We may earn a commission from these links. He even left a message on his parents' missing persons Web site . Still alive at 61. TimesMojo is a social question-and-answer website where you can get all the answers to your questions. McNamara also correctly theorized that Devlin was drawn to the boys because they looked much younger than their actual ages. Visitation officials learned that Shawn who claimed he was home-schooled was at the dance on Tuesday when word of his secret ordeal spread. Hes into video production and has shown me some of his work.. 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. Hornbeck was eleven years old on October 6, 2002, when he was kidnapped while riding his bicycle near his home in Richwoods, Missouri. What may look like a prime opportunity for escape to the outside world may look like anything but that to a captive child. Akers passed away last Monday after fighting bladder cancer. And Devlin would later admit to prosecutors that Shawn was getting too old for him, and he abducted Ben because he looked younger, which proved McNamaras theory. So why, many have asked, didn't he seize his chance and take off? One infamous example of this is a house from Cleveland, Ohio in the US. Am I missing something or was he just that scared? This undated handout photo provided by the FBI shows Shawn Hornbeck as he was pictured on a missing person poster from 2002. The film is based on the true story of Natascha Kampusch, a 10-year-old girl and her eight-year ordeal being kidnapped by Wolfgang Piklopil. She was 46. He got out in 1997, when Shawn was 6, but the two had no further contact, said Akers. KIRKWOOD, Mo. 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. I dont remember his exact words, but he realized the time had come, Willett said. What happened to Shawn Hornbeck when he was kidnapped? Even the friends he spent time with had no idea of his background. Shawn Hornbeck didn't say much about what happened to him during his four years in captivity on Thursday. Whatever happened during Hornbeck's four years with Devlin, he undoubtedly faces a difficult road ahead. On Jan. 8, 2007, Devlin abducted Ben Ownby at a bus stop in Beaufort, Missouri. This article is more than 5 years old. On October 6 2002, 11-year-old Shawn disappeared while riding his bike to a friend's house in . Get the Android Weather app from Google Play, Local 17 year old helps in City SCs debut win, Geekie ends drought with 2 goals, Kraken beat Blues, Pro Football Hall of Fame honors Super Bowl LVII, Goldschmidt, Arenado blast back-to-back jacks in, Comedian Kevin James is coming to Stifel Theatre, TOOTSIE the comedy musical coming to the Fox Theatre, Brewsday Tuesday: Saint Louis Hop Shop -find good, Troy Family Dental in Illinois addresses periodontal, The cure for foundation leaks from Woods Basement, There is a surgery-free option for E.D. Ironically, the small freedoms only enhanced Devlin's control, Rupp said. "It's not over yet, that's for sure," says Cooper. This dynamic may have played a role in Hornbeck's case. . Aided by a descriptive tip from teenager Mitchell Hults of Beaufort, Missouri, police searched Michael J. On October 6, 2002, Pam Akers's entire world was changed. And to ensure that it doesn't, the captor often reminds his victim what he's capable of. The center released a statement on her behalf: This is a developing story. Tony added that his friend began spending holidays with the Douglas family . I'll Be Gone In the Dark (2020): Official Trailer | HBO, Michelle McNamara Solved More than a Murder, Michelle McNamara Set a New True Crime Standard, Inside the Making Of I'll Be Gone In the Dark, Your Privacy Choices: Opt Out of Sale/Targeted Ads. The FBI quickly realized that the Shawn that Devlin was referring to was Shawn Hornbeck. He also pleaded guilty to all the charges against him. Devlin made Shawn submit to sexual abuse in return for toys. After Shawns disappearance, Pam and Craig Akers dedicated every second of their lives to finding their son. 2022 - 2023 Times Mojo - All Rights Reserved Five years later, Hornbeck was found alive and had been . He admitted to abducting Ownby. [He] is doing really well, a retired sheriff who worked on his case told the paper. In a split second, Devlin kidnapped Shawn, telling the boy that he, was just at the wrong place at the wrong time. Five years