across North America. His journeys took him to places like British Columbia, Florida, Iowa, Louisiana, Texas, Oregon, South Carolina, Arizona, Tennessee, and Washington state. Along the way, he amassed a significant criminal record and committed several violent crimes. Fowler was known to abuse alcohol, amphetamines, and methamphetamines, and his criminal record included charges such as attempted murder, sexual assault, and firearms offenses.

In 1969, Fowler was charged with the murder of a man and woman in Texas but was only convicted of discharging a firearm within city limits. He also spent time in a Tennessee prison for sexual assault and attempted murder. One investigator recounted a particularly brutal incident where Fowler tied a woman up, beat her severely with her own belt, covered her with brush, and left her to die.

Fowler had a habit of traveling in old cars, picking up hitchhikers, and frequenting bars and motels. He believed that women he met while hitchhiking or in bars were willing targets for sexual assault.

Fowler is suspected of being involved in at least 16 murders in British Columbia and Oregon, with crimes dating back to 1969. He was a key suspect in the Royal Canadian Mounted Police (RCMP) project E-Pana, which investigated several unsolved murders. His DNA was found on the body of Colleen MacMillen, a victim in one of these cases. Fowler is also strongly suspected of killing Gale Weys and Pamela Darlington in 1973. The RCMP believe he may have killed up to ten other victims, and possibly as many as 20.

Many potential victims, including those murdered and missing along the Highway of Tears, are thought to be linked to Fowler. However, some murders occurred after Fowler's imprisonment in 1996, leading geographic profiler Kim Rossmo to believe Fowler was not responsible for deaths along Highway 16 between 1989 and 2006. Fowler's only known connection to the area was working for a roofing company in Prince George in 1974.

On May 3, 1992, Sheila Swanson and Melissa Sanders were last seen near Beverly Beach State Park in Oregon. Their bodies were discovered months later in a wooded area. Fowler's violent streak continued until his arrest on June 28, 1995, after a woman escaped from him by jumping out of a motel window with a rope tied to her ankle. This incident led to his conviction for multiple charges, including kidnapping, attempted rape, and sexual abuse. He was sentenced to over 16 years in prison.

In 2012, the RCMP and Lincoln County District Attorney named Fowler as a suspect in three of the E-Pana murders, based on DNA evidence. Fowler died of lung cancer in May 2006 while serving his sentence in Oregon State Penitentiary. His body was cremated.