Why Didn't Missing Boy Shawn Hornbeck Try to Escape His Captor?

Many are asking why Shawn Hornbeck did not just walk away from his captor and some are wondering if he really was kidnapped at all or was he a run away that took refuge with Michael Devlin. In light of some new information that includes a messages posted to a website that had been set up by the parents of Shawn Hornbeck it is beginning to appear as if the teen might not have been held against his will.

Several times Shawn Hornbeck had the chance to tell someone he was being held by Michael Devlin and instead each time he made the choice to behave as if he was any other teenage boy going home to a single father. A neighbor reports finding a cell phone and calling a number that was in the phone, Shawn Hornbeck came down and retrieved the phone and thanked the man for returning it but never gave the man any indication that something might have been amiss. The most shocking of all is that on three different occasions Shawn Hornbeck was picked up by the local police for being out after curfew and each time they returned him to what they believed to his home.

Victims often bond with their captors and children who are reliant on adults for their well being can be even more likely to do so. Elizabeth Smart upon being recovered denied being who she was and tried to protect her captors while the world look on with horror at what must have happened to the young girl with the innocent face.

The question still remains did Shawn Hornbeck try to give hints to his family. It appears that he left a message on Shawnhornbeck.com under the name Shawn Devlin asking how long they intended to look for their son. Was this the reaction of a teenage boy who was so close yet so far away from his family? Was he confused as to why his family couldn't find him when he was so close? Just what had Michael Devlin told him about his parents? Had he been told that they didn't want him? Did he assume this was their choice? If he felt that Michael Devlin was the only person that wanted him then would it not make sense that he said nothing to anyone about his real identity? The concept of being put into foster care is a very real fear for many children and most would rather stay in a situation that is unsafe for them than face the unknown.

The Stockholm Syndrome was brought to public attention during the kidnapping of heiress Patricia Hearst that resulted in her assisting her captors in a bank robbery. The Stockholm syndrome is named after a case in the 1970's when bank employees were taken hostage during a robbery after being held for six days the bank employees tried to both defend and protect their captors, they had become emotionally attached to their captors and when the ordeal was over they felt as if they had to protect their captors instead of needing protection for themselves.

It is very possible that Shawn Hornbeck is suffering from The Stockholm Syndrome; it is also possible that he believe what Michael Devlin told him in the even that he was told anything about his parents. Children often feel unwanted, unloved or less important than other siblings in the house for a number of reasons. Any of these things are likely to contribute to the confused world that Shawn Hornbeck lived in with Michael Devlin and those same things will almost assuredly cause the young kidnap victim to continue to suffer from emotional turmoil for many years to come.