later, Devlin kidnapped 13-year-old Ben Ownby in the same truck. Eventually, Shawn had a friend, rode his bike around town and surfed the Internet. The charges did not name Shawn Hornbeck, but authorities have alleged that Devlin held him captive from October 2002 until police found the boy in January. We are just in shock about this, as any school would be, said Visitations head, Rosalie Henry. Devlin decided to kidnap a 13 year old boy named Ben Ownby on January 8, 2007. McNamara, who also led the investigation into the Golden State Killer, found many connections between the two boys. Eventually, Willett was able to get a confession from Devlin, and the FBI raided his apartment in search of the boys. Years later, in 2007, Ben Ownby went missing. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. What did Devlin do to Shawn Hornbeck? Before she dove into the terrors of the Golden State Killer, she also beat the police to solving another cold case. In a write up for Notre Dame Magazine, Jamie Reidy outlines the small details McNamara picked up from the case. I had a sense very early on, based on the way he was answering questions, that it wasnt quite adding up.. The white beat-up white truck that Mitchell described to police sat outside the apartment. Hearst Magazine Media, Inc. All Rights Reserved. Click here to get breaking crime news, ongoing trial coverage and details of intriguing unsolved cases in the True Crime Newsletter. Once a cold case, the Missouri Miracle serves as evidence that determination, quick thinking, and an eye for detail can bring sometimes justice. "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." On October 6, 2002, Shawn Hornbeck was abducted while riding his bike in Richwoods, Missouri. Using the name Shawn Devlin, he cryptically wrote, How long are you planning to look for your son?. He runs right into me., I put my hands on his shoulders, she said. Shawn had taken this path many times before but this time, Shawn passed by Mike Devlin who bumped him with his truck. ST. LOUIS COUNTY, Mo. But there's an added element to Hornbeck's case. . What did Michael Devlin do to the boys he kidnapped? The kidnapper put the 13-year-old in a white Nissan pickup truck and sped away, but not before Mitchell Hults, one of Ownbys friends, got a good look at the vehicle and provided a detailed description to authorities. The remains were later identified through dental records as Georgia. On October 6, 2002, Shawn, aged 11, was kidnapped by 41-year-old pizza shop boss Michael Devlin. - An 11-year-old went missing in rural Missouri while riding his bike in 2002. Devlin opened the front door to his apartment and allowed the FBI and police to go inside. "She next searched 'Missing boys SW Michigan,' and found a case in Benton Harbor in which the victim closely resembled Ben Ownby and Shawn Hornbeck.". 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. Michelle McNamara's I'll Be Gone in the Dark, published in 2018, serves as the inspiration for HBO's engrossing docuseries of the same name. Survival of years of rape and abuse. Pamela married Shawns stepdad, Craig Akers, in 1999. That inmate, identified as Troy Fenton, wrote a letter to the St. Louis Post-Dispatch and said he attacked Devlin because of the heinous nature of Devlins crimes. Other experts who have been following the case from afar say Hornbeck's behavior appears to show signs of the syndrome. Abductors "know how to create a paralyzing sense of fear so even when the captor is not present, the child feels he is omnipresent." And Devlin's work friends and acquaintances have said they didn't have a clue about any of his possible romantic attachments or sexual proclivities. On August 22, a Caltrans worker fixing a broken guardrail off Highway 101 in Petaluma, California, found a decomposing body just off the road. Eventually Shawn became too old for Devlins tastes and Devlin decided to find a replacement for Shawn. But amid the rejoicing over the return of Ben Ownby, 13, and Shawn Hornbeck, 15, there are lingering questions about how two boys and their alleged kidnapper could have hidden in plain sight . Both he and Ben Ownby still live in the St. Louis area. 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. ), couldn't he have mentioned "I'm Shawn Hornbeck, I've been kidnapped?" 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