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The Happy Ending For Two Kidnapped Boys Highlights The Millions Of Children Still Missing And The Cases That Ended In Tragedy

Aired January 13, 2007 - 17:00   ET

THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
DORIS OWNBY, MOTHER OF BEN OWNBY: We were just ecstatic. We don't want to let him go or out of our sight. He -- he doesn't want us to hold onto him, but we have. Just -- we're just excited and happy to have him at home.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

RICK SANCHEZ, CNN ANCHOR: What a story. Two missing boys safe and sound today. One of them gone for more than four years.

Severe weather, real severe in so many places, all over the country, from flash flooding in the South to an ice storm in the Midwest.

And a coal mine tragedy in West Virginia. A roof collapse reportedly kills two miners.

What better way to refer to it -- the miracle in Missouri. Two missing boys now safe and sound. One hadn't been seen since 2002.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

CRAIG AKERS, SHAWN HORNBECK'S STEPFATHER: There's always hope. Hope is what gets you through. And sometimes this is what happens when you have that hope. You know, this -- this is just one of those rare, rare things. I mean, you know, to have one missing child found is -- is just extraordinary. To have two found at the same time is, it's just one of those things that I don't even know if you ever even read about things like that.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

RICK SANCHEZ, CNN ANCHOR: I want to show you the man who's behind bars. His name is 41-year-old Michael Devlin. You get a shot of him right there.

See him?

He is charged with kidnapping officially, though there probably may be a lot more to come. Investigators combed through his apartment last night in suburban St. Louis. They say that Devlin could face even more charges. He's going to be arraigned, we're told, next week.

Shawn Hornbeck was just 11 when he disappeared more than four years ago. Euphoria and relief evident at news conferences held by his family and by the family of 13-year-old Ben Ownby, who vanished Monday. Both boys were found in the same place, living in the suspect's apartment.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

WILLIAM OWNBY, BEN OWNBY'S FATHER: Our focus is just, now that we've got our son back, we're not going to think about him.

QUESTION: What are Amanda's thoughts (UNINTELLIGIBLE)?

AMANDA OWNBY: I'm just really glad to have Ben back.

QUESTION: How grateful are you to Mitchell?

DORIS OWNBY: Oh, old man. What a great kid. We haven't had a chance to talk to him or anything yet, so, yes. He's owed a great big hug from all of us.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

PAM AKERS, SHAWN HORNBECK'S MOTHER: I also, too, just want to thank everybody for everything that you have done. I do want to give the other family members out there hope that their child can come home also. John 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.

We've got a lot of catching up to do. He's grown up on me, that's for sure.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

SANCHEZ: This story really did turn on a dime, because hopes of finding Ben Ownby were rapidly dimming already. There was just, in fact, one solid lead -- a battered white pick-up spotted at the scene of the teen's disappearance Monday.

Then, the big break Friday afternoon when a truck of the same description as the one seen taking off from the bus stop was spotted. And it led police to 13-year-old Ben. And then, to another boy, who disappeared more than four years ago, Shawn Hornbeck. He's now 15.

For two grateful families, this is no doubt a day of jubilation.

Joining us now from Kirkwood, Missouri with more is CNN's Jonathan Freed, who is joining us by phone -- Jonathan, really amazing the way this whole thing just came to be in really such little time, didn't it?

JONATHAN FREED, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Absolutely, Rick.

And even the sheriff in Franklin County, Gary Toelke, was sort of suggesting earlier today that even he hoped that he wouldn't wake up and find out that it was a dream, at how well this had gone and in how short a time it was, at least as far as the Ownby case goes, and just a miracle, people are saying here, that Shawn Hornbeck was found four years later.

We're talking four days and four years. People here, Rick, just reeling from it.

I can tell you the latest that I have from the sheriff's department is that they feel that they have said what they are going to say for now. They feel that they have been out front and very visible with the families answering a lot of questions today. And together with the Franklin County prosecutor, Robert Parks, they feel that they need to really withdraw and huddle over the weekend and really put the emphasis now on getting their case together.

