View source for Shawn Hornbeck

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Shawn Hornbeck born 17 Jul 1991

This article is licensed under the [[GNU_Free_Documentation_License|GNU Free Documentation License]]. It uses material from the Wikipedia article [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/User:Wjhonson/Shawn_Hornbeck "Shawn Hornbeck"].

'''Verbatim Copy''' - under Section 2 of the above license.  Attribution is not required.

Shawn Damian Hornbeck (born 1991) is an American child from [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Richwoods,_Missouri Richwoods], [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Missouri Missouri] who disappeared in 2002 and was found more than four years later. The police have stated that he was [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/kidnapped kidnapped] and subjected to forcible [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/sodomy sodomy] by [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Michael_J._Devlin Michael J. Devlin].

==Disappearance==
His family reported him missing October 6, 2002, when he did not return to his home in rural Richwoods after a bicycle ride. Following his disappearance, his parents appeared on several high-profile television shows to help gain national attention for the search. They enlisted the help of professional psychics such as [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sylvia_Browne Sylvia Browne] and [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/James_Van_Praagh James Van Praagh], both of whom stated that Shawn was dead, and gave instructions on where to search for his body.  His parents founded the Shawn Hornbeck Foundation, a charity devoted to the search for and rescue of abducted children.

==Rediscovery==
On January 12, 2007, he was discovered living with Michael Devlin in [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kirkwood,_Missouri Kirkwood, Missouri]. Devlin has been charged with kidnapping Hornbeck as well as 13-year-old Ben Ownby . He has also been charged with 52 counts of forcible sodomy on Shawn, four felony counts of production of child pornography, two felony counts of transportation of a minor for a criminal sex act, inflicting injury, terrorizing and attempted murder by suffocation. Since February 2007 he is being held on a $1,000,000 bond.

==While living with Devlin==
Neighbors report that Shawn Hornbeck was allowed outside unsupervised, while Michael Devlin worked as a manager at Imo's Pizza and also at a funeral home.

[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Oprah_Winfrey Oprah Winfrey] made him the subject of the January 18, 2007 episode of [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Oprah_Winfrey_Show ''The Oprah Winfrey Show'']. The show contained a pretaped interview and live introductions from Oprah. Oprah said during the live part of this show that Shawn told her off camera that he never tried to escape because he was "terrified". He also stated that he often prayed to be reunited with his family. When asked if they thought Shawn had been sexually abused, his parents nodded their heads yes. During his stay with Devlin, Shawn did not attend school, but he had friends. Tony Douglas, a neighbor who lived in the same apartment complex, was Shawn's best friend and spent nights over in the Devlin apartment. Shawn told Douglas that his mother had died in a car accident, that he attended a private school, and that he was later home schooled. According to Douglas' stepmother, Shawn had seen coverage of his disappearance on TV but brushed off inquiries. "There was [sic] times when we would see something about Shawn Hornbeck on TV," Douglas said. "He would be in the room. We would even kind of giggle, you know, 'you look just like Shawn Hornbeck.' He never acted upon it, no response, nothing. He didn't look sad, get up and go out of the room, anything that would lead to us believing that he was actually Shawn Hornbeck." Tony Douglas also was seen in a truck, with Shawn driving. Students from Visitation Academy of St. Louis, a private girls school, say that on December 9, 2006, Shawn attended a school dance with his girlfriend, who is a student at the school.

Some news organizations say he also may have posted messages to the guest book of [http://shawnhornbeck.com ShawnHornbeck.com], the website his parents created to find him. At 1:59 a.m. on December 1, 2005, a "Shawn Devlin" posted on the site's forum, asking "How long are you planing [sic] to look for your son?". Then at 2:56 p.m. the same day, "Shawn Devlin" posted on the forums again, asking if he could compose a poem for the family. The poem never appeared on the website. Online profiles were also created on Yahoo, in the name of Shawn Devlin, and on MindViz.com, which described a Shawn from St. Louis. Pictures were included, showing a boy presumed to be Shawn.


==Why he did not return home==
Some news sources suggested Shawn may have fallen victim to Stockholm syndrome, in which hostages or kidnapping victims sometimes befriend their captors.

Shawn reportedly told Oprah Winfrey off-camera he was "terrified." Other children kidnapped and held for a long time have also rejected the Stockholm Syndrome diagnosis, explaining that terror was the motivating force behind their decisions to remain and live rather than attempt to escape and risk death. Other victims of childhood sexual abuse have explained their understanding and support of Shawn's decisions. 


