I knew for sure that something was wrong. >> He needed a victim and this is the only way [music] he knew to get one. >> He became so compulsive and fantasized about it for a long time. Thought about it, planned it to a degree and then executed his plan. >> We didn't know how disappeared. There was nobody who saw him. He basically was removed from the face of the earth. >> He was shot execution style. He was put in a wood chipper. He was fed to pigs. The body was thrown down a well. >> You have to move quickly. In 75% of these cases, the child is dead within the first 3 to four hours. [music] Richwoods is a small former mining town located in eastern Missouri where everyone seems to know everyone else. >> It's a small community. [music] We're spread out real far so there's not a lot of people so you don't your neighbors aren't real close but it's the kind of community that you just feel really safe at and [music] you feel like nothing's going to happen and everything's going to be okay. But as Pam and Craig Acres will soon learn, tragedy can strike in the most unlikely of places. It's an ordinary Sunday, and the Acres are waiting for their 11-year-old son, Shawn, to return home after spending the afternoon with some friends. He had asked if [music] he could ride his bike to his friend's house and we told him, "Yeah, just be home by 5:00." And, you know, I gave [music] him a kiss and told him I loved him and watch him ride his bike out the driveway and start down the the road. >> But by nightfall, there's still no sign of Shawn, and Pam is growing more concerned by [music] the moment. I started going down a list of his friends and asked any of them if they had seen [music] him. And majority of them that I called said they hadn't seen him that day. And I thought, okay, somebody had to have seen him. He had to go play somewhere cuz he's not going to play by himself that long. That's [music] when I knew something was wrong. And I decided to call the police and and report him missing. >> Deputies from the Washington County Sheriff's Office and the local fire department soon arrive at the Acres home. But by then, the worried parents have already taken matters into their own hands. >> We got a picture, [music] scanned it in, made up a flyer. By that time, we had started calling our relatives to let them know that Shawn was missing, asking [music] for their help to come look for him. Probably within 30 minutes, everybody in the community knew about it. Everybody started showing up within just a [music] few minutes of each other and [snorts] asking if they could help search. As volunteers scour the area, Pam and Craig [music] stand watch at the house, hoping Shawn will turn up on his own. >> We were sitting on the front porch and just looking out into the darkness and everywhere you looked, you could see the lights of flashlights just shining here and [music] shining there and hearing people calling Shawn's name. >> But as night turns into morning, there's still no sign of Shawn. The 11-year-old has simply vanished. Craig's [music] next step is to notify the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children, who in turn contacts the FBI. >> I was sent down here initially just [music] to determine what what was going on, what what actually happened. >> First, FBI agents and local authorities begin [music] reconstructing the chain of events that led up to Shawn's disappearance. We started interviewing some of his friends and individuals who knew him well to attempt to [music] determine what they might have believed happened to Shawn. And the hopes were that Shawn had just gotten lost in the woods or [music] was injured and just couldn't get home or had stayed at someone else and just failed to contact his parents. >> But Craig Acres assures investigators that Shawn isn't the type of kid who would just wander off or run away. He was doing really well in school. >> Um, no major problems there. >> Can I keep this? >> And he loved [music] uh video games, computer games. Uh, baseball was a real passion of his. Just a general [music] good kid. >> Could you give me a description? >> When it comes to missing children, the parents are often at the top of the suspect list, [music] but Pam and Craig are quickly ruled out, as is Shawn's biological father, who passed away several years earlier. My [snorts] impression of of Pam and and Craig were that they were good parents. They cared very much for their son and very much wanted him [music] to return safely. >> But with no other leads to speak of, investigators are left with little more than a few eyewitness accounts detailing Shawn's movements [music] on the day he vanished. >> He went behind the Richwood school and there he met his sister and her friend at that time and [music] talked to them for a while. Then he got back on the road, rode through Richwoods all the way down past the Catholic church. He was observed by two of his classmates in school [music] at