Because, as I heard you mention just a little while ago, right now we have one charge of kidnapping, one felony count, but more charges are expected as they continue to put this together -- Rick.

SANCHEZ: You know what a lot of people are going to be thinking about as they're listening to you filing this report from there, they really want to know who this Michael Devlin character is. I mean, I know the that police obviously are going to hold a lot of the information close to the vest.

But what can you tell us about him at this point?

FREED: Well, you know what?

Let me -- let me read a statement that comes from Bopp Chapel, which is a funeral home here, one of the places he's worked recently. And here's a statement from them saying -- and I'm quoting now -- "Mr. Devlin worked at Bopp Chapel part-time for less than a year. His job title was overnight telephone attendant. And he worked Sunday and Tuesday nights from 10 p.m. to 7 a.m. He was very prompt, well mannered, efficient in receiving calls.

Bopp Chapel joins everyone in their relief and joy in the safe return of Shawn and Ben."

Other people are saying that he was just a, you know, private man. He kept to himself. That is the kind of thing that you frequently hear about in a case like this. But as much as a cliche as it can be, people here in this community of Kirkwood are just, many of them, amazed that this has happened here.

SANCHEZ: But he really was hiding this boy in plain sight, wasn't he?

He didn't seem to be locked up in the basement or anything, right?

FREED: That's not the sense that we have right now, exactly. And that is the thing that is puzzling so many people, wondering what kind of a hold did he have over this child --

SANCHEZ: And when you say hold...

FREED: ... for four years?

SANCHEZ: And when you say hold, you probably are referring to some type of psychological hold, right?

FREED: Absolutely. Those are the kinds of things that we're looking at here on the ground, what are the types of things that contributed to this boy remaining with him for four years if, as we have seen so far, there's nothing to suggest that he was locked in a room the entire time.

SANCHEZ: Right.

Jonathan Freed, good stuff.

We appreciate you filing that for us.

We'll obviously be talking to you throughout the course of the evening.

You heard Jonathan refer to that psychological hold, so let's talk to someone who knows a lot about that right now.

This is a child and teen psychologist.

This is Dr. Susan Bartell.

She's good enough to join us.

Can you try, in your own mind, from what you've read of this story and from what few details police have released, give us a sense of how something like this could happen?

And let me be a little more specific, because the viewers may not know this who are joining us now, but there are reports that this boy would walk around the neighborhood, that he was seen riding his bicycle, did not seem to be physically held by this suspect.

DR. SUSAN BARTELL, CHILD PSYCHOLOGIST: Right.

There are different things that can happen that can cause a child to stay with a captive, as a captive when he doesn't appear to be in a captive situation.

For one thing, he could have been told that his family was going to be hurt if he left. He could have been threatened, in which case he would stay if he was -- if he was told that someone was going to hurt his parents.

He could also, as was the case with Steven Stayner many years ago, in the 1970s, have been convinced that his family didn't want him anymore, that they were done with him and they weren't interested in him, in which case, he would begin to think that this was a situation where he was wanted and he would stay feeling relieved that this was a situation where he would now be loved. This is a complicated case and until we know the facts, we cannot know for sure why he stayed.

SANCHEZ: Can you tell us...

BARTELL: He...

SANCHEZ: Can you give us a sense -- and pardon the interruption -- but can you give us a sense of what it's going to take to make him well again?

BARTELL: It's going to take an enormous amount of counseling from someone who really specializes in this type of disorder that occurs, Post-Traumatic Stress Syndrome. Perhaps he is suffering from Stockholm Syndrome, which is when children or adults who have been held captive for a long time start to identify with their kidnapper...

SANCHEZ: Yes.

BARTELL: ... which is another thing that could have kept him captive for so long, starting to really feel that he cared for the captor, which also would have kept him staying there as a -- with his kidnapper.

SANCHEZ: At the very least, he has to be extremely confused, right?

BARTELL: Extremely confused, really feeling like he doesn't know his parents anymore. His parents probably don't know how to deal with him, as much as they are thrilled that he's back. I can't even imagine their relation.