==References==
*[http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/americas/6254223.stm "Missing US teens discovered alive"]. BBC.Co.UK (13 Jan 2007). Retrieved on 13 Jan 2007. 
*[http://www.myfoxstl.com/myfox/pages/News/Detail?contentId=2051543&version=1&locale=EN-US&layoutCode=TSTY&pageId=3.2.1 "Shawn Hornbeck's Mother Calls It a Miracle"]. Fox Television Stations, Inc. (13 Jan 2007). Retrieved on 13 Jan 2007. 
*[http://www.mydjconnection.com/articles/2003/02/27/community/news2.txt "Psychic's clues lead to new searches, but no luck"]. ''Daily Journal Online'' (27 Feb 2003). Retrieved on 26 Jan 2007. 
*[http://www.stltoday.com/stltoday/news/stories.nsf/stlouiscitycounty/story/699A1FF3776BA5E3862572C00057095B?OpenDocument "Devlin faces attempted murder charge"], ''St Louis Today'', Apr 17, 2007. Retrieved on 27 May 2007
*[http://suburbanjournals.stltoday.com/articles/2007/03/03/news/sj2tn20070302-0302tri_devlinupdate.ii1.txt ''Devlin charged with producing child porn''], ''St Louis Today'', 3 Mar 2007.  Retrieved on 27 May 2007

*Mitch Marconi (13 Jan 2007). [http://www.postchronicle.com/cgi-bin/artman/exec/view.cgi?archive=5&num=58822 Rescued! Missing Boys Ben Ownby, Shawn Hornbeck Found Alive]. The Post Chronicle. Retrieved on 13 Jan 2007. 
*Fox 13 in Memphis, [http://www.myfoxmemphis.com/myfox/pages/News/Detail?contentId=2283172&version=2&locale=EN-US&layoutCode=TSTY&pageId=3.3.1 "Missouri Suspect Charged With Forcible Sodomy"] 5 Feb 2007 
*[http://blogs.riverfronttimes.com/stlog/2007/04/michael_devlin_charged_with_at.php "Michael Devlin Charges with Attempted Murder"], Blogs.Riverfronttimes.com, 17 Apr 2007

*"Living with Evil", Newsweek, 29 January 2007, pp. 48–55. 
*Associated Press. [http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,244526,00.html "Parents of Kidnapped Boy Say on 'Oprah' They Believe Son Was Sexually Abused"], FoxNews. 19 January 2007. Retrieved on 28 Jan 2007. 
*[http://www.myfoxstl.com/myfox/pages/News/Detail?contentId=2055563&version=1&locale=EN-US&layoutCode=TSTY&pageId=3.2.1 "Hornbeck Seen For Years"]. KTVI (13 Jan 2007). Retrieved on 16 Jan 2007. 
*[http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,243806,00.html "Kidnapped Missouri Boy Apparently Had Computer Access"]. Fox News Channel (15 Jan 2007). Retrieved on 15 Jan 2007. 
*[http://www.stltoday.com/stltoday/news/stories.nsf/stlouiscitycounty/story/9A53CCE6759D53B386257268001B8410?OpenDocument&highlight=2%2C%22shawn%22+AND+%22hornbeck%22 Students at Visitation say Shawn dated their classmate]. St. Louis Post-Dispatch (2007-01-19). Retrieved on 2007-01-19. 
*[http://mindviz.com/profile.php?id=dirtbike_rider Shawn's profile] at Mindviz.com

*[http://www.cnn.com/2007/US/01/14/missouri.boys/index.html Officers had 'rapport' with alleged abductor]. CNN.com (2007-01-15). Retrieved on 2007-01-15. 
*[http://www2.oprah.com/tows/pastshows/200702/tows_past_20070221.jhtml Kidnapped as a child: why I didn't run]. Retrieved on 2007-03-01. 
*[http://www.ksdk.com/news/cover_story/cover_article.aspx?storyid=112725 Kidnapping Victim Shares His Story Of Survival]. Retrieved on 2007-03-01. 
*[http://www.reagan.com/article.php?id=191 The Reason Why] January 18, 2007 (2007-01-15). Retrieved on 2007-03-01.

==External links==
*[http://www.shawnhornbeck.com/ Shawn Hornbeck's official Website]
*[http://www.fbi.gov/wanted/kidnap/hornbeck.htm FBI Missing Person Investigation - Shawn Damian Hornbeck]
*[http://www.foxnews.com/images/253811/4_65_011307_hornbeck6.jpg Photo of Hornbeck shortly after being rediscovered at age 15]
*[http://www.breitbart.com/article.php?id=D8MMLE880&show_article=1 Suspect eluded police for years]
*[http://www.news-leader.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20070121/NEWS01/701210355/1007/NEWS01 Missing little things added up to a lot for Shawn]

[[Category:GLBT]]