that time. About 3 3:30 came down Little Indian Creek Road where we're standing now. Seems like he was just bouncing all over the place looking [music] for something to do, looking for someone to play with. An hour later, Shawn was seen riding his bike near the intersection of Highway A and Highway 47. But that's where the trail goes cold. Investigators quickly canvas the area in question, looking for anything that could shed light on Shaun's disappearance. We were looking for any evidence such as clothing, his bicycle, tire marks on the highway, any of those types of things that could have indicated that Shawn was involved in that accident. But there's no sign of Shawn or his bike. >> The concern was that Shawn could have been injured, gone off on a side trail or something, fallen into the sinkhole of sistn or some of the caves that are in the area [music] here. So, at this point, we weren't sure what had happened. >> The following 48 hours [music] brings in scores of tips, but not a single clue as to Shawn's whereabouts. It was kind of disheartening because as time goes on and he still hasn't been found, your mind starts going to, okay, why haven't they found him yet? >> And after [music] three full days of searching, the family has to face the growing likelihood that something more sinister may be at work. >> We were pretty sure that it wasn't going to be simply a case of somebody just stumbling across them on a bike trail or something like that. when we did [music] not locate Shawn and we started getting these tips that were kind of outside the area of the of the search area. We've realized that we may have a criminal investigation. >> Now, only one thing is clear. [music] The clock is ticking and for 11-year-old Shawn Hornbeck, it may already be too late. In terms [music] of uh child abductions in general, for offenders who are motivated to kill children, there has been have been studies to suggest that children will die within the first 72 hours. [music] 4 days after 11-year-old Shaun Hornbeck disappears in rural Missouri, authorities realize they're facing a possible abduction or worse. >> Sometimes we have incidences where children are kidnapped by acquaintances. We have children that are kidnapped by strangers. Sometimes they're recovered alive and and sometimes not. For me as a mother that still had a child out there missing, you know, my worst fear was is [music] that people was going to go on their lives and never even have that thought again. And you know, you just you had to find ways to keep their name and their picture out there [music] cuz you cannot let anybody forget. >> The case did affect me personally because I do have three children and that I wanted to have some resolution for the family. As Shaun's parents hold out hope, authorities begin the task of contacting and questioning sex offenders in the area. During the investigation, I actually found a a number of suspects, and you do in any case like this, but none of it proved out. >> There wasn't anything new happening. No one had found anything. There was no evidence. So, it just got harder and harder. >> In the meantime, investigators have to consider all the reasons someone may have taken Shawn. >> In 1970, if a child was abducted, we assumed it was a ransom money motivated abduction. Now, when you hear a child's been abducted, [music] we assume that it's a sexually motivated abduction. But it's not always true, and it's not always the circumstances. >> [music] >> For example, we've had a rash of cases where child abductions are motivated by revenge and gang activity and drugdeing activity. So, it's somebody, you double cross me in a drug deal, you didn't pay [music] me, so I kidnap your kid. >> With this in mind, FBI and local police continue to chase down every lead, no matter how far fetched. >> He was shot execution style. [music] He was put in a wood chipper. He was fed to pigs. Uh [music] the body was thrown down a well. >> There were a lot of bogus [music] leads and there were a lot of people that became suspects because of these bogus leads. >> It can be frustrating. Conducting an investigation like this is frustrating because you just continually you you don't see the end. >> Then almost a week after Shawn's disappearance, their determination finally pays off. An anonymous tip comes in about two women in a mysterious front-end collision that occurred in the area where Shawn was last seen around the same time he vanished. So, we didn't know what to believe at that point. And I guess that's probably why [music] we continued to follow up on stories about him being hit by a car. The information that we got was that there were at least two girls in a car um that had hit a dog that evening. Investigators must now consider the possibility that the girls didn't hit a dog at all. >> Through investigation, we had in fact located the individuals that were involved in the accident. >> Good afternoon, ma'am. >> The FBI and the