SANCHEZ: Yes.

BARTELL: They must not know him. They have four years of really very, you know, complicated developmental years of early adolescence, of not knowing their child's growing up. And he must feel the same way, of having developed and not done it in front of the eyes of the people who love him the most.

SANCHEZ: Counselor Bartell, thanks so much for joining us and sharing that insight with us.

BARTELL: Thank you very much.

SANCHEZ: Certainly a story that we will continue to follow here with more reaction from some of the families.

And this, our other story of the day, the severe weather that we've been following in different parts of the country that we're going to be taking you to, as well.

Another ice storm is ready to his this evening. We're wondering if people are going to be in the dark.

We'll have live reports coming up. BONNIE SCHNEIDER, ATS METEOROLOGIST: We are looking at a combination of wintry weather, including heavy rain, thunderstorms, back up toward snow and ice, stretching all the way across the nation's mid-section.

How long will it last and when will temperatures finally warm up?

I'll have the answer, coming up.

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(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

C. AKERS: This is kind of the start of a new chapter, I guess. Shawn's home, but that definitely doesn't mean that the Shawn Hornbeck Foundation's work is done. Hopefully, we have another member of the Shawn Hornbeck Foundation now that can help us look for other missing child. That's something that's not going to go away. That's something that we devoted our lives to four years ago and just because we've recovered our own son, doesn't mean that our work is done.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

SANCHEZ: Craig Akers' son is no longer missing. Fifteen-year- old Shawn Hornbeck is one of two missing Missouri boys reunited with their families.

More on what's being called the miracle in Missouri later in this program.

But first, we turn to the other big story of the day.

It is cold, deadly cold in the nation's mid-section. A frigid Arctic storm that has been pushing across the country. Roads are shut down in some places. Airlines have been canceled. Flights have been canceled. Thousands of people left without power. Cold is blamed for killing six people so far.

Reggie Aqui is keeping track of what's happening right now.

He joins us from Oklahoma City -- Reggie, what have you got?

REGGIE AQUI, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, here's the newest stuff. We just heard that there's going to be a second round of this icy mixture. We're talking about sleet and freezing rain and even snow coming in later tonight. We're talking somewhere between midnight and 4:00 a.m. the heaviest stuff coming through.

And this could be the stuff that really knocks this city out, because so far, all those power lines out there, they're clear. In fact, really just a few thousand this morning, people without power. That number has been growing as the day has gone on. Right now, we're at about 40,000 people in Oklahoma City who have the lights off. Really not that bad compared to what they were expecting.

Take a look at what is going on on the roadways, though. They're having a pretty difficult time keeping those roadways clear. The good news is most people have listened to the governor -- and the governor has declared a state of emergency in all of the counties here in Oklahoma -- and they've stayed off the roads. And when I talked to the guy who is in charge of the roads here in the city, he tells me that this city really isn't prepared for storms like these. They don't have the equipment, the manpower or the money, to be quite frank, to handle a situation like this.

And so they knew from the beginning that they were going to be behind the ball.

Also going on right now, well, a problem at the airports. Actually, as of about noon yesterday, this has been an ongoing problem off and on as the weather has changed. And now it's affecting some of the major hubs, with flights not able to leave or come out of those hubs, which affects, of course, the entire system nationwide.

And we talked to a woman who was just trying to get home to Florida, and, boy, she was a sweet lady. She had a good, sunny disposition. Here's what she had to say.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

NELDA HULL, STRANDED PASSENGER: This flight may get out, but if I can't get out of St. Louis, there's no reason to go, you know? I'd rather go home and spend the night here and maybe try again tomorrow.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

AQUI: So let me just show you what this looks like, because on TV it probably looks a little pretty. But in actuality, there's nothing you can do with this stuff. It's just hard ice. I mean, I guess unless you're an Olympic figure skater, Rick, I'm not sure that anyone is going to have fun with this. And it certainly is nothing to play with. We've already heard of at least six deaths attributed to this ice storm throughout this region of the country.

