"When a young child is taken from his family and isolated and perhaps threatened, and those threats are backed up by violenceall that plays a tremendous role in silencing the child," says Dr. Terri Weaver, associate professor of psychology at St. Louis University. The remains were later identified through dental records as Georgia. 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. During this week's hearings, Devlin described how he tortured young Shawn Hornbeck, then 11 years old, in 2002. . They spent every penny they had to find Shawn, and made multiple media appearances to raise awareness. Both he and Ben Ownby still live in the St. Louis area. The neighbor was able to give the police a description of the white truck and the FBI was able to link the truck to Devlin relatively quickly. He sat with Willett in the back seat, she told the Post-Dispatch. She linked the two abductions before the authorities did and even used online maps to guess as to where they were being held. Ownby was taken for five days in January 2007 and the search for him inadvertently solved both cases. And to ensure that it doesn't, the captor often reminds his victim what he's capable of. Story Highlights NEW: Shawn Hornbeck, 15, catches up with relatives he hasn't seen in 4 years Officers had 'an uneasy feeling' after talking to kidnapping suspect They alerted the FBI . In May of that year, the Akers family determined they didnt have the time and resources necessary to commit to the foundation and rescue team. That October, Devlin pleaded guilty to all the charges and received 74 life sentences and an additional term of 2,020 years. Shawn would get married and become a father. Today, Shawn Hornbeck and Ben Ownby have found some sense of normalcy, living peacefully with their families in St. Louis. Its believed Shawn met the girl when she and schoolmates were at a park near Devlins apartment in the St. Louis suburb of Kirkwood. Abductors "know how to create a paralyzing sense of fear so even when the captor is not present, the child feels he is omnipresent." .css-gk9meg{display:block;font-family:Lausanne,Arial,sans-serif;font-weight:normal;margin-bottom:0;margin-top:0;padding-top:0.25rem;-webkit-text-decoration:none;text-decoration:none;}@media (any-hover: hover){.css-gk9meg:hover{color:link-hover;}}@media(max-width: 48rem){.css-gk9meg{font-size:1.125rem;line-height:1.15;margin-bottom:0.25rem;}}@media(min-width: 40.625rem){.css-gk9meg{font-size:1rem;line-height:1.2;margin-bottom:0.625rem;}}@media(min-width: 64rem){.css-gk9meg{font-size:1.25rem;line-height:1.2;}}@media(min-width: 73.75rem){.css-gk9meg{font-size:1.25rem;line-height:1.2;}}Celebrities Who Voice Cartoon Characters, 'The Mandalorian' Season 3 is About to Commence, The Underworld Crossover of the Century Is Coming. ST. LOUIS COUNTY, Mo. Meanwhile, Shawn Hornbeck was allowed to see friends and even use a cellphone after Devlin believed that the boy wouldnt try to run or reach the authorities. Following years of pain and fear of what happened to him, Shawn was found when he . 2023 NYP Holdings, Inc. 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On October 6, 2002, Shawn Hornbeck was abducted while riding his bike in Richwoods, Missouri. Shawn had taken this path many times before but this time, Shawn passed by Mike Devlin who bumped him with his truck. Bens abduction and Hults quick thinking would eventually turn out to be Shawns salvation. He is currently serving 74 life sentences plus 2,020 years at Western Missouri Correctional Center in Cameron, Missouri. He admitted to abducting Ownby. Listening to an interview, she heard a victim's brother talk about family vacations on Lake Michigan. Willett was following a lead on Jan. 12, 2007, in the case of Ben Ownby, a 13-year-old who had gone missing days earlier. Join half a million readers enjoying Newsweek's free newsletters, Everyone Practices Cancel Culture | Opinion, Deplatforming Free Speech is Dangerous | Opinion. Shawn always took the same route and his parents trusted him to ride alone. Thats because it was the location of the infamous Ariel Castro kidnappings, which took place between 2002 and 2004 in Cleveland. When you visit this site, it may store or retrieve information on your browser, mostly in the form of cookies. Ownby disappeared at the beginning of last week. In 2014, it appears Hornbeck tweeted about Willett by name, writing, Thank you to Lynn Willet for giving me back freedom., She later replied, on the 2015 anniversary of his freedom, Today will always have great meaning for me and my team. Shawn Hornbeck. A man behind the wheel of a white pickup truck knocked young Shawn off his lime-green bike. credit ichael Devlin, 41, is escorted out of the Franklin County Courthouse Monday in Union, Mo. "The boy would have had to have been badly traumatized at the onset, and he would have had to have gone through a stage in which he was infantilized," says Ochberg. For example, [viewer], who lives in Courtland, Virginia, wrote: "Mr. O'Reilly, your comments regarding Shawn Hornbeck were way out of line. Hornbeck died July 9, 2000, while on parole. 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. Amanda Berry vanished one night in Cleveland in 2003, right before turning 17. 