authorities were able to track the car down, the two girls. They both admitted hitting a dog with a car. >> Tissue and hair samples are collected from the dented car and examined [music] by the FBI. It did turn out to [music] be animal remains from from a dog >> through both forensic and through the interview to determined that they had not been involved in an accident involving Shawn. >> But the dead end soon gives way to speculation that Shawn's disappearance could be drugreated. We started receiving [music] numerous phone calls that Shawn had been hit either by individuals involved in the drug trade or that he had walked in on a drug transaction or that he had come upon a drug lab that was in the rural area. And uh so then we had to try to verify or or disprove these these uh tips as they came in. There was a lot of drug leads that came out that he was taken because of drug money. By November, [music] members of the Washington County Sheriff's Office, the FBI, and prosecutor's office have gathered volumes of information, but nothing is panning out. >> It became pretty evident that we weren't making a lot of progress. We had made buttons that had Sean's picture on it [music] with a the tip line number on it. There wasn't a day I didn't walk out this door that I didn't have that button on me. There wasn't a day that I wasn't giving out flyers. >> I always took the position that until some piece of evidence indicated that Shawn was deceased, I was going to believe that he was still out there someplace. Then while canvasing a neighborhood near Shaun's school, investigators [music] stumble onto a man named Lou Kent. >> Sir, uh, we're canvasing. >> He is forthcoming when questioned and admits to hearing about Shawn's disappearance. But the more they speak with him, the more authorities find his behavior peculiar. He was very suspicious. Told me about dreams that he had. [music] and in those dreams that he thought the child was buried in a pond bank with his bicycle near a beaver dam. The reason that was significant is because nobody up to the time had given me any information about where they thought the child was buried. In 2005, the FBI created a special team called CARD, Child Abduction Rapid Deployment, to assist local law enforcement with any case involving the mysterious disappearance of a child. It's been weeks since the disappearance of 11-year-old Shawn Hornbeck, and authorities in Missouri are honing in on a man named Lou Kent. That gentleman was significant because of the things that he related to me in interviews, things that the child he thought was buried somewhere. Naturally, we didn't discount anything that he said because [music] you couldn't unless you had some evidence. You're not going to discount anything that you hear. >> For several days, [music] investigators conduct interviews with Kent in an effort to get to the bottom of his strange behavior. His alibis changed from time to time. At one time he'd give one alibi, the next time he would give another. It was hard to pinpoint [music] it down and even to find witnesses that could validate any of the alibis for him. That's what kept [music] him on the radar screen as a prime suspect. >> Investigators soon learned that Kent had in fact approached the Acres several times shortly after Shawn was reported missing. He would [music] apologize to us for what happened. And he would give us drawings of different places [music] that he said he would find kids clothing at. And it just got real scary because you thought, "Okay, maybe [music] maybe he is trying to tell us something." >> It was obvious that he was disturbed. You could tell that he'd been crying. He was very frantic. And, you know, just his appearance and his demeanor, [music] you knew that that something just wasn't right. But with no direct evidence linking [music] Kent to the abduction, authorities must continue to look into other leads. Then a few days later, the [music] investigative team gets another break. One of the K-9 search teams that's used by the FBI in this area had dogs show an indication on the banks of a lake uh just a couple of miles from here. >> We asked a local dive rescue squad that had the diving capabilities to come out and assist. >> Motorized submersible [music] cameras search the lake bottom, but there's no indication of a sunken body. Eventually, the search is called off. But the Acres family is not satisfied. It looked like they had covered it pretty well, but we still had the fact that seven dogs or ever how many dogs had indicated that there should be something there. So, I [music] called the leader of one of the K9 search teams and I put it to him as if what what's your feeling? If it was you, if it was your [music] son, what would you do? He said, "I drain the lake." >> It takes 3 days to drain the lake, but when the job is complete, the lake bed is empty. >> It was actually a big [music] relief because it was like, "Okay, there's still got to be