I agree. I can't believe the police officers did not recognize him. This was 2003, 10 months after he was kidnapped against his will at gunpoint, at the age of 11. The gift thing being the typical MO for an abuser. It seems Shawn was let down by a lot of people. This most likely reinforced what the pedophile was telling Shawn how people would react to him (Shawn) . Just another reason he never called out for help. I would like to reinterate this article by Michael Reagan if any still wonder, why? It puts everything into perspective. Everyone needs to read this and educate themselves before posting negative comments about the boy.
http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1770349/posts
I can't believe it either! How sad Shawn's parents could have gotten him home way earlier!