# Two missing children found alive- amazing. **URL:** \ **Category:** Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share\ **Created:** [January 12, 2007, 11:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/two-missing-children-found-alive-amazing/387769 "2007-01-12T23:13:06Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![BoBettie](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/4af34b/32.png) [@BoBettie](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BoBettie)\ **Post date:** [January 12, 2007, 11:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/two-missing-children-found-alive-amazing/387769/1 "2007-01-12T23:13:06Z")
I’ve been following a kidnapping that happened 4 days ago to a boy named Ben Ownby- he’s now been gone for about 4 days and things were looking pretty grim. He literally stepped off the school bus and poof- he was gone. A neighbor saw a white pickup truck with a camper top driving quickly away from the area and that’s really all they had to go on. [http://www.amberalert.org/](http://www.amberalert.org/) They were just reporting on it on Court TV and all of a sudden they broke in with news- a warrent was being served in Missouri and a police officer recognized the truck in the driveway as fitting the description of the getaway vehicle. Not ONLY did they find Ben alive, they found ANOTHER boy who had been kidnapped 4 YEARS AGO. Can you imagine anything worse then the kidnapping of a child or anything more wonderful then finding out that your child is alive and well when most hope was gone? I’m just stunned by the news and watching it unfold was just amazing. CNN is running the story on Headline News and they just updated their website. [http://www.cnn.com/](http://www.cnn.com/) ---
**Author:** ![Skywatcher](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/skywatcher/32/254_2.png) [@Skywatcher](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Skywatcher)\ **Post date:** [January 12, 2007, 11:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/two-missing-children-found-alive-amazing/387769/2 "2007-01-12T23:54:18Z")
> [@](#): > > [CNN](http://www.cnn.com/2007/LAW/01/12/missing.boys/) > Two missing St. Louis-area boys, one of them missing since 2002, were found alive in a Kirkwood, Missouri, apartment, and a suspect was arrested, Franklin County Sheriff Gary Toelke said Friday. > > Shawn Damian Hornbeck, 15, of Richwoods, Missouri, was last seen riding his bike to a friend’s house in October 2002. Richwoods is about 60 miles south of St. Louis. > > William Ben Ownby, 13, had been missing since Monday. He was last seen after getting off his school bus in Franklin County, near St. Louis. > > Thursday night, two police officers in suburban Kirkwood went to a residence at the apartment complex to serve a warrant, Toelke told reporters. While there, they noticed a rusty Nissan pickup truck that matched the description of that sought in the Ownby case and took photos of it. Not mentioned in the article: authorities believe that the suspect, Michael J. Devlin, is the same Michael J. Devlin who is on the Utah sex offender list. ---
**Author:** ![SlowMindThinking](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/dc4da7/32.png) [@SlowMindThinking](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SlowMindThinking)\ **Post date:** [January 13, 2007, 12:28am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/two-missing-children-found-alive-amazing/387769/3 "2007-01-13T00:28:23Z")
That’s spectacular! I’m sure both boys will need lots of help, especially the one kidnapped four years ago, but I can’t imagine the relief and joy these boys and their families must feel. From every parent’s worst nightmare to as happy an ending as possible. Still, it will be tough for the older kid. I remember that boy in CA who escaped after nine years. He was never the same, and died young and troubled, IIRC. The bastard that did this should never walk free again. ---
**Author:** ![Lightray](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lightray/32/391_2.png) [@Lightray](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lightray)\ **Post date:** [January 13, 2007, 12:46am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/two-missing-children-found-alive-amazing/387769/4 "2007-01-13T00:46:17Z")
I’ve got a couple of friends who each live really close to that area, and both have kids. I’ve a feeling they’re going to be freaking out about this news. But thank God they found the kid; so much time had passed that it was looking bad, and even the father sounded kind of dejected on tv pleading for his son to be returned. ---
**Author:** ![Miller](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/miller/32/481_2.png) [@Miller](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Miller)\ **Post date:** [January 13, 2007, 12:51am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/two-missing-children-found-alive-amazing/387769/5 "2007-01-13T00:51:00Z")
[QUOTE=Lute Skywatcher] Not mentioned in the article: authorities believe that the suspect, Michael J. Devlin, is the same Michael J. Devlin who is on the Utah sex offender list. [/QUOTE] They _suspect_? What the fuck is the point of the list, if they can’t tell if the guy they arrested is the guy on the list or not? Good news about the kids, though. ---
