Free Republic

Soon after the media reported Friday that a St. Louis-area boy who had been missing four days was found — along with a teen who had been missing four years — people all over the country took up the case. Those cybersleuths, most without even a hint of police training, began searching the Internet for information about the man who is accused of kidnapping Ben Ownby, missing since last week, and Shawn Hornbeck, who disappeared in 2002. They searched sex offender registries across the nation for the suspect's name, Michael Devlin, and gathered all sorts of news articles and other...

With Shawn Hornbeck and Ben Ownby safe at home with their families, authorities on Sunday turned to their next most pressing task — getting some answers. Exactly how did the two teens end up in the Kirkwood apartment of pizzeria manager Michael J. Devlin? What were his intentions for them? Did he harm them? And why did Shawn stay with him for 4 1/2 years, apparently posing as his son, while his real family pleaded for his return? Investigators interviewed both boys Saturday, but the public will have to wait for any insight into the ordeals they faced. Franklin County...

Kidnap victim Shawn Hornbeck was "brainwashed" into staying with his abductor after being told his parents no longer wanted him. His kidnapper also threatened to shoot the 15-year-old after snatching him off the street. Friends of the teenager have revealed Michael Devlin, 41, had at least three guns in the apartment where Shawn was held captive. Tony Douglas, 15, who was Shawn's best friend, said: "We both knew there were guns in the house. Michael told us that he had the guns and were for his protection." Shawn's stepfather Craig Akers, 45, has revealed his son's life was threatened by...

Child pornography was found on the home computer of the hulking loner accused of kidnapping two St. Louis boys, law-enforcement sources said Sunday. As a result, the feds are considering slapping Michael Devlin, 41, with child-porn charges, the sources said. Devlin, a 300-pound pizza-parlor manager, was arrested Friday in the kidnapping of Shawn Hornbeck, 15, who was kept for four years, and William Ownby, 13, who was rescued after four days.

No link yet...

The kidnapper of the first boy had posted messages on the Blog set up to find the boy. -------- shawn devlin - Thursday, December 1, 2005 - 1:59 AM kirkwood "how long are you planing to look for your son?" --------- and a little while latter, he posted: shawn - Thursday, December 1, 2005 - 2:56 PM "hey sorry about that last thing i put on there,i write poems and i was wounding if it would be ok to write a poem for the hornbeck fam. and they son "shawn Hornbeck" it would be cool if i could but if...

'There was no inkling that something like this would ever be linked with him,' a funeral chapel co-worker says. He was a private man who kept to himself. He paid the rent on time. He stayed out of trouble. He won his employer's respect, even getting a referral for a second job. Michael J. Devlin, 41, was never a suspect in the disappearance of Shawn Hornbeck four years ago, even though the boy lived in his Kirkwood apartment in full view of neighbors. And yet, it appeared Friday that the unassuming Devlin had pulled an unbelievable con — hiding in...

Neither Shawn Hornbeck or William "Ben" Ownby were allowed Saturday to publicly discuss the ordeal that ended with their recovery Friday and the arrest of the 41-year-old pizza parlor manager charged with holding them in a Kirkwood apartment. But the relief expressed by the families of both boys at separate press conferences Saturday morning let the world know that the future is now and that they are willing to let the past take care of itself. "I feel like I'm in a dream," said Shawn's mother, Pam Akers, who until Friday last saw her son on Oct. 6, 2002 when...