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shawn hornbeck
shawn hornbeck
Police searching a suburban St. Louis home for a boy missing since Monday found him and made an even more startling discovery — a 15-year-old boy missing for more than four years, authorities said Friday.
The stunning development came when both 13-year-old Ben Ownby and 15-year-old Shawn Hornbeck were found at an apartment in Kirkwood, miles from the rural locations where the boys disappeared clash of the choirs years apart.
Franklin County Sheriff Gary Toelke called the discovery â€Sgood, unbelievable news” at a news conference on Friday.
The key to finding the boys was a beat-up white pickup truck spotted by a schoolmate of Ben’s who got off the bus at the same time. The friend saw the pickup speeding away about the time Ben vanished from the gravel road near his home.
â€SWithout that, we might not be here today,” Akers said on Saturday.
On Thursday night, Kirkwood city police officers were serving a warrant on an apartment complex when they noticed a white truck matching the description. They contacted the Franklin County Sheriff’s Department and determined where the owner of the truck was, then searched Devlin’s home Friday and found the boys.
There were no immediate details about what police found inside the apartment, or how the boys might have been detained. Toelke said authorities were still trying to learn the motive behind the abductions. Franklin County Prosecutor Robert Parks said more charges are likely.
It is great news to hear not only that Ben was found but also that Shawn was as well. In many cases of missing children, the longer the child is missing, the harder it becomes to find them. Some times the children are murdered, other times they have Thelma & Louise by accident, but often they are still alive. It only takes the efforts of concerned, attentive people to rescue children.
Little information is known about the boys kidnapper Michael Devlin. From what has been released to the press, he was relatively liked and few people knew, let alone suspected, that he had kidnapped Shawn or Ben.
It wasnt as if Devlin was some anonymous drifter. He was bryan spears St. Louis. Some of his family members live in town. He was a 1984 graduate of Webster Groves High School. He worked at an Imos pizza parlor in Kirkwood.
Devlins family said they were bewildered by the news, saying Friday they had no idea that Shawn was living with Devlin.
It was a mystery, too, why Shawn hid with Devlin and did not try to contact his family. Devlins co-worker at the Imos, who didnt want to be identified by name, said a boy called the restaurant early Friday afternoon and said he was looking for Devlin.
What is particularly surprising in the brazen manner in which Devlin kept the boys. They were not that far away from their homes. It was however released earlier that Devlin had threaten to kill Shawn if he told anyone. While I do not wish to speculate as to the reason why Devlin kidnapped both boys, their situation bears a resemblance to Stephen Stayners kidnapping and abuse. To date, Devlin has only been charged with kidnapping, though as more details about Devlins activities come out, he will likely face more charges. Even if he has not abused either Ben or nielsen research this man deserves to spent a long time in prison. Hopefully he will not be given the slap on the wrist Stephens abuser was.
For more information about missing children please revisit The National Center for Missing and Exploited Children
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Post je objavljen 22.12.2007. u 01:32 sati.