The truck belonged to store manager Michael Devlin, who eventually agreed to a search by agents Lynn Willett and Tina Richter. The boys were named Charley and Walter Ross; they were 4 and 6 years old. The 15-year-old who called himself Shawn Devlin even attended a posh school dance with her last month. During the show, self-proclaimed psychic Sylvia Browne told them Shawn was dead and provided details about the crime that were later proven to be falsehoods. Craig Akers died July 15, 2019, from bladder cancer. Devlin was sentenced to 74 life sentences and 170 years of federal time after the 2007 kidnapping of Ben Ownby and 2002 kidnapping of Shawn Hornbeck. Shawn had taken this path many times before but this time, Shawn passed by Mike Devlin who bumped him with his truck. Akers passed away last Monday after fighting bladder cancer. I hope the offender gets a biggest dick infection and suffers in agony for the rest of his life. Hornbeck, now 25, attended private school after his rescue and later got a factory job in Missouri, according to the Post-Dispatch. Realistically if Shawn did run away and tell the police, Devlib wouldn't be dumb enough to actually kill his parents as he threatened to do. . He saved his life negotiating with him. Shawn Hornbeck, 15, watches as his parents, Craig and Pam Akers, talk to the media Saturday in Richwoods, Mo . Shawn Hornbeck was alive and had been living with Devlin as a hostage for over four years. What's more, he disappeared four years ago as a little boy, but has now returned home as a teenager. The rapes resulted in seven children, including a twin who died shortly after birth, police say. Pamela married Shawn's stepdad, Craig Akers, in 1999. The couple would not discuss the matter in an interview with The Post. Driving his pickup, he knocked Hornbeck off his bike and kidnapped him. But a chance encounter, the dedication of the boys parents, and the work of a now-famous true crime writer would lead to a remarkable rescue that became known as the Missouri Miracle.. What happened to Shawn Hornbeck when he was kidnapped? There wasnt a day when I didnt think he was just gonna kill me, says Hornbeck, adding that his story features a lot of gory, nasty details that a lot of people really cant handle., For more on Shawn Hornbecks ordeal, pick up PEOPLE on newsstands Friday, How Jayme Closs, Elizabeth Smart, Jaycee Dugard and Others Survived Headline-Making Abductions, Shawn Hornbeck Says He Kept Hoping for a Rescue, Exclusive New Details on How a Captive Nevada Mother Hid the Sticky Notes That Saved Lives, FBI Agent on How She Got Shawn Hornbeck's Kidnapper to Confess 10 Years Ago: 'My Spidey-Senses Were Up', In 'Captive Audience', the Stayner Family Opens Up About Navigating an Impossible Reality in the Spotlight, VIDEO: Shawn Hornbeck Describes His Kidnapping Ordeal, Feds Indict Kidnap Suspect Michael Devlin. Palmer said he remembers the face of the man who tried to abduct him 22 years ago, but it wasn't until recently he put the name of Michael Devlin, to that face. "To become psychologically infantilized," he explains, people's "infant needs for food and love are met and they begin to feel a primitive, primordial gratitude toward the person taking care of them." McNamara's observations were always notable because of her intense attention to detail, and even though her post landed on True Crime Daily a day before the arrest, officer and media attention largely failed to recognize McNamara's accomplishments. Dr. Frank Ochberg, one of the psychiatrists who helped coin the term, says he doesn't know enough about Hornbeck's case to say whether it falls into this category. ", Hornbeck's life suffered a severe schism when he was allegedly kidnapped at the age of 11. Willett said Devlin broke after she told him that tire tracks could be crucial evidence in Ownby's disappearance. She was last seen at a payphone around 3:00 PM on April 2, 2004, while on the way home from her middle school at West 105th Street and Lorain Avenue. In June, Craig Akers was diagnosed with stage 4 bladder cancer. These stories tear me up. On January 12, 2007, Craig and Pam Akers were finally reunited with their missing son, Shawn Hornbeck, who vanished five years earlier. DeJesus has since founded the Cleveland Family Center for Missing Children and Adults. Prosecutors in Franklin, Washington, and St. Louis counties hit Devlin with dozens of charges, including kidnapping, use of a deadly weapon, molestation, and production of child pornography. Shawn Hornbeck was an 11 year old boy who was kidnapped while riding his bike to a friend's house near Richwoods, Missouri.Shawn had taken this path many times before but this time, Shawn passed by Mike Devlin who bumped him with his truck. Shawn Hornbeck and Ben Owny would move on with their lives the best that they could while living in the St. Louis area. RICHWOODS, Mo. My father did whatever he had to do to get by, he said. Michael John Devlin (born November 19, 1965) is an American criminal convicted of kidnapping and child sexual abuse. 