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. On Jan. 8, 2007, Devlin abducted Ben Ownby at a bus stop in Beaufort, Missouri. The confessed killer led police to an area southwest of Vero Beach where he claimed hed buried Adams body, but searchers found no sign of the remains. Shawn planned to ride his bike to a friends house. On October 6, 2002, Shawn Hornbeck left home on his bicycle in the rural area of Richwoods, Missouri. Willett said Devlin broke after she told him that tire tracks could be crucial evidence in Ownbys disappearance. So why, many have asked, didn't he seize his chance and take off? An 11-year-old went missing in rural Missouri while riding his bike in 2002. Shawn Hornbeck's parents sat in the courtroom weeping, as the man who kidnapped, tortured, tormented and tried to murder their son ran through a terrible litany of his acts - all without emotion. These stories tear me up. This article is more than 5 years old. What did Mike Devlin do to Shawn Hornbeck? 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. But when Ownby was found, abducted by Michael Devlin, another boy was onsite. The driver grabbed Shawn, put him in his truck, and left. My Spidey-senses were up, almost immediately.. Pamela married Shawns stepdad, Craig Akers, in 1999. 2022 - 2023 Times Mojo - All Rights Reserved Were there any problems at home that he may have been fleeing? Invisible Chains: Shawn Hornbeck and the Kidnapping Case that Shook the Nation: Sauerwein, Kristina: 9781599213446: Amazon.com: Books. On October 6 2002, 11-year-old Shawn disappeared while riding his bike to a friend's house in . Devlin initially seemed concerned for Shawns safety, but moments later, put him into the back of his truck and told him You were just at the wrong place at the wrong time.. Driving his pickup, he knocked Hornbeck off his bike and kidnapped him. These stories tear me up. on January 21, 2008, Parnell died of natural causes in the prison in Vacaville, California. Hiding in plain view, missing Missouri boy was controlled by his captor, experts say. What happened to Ben Ownby and Shawn Hornbeck? We may earn commission from links on this page, but we only recommend products we back. document.getElementById( "ak_js_1" ).setAttribute( "value", ( new Date() ).getTime() ); Thanks for contacting us. By doing so, Michael Devlin convinced Shawn Hornbeck that running to the police would get both of them arrested. 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. "The days . Because if Shawn's parents were shot to death after Shawn ran to the cops hypothetically, Mike Devlin would literally be the only suspect. I think the most likely reason he didn't say anything would be Stockholm syndrome. And were there characteristics of life with Devlin--no school, ample time for video games--that made it appealing to stay there? Willett and Richter joined other FBI agents and local police in going to Devlins apartment in the 400 block of S. Holmes Avenue. Hornbeck was missing for over four years before being discovered on January 12, 2007. But what I wonder is that on the at least four occasions Shawn spoke to a police officer (I know of him going there over a missing bike and him being driven home by a cop after missing curfew. After Mitchell Hults report, the FBI received a tip that a truck matching the description of Devlins was parked at a pizza restaurant in Kirkwood. The police came into contact with him at least four times when he was free of his alleged abductor, Michael Devlin, 41. 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. "Unless you understand the child's experience of that threat and the ways in which it's renewed," says Pynoos, "you can't understand the actions of that child." Details of the case were not available, and most of the record has been sealed. Devlin pleaded guilty more then 70 times Tuesday to a litany of horrific crimes. 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. This dynamic may have played a role in Hornbeck's case. On Oct. 6, 2002, 11-year-old Shawn Hornbeck straddled his lime green bike and headed to a friends house near Richwoods, Missouri, a small town just outside of St. Louis. In 2013, the Shawn Hornbeck Foundation closed and was replaced by the Missouri Valley Shawn Hornbeck Search and Rescue Team. Hornbeck died July 9, 2000, while on parole. I don't blame him if he was, that was a horrible situation to be in. My heart goes out to him. McNamara also correctly theorized that Devlin was drawn to the boys because they looked much younger than their actual ages. But a court official said the reference number on Hornbecks criminal conviction indicated the charge involved an assault on a minor. The 15-year-old who called himself Shawn Devlin even attended a posh school dance with her last month. Once a cold case, the Missouri Miracle serves as evidence that determination, quick thinking, and an eye for detail can bring sometimes justice. The truck belonged to store manager Michael Devlin, who eventually agreed to a search by agents Lynn Willett and Tina Richter. Want to keep up with the latest crime coverage? Once it started to rain, they asked him if he wanted to sit in their car for shelter. He was torn away from rural Richwoods, Mo., and taken to Kirkwood, more than 60 miles away. 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 would remain missing for four years. ST. LOUIS (KMOV.com) A Canadian man learned the man who tried to abduct him years ago, was Michael Devlin. 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