Spectacular AMBER Alert Happy Ending

Two missing children were found alive together in an apartment in Kirkwood, Missouri. William "Ben" Ownby of Beaufort, Missouri and Shaun Hornbeck of Richwoods, Missouri,were found alive and in the same apartment.

13-year-old William "Ben" Ownby had been missing since Monday January 8, 2007. He disappeared after getting off the school bus near his home, in Beaufort, Missouri. Another student, 16-year-old Mitchell Hultz saw a white pick up truck speed off from the area where Ben had last been seen. Hultz was able to provide a detailed description of the suspect's vehicle.

An AMBER Alert was issued on Tuesday when law enforcement officials determined it was likely the boy had been abducted. The citizens of Beaufort, Missouri and surrounding communities, including Metro St. Louis, quickly responded by posting the boy's description and photo in every imaginable location. The news media covered the story of his abduction during every newscast for more than 4 days.

On Friday evening, a resident in the same apartment complex, contacted law enforcement officials with the location of a vehicle that matched the description of the small white pickup truck from the AMBER alert.

Police arrested 41-year-old Michael Devlin at his apartment in Kirkwood, Missouri. When authorities entered the apartment they were astounded to discover that not only was William "Ben" Ownby being held, but another child who had been missing since October 2002 was in that apartment.

Shaun Hornbeck had been missing for more than four years. Shaun, who was 11 years old, was abducted while riding his mountain bike to a friend's house, in his rural neighborhood. Despite the entire community's efforts he had not been recovered. Many had given up hope that he would ever be found. Shaun is now 15 years old.

Ben and Shaun appeared to be in reasonably good health as they were escorted into the Franklin County Sheriff's Office in Union, Missouri. Both boys were taken to SSM Cardinal Glennon Children's Hospital for examination. They were surrounded by overjoyed family and friends. The boys were expected to be released from the hospital and return home with their parents later Friday evening.

The accused abductor, Michael Devlin, was taken to the Franklin County Sheriff's Office and is being held on a $1,000,000.00 bail. Devlin, a store manager at Imo's' Pizza in St. Louis, was silent, as members of the news media shouted questions towards him as he entered the building.

Questions are now being raised regarding other missing children from the area. In particular, 13- year-old Bianca Piper who disappeared on March 10, 2005. She had gone for a walk near her home. Law enforcement officials will question Michael Devlin about his possible involvement in her disappearance.

Law Enforcement officials credit the activation of the AMBER Alert system, and community support, with the recovery of these missing boys. Tom Noble with the F.B.I. said, "This is just a perfect example of the cooperative nature of law enforcement in this area, and also hats off to the news media. You did a wonderful job in getting this description out here that made this day a happy day for everyone...This is just a fantastic day for the St. Louis area."

The AMBER Alert Program, named for 9-year-old Amber German, is a voluntary partnership between law-enforcement agencies, broadcasters, and transportation agencies to activate an urgent bulletin in child-abduction cases. Broadcasters use the Emergency Alert System (EARS) to air a description of the abducted child and suspected abductor. This is the same concept used during severe weather emergencies. The goal of an AMBER Alert is to rally the entire community to assist in the search for and safe recovery of a missing child. The Internet also plays a big part with CODE Amber's AMBER Alert ticker which originates from CODEAmber.org. This website offers HTML codes that will display the AMBER Alert ticker on web pages, email signatures, and public venues such as My Space.