Missing boy (s) found alive after 4 years [Archive]

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sr71blackbird

01-13-2007, 01:55 AM

<a href="http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20070113/ap_on_re_us/boys_found" target="_blank">Linkeroo</a> Shawn Hornbeck and Ben Ownby disappeared 4 1/2 years and 40 miles apart. Police were stunned to find both boys — alive and apparently well — in the same suburban St. Louis apartment. A neighbor said the FBI came to his door Thursday night and showed a picture of Ben, asking if he had seen him. He said he had not. But he had seen a boy he now believes was Hornbeck. He said he saw no evidence that the boy now believed to be Hornbeck was scared or trying to get away. He had seen Devlin and the teen pitch a tent in the courtyard. On another occasion, he found the boy's cell phone and returned it to him.  "I didn't see or hear anything odd or unusual from the apartment," Butler said. "I just figured them for father and son."The two disappearances had similarities. Both boys seemed to vanish without a trace, both from quiet rural areas. Richwoods is about 50 miles southwest of St. Louis, in Washington County. Beaufort is about 60 miles from the city, and about 40 miles north of Richwoods. Shawn Hornbeck, now 15, disappeared from his rural home when he was 11. He went for a bike ride and never returned. After being reunited with their families, both boys were taken to SSM Cardinal Glennon Children's Hospital in St. Louis for evaluation. Hospital spokesman Bob Davidson said both were in good spirits."The boys were smiling and appeared very pleased to be with their families," Davidson said. "Obviously the families were incredibly tickled to have the boys back. It's a thrilling night."   It looks like the boys were taken around 11 years old and are now 15.  Details in the rest of the story give me an impression that these boys were not fully held against their will.  Read it and give your impression and thoughts.

This message was edited by sr71blackbird on 1-15-07 @ 10:22 AM

Reephdweller

01-13-2007, 04:59 AM

They both weren't held for four years. One of them has been missing for about a week now and there's been a national search with amber alerts and whatnot. The other boy became a cold case file pretty much. It's a miracle they found them and they are relatively ok. We'll see if that changes as they do further testing on them. I'm just glad they're safe and back with their families.

Jughead

01-13-2007, 05:18 AM

This is a good thread we need some GOOD NEWS!!!For a change!!!!

A.J.

01-13-2007, 06:29 AM

He had seen Devlin and the teen pitch a tent in the courtyard. "Huh huh huh huh."<img src="http://www.wisopinion.com/blogs/uploaded_images/BeavisButthead-711924.jpg" border="0" width="315" height="240" />

silera

01-13-2007, 06:39 AM

I love happy endings!...

terry1979

01-13-2007, 06:44 AM

silera wrote: I love happy endings!...<img src="http://moblog.co.uk/blogs/319/moblog_7903eebc92ba7.jpg" border="0" width="516" height="387" />

terry1979

01-13-2007, 06:44 AM

silera wrote: I love happy endings!...<img src="http://moblog.co.uk/blogs/319/moblog_7903eebc92ba7.jpg" border="0" width="516" height="387" />

Reephdweller

01-13-2007, 08:35 AM

I just watched the replay of the family of the boy who was missing for 4 years press conference. What a moving thing that was to see.

Crippler

01-13-2007, 09:26 AM

It'll be interesting to see, as this story unfolds, why the 15 year old seemed to have been making no effort to escape, etc.  Neighbors seemed to think they were father & son & everything seemed normal, etc.  Like blackbird said, they didn't seem to be held against their will, was the "kidnapper" someone they knew & trusted?  And even if he was, how do you convince an 11 year old that they're never going to see mommy & daddy again & get them to be ok with it.Happy ending (barring any mental damage) but a wierd story that we definitely haven't heard the end of.

