<text color="secondary" size="sm">United States · 2002–2007</text>
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On October 6, 2002, eleven-year-old Shawn Hornbeck disappeared while riding his bicycle near his home in Missouri.
His disappearance triggered a massive search. His family continued hoping that one day he would return.
But years passed without a breakthrough.
In January 2007, another boy, thirteen-year-old Ben Ownby, disappeared. Police launched an urgent investigation to find him.
During the search, investigators followed a lead to an apartment
in Kirkwood, Missouri.
Inside, they found both Ben Ownby and Shawn Hornbeck.
Shawn had been missing for more than four years. He was now 15 years old.
The discovery shocked investigators and the public. A search for one missing child had unexpectedly led authorities to another boy who had vanished years earlier.
Both boys were rescued, and their families finally received news they had waited desperately to hear.