1998 - 2023 Nexstar Media Inc. | All Rights Reserved. That night, Franklin County Sheriff Glen Toelke announced that both boys were found and alive. The agents asked for Devlins permission to search his truck, which he gave. Why Do Cross Country Runners Have Skinny Legs? He admitted to abducting Ownby. Theyre saying, Oh, you must have known he was missing or had been abducted. . One of Bens friends, Mitchell Hults heard Bens cries and reported the truck to the police. Devlin will spend the rest of his life in prison, but not until one last court appearance today. Both Ben and Shawn are attempting to live as normal a life as possible after such horrific circumstances. In the same interview, Shawn said he spent his days sleeping and playing video games and was instructed to tell people he was being homeschooled. The boy begged for his life, striking a bargain to keep quiet if he could live. He glanced up once and then he didnt look at all, she said. The girls family refused to comment on the matter to the St. Louis Post-Dispatch. Willett said Devlin told her he was a bad person and admitted to having both Ben and Shawn. Devlin pled guilty to all counts and was sentenced to 72 life terms. Ironically, the small freedoms only enhanced Devlin's control, Rupp said. Krista Jones, of Kirkwood lived across from Michael Devlin's apartment, where missing children Ben Ownby, 13, and Shawn Hornbeck, 15, were found on Jan. 12, 2007. They also started the Shawn Hornbeck Foundation to help other families find their missing and abducted children. That wouldnt be the last time Browne fabricated details about someones disappearance. From January 18, 2007: Shawn Hornbeck and his family (his mother and stepfather, Pam and Craig Akers, and his aunt, Shari Frazier) sit down with Oprah for their first interview since Shaun's safe return four years after he was allegedly kidnapped. Shawn told reporters that Devlin had guns and would threaten to murder him if he ever thought about leaving or calling for help. He was 57 years old. Shawn, now 15, was 11 when he was kidnapped in 2002 while riding his bike near his rural home . Shawn Hornbeck married and became a father. Michael John Devlin (born November 19, 1965) is an American criminal convicted of kidnapping and child sexual abuse of two young boys, Shawn Hornbeck and Ben Ownby. Hes into video production and has shown me some of his work.. Later, Devlin admitted he kidnapped Ben because Shawn was getting too old for his liking, unwittingly confirming McNamaras theory. Shawn would go on to recount his experience on television where he detailed his abuse, the lies he was forced to tell, and his years in the apartment. On October 1, 1993, at the age of twelve, she was kidnapped at knife point during a slumber party at her mothers home in Petaluma, California, and was later strangled. While aiding the investigation of finding the Golden State Killer, Michelle McNamara passed away at the age of 46, just a short time before the killer was found. Contrary to what Browne told the family on national television, Shawn was still alive. News. Meanwhile, for his tip and information, Mitchell Hults received a reward that included a new pickup truck. The late Walter Hornbeck was 60 when Shawn was born to him and his wife, Pamela Akers. TwitterShawn Hornbeck hugs his family after being rescued from the home of Michael Devlin. Cookies collect information about your preferences and your device and are used to make the site work as you expect it to, to understand how you interact with the site, and to show advertisements that are targeted to your interests. After reading about Shawn Hornbeck and Ben Ownbys kidnappings, read the story of Lauren Spierer, the college student who disappeared without a trace. I was looking at him saying, Youre safe. . Soon after, Hornbeck's parents went on the The Montel Williams Show where a psychic told the family that their son was dead, and then described the abduction, failing to get any of the eventual details correctly. On August 22, a Caltrans worker fixing a broken guardrail off Highway 101 in Petaluma, California, found a decomposing body just off the road. Who Is John Dutton's Grandfather in '1923'? Shawn and the girlfriend attended a dance on Dec. 9 at the St. Louis Priory School, an all-boys Catholic school. Shawn did try to contact them twice during . Re: Police Say Shawn Hornbeck Helped Kidnap Ben Ow The Stockholm syndrome is a psychological response sometimes seen in an abducted hostage, in which the hostage exhibits loyalty to the hostage-taker, in spite of the danger (or at least risk) in which the hostage has been placed. Shawn Hornbeck was an 11 year old boy who was kidnapped while riding his bike to a friend's house near Richwoods, Missouri.Shawn had taken this path many times before but this time, Shawn passed by Mike Devlin who bumped him with his truck. Hults' testimony was instrumental in the rescue of Amanda's brother Ben and another