SANCHEZ: It makes it tough to try and keep that sunny disposition you referred to moments ago.

Reggie, thanks so much for that report.

What's next?

Well, CNN's Weather Center is tracking the storms, we should say, because it's almost too massive to call just one system, I suppose.

Let me ask you, Bonnie, is it a system? And, if so, why is it affecting so many places?

SCHNEIDER: Well, it's an elongated cold front that's going to remain somewhat stationary tomorrow. And then we have our impulses riding along that front. And depending where you are in the country will determine what type of weather you'll see.

But what's interesting also about this storm is that many cities will see the varying types of weather, starting off with some freezing fog and drizzle, eventually turning over to freezing rain and then snow in the days ahead.

(WEATHER REPORT)

SCHNEIDER: Now one of the cities that is under an ice storm warning is St. Louis. And we're going to be talking to the city emergency official right now. And that is the director of the city of emergency management of St. Louis, Gary Christmann.

And, Gary, I do believe you're on the line now.

GARY CHRISTMANN, DIRECTOR, ST. LOUIS EMERGENCY MANAGEMENT AGENCY: Yes, I am.

SCHNEIDER: Tell us about the next wave of the storm coming in.

How have you made the preparations for the next wave coming in in terms of power outages?

CHRISTMANN: What we've done is we're assessing still, continuously, from what we got last night, which was anywhere from a trace to an inch of ice in the city area and in the outskirts of the city. We've contacted all of our emergency crews to put them on standby in the event that we have to start evacuating areas or start sheltering our special needs population.

SCHNEIDER: And where do you stand right now in terms of the number of people without power at this time?

CHRISTMANN: Throughout the St. Louis regional area, we're at about 115,000 people from last night's storm. The storm that's going to be moving in tonight, and I believe there's even a third wave that's supposed to move in tomorrow evening, could devastate that number and we're prepared as much as we can at this point in time. We're just kind of on a standby mode.

SCHNEIDER: It also creates a dangerous situation, because with this second wave coming in on Sunday, we're expecting strong winds. So that would help to knock down trees and branches. That may bring down more and more power lines.

What type of advice are you giving to people in the city right now, because it's just getting a little bit of freezing and drizzle at this time, but things are going to get much worse.

CHRISTMANN: Yes, what we're advising our residents is, is to try to stay inside so we can get our crews out onto the roads to try to get them salted or cleared.

We also advise them that if they do come in contact with a tree down, stay away from that area, because there could be a wire that's underneath it. And a lot of times those wires still can be energized. So we want to make sure that they don't get electrocuted. And, also, if they have elderly residents in their facility or live in their neighborhood, that they make sure that they check on them periodically throughout the power outage.

SCHNEIDER: Thank you so much, Gary Christmann.

And as we look ahead for the St. Louis forecast, one of the problems, Rick, is that this bitterly cold Arctic air will stay in place for a good portion of next week. It's not until Wednesday that we start to see temperatures just get back up to the freezing mark -- Rick.

SANCHEZ: It sounds like there are more problems ahead then, right?

SCHNEIDER: Yes, I think so.

SANCHEZ: Thanks so much, Bonnie.

The Center for Missing & Exploited Children works round the clock to try and bring missing kids home.

So we're going to go inside and see just how they do it and what they had to do with this latest break.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

P. AKERS: 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.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

SANCHEZ: A mother's prayers are answered. Pam Aker's son, Shawn Hornbeck, is one of two Missouri boys missing no longer.

Welcome back.

What often doesn't make the papers and the newscasts like this one is the unsolved cases of missing child in this country. There are thousands of them.

The Center for Missing & Exploited Children is constantly looking for clues in these cases.

So joining us now from the Center's headquarters in Alexandria, Virginia, CNN's Gary Nurenberg to bring you up to date on what's been going on -- Gary.

