In the news...

[Jodi Frye]

I feel so good I want to share !

http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20070113/ap_on_re_us/boys_found_12

[G. OReilly]

:D I'm with you Jodi.....Such great news.....!!!!!

Its nice to hear a good story...rather than all that gloom & doom we seem to be getting lately.

:) George

[Jodi Frye]

George, well this ' missing boy' story hit our local news here last night and my heart got real heavy...usually these situations end up badly ...all i could think of at the time is how a parent would cope ( actually how i would cope )...my mind raced until i had to block it out entirely....too much to handle. So today when i saw yahoo front page news I was so completely uplifted ! My faith is once again renewed. The true hero here is the young boy who spotted the vehicle. He is an angel.

[GaryK]

Jodi

Butch and Nancy were talking about it last night.. turns out Butch knew the kidnapper via pizza deliveries.

Flippin scarey.

http://www.photoshopelementsuser.com/forum/showthread.php?t=18478

Part way down the thread.

[Jodi Frye]

:eek: that's quite amazing...hope the bastard gets what he deserves.

[GaryK]

Jodi

They never get what they deserve..:(

[karen donnybrook]

The rescue of the two boys was on our news here last night and my immediate reaction was how amazing to find not one but two missing youngsters at the same time.

Karen :)

[Jodi Frye]

Gary, no, they all do some day ;)

This whole story reminds me so much of an older TV movie ( true story )... ' I Think My Name is Steven ' was the name of it. Remember seeing that ? Anyways, he'll get his...

Karen, well news certainly gets around but YES is was like time stopped after i read it. Wonderful indeed. This has always been my biggest fear when it comes to my kids. Been telling them about this stuff from the very beginning...worst part they say is that it's usually someone they know. I'm just soooooo glad of this happy ending !

[GaryK]

Jodi

Not in this world.;)

[Jodi Frye]

Gary, we must keep the faith ! :)

[NMarti]

Jodi
It was so exiciting. My hubby and I went out to eat last night and the last thing I did before leaving work was check the Post (the local main newspaper in St. Louis) on line and see if there was any news. Nothing. While we were in the restaurant the breaking news came on and I saw the TV from across the room. I saw "Teenagers found" on the screen but it didn't register for a second, then they put the pictures up and I saw Shawn's picture. My heart sank for a second because I thought it was going to report they had been found dead. Then I saw them walking into the police station and I almost screamed to my husband they found them. He said you mean him and I said no Shawn TOO. He couldn't believe it. We walked over to the TV which by now had a crowd of about 20 people and just started crying. I had followed both of these cases so closely and also that of 3 other girls who are still missing. It was AWESOME to find not only Ben but also Shawn. My brother was in Kansas earlier this week helping to recover a car and body of a missing coed (Jodi Sanderholm) and I called and said he should think about heading home because it had been 5 days and Ben had not be found so they may need him here. What a fantastic ending!

[Inspeqtor]

Gary, no, they all do some day ;)

This whole story reminds me so much of an older TV movie ( true story )... ' I Think My Name is Steven ' was the name of it. Remember seeing that ? Anyways, he'll get his...


Jodi, yes I remember seeing that movie. That was several years ago and anymore I don't remember the details. It is scarey how vunerable small children are.

I am thrilled the 2 children were found!

[Jodi Frye]

Nancy, oh how wonderful ! I hadn't realized just how involved you were in all this ( sorry i cannot keep up with all the posts) ...but yes, I fought tears no doubt. Very happy moments for many many and I'm sure this story will never be forgotten...again, it's a good way to renew one's faith!

Inspector...ya, it was a good flick...and it gave me some insight on ' reality '. Tho in that true story it was many many years later that the one boy was reunited with his family...like starting over. Quite a shame. I'm glad the older boy in this story appears to be well adjusted despite it all...he just wont stop smiling ! I love it !