FUNKMAN

01-13-2007, 09:29 AM

Missing boys found alive after 4 yearsif you hold any value towards human life then you have to get a " feel good " feeling about this one when so many more of these "missing children/people" occurrences end up tragically

Fezticle98

01-13-2007, 09:39 AM

Crippler wrote: It'll be interesting to see, as this story unfolds, why the 15 year old seemed to have been making no effort to escape, etc.  Neighbors seemed to think they were father & son & everything seemed normal, etc.  Like blackbird said, they didn't seem to be held against their will, was the "kidnapper" someone they knew & trusted?  And even if he was, how do you convince an 11 year old that they're never going to see mommy & daddy again & get them to be ok with it.Happy ending (barring any mental damage) but a wierd story that we definitely haven't heard the end of.It's not that simple. Clearly this man held extreme emotional and physical power over this kid who was 11 when he kidnapped him. I'm sure the kid was there against his will and missed his parents, but the mental and physical abuse probably warped his mind.Why do battered women still love their abusive husbands and refuse to leave them? That's an adult, this kid was only 11.

Team_Ramrod

01-13-2007, 10:08 AM

This IS a great story....on the surface. How is this boy's relationship with his parents going to be? He's going back to a new family again. What if the kidnapper had brainwashed the kid into thinking the parents didn't want the kid? What if the kid was told they were dead? What if the kidnapper had abused the boy?This is a happy ending at first glance but this experience may have damaged the poor boy for life.  I hope not but to be kidnapped at 11 years old and not alert anyone of the situation there must have been some form of manipulation going on.

johnniewalker

01-13-2007, 10:13 AM

Same as above.  This kid is going to be really messed up.  It wouldn't be too surprising to see him in jail for doing something horrible in time.  Its like Christopher Walken in the Deer Hunter, but at age 11.  It sucks and not much the parents can do. 

AcolyteAndy

01-13-2007, 04:27 PM

I'm glad they were found. heard the news on ABC radio on my way to work. I'm not sure the media should of used thier names and pictures. It seems to me there is a high chance they may of been sexual abused. 4 years is a LONG time and God only knows what happened. This case reminds of the NBC TV Movie My Name is Steven from 1989(based on the actual case), where the boy was kidnapped at 7(and sexual abused him) and lived with the his kidnapper until his mid to late teens. He only got discovered when the kidnapper kidnapped another younger kid and Steven brought him to the police.As for what happens after, in Steven's case he was bullied and teased at school and called a fag.(that seems happen in alot of cases where it's publicly discovered a boy was sexually abused) He got married after high school and married someone and lived in a trailer park and died later on when he hit by a car.As for why the older kid didnt run away and escape, neither did Steven as a teen. The emotional effect of abuse on a kid defies rational thinking. We'll never know whyBoth boys in this case are gonna need our prayers and lots of threapy.

sr71blackbird

01-15-2007, 06:26 AM

<a href="http://www.thisislondon.co.uk/news/article-23381735-details/Kidnapper+told+boy+his+parents+did+not+want+him/article.do" target="_blank">More on the boy</a> It looks like the boy was told that his parents did not want him, and he believed it, even though he saw his own "missing" poster on a park bench and saw on TV that he was being sought.  This Stockholm Syndome must be a powerful thing.  This kid had many opportunities to escape.  Reminds me of that Smart girl and that other girl in Europe..

AKA

01-16-2007, 04:59 AM

AcolyteAndy wrote: in Steven's case he was bullied and teased at school and called a fag.(that seems happen in alot of cases where it's publicly discovered a boy was sexually abused) He got married after high school and married someone and lived in a trailer park and died later on when he hit by a car.Steven Stayner was on the road to leading a normal life - he was married and had kids at the time of the accident (which was within a year after the t.v. movies were on). He was 24. Unfortunately the oddness with that case didn't end with Steven's death - his older brother, Cary Stayner, who was tramatized by his brother's abduction and even return - and later his death - is now on death row after being convicted of killing four women in Yosimite in the late 1990s

AcolyteAndy

01-16-2007, 03:28 PM

AKA wrote:   his older brother, Cary Stayner, who was tramatized by his brother's abduction and even return - and later his death - is now on death row after being convicted of killing four women in Yosimite in the late 1990sVery sorry to hear that..that sucks!

