Lost & Found: Shawn Hornbeck and Ben Ownby

Shawn Hornbeck

He was a really good kid and cared about people.

Shawn was always upbeat, happy and joking.

It was 1:00 p.m. on Sunday, October 6th, 2002, in Richwoods, Missouri, he was 11 years old and all he wanted to do was go out and play.

Shawn asked his parents if he could ride his bike to a friends house.

He had rode his bike to his friend's house so many times before, so his parents agreed.

They told him to be careful and be home by 5:00 p.m. for dinner.

His mom told him that she loved him, gave him a hug and a kiss, then Shawn took off.

On his way to his friend's house, Shawn turned down Indian Creek Road.

Mike Devlin came up behind him and bumped Shawn with his truck.

This sent Shawn into a ditch.

Devlin initially seemed concerned for Shawn’s safety, but moments later things changed.

Devlin picked Shawn up, tied his hands behind his back and put him in the back of his truck while saying,

 “You were just at the wrong place at the wrong time.”

5:00 p.m. came and Shawn wasn't home yet.

His parents were very worried.

Shawn was afraid of the dark, and for him not to be home yet, his parents knew that there was something terribly wrong.

48 hours after he went missing, police and search and rescue combed the rough terrain.

Shawn’s parents, Pam Akers and stepfather Craig Akers focused all of their time looking for their son. 

They also set up a foundation to help look for missing and abducted children which they called the Shawn Hornbeck Foundation. 

Both Shawn’s mother and stepfather spent all of their money and retirement savings looking for Shawn and paying investigators to help aid the police. 

Little did they know that Shawn was only living an hour away.

They said they believed that he was still alive and they would never give up on him.

Shawn would remain missing for four years.

Shawn was physically abused throughout this time.

Devlin had guns and would threaten to murder him if he ever thought about leaving or calling for help. 

Eventually Shawn became too old for Devlin’s tastes and Devlin decided to find a replacement for Shawn.

William "Ben" Ownby

It was January 8th, 2007, he was thirteen years old and getting off the school bus in Franklin County, Missouri.

A 15 year old neighbor saw Devlin’s truck and knew something was wrong when he saw Ben crying and the truck peeling out from the bus stop. 

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.

The FBI came to Devlin’s house four days later, to question him about the kidnapping.

Devlin seemed distant and nervous and kept referring to his godson named Shawn that he had to return to. 

The FBI quickly realized that the Shawn that Devlin was referring to was Shawn Hornbeck. 

Both children were rescued and returned to their families.

Devlin was charged with 80 counts of sexual assault, kidnapping, and attempted murder.

Devlin pled guilty to all counts and was sentenced to 72 life terms.
In 2013, the Shawn Hornbeck Foundation closed and was replaced by the Missouri Valley Shawn Hornbeck Search and Rescue Team.