Missing since October 6, 2002 from Richwood, MO

DOB: July 17, 1991 Age: 11 years
Height: 4' 8" - 142 cm
Weight: 90 lbs - 41 kg
Eyes: Brown Hair: Brown

At the time that Shawn was last seen he was wearing an orange colored t-shirt with the word 'Astros' across the chest in black lettering. He was also wearing blue jeans and white Nike shoes with a blue stripe on them. Shawn was not wearing a jacket or bike helmet at the time. Shawn was last seen riding his bike away from his home to go to a friends house. Shawn was riding a neon green 20-inch "ShockZone" Boys' Bike.

Authorities now say missing boy probably was abducted
BY SARAH TROTTO AND TIM ROWDEN
Of the Post-Dispatch
10/11/2002 09:01 PM

Police on Friday said the 11-year-old boy who disappeared in Washington County was probably abducted.

But authorities say they have no suspects and no solid leads in the case, which began late Sunday afternoon. That's the last time Shawn Hornbeck was reported seen, riding his bicycle near his home in Richwoods, Mo., about 60 miles southwest of St. Louis.

Family members, volunteers and police have scoured the dense woods, rolling hills and former strip mine sites nearby but have found no trace of the missing fifth-grader.

Because of that, FBI Special Agent Keith Lourdeau said, "We're operating on the assumption that he probably was abducted."

The FBI on Thursday joined the Missouri Highway Patrol and Washington County Sheriff's Department in the investigation of Shawn's disappearance.

Police said they were following leads locally and out of state but would offer few details.

One tip early Friday came from a psychic who told volunteers to look in a wooded area and ravine off Highway 47 about a mile from where Shawn was last seen. Police searched the area but found nothing that would help
them in their investigation.

About 70 volunteers, including three professional search teams with dogs, continued to comb the area Friday, vowing to search through the night.

"We still have a lot of terrain to cover," Shawn's dad, Craig Akers said.

Fliers with Shawn's picture have been posted as far west as Sullivan and as far north as St. Louis.

By late Friday his picture was posted on the Web site of the television show "America's Most Wanted." His posting is among other missing people and includes a profile of the case, a link to the family's Web site at
www.shawnhornbeck.com and a telephone number for the Washington County Sheriff's Department.

Shawn's parents, Craig and Pam Akers, were interviewed Friday morning on the "Today" show at the studios of KSDK (Channel 5). Pam Akers pleaded with anyone who might have seen Shawn or who might know where he is to call the police.

She said she continued to hold out hope that Shawn would come home.

A $10,000 reward has been offered for information leading to Shawn's return.

Authorities said the national exposure would likely generate calls to the department's information line.

Police have asked anyone with information to call 573-678-5260.

The family's Web site is www.shawnhornbeck.com.

Reporter Sarah Trotto:
E-mail: strotto@post-dispatch.com
Phone: 314-340-8337

From the aerial views at Mapquest, that's a very remote area around Rickwood.

http://www.cnsnews.com/ViewNation.asp?Page=\Nation\archive\200210\NAT20021014a.html

Sniper Steals Spotlight From Kidnapped Kids
By Michael L. Betsch
CNSNews.com Staff Writer
October 14, 2002

(CNSNews.com) - An 11-year-old Missouri boy disappeared outside of his home late Sunday afternoon a week ago, while riding his bicycle. Shawn Hornbeck's father, Craig Akers, says he won't give up hope, but some wonder if the establishment media has given up on its high profile coverage of child abductions.

Charles Pickett, a senior case manager at the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children (NCMEC), suspects the media has overlooked the Hornbeck case because of his unattractive rural upbringing. But that wasn't the case when 14-year-old Elizabeth Smart was taken from her upscale home at gunpoint June 5th, Pickett said.

The Smart case had an element of intrigue that triggered the national media to react, he said. "And, boy, they sure did jump on that one."

"Here you had a child that lived in a very upscale home in a very upscale community and she was taken out of her bedroom," Pickett said. "You know, how can you take a child out of million dollar home in a community where nothing ever happens and nobody knows anything about it?"

He surmised that media coverage of child abductions "may be like buying real estate - location, location, location."

In the meantime, he said, there were other abducted children around the country that didn't get the same media exposure and assistance that Smart received. --->>>

"It's a good possibility that media sensationalism and how it will be received in the viewers' eyes is very important, maybe, to the media in what type of cases they do profile," Pickett said.

He suspects the sniper crisis that has struck fear throughout the Washington, D.C., metropolitan area is the main reason why the national media has not highlighted any child abductions or issued any AMBER Alerts in recent days. --->>>

Pickett hopes the national media will continue reporting child abductions because, regretfully, they occur on a daily basis. Further, he said, "It's going to be the key to help them bring these children home."

...the barrage of kidnapping stories that flooded the national news last summer were being played for "ratings purposes."

"When you take a story that doesn't have any real impact on any people in other parts of the country and give it to them because it's exciting and dramatic and maybe has some striking visual - that's kind of the definition of 'sensationalism'...--->>

"While people can be momentarily fascinated by the specter of children in danger, that's not going to keep your ratings at a peak indefinitely,"...--->

...media's coverage of shark attacks, child abductions, and the sniper all have one common theme - fear.

"People do respond on a very deep, instinctual level to the idea that they're in danger," Naureckas said. "You'll pay attention if you think you're in danger. So, it is one of the most compelling things that you can put on television."