out there alive somewhere, and we still have an opportunity to find him." >> Everything that we did, every breath that we took, every second of every day revolved around what can we do to keep this going? What can we do to find our son? As the months drag on, the investigation slowly grinds to a halt. >> Solvability factors were stopping and we were having to rehash over some of the leads uh to generate new leads. >> In long-term abduction cases that go on for long periods of time, now we're talking about months, years. There the the evidence is not so promising. though many of these kids are just [music] simply never heard from again. >> Do you think Sean's still alive? >> I don't know. I'm hopeful that he is, but the longer it gets, the harder it gets. And but that's the hope that I'm going to keep hanging on to. I'm not going to think otherwise until somebody can prove to me differently. >> I was so depressed and so distraught and didn't know what to [music] do next. Then nearly 2 years after Shawn's disappearance, a strange tip comes into the Missouri State Highway Patrol, they're notified by park rangers in Eureka, Missouri about suspicious writing found on a bathroom stall in a city park restroom. >> Somebody had written a message and in this message mentioned that there had been some children abducted. Officials take a photograph of the writing, then paint over it so park visitors won't be disturbed by its explicit message. The photo is then sent to the FBI office in St. Louis. >> Since Lou Kent remains a person of interest in the case, authorities question him once again. When I asked him about the writing, he told me that he was in that area [music] during the time that this took place. And again, we could not [music] eliminate him as a suspect. It seemed at every turn, he injected himself personally in the investigation. >> But with only a photograph of the message, police don't have enough physical evidence to file charges against Kent or anyone else. >> He didn't want to ignore him completely, but we didn't want everything to be focused just around him either cuz there was no evidence whatsoever. Nearly 3 years into the investigation, there's still no indication of what happened to Shawn Hornback. And as the lead agent retires, a new team takes over the case. >> When I got signed the case, you know, it was 3 years old. People are still calling. People are still concerned. Sean Hornbeck's family never gave up hope. The community never gave up hope. The biggest regret that I had was that this case had not been resolved. [snorts] >> People would ask me, "How do you know he's still alive [music] out there? You know, you're just kidding yourself that that you're not going to deal with the grief that [music] he's passed on and that you're never going to find him." Well, that was just not acceptable to me. As Shaun's case gets colder by the year, the people of Missouri do their best to move on with their lives until January of 2007 when residents in a nearby county find themselves in a similar situation. >> One of my sergeants contacted me and uh said that uh they had a child that was missing. We get a lot of calls like that. kids that don't come home from school, they're mad at their parents or they maybe missed the bus, something like that. But, uh, he felt this one was, uh, was, you know, unusual and he was pretty concerned about it. [music] >> On January 8th, 2007 in Franklin County, Missouri, Donby comes [music] home from work expecting to find his 13-year-old son, Ben. >> It was normal practice for Ben to get off the bus, uh, go immediately home and start playing video games. He'd become concerned since he hadn't shown up. >> Don searches the entire house and surrounding area, but there's no sign of Ben anywhere. He then places a call to his wife Doris at work. >> She actually went to the school and contacted teachers there to see if he may have missed the bus or maybe have had an activity there, and they hadn't seen him either. So, that's when they really became concerned. >> Dawn soon begins contacting kids in the neighborhood to see if anyone has seen his son. It's then that Mitchell Holtz, a friend of Benz, reveals an incident from earlier in the afternoon that gets Don's attention. [snorts] >> Mitchell reported that uh he had seen this white truck uh around the area that where Ben had gotten off the bus and then he also saw it leave the subdivision at a high rate of speed. >> Fearing the worst, Don immediately calls 911. >> Um what's the problem? >> My son is missing. >> Okay. And how old is your son? >> He's uh 13. >> Okay. When's the last time you saw him? >> Uh the bus driver seen him get off the bus at Booth Lane approximately uh 3:30 quarter to 4. >> Okay. What is his name? >> Uh Ben O. >> Nobody wants to hear something like that happening in their county. You know, it's one [music] of the worst things you can experience. Not only for law enforce especially the parents. As soon