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Missing children
Devlin pleads guilty to charges
(10/09/07)UNION, Mo. -- Facing "overwhelming evidence" against him, Michael Devlin admitted Monday to kidnapping young Ben Ownby -- accepting a life sentence during the first in a staccato series of expected guilty pleas for the abduction and sexual abuse of two boys held captive in Devlin's apartment...
Hornbeck case will be tried in Washington County
(08/07/07) POTOSI, Mo. -- The Michael Devlin kidnapping trial in the Shawn Hornbeck case will be heard in Washington County -- but with an imported jury. Attorneys for both sides agreed during a court hearing Monday to allow for a jury to be brought in. A date for the trial has not been set. A judge is expected to decide Sept. 10 what county the jury will come from...
Devlin pleads not guilty in Shawn Hornbeck case
(05/22/07) POTOSI, Mo. -- Michael Devlin, appearing clean-shaven and thinner, pleaded not guilty Monday to charges that he kidnapped, sexually abused and tried to kill Shawn Hornbeck in 2002. Devlin's arraignment Monday at the Washington County Courthouse in Potosi marked the first time he has left the Franklin County jail since he was arrested Jan. ...
Devlin to be arraigned in Washington County
(05/21/07) ST. LOUIS -- Michael Devlin, accused of kidnapping two teenage boys more than four years apart, was scheduled for arraignment on charges that he kidnapped, sexually abused and attempted to murder 15-year-old Shawn Hornbeck in 2002. Devlin's arraignment, set for today in Washington County, will mark the first time he has left the Franklin County Jail since he was arrested Jan. 12...
Police say runaways revealed plans to classmates
(03/28/07) Police say two runaway Perryville children found Monday in a Milton, Fla., residence, may have planned their departure weeks in advance. Perry County Sheriff Gary Schaaf said Tuesday an investigation into the disappearance of Brandon Lundmark, 14, and Brianna Wilson, 12, revealed they had told classmates they were planning to run away... 
Missing Perry County youths found in Florida
(03/26/07)MILTON, Fla. -- Two youths missing from Perry County since last week have been found in Florida.
Missing youths reportedly seen in New Madrid
(03/21/07) PERRYVILLE, Mo. -- Police are investigating a reported sighting of two Perryville youths who reportedly ran away from home Tuesday morning. Perry County Sheriff Gary Schaff said Wednesday an employee at the Flying J truck stop in New Madrid, Mo., called saying Brandon Lundmark, 14, and Brianna Williams, 12, may have been in the truck stop's convenience store Wednesday morning... 
Prosecutor: Plea deal possible for Michael Devlin
(03/07/07)UNION, Mo. -- Prosecutors from three Missouri counties and the federal government are considering an offer of a plea deal that would put kidnapping suspect Michael Devlin in prison for the rest of his life, Franklin County prosecutor Robert Parks said Tuesday...
Devlin faces federal charges of child porn, transporting victim
(03/02/07) ST. LOUIS -- A Missouri man accused of kidnapping and molesting two boys was indicted Thursday by a federal grand jury for allegedly taking pornographic pictures and videos of one of the boys and taking the child across state lines with the intent to engage in sexual assault...
New charges against kidnapping suspect allege sexual abuse
(02/06/07) CLAYTON, Mo. -- A Missouri man accused of kidnapping two boys and holding one for more than four years was charged Monday with molesting them -- nearly 70 times in all. The charges were the first time authorities have openly accused Michael Devlin of molesting the children...
Source: Shawn Hornbeck was forced to guard Ben Ownby
(02/02/07) ST. LOUIS -- Abducted teen Shawn Hornbeck assisted his alleged captor Michael Devlin by keeping guard over another snatched boy after Devlin repeatedly left the youngsters alone in his apartment, an official said Thursday. Shawn's cooperation with Devlin was the result of what Shawn experienced during his first 30 days of captivity after Devlin allegedly kidnapped the boy in 2002, an official close to the investigation said. ...
Family helps Ben Ownby make life normal again
(01/28/07) BEAUFORT, Mo. -- Life isn't normal again for Ben Ownby. But all in all, life seems pretty darn good. Ben got home Saturday afternoon after a long day of Boy Scout training, where he was working to earn a merit badge in First Aid. He walked in the front door, looked around and stood stopped in his tracks with a big grin on his face...
Devlin to plead not guilty in '02 kidnapping
(01/23/07) ST. LOUIS -- Michael Devlin, who has already pleaded not guilty in the kidnapping of Ben Ownby, will enter the same plea in connection with Shawn Hornbeck's abduction, Devlin's lawyer said Monday. Attorney Michael Kielty said he expects Devlin to be arraigned Friday on charges of kidnapping and armed criminal action in the Hornbeck case. ...
Suspect in two abductions says years while Hornbeck was missing were happy ones
(01/22/07) UNION, Mo. -- The man accused of kidnapping two Missouri boys and holding one of them for four years said life was good for him during that period, a newspaper reported Sunday. Michael Devlin, 41, said his own parents, who live nearby, have not visited him since his arrest earlier this month, The New York Post reported...
Shawn Hornbeck reportedly met with police 10 months after disappearance
(01/21/07) ST. LOUIS -- Ten months after Shawn Hornbeck disappeared from his home in Washington County, he spoke with Kirkwood police to report his bike being stolen, apparently the first of two encounters Hornbeck had with police after his 2002 disappearance... 