kidnapped boy Shawn Hornbeck [2007] . Im not gonna lie there were times when it seemed like I was better off dead.. Another child, 13, went missing five years later. Join me in my latest True Crime episode where I take. According to a report in the St. Louis Post-Dispatch, investigators say that Devlin kept Hornbeck in submission by threatening to kill the boy and his entire family. Four years previously, the 11-year-old . Video Unavailable. Did he perhaps leave willingly with Devlin when he vanished four years ago? I cannot believe its be 12 years. It was the first kidnapping for ransom in the history of the United States, and would be the major event of its kind until the Lindbergh baby kidnapping. Ownby disappeared at the beginning of last week. The couple would not discuss the matter in an interview with The Post. - An 11-year-old went missing in rural Missouri while riding his bike in 2002. Shawns parents, Pam Akers and stepfather Craig Akers focused all of their time looking for their son. Eventually, Willett was able to get a confession from Devlin, and the FBI raided his apartment in search of the boys. Dr. Robert Pynoos, co-director of the National Center for Child Traumatic Stress, says that the terror of experiencing a kidnappingthe helplessness, the physical coercionnever entirely fades. Shawn Hornbeck didn't say much about what happened to him during his four years in captivity on Thursday. McNamara also correctly theorized that Devlin was drawn to the boys because they looked much younger than their actual ages. ST. LOUIS (KMOV.com) A Canadian man learned the man who tried to abduct him years ago, was Michael Devlin. . He decided to kill the boy, taking him to a rural spot in Washington County where he began to strangle him. You may be able to find the same content in another format, or you may be able to find more information, at their web site. Was 3096 days filmed in the actual house? And to ensure that it doesn't, the captor often reminds his victim what he's capable of. Hornbeck pleaded guilty to attempted sodomy, a felony, as well as possession of a controlled substance and he was sentenced to seven years in state prison in 1994. When the FBI came to Devlins house to question him about the kidnapping, Devlin seemed distant and nervous and kept referring to his godson named Shawn that he had to return to. Tony added that his friend began spending holidays with the Douglas family . 2022 - 2023 Times Mojo - All Rights Reserved Both children were rescued and returned to their families and Devlin was charged with 80 counts of sexual assault, kidnapping, and attempted murder. Two federal agentsLynn Willett and Tina Richterasked permission to search the truck, which Devlin allowed. While riding to a friend's house, Pam's son, Shawn Hornbeck, disappeared. Posted Jan 19, 2007, 12:00PM EST. The van's driver rushed out, seeming to want to help him at first - then grabbed him and brought him into the van. But one neighbor, Laura Aguilar, says that more than four years ago, before Hornbeck arrived at the apartment complex, she observed something through Devlin's street-level bathroom window that disturbed her. Shawn Hornbeck was an 11 year old boy who was kidnapped while riding his bike to a friend's house near Richwoods, . During this week's hearings, Devlin described how he tortured young Shawn Hornbeck, then 11 years old, in 2002. . As a result, the kids "sacrifice their own desire to escape as a means to protect the family." He admitted to abducting . (END VIDEO CLIP) COOPER: Up next, a look at the power kidnappers have over their victims, when "Taken: Children Lost and Found" continues. . In 2003, Browne incorrectly told the parents of missing teen Shawn Hornbeck that their son was dead, and his body could be found somewhere near "two jagged boulders," according to her premonition. The latest disclosures add a new dimension to Shawns strange, dual life as both Devlins captive and a seemingly carefree 15-year-old boy. Am I missing something or was he just that scared? Jayme Closs was kidnapped on October 15, 2018, after her parents were shot dead in the family's home in Barron, Wisconsin. Shawn would remain missing for four years. JOHN WALSH, HOST, AMERICA'S MOST WANTED: When he kidnapped this boy, he probably broke him down psychologically. Stockholm for sure. Pam Akers watched her son, Shawn Hornbeck, leave their home in Richwoods, Missouri, about 55 miles southwest of St. Louis, on the afternoon of Oct. 6, 2002. . Please look at the time stamp on the story to see when it was last updated. He never arrived. When you visit this site, it may store or retrieve information on your browser, mostly in the form of cookies. Devlin faces more than 80 counts in the kidnappings and sexual abuse of William . Im an important cog in it, but its a personal thing for each boy and their family. Shawn would even reach out to his parents on a website they set up to receive tips on his disappearance. 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