as the sheriff arrives at the Obby residence, Dawn brings them up to speed [music] on the suspicious truck that Mitchell Holt saw in the area around Ben's bus stop. That really started to raise concern that this may be an actual kidnapping. >> Knowing that time is of the essence in these cases, the sheriff's department wastes no time reaching out to the FBI for assistance. >> In 75% of these cases, the child is dead within the first 3 to four hours. And that's a tremendous amount uh to have to deal with. Ben Omb's case was not just a runaway. There's some foul play involved. As a first step, authorities interview 15-year-old Mitchell Holtz. >> I seen a white Nissan pickup sideways in the road and it took off flying down the hill. >> Mitchell said as he was coming down the road towards his house, he saw this white truck sideways in the road that he'd never seen in the subdivision before. He piled the vehicle down the road where it turned around and then he saw the vehicle leave at a high rate of speed. >> Mitchell doesn't remember seeing Ben at all, but he did get a good look at the vehicle. Mitchell gave an outstanding description of that truck. He just started rattling off uh very detailed description about the truck that it had rust over the fender, had an elongated glass on the camper shell, there was a 2-in trailer hitch on the back, there were two handles on the back of the camper. You know, it's very detailed. >> Given his extremely thorough description of the mysterious [music] white truck, it seems odd to investigators that Mitchell can't remember the license plate number or offer a description of the driver. >> We were really concerned that he was making this up just because of the publicity. Just hours after Ben Oby disappears, Mitchell Holtz [music] agrees to a polygraph test. >> There's a vetting process. He's provided information about the the white pickup truck. So, of course, our investigation has got to focus on him. >> But Mitchell passes the polygraph and authorities rule him out as a possible suspect. As they continue their interrogation, they soon learn why Mitchell's [music] description was so surprisingly meticulous. >> His response was, "Well, I just really like trucks." and that turned out to be the case. He was he's a truck fanatic. >> Following up on Mitchell's report, investigators returned to the scene and quickly uncovered two key pieces of evidence. >> We found the trailer hitch mark that Mitchell had told us about. There were tire tracks at that location where the vehicle turned around. We were able to cast those and we were able to determine basically that there were two different types of tires. We knew that if we could just find that truck, we could match uh the impressions and the tires uh with that vehicle. That along with Mitchell's uh initial report was was very beneficial to us. We put out a description locally with the St. Louis media. A lot of the family members, we made up flyers. They were putting those around in stores. The word got out fast in this area what had happened in in this white truck. >> Investigators are now convinced that Ben was snatched off the street by a complete stranger. The problem is he could be anywhere. >> The next step is to try to figure out who uh what type person we were dealing with. Um you know, a motive, just anything. Is it somebody local? Is it somebody just passing through? >> These individuals are sometimes referred to as the grabbers. They grab kids and [music] physically overpower them. Because you're a stranger, you are far more likely to use physical force, threats, [music] weapons, threats of weapons, those kinds of things to overpower the child. sometimes will murder the child. They'll sometimes release the child. It can vary. >> This is someone who lacks confidence in himself. He lacks social competence. He doesn't have the skills to groom and seduce them. >> The next day, media outlets broadcast the news of Ben's abduction on every local channel, hoping to bring in new leads. And the minute I seen it come up with the news, it was like an immediate flashback. And I just kept thinking to myself, "Oh my god, not another child." >> Search parties combed the area all night looking for any sign of Ben or the white truck. >> We had 826 leads that came in and it's like sitting on on a highway when cars zipping by you. I mean, so much information is coming in. We set up some roadblocks and uh we're starting to distribute information, check vehicles in the area, asking anybody if they'd seen this white truck or anything unusual. Uh a lot of the local residents, fire department personnel, they all volunteered to help. >> No one slept during that time period. At least I didn't sleep during that time period. You're looking for this kid and we all have kids. This kid actually was like one of our own. We're trying to find. Authorities soon begin to speculate whether there could be a connection to Shawn Hornbeck's disappearance so