GARY NURENBERG, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, Rick, I have to admit to our viewers that I was eavesdropping on your conversation with Fredericka an hour ago when you talked about how drawn to this story you were, how you were compelled to watch everything that there was about it. And I was thinking there are probably millions of other viewers across the country who feel exactly the same way and wonder is there anything I can do in a case like this?

In this case of Shawn Hornbeck, hundreds of people did think that there was something they could do and hundreds of people did it.

(BEGIN VIDEO TAPE)

NURENBERG (voice-over): The National Missing Children's Hotline, 1-800-THE-LOST, is staffed day and night, fields about 700 calls a day. It received 319 leads about Shawn Hornbeck since he was entered into the database when he disappeared nearly four-and-a-half years ago. It includes the details of his disappearance, and age progression technology to show he has grown older and might look different at 15 than he did at 11.

JOANN DONNELLAN, CENTER FOR MISSING & EXPLOITED CHILDREN: Children change rapidly. If a child disappears at five and now they are 10, that growth period is huge. So it's very critical that, you know, we get somewhat of a vision of what they might look like.

NURENBERG: Ben Ownby, missing only since Monday, was part of the database, too. The call center received 20 tips about him. His poster provided information about a white pickup truck seen in the area when Ben disappeared.

DONNELLAN: In a basic way it says that Nissan was written on the upper right hand side of the tailgate. It was very damaged. It was very rusted. It also had a trailer on the back.

So this pickup truck was not your basic, you know, clean cut, white pickup truck. So that type of information is critical when you're trying to find a missing child.

NURENBERG: That information was critical in Ben's case and was provided by a fellow student on Ben's school bus.

ERNIE ALLEN, CENTER FOR MISSING & EXPLOITED CHILDREN: That boy is a hero. And our message is that every day, average people doing average things are accomplishing great things and saving lives just by paying attention.

(END VIDEO TAPE)

NURENBERG: That really is the message here this weekend. The National Center for Missing & Exploited Children wants the public to pay attention. Go to missingkids.com, poke around, see if there are any kind of cases there where you could contribute, 1-800-THE-LOST is the tip line here.

And, Rick, they're just absolutely convinced that what happened this weekend is solid evidence that happy endings are possible if, as Mr. Allen said, people just pay attention.

SANCHEZ: You don't want to be a busybody and you don't want to be snooping into your neighbor's business. But at the same time, it is important to look for little signs, I imagine. In this case, we had a young man living there for several years. He didn't give any outward signs of anything, it seemed, at this point.

So is there a guidebook or something that people could read when they go to this Web site to find out what they need to look for?

NURENBERG: You know, Mr. Allen said in the particular case of this suspect he thought it was pretty typical, that in cases like this, the suspected offenders actually do blend in very easily.

SANCHEZ: Yes.

NURENBERG: And, as you know, neighbors in the apartment complex where Shawn was staying said yes, they saw him out there. They thought he was with his dad pitching a tent.

SANCHEZ: Right.

NURENBERG: Mr. Allen really focused in. Just pay attention for anything unusual and if you have any suspicions at all, try to get involved.

SANCHEZ: Right. It doesn't hurt just to have a suspicion and maybe tell somebody. If it doesn't check out, fine.

That's good stuff.

Mr. Nurenberg, thank you so much for bringing it to us.

The latest on the two boys who were found and reaction from their families.

Plus, how often are kids kidnapped? And who are -- this goes back to the conversation we just had with Gary Nurenberg -- who are the usual suspects?

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

SANCHEZ: Welcome back.

It's being called a miracle in Missouri. And here's what we know. Two teenage boys are now safe and sound, reunited with their families after both were kidnapped four years apart.

Their alleged abductor is expected to be arraigned next week. The FBI says 41-year-old Michael Devlin could also face federal charges, perhaps a bevy of them.

Little is known about him at this point, but police are exploring Devlin's background and interviewing people who possibly knew him.

How often do these kidnappings happen and what can be done to protect children from kidnappers?

Joshua Levs has a Reality Check on all of this for us.

He's good enough to join us -- what you got, Josh?