Dedicated volunteers never gave up hope boy would be found
(01/19/07)RICHWOODS, Mo. -- In the St. Louis suburb of Kirkwood where Shawn Hornbeck was held captive, he drew no one's concern. In the town of Richwoods where the boy grew up before his abduction four years ago, he became everyone's child. The community continues to celebrate the return of Shawn, now 15, found alive in that Kirkwood apartment on Jan. ... 
Parents tell Winfrey they believe abducted son was sexually abused
(01/19/07)UNION, Mo. -- The parents of a Missouri teen told Oprah Winfrey in a show that aired Thursday that their son hasn't told them directly but they believe he was sexually abused during the more than four years he was missing. "OK, I'm going to go there and ask you, what do you think happened? Do you think he was sexually abused?" Winfrey asked Craig and Pam Akers, parents of 15-year-old Shawn Hornbeck... 
Devlin charged with abduction of Shawn Hornbeck
(01/18/07)POTOSI, Mo. -- The pizzeria worker already charged with kidnapping Ben Ownby is now charged with the abduction of Shawn Hornbeck, prosecutors said Wednesday. Washington County prosecutor John Rupp said Michael Devlin, 41, was charged with kidnapping and armed criminal action... 
Families of kidnapped boys talk to Oprah Winfrey about their ordeal
(01/18/07)CHICAGO -- The families of two kidnapped Missouri boys found last week -- including one kidnapped 4 1/2 years ago -- made their first extended public appearance Wednesday at a taping of the Oprah Winfrey Show. But the families of 15-year-old Shawn Hornbeck and 13-year-old Ben Ownby didn't detail their sons' experiences during the show, which airs today, audience members said as they left the studio...
Mo. kidnapping defendant escaped suspicion for years
(01/17/07) ST. LOUIS -- The man accused of kidnapping two Missouri boys and keeping one of them for more than four years escaped suspicion right up until the very end -- largely because he had no criminal record. In fact, Michael Devlin apparently had so little fear of being caught that he used to joke around with police at the pizza parlor where he worked, and even phoned officers when he had a dispute with a neighbor over a parking space, authorities say...
Two area missing-person cases still open
(01/17/07) The discovery of two missing Missouri boys alive and safe Friday revived the hopes of a local woman whose sister has been missing for four decades. Ben Ownby, 13, and Shawn Hornbeck, 15, were found in a Kirkwood, Mo., apartment belonging to Michael Devlin, 41. Devlin has been charged with one count of first-degree kidnapping...
Kidnapped Mo. boy might have posted photos of himself online
(01/16/07) KIRKWOOD, Mo. -- While his alleged kidnapper was at work, teenager Shawn Hornbeck apparently had access to a computer, and he -- or someone pretending to be him -- may have put photos of Shawn online and posted a chilling message on a site created by his desperate parents: "How long are you planning to look for your son?"...
Teen of few words gets hero's salute
(01/16/07) BEAUFORT, Mo. (AP) Mitchell Hults is a young man of few words. But when it mattered most, he talked late into the night, giving authorities the information they needed to rescue his friend and another boy held captive. In a matter of days, Mitchell, 15, has gone from a quiet country boy to a teenager hailed as a hero on national television and in his hometown...
Experts: Missing boy was controlled by his captor
(01/15/07) KIRKWOOD, Mo. -- For more than four years, Shawn Hornbeck seemed to have had every chance to escape, left alone for hours to ride his bike, play video games and walk past missing-child posters showing his own age-progressed image. But mental health experts say this troubling case is hardly so simple, and that Hornbeck was likely kept mentally shackled by terror and domination from the man accused of kidnapping him, 41-year-old Michael Devlin... 
Questions linger amid joy of finding kidnapped boys
(01/14/07)KIRKWOOD, Mo. -- Investigators who made the incredible discovery of two kidnapped boys in a tiny apartment turned Saturday from euphoria to some troubling questions. What could have motivated the suspect? How did he treat the boys? And how was he able to keep them hidden in plain sight just an hour's drive from their hometowns -- one for four days, the other for four years?...
Ben Ownby and Shawn Hornbeck found alive
(01/12/07) BEAUFORT, Mo. (AP) -- A 13-year-old boy missing since the beginning of the week was found alive in a suburban St. Louis home, along with a 15-year-old boy missing since 2002, authorities said Friday. Sheriff Gary Toelke said Ben Ownby and Shawn Hornbeck were found in a Kirkwood home belonging to Michael Devlin, 41. Devlin has been charged with one count of first-degree kidnapping, and Franklin County prosecutor Robert Parks said more charges are likely... 
Family makes plea for boy's safe return
(01/12/07)BEAUFORT, Mo. -- The family of 13-year-old Ben Ownby made a tearful plea Thursday for anyone who might have abducted the boy to return him home unharmed. "Whoever has him, we just want to get him back safely, no questions asked," said Ben's father, William "Don" Ownby...
Many leads in kidnapping case, but 13-year-old boy still missing
(01/11/07) BEAUFORT, Mo. -- With every passing moment, the wait becomes more frantic for the family of a missing 13-year-old. Ben Ownby, a straight-A student and Boy Scout, disappeared Monday afternoon, soon after the bus from his middle school dropped him off 500 feet from his rural eastern Missouri home... 
Boy, 13, missing and feared kidnapped in Franklin County
(01/10/07)BEAUFORT, Mo. -- For hours before 13-year-old William "Ben" Ownby turned up missing, neighbors saw a beat-up white pickup cruising his rural neighborhood. A schoolmate saw what was possibly that same truck speeding away about the time Ben disappeared... |