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KIDNAPPED: Shawn Hornbeck & Ben Ownby

A chance encounter, dedicated parents, and a true crime writer lead to the rescue of two kidnapped boys.

On October 6th 2002, Shawn Hornbeck mounted his lime green bicycle and set off to his friend’s home. His parents trusted him and the route he would take enough that Shawn was allowed to travel alone. He had only made half a mile when a white truck, hit him off his bike.

The driver, Mike Devlin, got out rushing around to check on the boy that he had hit. To passers-by, he seemed concerned about what he had done but really he had hunting for a boy just like Shawn for months. Devlin picked Shawn up and put him into his truck. Devlin told Shawn that he “was just at the wrong place at the wrong time.” as he was taking Shawn from Richwoods, Missouri to his apartment in Kirkwood.

Shawn was tied up for a month inside the apartment. At one point, Devlin tried to strangle Shawn but when Shawn promised not to tell anyone what was happening, Devlin stopped what he was doing. Shawn survived the attempt on his life.

For the next four years, Shawn was led to believe that if tried to get help or escape then he and his family would be harmed. Devlin and Shawn lived alternatively as a father/son duo or as just family friends. Despite the relationship that Devlin was forcing him to live through, Shawn was sexually abused by Devlin.
Eventually, Shawn was allowed to hang out with friends, have a cell phone and go out on dates. He wasn’t allowed to go to school.

While Shawn was captive in Devlin’s apartment, his parents started the Shawn Hornbeck Foundation in January 2003. The foundation released a computer-generated photo of what an older Shawn could potentially look like on October 6th 2006.

Things changed when Devlin began taking Shawn out in his truck, looking for his next victim like he had with Shawn years before. On January 8th 2007, Devlin made Shawn get into his truck and they went out again.
Ben Ownby at a bus stop in Beaufort, Missouri.
Devlin was seen taking Ben from the street by Ben’s friend. The boy reported what he had seen to the police instantly, concerned about his friend’s screams for help.
Devlin would later tell the FBI that he started looking for another victim when Shawn became “too old” for him.

True crime writer Michelle McNamara began looking into Ben’s disappearance, putting the links together between Shawn’s disappearance and Ben’s. She used online maps to guess where they were potentially being held. She theorized that the person that had taken them had picked the boys because they looked much younger than their actual ages. Michelle came close to solving the case, her investigation nearly in time with the polices.

The FBI got a tip about a truck matching the description that Ben Ownby’s friend gave days prior. Someone had seen the truck parked outside a Kirkwood pizza restaurant. The truck belonged to the manager Mike Devlin.
Devlin agreed to agents Lynn Willett and Tina Richter to have his truck searched. Agent Willett was able to get a confession out of Devlin. With the confession, Devlin’s apartment was raided. Shawn and Ben were both found inside, playing video games together.

Mike Devlin pleaded guilty to all charges and was sentenced to multiple life sentences, in total getting over 4000 years. 

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Location: Missouri, USA

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