News & Politics - Two missing boys found alive

**blueschild007** · 01-12-2007, 09:34 PM

This really is amazing. I live in St. Louis, Missouri and Kirkwood is not that far from where I live. Its a miracle that not only Ben but Shawn who has been missing for years, has been found.

Quote:

Days after an Amber Alert was issued for 13-year-old William "Ben" Ownby, he has been found alive-and years after one was issued for Shawn Hornbeck, he, too, has been found alive. Advertisement

They were found in an apartment in Kirkwood.

At a news conference, police said they had charged 41-year-old Michael J. Devlin of Kirkwood with one count of kidnapping.

2 Kirkwood police officers were in the area of the apartment when they saw a truck that matched the description of one seen leaving the area where Ownby was last seen. Geoff Hadler, a neighbor who called police to the neighborhood, had called because they had heard screaming in the area recently. He also took pictures of the truck in the parking lot.

The search began Monday afternoon, when Ben disappeared shortly after getting off a school bus near Beaufort, Missouri, in Franklin County. Another teen who was with him saw a white truck with a camper shell speeding away from the area. Police had been searching for the truck, and were following up on more than 500 leads.

Ownby's parents made an impassioned plea for his safe return Thursday evening. They created flyers to post around the area, hoping for his return, but knowing that each passing hour decreased the odds that he'd be found safely.

In 2002, Shawn Hornbeck left his Richwoods, Missouri home around 1:15 on a sunny, Sunday afternoon on his bike to visit a friend. No one had seen him since, until Friday. When he was brought to the area, NewsChannel 5's Cordell Whitlock, on the scene, said someone yelled out that it was indeed Shawn, and the crowd broke out into applause.

Shawn and Ben both were taken to the Franklin County Sheriff's Department Friday.

The F.B.I. joined the Missouri Highway Patrol and the Franklin County Sheriff's Department in the investigation, and they were joined in the search by fire departments, National Guard troops, and volunteers

Mitch Holt was the last person who'd seen Ben Ownby before his disappearance. His mother told NewsChannel 5's Cordell Whitlock that they hadn't yet seen either boy, and they were elated that the boys were found.

Mitch told NewsChannel 5, "It feels really good, that not just one life was saved, but two." He also said it was the first time he'd ever seen the truck." Later, he added, "I'm going to keep a closer eye on Ben."

Amazingly, it's the second time in recent months an Amber Alert in Franklin County has ended with the successful return of a child. Abby Woods, just a few days old, had been abducted from her home. She was found with another woman, who was subsequently charged with kidnapping her. Abby Woods was unharmed. from ksdk.com

rose parade · 01-12-2007, 10:40 PM

blueschild007, thank you for posting this. I live in St. Louis also, south city.

I'm still in shock about Shawn being found. It all just feels really surreal. The car was also spotted on Kingshighway and Vandavender, I pass by that part of the street everyday on the way to school. (I go to SLU) Wow, and the Kirkwood police department, I'm so very proud.

**blueschild007** · 01-12-2007, 11:04 PM

I live in the Affton district. Kirkwood really isnt that far away from me. To think that Michael J. Devlin has been living there with Shawn this whole time is terrible. I it hadnt been for him going after Ben Shawn might of never been found.

Ive seen shawn face almost every day. At my work ( I work at schnucks) they have his face on the bench outside. Its nice to know that will be coming down.

**Rainstorm Jenny** · 01-12-2007, 11:14 PM

I also live in st.louis and Im so glad that they found both boys alive, such a sick man and not smart at all.

rose parade · 01-12-2007, 11:22 PM

I'm just so happy for the families.

**Rainstorm Jenny** · 01-12-2007, 11:56 PM

Me too, and I cant even believe what Shawn went through, that poor boy.

Justwatchin' · 01-13-2007, 03:45 PM

This really was good news and ironic that apparently the kidnapper lived only an hour away from where one of the boy's parents did.

-Kelly- · 01-13-2007, 10:58 PM

That's awful but I'm so glad that they're back with their family

**Rainstorm Jenny** · 01-15-2007, 11:15 PM

The story is on the news everywhere, the kid Ben is suppose to be on Oprah soon.

rose parade · 01-16-2007, 04:03 PM

Shawn Hornbeck will be on Oprah tommarow.

-Kelly- · 01-18-2007, 10:26 PM

Quote:

Kidnapped boy sent family cryptic message

By Joe Harris in Missouri

January 19, 2007 12:25pm
Article from: Agence France-Presse

A TEENAGE boy whose parents believe he was sexually abused during a four-year kidnap ordeal in the US said today he sent them a cryptic internet message in a desperate plea for help.