And, the 24-hour cable news stations have discovered that they pull in their best ratings if they only cover one story, he said.--->>>

E-mail a news tip to Michael L. Betsch.

10/16/2002

Richwoods, MO (AP) -- The family of a missing Missouri boy say they could use more volunteers in searching for eleven-year-old Shawn Hornbeck.

Shawn disappeared October sixth while riding his bicycle to a friend's house in Richwoods, southwest of St. Louis in Washington County.

(KMOV)
A $20,000 reward is being offered for information leading to the fifth-grader's safe return.

Yesterday, volunteers looking for Shawn doubled their search area from a 7 to a 15-mile radius from where the boy was last seen.

Volunteers have spent more than a week combing the wooded hills, former strip mines, farm ponds, lakes and riverbanks around Richwoods, but have found no clues.

Shawn's mother says the family is NOT giving up, and that they still need more volunteers.

http://www.kmov.com/localnews/kmov_localnews_021016_hornbecksearch.c45cffc5.html
*©2002 Belo Interactive

Shawn may have been involved in hit-run. If so his bike may be hanging from a tree. Ground search reveals nada? LOOK UP !

*Joseph: If you are in the area or know the area, could you please describe the terrain, what trees etc. *SEE Jill Berhman this forum.

I can't speak for the immediate area of Richwood, which could be somewhat different, but in general that part of Missouri is fairly heavily wooded, mainly deciduous. The landscape is "hilly," as you're beginning to get into the Ozarks. You'll encounter a number of ravines and old mines throughout the area.

The landscape does lend itself to creating some dangerous roads which wind, twist, and have a great number of blind spots. One highway in particular in the general area acquired the unfortunately apt nickname of "Blood Alley," for all the fatal accidents. Your suggestion of a possible hit-and-run would not be "out of character" for the area, LadyBug.

How far did Shawn want to bike from point last seen ( home? )to destination (friend ?)? A map would be helpful. Is it hunting season in that area? Geeeez ask the hunters for help, provide them a map. Ask ham radio and CB operators for help!

LOOK UP ! Look down, don't give up look all around!

10/29/2002 04:58 PM

Investigators of the disappearance of 11-year-old Shawn Hornbeck won't overlook a theory -- one of many in the case -- that the fifth-grader may have happened upon criminals running a remote methamphetamine lab, a prosecutor said Tuesday.

But Washington County prosecutor John Rupp dismissed as hearsay some broadcast reports that volunteer searchers for Shawn, missing for more than three weeks, had been threatened by meth dealers twitchy that search efforts might uncover their labs.

``It has gotten a little too far out of hand,'' Rupp said Tuesday as searchers in Richwoods, about 60 miles southwest of St. Louis, continued to search for Shawn.

``Yes, Washington County has a meth problem, and Richwoods has a meth problem,'' Rupp said. ``There is a theory, and it cannot be overlooked, that meth MIGHT have had something to do with Shawn's disappearance. But that's one of many theories, and it's absolutely a theory not supported by any facts or solid evidence.''

Overall, the prosecutor said, ``we really don't have any solid leads or evidence'' about Shawn's whereabouts since he vanished Oct. 6 while riding a bike to a friend's house.

Since then, Rupp said, searchers who have scoured the densely wooded, one-time mining town have discovered about five former meth-making sites.

Shawn's father, Craig Akers, said he was unaware of any direct meth-related threats -- only rumors that makers of the drug, while perhaps using the remote area as cover for their labs, were finding all the searching bad for business. --->>>

http://www.stltoday.com/stltoday/news/stories.nsf/News/86256B51006BC7AB86256C61007D6272?OpenDocument&Headline=Still%20no%20solid%20leads%20in%20Shawn%20Hornbeck's%20disappearance

Mon, Nov. 04, 2002

Weeks after disappearance, missing boy's family stays hopeful
BY TIM ROWDEN
St. Louis Post-Dispatch

ST. LOUIS, Mo. - KRT NEWSFEATURES

(KRT) - The dense woods of rural Richwoods, Mo., still lush with late summer greenery when 11-year-old Shawn Hornbeck vanished Oct. 6, have taken on the red-orange and yellow hues of autumn. And with it has come a tinge of despair for Shawn's parents, Pam and Craig Akers.

The wooded hills, abandoned strip mines, farm ponds and open fields of this area, about 60 miles southeast of St. Louis, have failed to yield any trace of Shawn or his bicycle. The volunteer searchers, numbering more than 200 in first few days after Shawn disappeared, has dwindled to about 30.

"If he was just hurt or lost out there, I believe we would have found him by now," says Mrs. Akers, adding that she still believes her son is alive.

It's an awkward sort of optimism.

If Shawn isn't hurt or lost, she theorizes, then he must have been taken. And if he has been taken, then he can be returned.

"Some people say I'm in denial but, as a mother, I don't have a bad feeling yet," she says. "I guess it's probably because, as a mother, I'm so hopeful that we're going to find him and bring him home. In my heart and in my gut, I know somebody out there knows something, and eventually, they're going to have to say something. If they've got any heart or conscience at all, they're going to have to say something."

Police disbanded a command post in Richwoods about two week ago. But Mrs. Akers says her family will continue searching, for as long as it takes, or as long as they can. She's not ready to put a date on it.

A photograph of Shawn is staked near the road in the Akers' front yard. His smiling face greets visitors beneath a single word: Missing.
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