many years before. due to the fact that Richwoods, Missouri is located fairly close to Buford, Missouri, and we had individuals that we were looking at focusing on the Shan Hornback investigation. We also looked at those individuals, see whether or not they had any ties or connections to the Ben Owen case. We also looked at uh a reduction that occurred up in the St. Charles area, Lincoln County, and several others around the St. Louis area that, you know, we always think there's a possible connection with these and uh that was that was on our mind. >> And it isn't long before investigators uncover a startling fact concerning one of their persons of interest in the Hornbeck case, Lou Kent. >> My prime suspect uh drove a vehicle that was almost exactly the same as the one that had been [music] cited by the witness in the OMBb uh kidnapping. He had also moved to an area within about 20 mi [music] of where Owen B was abducted, which made it seem more that my suspect may have been involved in both cases. When investigators realize that Lu Kent, a person of interest in Shaun Hornbeck's disappearance, drives a truck similar to the one seen at Ben Oby's abduction, he once again draws the attention of the FBI [music] and local authorities. >> It was just so similar that, you know, immediately you had to think, "Wow, this is just weird. It's almost like deja vu." Agents question Kent about the latest kidnapping, but he denies having anything to do with Ben's case and consents to a search of his truck. Right away, it's clear that the vehicle does not fit Mitchell Halt's description. It's another major setback for the investigation, but not for Lu Kent. After spending nearly four years under a cloud of suspicion, authorities concede that he had no involvement in either boy's abduction, and he's officially dropped as a person of interest in [music] both cases. At another dead end, all investigators can do is circulate the latest developments to the local media. >> We were flooded with calls coming in from all various types of white pickup trucks. Everything from a from a Chevy to a Ford to a Mitsubishi. I mean, if you looked at all of them. >> Then 3 days after Ben's abduction, police officers are serving an arrest warrant to a resident of an apartment complex in Kirkwood, Missouri, when they notice a familiar vehicle. >> We were trying to decide whether or not this was going to be just another white truck. You know, you're always on a roller coaster with these things. >> But just moments after noticing the truck, officers see a man walking through the complex parking lot. As it turns out, [music] he's the owner. Michael Develin. Michael was really relaxed. He was comfortable. [music] Didn't have a problem talking with the officers. >> But when police [music] ask if they can look inside his apartment, Develin's demeanor suddenly changes. >> They asked if he was familiar with the the kidnapping or the disappearance of Beni. He said that he was he heard it on the news. He basically said, "If you have enough reason to go into my apartment, you get a search warrant." Are you kidding me? The officer finds Delin's defensive attitude suspicious and immediately alerts the command post. >> We really didn't know much about him. Uh, you know, obviously when the name did surface, we started running uh background information. We couldn't find a criminal history and and obviously started working on him right away. Um, contacting people that knew him. We immediately sent out an FBI agent and a Missouri State Highway Patrol to recont Delin to get further information. And he basically said the same thing that uh he realized that vehicle that he was driving matched the description of the vehicle that was seen on TV. He saw the news reports of Ben Ombi. He uh didn't know who Ben Obby was. Never saw Ben Oi. But despite Delin's suspicious behavior, authorities are at a standstill until they can secure a warrant to search his apartment. >> It was getting late in the evening, and then we decided the following day to make another run at or approach Michael Develin again. >> The next morning, Develin reports to work at a local pizzeria as usual. During the noon lunch rush, FBI agents try once again to persuade him to cooperate. >> When we asked Michael if we could search his vehicle, he at first was apprehensive. And we told him, [music] uh, Michael, you need to do your part. The community is coming together to find Ben. Your vehicle matches the description, and so that [music] makes you a suspect in his disappearance, and we'd like to eliminate you from that so we can move on [music] to the next tip. The vehicle is towed to the FBI office in St. Louis. As agents continue their interrogation, we would ask him the pertinent questions. Were you down in Franklin County? Were you in that area? Who who had custody of your vehicle this week? [music] Where were you? Were you at work? Uh those type of questions. And so he was calmly answering