Appearing on Oprah Winfrey's talk show just days after he was discovered by Missouri police, Shawn Hornbeck, 15, confirmed he was the one who sent an online message to his parents' website asking how long they would search for their missing son.

"I was hoping it might give some kind of hint," a subdued Shawn said in an interview with Winfrey.

His stepfather said he remembered the message but did not suspect it was from his son.

The message was signed by a Shawn Devlin, the last name of the man who is accused of kidnapping the boy while he was riding his bike to a friend's house in Missouri.

Michael Devlin, 41, has been charged with kidnapping Shawn at gunpoint and he is also accused in the kidnapping of another boy, 13-year-old Ben Ownby, who was missing for four days.

In a case that has generated intense media attention, police unexpectedly discovered Shawn last week as they were searching for Ben Ownby at Devlin's suburban St Louis apartment.

Shawn confirmed he had written another message to his parents' website saying he would "like to write a poem about your son".

The boy said that "hope and praying" helped carry him through his ordeal, and that he never gave up on the idea that he might one day be reunited with his family.

"I prayed to God that one day I would be back with my family," he said, sitting on a couch with his parents by his side. "I crossed myself every night."

Under rules agreed with the family, Winfrey did not ask Shawn on camera why he had not tried to directly contact his parents despite the relative freedom he was granted while in captivity.

But Winfrey said she asked the boy off-camera, and his reply was that he had not because he was "terrified".

Shawn said he had spent much of his time in captivity sleeping, watching television and playing video games.

He said he invented a story and stuck to it when speaking to his neighbours and friends about his background, telling them he did not attend school because he was supposedly being educated at home.

"That was the story," he said.

He said he had access to television, telephones and the internet and had "some freedom" but did not elaborate. And he said he could not bring himself to watch television news because "seeing stories about other missing kids would upset me because I had been there".

Smiling, he said he was looking forward to returning to school, fixing cars and spending time with his family.

"It's very comforting knowing that I'm back with my family. But then I've missed out on a lot of stuff," saying he had missed seeing his nephew speak his first words and learn to walk.

In the same interview, his parents, Craig and Pam Akers, nodded when asked if they thought their son had been sexually abused.

They said they would not press their son about what happened during his captivity and that counsellors had advised them to allow the boy to tell them on his own when he was ready.

"The last thing we want to do is put him through any more mental anguish," said Mr Akers in the emotional interview.

The couple, from Richwoods in Missouri, said they did not know if Shawn had been tortured but he had clearly undergone psychological trauma.

"There is more than one kind of torture. There's mental torture, there's physical torture," Mr Akers said.

"I have no doubt that mentally he's not the same boy he was."

The boy's mother acknowledged the 11-year-old boy who went missing four years ago was now a much older, much different person.

"Definitely not the little boy that I had at 11. There's going to be a lot of adjustments," she said.

"We just won't let him out of our sight. He's not quite understanding that yet. I can tell that there is a lot on his mind," she said.

Mrs Akers said her first words to her son after four years were "I love you" and "you're home".

Meanwhile, the accused kidnapper pleaded not guilty today in the second case involving the younger boy, Ben Ownby, of Beaufort, Missouri.

Prosecutors alleged Devlin had confessed to the kidnapping when he was taken into custody but his defence lawyers argued he must be presumed innocent.

WOW

lizzie2000 · 01-19-2007, 12:48 PM

as a person who is studying essentially the crime world and also kidnappings i can say that this story had a very happy ending and i am so glad that both boys were able to return home to their parents, the long hard road they face now is of course going to be hard, but it is better than finding them dead or not finding them at all.

as for being able tohave freedom, yes teh kidnapper may have giving him a ton of freedom but that doesnt mean he was still terrified, of course there waspsychological abuse, if not also sexual abuse and who knows there might have been some brainwashing also.

i did not know about the cyptic mesages but that is definately a different side to the story than i expected, but i am glad to know theboy wantedto be found and attempted to mkae contact

rose parade · 01-19-2007, 03:16 PM

I feel like things are getting kinda out of hand. Did anyone catch Oprah? I thought she shouldnt have asked some of those questions to Shawn. He looked so uncomfortable throughout the whole thing and I really think it was too soon.

lizzie2000 · 01-19-2007, 06:15 PM

i definatley agree that this whole thing was way to soon to be on oprah, i understand why she wanted it, she does the whole big thing with predators and here are 2 boys that went missing and were found alive, that rarely happens, but they should be spending time with their family, getting reaquainted and workingthrough the issues before they go on national tv to discuss what happened and how their life was less than a weekago.

so i didnt watch oprah but that is just my opinion

***Enigma*** · 01-22-2007, 10:40 AM

I thought Oprah was really respectful when she did the interviews.


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