JOSHUA LEVS, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Yes, well, you know, that's what we want to find out today, is people talk about these stories, they make a lot of news, but how often do they actually happen? Here's what we found out. It turns out that, according to the federal government statistics, it's actually very rare for a stranger to kidnap a child. What happens much more often is that a child will be kidnapped by someone he knows.

(BEGIN VIDEO TAPE)

LEVS (voice-over): The faces and names become memorable. You will probably recall these two boys and their story for years. Parents everywhere know the fear of it happening to their children.

How often does it happen?

To answer that, the Justice Department compiled figures across the country for one year, 1999. Nearly 800,000 children were reported missing that year, but most were not kidnapped. In many cases, their whereabouts were temporarily unknown. Some ran away.

About 200,000 were abducted by family members. Fifty-eight thousand were taken by non-relatives. One hundred fifteen kids were classified as being taken by strangers.

Kidnapped children lucky enough to be rescued sometimes takes years before talking about everything that happened. But experts say they often can resume normal lives.

ED SMART, FATHER OF ELIZABETH SMART: I haven't heard every detail, nor do I need to know every detail, because I know it was horrific. The important thing is they're back home. They're with you, and they're going to be able to be there, and you'll be whole as a family again, instead of this big gaping hole.

LEVS: Authorities do offer some advice, to help parents protect their children. First of all they say -- two major ones -- always know where your kids are. And also do not leave your child in a car unattended ever, not to run into your friends' house, not to run into the pharmacy. Lots of car thieves out there, sometimes turn into kidnappers.

They also say this, a lot of parents are sure to teach their kids don't go anywhere with strangers. You should also be sure, teach your kids not to go anywhere even with someone they know, unless you specifically had told them in that specific instance that it's OK.

Now, obviously, those steps will not prevent all kidnappings. We right here at CNN have covered kidnappings, we know a girl can be kidnapped from her bedroom, a boy bicycling to a friend's house, and kidnapped, abducted by someone.

But, Rick, they are saying that if you follow these steps, kids will safer.

RICK SANCHEZ, CNN ANCHOR, CNN NEWSROOM: Do we have any sense of how many or how often they're found or rescued?

LEVS: Yes, we do, a little bit. Here's what the federal government says about that. They break it down two ways. The figure of how many kids, in general, are kidnapped by anyone other than a family member, that -- 99 of them make it back. Almost everybody in that case makes it back. The much tinier figure, the number of kids who are kidnapped by strangers, in that case it is only about half of them. And, Rick, what the federal government says is that among that half that do make it back, about half have some kind of injury.

SANCHEZ: That's good stuff. Thanks so much, Josh. Appreciate it.

LEVS: Thanks.

SANCHEZ: Next, coming up, here more on that arctic blast that we have been telling you about. We showed you the reports from Oklahoma, right? We have more. More pictures as well. And more information because it might be getting worse in some places. We will have the state's lieutenant-governor on live. He will be talking us about how they're trying to weather this big chill.

SUMI DAS, CNN CORRESPONDENT, CNN NEWSROOM: Residents of Missouri tell us they're ready, but this ice storm will be stronger than any they've seen this winter. How strong? I'll tell you, but first, back to you, Rick.

SANCHEZ: Also, our Chief Medical Correspondent, Doctor Sanjay Gupta, will report on a new trend for big business. Not only are bosses watching the bottom line, increasingly, they're helping their employees to get healthier.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

DR. SANJAY GUPTA, CNN CHIEF MEDICAL CORRESPONDENT, CNN NEWSROOM (voice over): Most women get screened for breast cancer in a medical clinic. But Virginia O'Neil, 40 and healthy, kept putting it off.

VIRGINIA O'NEIL, BREAST CANCER SURVIVOR: There was an advertisement on top of the water cooler for -- getting mammograms at work.

GUPTA: It was so convenient, O'Neil booked it. The test found a tumor in her left breast. It was caught early so her prognosis is good. Her employer, Pitney-Bowes is one of a growing number of companies worried about the health of its employees and exploding cost of healthcare.

