Mystery deepens on Mo. boy’s 4-year absence

She said that a few months ago, she saw Devlin showing Shawn how to drive Devlin’s pickup. A short time later, she saw Shawn driving the truck with another boy, Tony Douglas, beside him. Missouri law allows 15-year-olds to drive, but only if an adult is with them.

Tony’s brother, Larry, said Tony often went skateboarding and biking with Shawn and had no idea of Shawn’s real identity. Larry Douglas said his brother was not being allowed to speak to the media.

Larry Douglas said his brother used to live in the same apartment complex as Devlin and Shawn before recently moving.

“They were best friends,” Douglas said. “They went everywhere together.”

Tony sometimes spent the night at Shawn’s apartment, but rarely spoke with Devlin. Larry Douglas said his brother saw no indication of abuse, or clues that Shawn was a captive.

“He just hopes to see his friend again,” Douglas said. “He’s happy for Shawn.”

Kevin Schroeder, sheriff in Washington County, said that Devlin owned a piece of vacant property in Washington County, about 20 minutes from where Shawn was seized in the rural community of Richwoods.

“It’s a connection — I would definitely say so,” Schroeder said.

Ben Ownby was also abducted from a small town, Beaufort, in neighboring Franklin County. Both Beaufort and Richwoods are about an hour from Kirkwood.

Ben’s abduction on Jan. 8 immediately caught the sheriff’s attention because of similarities to Shawn’s case.

Similar descriptions
“The main thing was the physical description of Ben,” Schroeder said. “Their height, their weight, the age. They were both taken from rural communities. So many aspects of it were surprisingly similar.”

NBC VIDEO Who is Devlin? Jan. 14: New details are emerging about the Missouri man accused of kidnapping two boys. NBC's Kevin Tibbles has the story. Nightly News

Two Kirkwood police officers were at the apartment complex Thursday on unrelated business when they spotted a white, rusted Nissan pickup truck that matched the description of the truck seen speeding away after Ben’s abduction.

That Shawn had so many ways, and chances, to contact police or others has confounded relatives and friends.

Rick Butler, who lives across the street from the apartment, said that last fall he found a cell phone outside Devlin’s apartment. Butler called a number on it and Shawn came to Butler’s apartment to retrieve it.

“Thanks a lot for the phone,” Butler recalled the boy saying.

A spokeswoman for Shawn’s family declined interview requests on Monday. Lloyd Bailie, Ben’s uncle, said on CBS that Ben was talking about the ordeal only with his FBI counselors.

“No one’s pushing him at this point to answer these questions,” Bailie said. “The biggest concern right now is all of the media coverage ... that somebody’s going to ask the wrong question.”

Michael Popkin of Atlanta, author of the book “Active Parenting,” said how the boys recover depends in part on what they went through during their captivity. He said it was not surprising that Shawn had seemingly adapted to life with his kidnapper.

“What happens is that you’re dependent on your captor for your survival needs, for your safety,” Popkin said. “You can start identifying with them if they show kindness and win you over.”

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