**Author:** ![rocking\_chair](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/rocking_chair/32/2918_2.png) [@rocking\_chair](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/rocking_chair)\ **Post date:** [January 13, 2007, 1:12am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/two-missing-children-found-alive-amazing/387769/6 "2007-01-13T01:12:59Z")
i was floored when i heard this on the news. just amazing. i was sure they would find the poor kid in a shallow grave. then to hear another boy was found there as well… wow, i can’t imagine what the parents are going through. now i hope and pray the 2 boys can survive the aftermath. very tough recovery psychologically and emotionally. my thoughts were also on how the rather famous case of stephen turned out. ---
**Author:** ![myskepticsight](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/cc9497/32.png) [@myskepticsight](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/myskepticsight)\ **Post date:** [January 13, 2007, 1:43am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/two-missing-children-found-alive-amazing/387769/7 "2007-01-13T01:43:03Z")
I’m from St. Louis and saw Shawn Hornbeck’s face on the TV many a time. It’s amazing that he was found! Especially after four years…wow. Very awesome. Hopefully everything will work okay okay for the boys and their families. ---
**Author:** ![Zabali\_Clawbane](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/z/ecd19e/32.png) [@Zabali\_Clawbane](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Zabali_Clawbane)\ **Post date:** [January 13, 2007, 1:45am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/two-missing-children-found-alive-amazing/387769/8 "2007-01-13T01:45:55Z")
[Here](http://truecrimeblog.blogspot.com/2007/01/amazing-development-in-terrible-story.html) is Steve Huffs entry on this, he has some details on it not covered on the press reports, such as entries made at the site developed to help keep the search for Shawn alive…made by a “Shawn Devlin”. ---
**Author:** ![Skywatcher](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/skywatcher/32/254_2.png) [@Skywatcher](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Skywatcher)\ **Post date:** [January 13, 2007, 2:10am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/two-missing-children-found-alive-amazing/387769/9 "2007-01-13T02:10:42Z")
[QUOTE=Miller] They _suspect_? What the fuck is the point of the list, if they can’t tell if the guy they arrested is the guy on the list or not? [/QUOTE] Really. This is one reason they’re pushing for a national registry. Of course, a national registry would have the same problem with keeping up-to-date tabs on those on the list. ---
**Author:** ![Zabali\_Clawbane](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/z/ecd19e/32.png) [@Zabali\_Clawbane](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Zabali_Clawbane)\ **Post date:** [January 13, 2007, 2:17am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/two-missing-children-found-alive-amazing/387769/10 "2007-01-13T02:17:07Z")
Previous [thread](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?t=403831). 😉 Check the blog link I put in the previous thread, they are on top of the situation. I think the consenus there is it isn’t the same fellow as on (one) of the registries. 😕 ---
**Author:** ![SkipMagic](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/skipmagic/32/20706_2.png) [@SkipMagic](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SkipMagic)\ **Post date:** [January 13, 2007, 2:18am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/two-missing-children-found-alive-amazing/387769/11 "2007-01-13T02:18:37Z")
**Lute** and **BoBettie** , I merged yout two threads. So, if the replies don’t seem to follow right away, that’s why. ---
**Author:** ![Zabali\_Clawbane](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/z/ecd19e/32.png) [@Zabali\_Clawbane](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Zabali_Clawbane)\ **Post date:** [January 13, 2007, 2:19am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/two-missing-children-found-alive-amazing/387769/12 "2007-01-13T02:19:05Z")
WHOA! The two threads were combined even as I posted! Trippy! ---
**Author:** ![Deaf\_Geek](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/3be4f8/32.png) [@Deaf\_Geek](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Deaf_Geek)\ **Post date:** [January 13, 2007, 5:52am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/two-missing-children-found-alive-amazing/387769/13 "2007-01-13T05:52:43Z")
> [@](#): > > I remember that boy in CA who escaped after nine years You mean the “I Know My First Name is Stephen” boy? Although stranger little kid sex abuse is fucked up, it can really honestly mess up little kids…sheesh! ---