them. And then we would push his buttons by asking him, can we search [music] your apartment? You've already given consent to search your vehicle. You know, why not one more search of your apartment? And he was adamant that we not search his apartment. During the interview, he had been speaking about his godson that was staying [music] with him. And repeatedly he was talking about his godson. [music] And we never really pushed him. and we kind of let him just talk about his godson. >> It's then that agents decide [music] to play their ace in the hole. They tell Devlin they have tire prints from the scene where Ben was abducted. And if they match his tires, it's as conclusive as a fingerprint. He started to swallow and started to get, I would say, probably nervous and trying to decide what he was going to say. He all of a sudden said, "That's not my godson. It's Sean Hornbeck." I was thinking, [music] "Holy cow." And I said, "Is Ben with him? We've been asking you about Ben for almost 2 hours now. Is Ben with him?" >> Develin finally breaks down and admits that both boys are in his apartment. I had to take a a a breath [music] because I just couldn't believe what I was hearing. And the next step was let's get the kids let's get the boys to safety. It probably is only a 5minute drive from the pizzeria to [music] his apartment and it felt like I drove and it felt like an hour. Surrounded [music] by FBI agents, Delin unlocks the door to unit D. >> Ben was sitting on the arm of the [music] couch. As my partner walked in, he kind of was running straight for the door. He he was on [music] a mission to get out of there. >> What's your name? >> And I said, "Uh, Sean, what's what's your last name?" And he said, "Hornbeck." And I said, "Uh, [music] son, we're here we're we're here to take you home to your family." and he said, "Okay." [music] He was very calm, much calmer, I think, than I would be after missing for four years. Very [music] strong boy. >> The moment that uh they told me that they had found Shawn and Ben together, uh it was just unbelievable. You know, [music] you just I don't know that there's any word to describe that. We don't often have cases where abductors uh keep children for a lengthy period of time. In this case with Sean Hornbeck, he [music] kept him for over four years. Uh, typically that doesn't happen. >> Immediately, authorities [music] arrest Develin for kidnapping and notify the task force. >> The command post just erupted. Everybody was high-fiving everybody. There probably wasn't a probably a dry eye in the whole whole department. >> Within a few hours, Pam and Craig Acres arrived at the Franklin County Sheriff's Office to confirm whether or not the teenager found in Develin's [music] apartment is really their son. We had him go into a room uh where there was a camera. It was an interview room. And then we brought his parents in. We wanted them to see him first. >> When he looked at me [music] with his eyes and with his smile, the he's got this one crooked smile that he has that identifies him. And if I would have seen them, [music] I would have I definitely would have known it was him. >> Nearly 4 and 1/2 years after he vanished without a trace, the Acres are finally reunited with their son Shawn. It was one of those weird [music] things where you had so much to say but didn't know where to start. You just didn't didn't know what to say. You were just so happy to be back together. And it words just didn't seem to matter. >> Sean is a miracle here. We're glad to have him home. I still feel like I'm in a dream. Only this time it's a good dream. It's not my nightmare that I've lived for four and a half years. Inside Delin's filthy apartment, authorities continued to solidify their case against him. >> There was actual I mean uh bits and pieces of just dirt filth on the floor. Uh you could tell it was never uh kept clean. Also located in the apartment was uh uh child pornography uh photographs and videotapes. This is someone who never disclosed to anyone his sexual interest in children because he understood what the ramifications of that disclosure would be. So that was a secret that he kept inside for many many years. man, is this guy just mentally disturbed to think that he could actually get away with doing that over the the course of the next few days and weeks and trying to wrap your head around what this person is and what they've done. What have they done to my son? >> Once the children have had an opportunity to reunite with their families, authorities interview Ben and Shawn about their time in captivity. And one big question remains. Why during all that time did Shawn never attempt an escape? >> He was abducted using threats and force and intimidation and infliction of pain and [music] suffering. So that's the original control mechanism that makes him fearful and and he's [music] controlled that way. >> Now after spending over four years in virtual captivity, Shawn Hornbeck