[NMarti]

Jodi
The cool thing is before Shawn was abducted his step-dad was in the process of adopting him (I don't know where the bio father is in all this). They said at a news conference today that Shawn told him when he saw him that he wanted to finish what they started 4 years ago - meaning complete the adoption. How cool! This whole thing has movie written all over it. Sheriff Toelke is amazing too! Just last fall he handled the baby Abbie kidnapping in his county where a woman came in, cut her mother's throat and kidnapped her. The mother walked 1/4 mile to a neighbor carrying their toddler and got help. Five days later baby Abbie was rescued when a relative of the kidnapper noticed the birthmark. Now Ben is rescued 5 days after he was kidnapped. He really puts his heart and soul into these cases and keeps them high priority in the news and that's what helped solve both of them. He's had 2 kidnappings but 3 got solved.

[efarnstrom]

Gary, no, they all do some day ;)

This whole story reminds me so much of an older TV movie ( true story )... ' I Think My Name is Steven ' was the name of it. Remember seeing that ? Anyways, he'll get his...

Karen, well news certainly gets around but YES is was like time stopped after i read it. Wonderful indeed. This has always been my biggest fear when it comes to my kids. Been telling them about this stuff from the very beginning...worst part they say is that it's usually someone they know. I'm just soooooo glad of this happy ending !

We can rejoice that the media alerts and police are on these happenings immediately. My niece and nephew were stolen by their father years ago before people were aware of the unthinkable. They were reunited with their mother after they were grown. They had been told she had died!

Not every story has a happy ending after the child is found. You mentioned Steven Stayner. At age 14, Steven finally was able to escape and return to his family. But we are shown that Steven's safe return was far from the happy ending it appeared to be. He's forced to adjust to a family he'd never really known, to convince himself that his parents had never forgotten him, and to put his seven-year Hell behind him. While "I Know My First Name Is Steven" ends on an upbeat note, the real Staynor died in a motorcycle accident only a few months after this film was first telecast in May of 1989. He lived in a town just south of our home.

Steven's younger brother was named Cary. He was the person responsible for 4 grisly murders in the Yosemite/Sierra Mountain area. Story:

http://www.crimelibrary.com/serial_killers/predators/stayner/index_1.html

Makes you wonder about families becoming disfunctional when they are thrown into situations such as these! I pray for a good outcome for these families...

[NMarti]

Es
I remember that tragic side to this story and I think that is what prompted most police agencies to help the family adjust and follow thru with counseling. It was mentioned that both families had counselors to speak with immediately after they were reunited.

The good thing about Shawn is he knew they were still looking because it is now coming out that he was attempting to leave clues on the website set up by his family, even saying he was Shawn Devlin from Kirkwood MO (using the last name of the kidnapper and telling them where he was) He mentioned seeing the posters and the news coverage according to the family but his father says he was threatened with death if he attempted to contact them.

[mom to 4]

Jodi and Gary:

You are both right. I believe they do get what they deserve, but it may not be in this world.

I was thrilled to see this new. I, along with many others probably, believed after it went on a few days, it would not have a good outcome. this is absolutely wonderful news. Back in the summer of 1991 someone attempted to abduct my now 31 year old. They searched for the guy for a week and then found him. He claimed he was just innocently trying to give her a ride. The awful part was when she first told me about it, she didn't make it sound like it was a stranger, I thought she was talking about someone from school. Maryellen was 18 monts at the time and the twins just months old. I think I was only half listening. A day later she came to me more concerned and I realized it wasn't a kid. It was someone with Missouri or Michigan licenses plates an it was a panel van (the kind used by businesses). When they found it it had all sorts of wires and electrical equipment inside. The guy had no record so back then they didn't do anything about it. BUT.....I have kicked my self for not listening and asking more questions when she first came to me. I realize I am a very lucky mom.

I also was reminded about that story "My name is Stephen". Too bad that story ultimately had a tragic ending.

Lets just hope some idiot judge doesn't let this guy out. And also, lets hope that the prosecution is very careful in their handling of the case. I don't want to see a confession thrown out like in the Lunsford case in Florida.