**Author:** ![thelurkinghorror](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/7c8e57/32.png) [@thelurkinghorror](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/thelurkinghorror)\ **Post date:** [January 13, 2007, 8:26am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/two-missing-children-found-alive-amazing/387769/14 "2007-01-13T08:26:49Z")
[QUOTE=Deaf Geek] You mean the “I Know My First Name is Stephen” boy? Although stranger little kid sex abuse is fucked up, it can really honestly mess up little kids…sheesh! [/QUOTE] Seems so, and his [brother](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cary_Stayner) is a serial killer, so maybe they had other issues. ---
**Author:** ![SlowMindThinking](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/dc4da7/32.png) [@SlowMindThinking](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SlowMindThinking)\ **Post date:** [January 14, 2007, 1:00am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/two-missing-children-found-alive-amazing/387769/15 "2007-01-14T01:00:52Z")
[QUOTE=Deaf Geek] You mean the “I Know My First Name is Stephen” boy? Although stranger little kid sex abuse is fucked up, it can really honestly mess up little kids…sheesh! [/QUOTE] Yes, that is who I meant. ---
**Author:** ![TLDRIDKJKLOLFTW](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/51bf81/32.png) [@TLDRIDKJKLOLFTW](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TLDRIDKJKLOLFTW)\ **Post date:** [January 14, 2007, 2:19am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/two-missing-children-found-alive-amazing/387769/16 "2007-01-14T02:19:00Z")
I’ve been really confused about this story - how do you keep two teenage boys captive? Jeez, the kid that’s 15 now is HUGE - he looked like a linebacker or something. It’s not like we’re talking about two five-year-olds locked up in a house - these are two big boys. There’s obviously a lot more to the story. ---
**Author:** ![Rilchiam](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/2bfe46/32.png) [@Rilchiam](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rilchiam)\ **Post date:** [January 14, 2007, 2:26am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/two-missing-children-found-alive-amazing/387769/17 "2007-01-14T02:26:13Z")
The older kid was 11 when he was abducted. We’re supposed to raise kids to do as they’re told. Many parents succeed in that goal. Which leaves us with kids who get in a car when an adult tells them to, lie when an adult tells them to (E. Smart), lure another kid when an adult tells them to (Steven) and so forth. ---
**Author:** ![The\_Flying\_Dutchman](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/9fc348/32.png) [@The\_Flying\_Dutchman](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/The_Flying_Dutchman)\ **Post date:** [January 14, 2007, 2:53am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/two-missing-children-found-alive-amazing/387769/18 "2007-01-14T02:53:45Z")
Yes, very fortunate and all thanks to two observers of a white truck. Speculating here. I can’t imagine that Devlin would want to look after two boys. I’ll bet he was losing interest in the aging Sean, 15 and tried to replace him with William who appears much younger than his 13 years. Once he realized how old William was he needed time to deliberate on their fate. Who to keep and who to dispose of? The one whose already trained or the one who has so little time left? This rescue could be more fortunate than it even appears on the surface. ---
**Author:** ![SailedTheOceanBlue](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/85f322/32.png) [@SailedTheOceanBlue](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SailedTheOceanBlue)\ **Post date:** [January 14, 2007, 3:41am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/two-missing-children-found-alive-amazing/387769/19 "2007-01-14T03:41:09Z")
[http://truecrimediary.com/home/](http://truecrimediary.com/home/) Another boy who disappeared in the same area (at age 11) in 1991. ---
**Author:** ![Kalhoun](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/3bc359/32.png) [@Kalhoun](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kalhoun)\ **Post date:** [January 14, 2007, 3:47am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/two-missing-children-found-alive-amazing/387769/20 "2007-01-14T03:47:29Z")
[QUOTE=SlowMindThinking] That’s spectacular! I’m sure both boys will need lots of help, especially the one kidnapped four years ago, but I can’t imagine the relief and joy these boys and their families must feel. From every parent’s worst nightmare to as happy an ending as possible. Still, it will be tough for the older kid. I remember that boy in CA who escaped after nine years. He was never the same, and died young and troubled, IIRC. The bastard that did this should never walk free again. [/QUOTE] Ya know, this was my first thought as well. But I saw the kid at the press conference, and although he didn’t speak at the microphones, he seemed so happy and…undamaged. I realize there could be issues that crop up later or whatever, but damn…he looked like he kept it together and got through it relatively unscathed. I hate the term “feel good story” but I’ve been alternately grinning and crying about this all day. What are the odds? [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/two-missing-children-found-alive-amazing/387769.md?page=2)