Families of kidnapped boys talk to
Oprah Winfrey
January 18, 2007
By SOPHIA TAREEN Associated Press Writer
CHICAGO (AP) - The families of two
kidnapped Missouri boys found last week - including one kidnapped 4
1/2 years ago - made their first extended public appearance
Wednesday at a taping of the Oprah Winfrey show.
But the families of 15-year-old
Shawn Hornbeck and 13-year-old Ben Ownby didn't detail their sons'
experiences during the show, which airs Thursday, audience members
said as they left the studio.
“They're giving them (the boys)
space to get back to normal,” said Valencia Montgomery of Oak Park.
“They're not pressuring them.”
Shawn didn't sit on the stage with
his mother and stepfather, who said they would allow him to give
them details when he's ready. He sat in the front row, gripping his
sisters' hands, said Dorothy Hodnichak of Cleveland, Ohio.
Winfrey acknowledged Shawn a few
times, although he didn't talk about his experience, audience
members said.
She showed excerpts from a
previously recorded interview with Shawn, in which he said he was
terrified during the years away and prayed his family would find
him.
“They never gave up hope,” said
audience member Ruth Del Rosario of Chicago. “It's a sad story. I'm
a mother.”
“The thing on everyone's mind is
'Why?”' said Hodnichak, 66, who wondered why Shawn never tried to
leave. Neither Shawn nor his family addressed the issue.
Shawn was 11 years old when he went
missing Oct. 6, 2002 while riding his bike in Richwoods, Mo., 65
miles southwest of St. Louis. Authorities were surprised to find him
late last week while acting on a tip about Ben, who'd been missing
since Jan. 8.
Both boys were found in a Kirkwood,
Mo., apartment belonging to 41-year-old Michael Devlin, who's been
arrested and charged with kidnapping.
Ben's parents also told Winfrey
they were grateful for their son's rescue. Ben didn't join them in
the studio, but was in another room playing video games, audience
member Evelyn Talangbayan said.
Del Rosario and Talangbayan, her
sister-in-law, said the show was emotional.
“We were passing tissues back and
forth,” Talangbayan said.
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