AcolyteAndy

01-16-2007, 03:33 PM

This story just gets stranger and stranger..I always thought kidnapped kids would be locked in a house and not know what is going on in the world. Not Shawn. He had his own cell phone, yahoo profile that he posted pics of himself on and posted on his family's website devoted to finding him and had a best friend who slept over alot.He was even stopped by the cops for riding his bike late at night a few months before the recuse. what a strange kidnapper.

busybeeman

02-23-2007, 08:39 AM

Let's all hope and pray the kid snatched this morning has a happy outcome:<a href="http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20070223/ap_on_re_us/teen_abducted;_ylt=AoM.2oExNdKBrhJY7atrjhbMWM0F">http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20070223/ap_on_re_us/teen_abducted;_ylt=AoM.2oExNdKBrhJY7atrjhbMWM0F</a>

busybeeman

02-24-2007, 08:42 AM

busybeeman wrote: Let's all hope and pray the kid snatched this morning has a happy outcome:<a href="http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20070223/ap_on_re_us/teen_abducted;_ylt=AoM.2oExNdKBrhJY7atrjhbMWM0F">http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20070223/ap_on_re_us/teen_abducted;_ylt=AoM.2oExNdKBrhJY7atrjhbMWM0F</a>Thank God.  Kid's safe.Fla. teen makes escape after abduction <div id="ynmain"><div class="storyhdr">By MITCH STACY, Associated Press Writer Sat Feb 24, 1:50 AM ET </div>PARRISH, Fla. - A 13-year-old boy abducted at gunpoint from a school bus stop Friday morning made a "miraculous" escape hours later, authorities said. The gunman was still being sought. Clay Moore wasn't hurt except for scratches and scrapes, Sheriff Charlie Wells said. Clay was still being interviewed, and the sheriff declined to comment on what happened while the boy was alone with his captor."He was bound, he was able to get free," Wells said. "It was miraculous, to tell you the truth."Clay was standing with about a dozen children and was closest to the gunman's red truck when he was taken at gunpoint about 9 a.m., Wells said.The boy was bound and taken to a wooded area. After being left alone, Clay managed to free himself and walk until he found a farm worker with a cell phone. He called his mother about 1:30 p.m."It's a happy ending," Wells said. "(The parents) are relieved, and we are too."...The focus now is on capturing the "coward" who committed the crime, Wells said. He said authorities were investigating reports that a similar truck had followed other children in the area recently...."I can tell you as a parent you put them in the hands of the Lord when they walk out the door," she said. "And you know most people are good people. You like to think that we don't have a lot of people out there like the one who took this child."<div id="sidebar"><div class="mainphoto chunk"><a href="http://news.yahoo.com/photo/070223/480/mh10102231731;_ylt=AgcFtnW2er8roTkyIefDz0hH2ocA" onclick="openSS(this.href);return false;"><img src="http://d.yimg.com/us.yimg.com/p/ap/20070223/capt.mh10102231731.teen_abducted_mh101.jpg?x=180&y =238&sig=zkKYkTMO1564qn0Dtfu9hA--" border="0" alt="This undated photo released by the Florida Department of Law Enforcement on Friday, Feb. 23, 2007, shows 13-year-old Clay Moore of Parrish, Fla. A gunman abducted Moore after approaching children at a school bus stop Friday morning, officials said in Parrish. (AP Photo/FDLE, HO)" width="180" height="238" /> </a><div class="source"><a href="http://news.yahoo.com/photo/070223/480/mh10102231731;_ylt=As7En6igW2ISiLefTmT.21hH2ocA" onclick="openSS(this.href);return false;">AP Photo:</a> This undated photo released by the Florida Department of Law Enforcement on Friday, Feb.... </div></div></div></div>