Lt. Fred Corral, watch commander for Los Angeles County Coroner's Investigation Division, said Bowman — who lived in the Detroit area from 1995 until last February — was found dead in his motel room at the Budget Inn at 12:06 p.m. PST. It is not known whether his death was accidental or suicide, Corral said. An autopsy is planned for today.

Bowman's mother, Joyce, told the Detroit Free Press: "He just passed away in his sleep. His friend told me that he was fine. He just went to bed and didn't wake up."

Bowman, a former child actor, won two U.S. men's figure skating titles, in 1989 and 1992, and was a two-time medalist at the world championships. Bowman also competed at the 1988 and 1992 Winter Olympics, where he finished seventh and fourth, respectively.

Figure skating coach Richard Callaghan of the Onyx-Suburban Skating Academy in Rochester Hills, Mich., said he received a phone call last night from Japan from Todd Eldredge telling him about Bowman's death.

Bowman and Eldredge, who won six U.S. men's titles from 1990 to 2002, were rivals in the early 1990s.

"When Todd told me, I said, `What a shame,"' Callaghan said. "Christopher was such a nice person. Even though he was troubled, he was very genuine and friendly. There was a great rivalry between Christopher and Todd because they were so opposite. Christopher was always on; he was the star when it came to doing any competitions. Most of us didn't know how he did it, but he did."

During periods of his adult life, Bowman was indeed troubled. He admitted to having a cocaine habit during his career, and he checked into the Betty Ford Center before the 1988 Olympic Games.

Then in 2005, while in Michigan, Bowman was sentenced to 18 months' probation for a misdemeanor involving having a gun while drunk. He also was ordered by 52nd District Judge Nancy Carniak to perform community service and undergo substance-abuse and mental-health counseling.

Bowman originally had been charged in October 2004 with felonious assault and aiming a firearm without malice at his girlfriend, April Freeman, in Lake Orion. Both charges were dismissed.

"After the gun incident, he was with me and got into treatment for his bipolar disorder," Freeman told the Free Press yesterday. "I know him. I know he's been through a terrible time. I stood by him because I knew he loved me. He is the kindest, most caring and lost person I ever met."

Though Bowman, who coached figure skating at several Detroit area clubs, moved back to California in February 2007, he returned to Michigan when he could. Bowman and his ex-wife, Annette Bowman, have a daughter.

Born in Hollywood, Calif., on March 30, 1967, Bowman had a part in the TV series "Little House on the Prairie" for one season and appeared in dozens of commercials.

Recently, Bowman had returned to acting. He plays an assistant coach in the upcoming motion picture "Down and Distance," starring Gary Busey.

Freeman said she had been scheduled to fly to L.A. to meet with Bowman this morning. She said she last spoke with him Wednesday night.