can finally recount for investigators [music] exactly what happened on the day he was abducted. Sean told us that he was riding his bike down the road that we're standing on here just about in the area we're in right now. Michael Develin drove his truck up beside Sean Hornbeck. Actually struck the child while he was on his bicycle. Develin showed Shawn a weapon. Um, and at that time Shawn asked him why. And Develin's answer to Shawn was, "You were in the wrong place at the wrong time." >> Shortly after the [music] abduction, he had actually tied Shawn up for about a month's period. And he would go home a couple of times [music] a day. He used the excuse that he was medicating his sick cat. And then after a month's time had passed, he recognized that he couldn't keep up this [music] excuse anymore. >> Develin then decided it was time to get rid of the only witness to his crimes. But when Shawn realized Delin was going to kill him, he made a deal with the devil. >> Let's go. >> And Shawn very reasonably felt this man's going to kill me right now. So what Shawn [music] did very astutely and he's a very intelligent young man. He negotiated his way out of it and basically started [music] to plead with Michael and said, "If if you don't kill me, I won't run. I'll pretend to be your son. I'll take the name Shawn Develin." >> When the captain doesn't kill [music] the person, the person is then grateful. It's just common survival human behavior. And so a lot of these victims when they become what I call compliant, but when they begin to cooperate in their victimization, [music] they suffer a great deal of shame, guilt, and embarrassment. >> We had that still psychological control. I think after years of manipulation and abuse and influence by Michael Develin that he didn't feel he was capable of escaping. By April 2007, Develin is charged in Washington, Franklin, and St. Louis counties with kidnapping, attempted murder, armed criminal action, and forcible sodomy. He is also charged in a federal court with four counts of the production of child pornography, [music] and two counts of transportation of a child for the purpose of criminal sex acts. The first time I saw Sean's abductor was [music] at the Washington County Courthouse the day that we had to go to court. And we were sitting in the in the front row and he was probably not any farther from me than my [music] wall is there. And it just took every ounce of energy I had in my body [music] just to sit there in that chair and not get up and take manners into my own hands. I just had to take a lot of deep breaths. A lot of deep breaths. Develin eventually pleads guilty to all charges. >> On the day of his sentencing, Michael Develin said, "I know who I am. I know what I've done, and I know where I need to be." And said, "If I get out," he said, "I'll do it again." >> Michael Develin receives 20 consecutive life terms, 52 concurrent life terms, plus 15 years imprisonment. >> I wanted him dead. I wanted him as dead as you can [music] get. But then the more I thought about it and the more I thought about it, I thought, you know what? I want him to know what pain he had caused. I want him to feel the same pain [music] that we had felt, same pain Sean had felt. Um, I just felt like death would have been the easy way out for him. >> Develin is currently serving in the Crossroads Correctional Facility in Cameron, Missouri. >> We interviewed Michael Develin over the course of two days. He said that he recognized his sexual interest in boy around the age of 13. And he according to him [music] he managed to to keep this secret quiet. He he managed to uh according to him stay celibate for 20 years. Then ultimately he [music] just he just couldn't manage it anymore. He needed to act out against a child. He'll never be able to hurt another child again. Um but you know you still have that pain and that hurt knowing what your child went through knowing that you were he was [music] away from you for you know 4 and 1/2 years. Um you know I still get angry at time knowing of some of the things that I missed out on. >> Today Shawn Hornbeck and Ben Oby have returned to their lives and are looking forward to bright futures. Shawn [music] has a lot more to deal with than Ben. Um, just in terms of the longevity of and how long he had to endure that sexual abuse and the mental manipulation and [music] the psychological controls. I wouldn't wish that on my worst enemy. What happened to either boy? Um, and I think uh hopefully Shawn what he needs now I think is anonymity. I think he needs to have his own life back. he's been [music] able to to really get a handle on it and put it behind him and move on. You know, does he think [music] about it from time to time? I'm sure he does. You know, there there's no way that anyone could completely forget about [music] what had happened and never think of it again. But I really believe that those instances [music] are few and far between.