A study by the Partnership for Prevention shows reducing risk factors like smoking, obesity, and high blood pressure can save a company about $153 a year in medical costs for employees. And prevention programs pay off in other ways as well.

MICHAEL CRITTELLI, CEO, PITNEY-BOWES: Healthy workers are better because they come to work more. They don't take as much time off. They are more focused when they are working, they don't make mistakes that are caused by being tired or sluggish.

GUPTA: Ralph Alberti took frequent smoke breaks at work to support his pack and half a day habit. When he decided to quit, nurses at Pitney-Bowes gave him free medicine to make it easier.

RALPH ALBERTI, FORMER SMOKER: They actually were my moral support. I'd come in, in the morning, and there would be a message on my answering machine reminding me to stop smoking.

GUPTA: And Pitney-Bowes isn't alone.

GARRY LINDSAY, PARTNERSHIP FOR PREVENTION: Dow Chemical Company, Caterpillar, IBM, all -- probably most of the Fortune 500 Companies, Fortune 100 Companies have outstanding programs.

GUPTA: The government hopes by 2010, 75 percent of all companies will be offering similar programs to help their employees become healthier. Doctor Sanjay Gupta reporting.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

ROLAND CORVINGTON, FBI: As a result of the interview of Mr. Devlin, we went back to the apartment, and located both children in the apartment.

And one interesting point I wanted to make, is when our agents entered the apartment, young Ben, as he was sitting there, he looked up at one of our agents and said, are you going to take me home?

The agent looked over at Shawn Hornbeck, and asked Shawn to identify himself, to which Shawn said, "Yes, I am Shawn Hornbeck." So after that, it was quite euphoric, obviously. We're very pleased at the outcome.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

SANCHEZ: So many rich details to this story. Yes, that's the FBI, they're involved as well. A nightmare over for two Missouri families, their teenaged sons who have been missing, one for four years, have been found and are back home. The two boys are said to be in good spirits.

The 41-year-old man who allegedly held them in an apartment outside St. Louis has been arrested on kidnapping charges. Police say more charges, though, are likely.

Let's get you to this story as well, it's a crippling winter storm, it has been lashing parts of Missouri with freezing rain, snow. The storm brought AMTRAK service, in fact, to a halt and caused widespread power outages as well. CNN's Sumi Das is live for us now, she's in St. Louis with the very latest on this.

How bad is it going to get, Sumi? What are you hearing?

DAS: The most visible effect of the ice storm is really on the trees, Rick. We arrived here in St. Louis this morning and as we were landing at the airport, we could see stretching off into the distance these trees. It is really a beautiful sight from the air, but of course, here on the ground, let me show you what it looks like. These trees are being weighed down by ice. It's really posing a significant danger.

We've been chatting with some residents here in St. Louis to find out how they are bracing for this storm and how they have been preparing. One of the residents we spoke to, who still has power, tells us that a power line fell on his house, but right now, he's doing OK. But he is prepared for the worst.

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JAMES RAGAN, RESIDENT, ST. LOUIS: It's bad. And it's about the third time it's happened since the summer. Back in November, we had trees come down with the first ice storm. We were out of power about three or four days. Now, they're looking another three or four days before that.

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DAS: There are about 105,000 customers in the St. Louis, metropolitan area without power at this time, according to Ameren, the local power company. There are hundreds of crews that are working throughout the night, and they are getting assistance from the neighboring states, Michigan, Illinois, Indiana, even as far away as Tennessee.

But Ameren is not predicting when the lights will be back on in all of the homes and that's because they know there's another system coming in, and the problem could grow even worse.

Travel has been affected, not only at airports, but also the railway station. AMTRAK tells us that they have cancelled trains between St. Louis and Kansas City. They will make a decision tomorrow as to whether the trains can start running again. There is basically debris on the railroad tracks. There are trees that have fallen down and that has made railroad travel impossible.

The ice storm warning remains in effect until Monday and that stronger system is going to come through tomorrow. It is probably going to bring with it, in addition to the half an inch of ice accumulation, some gusty northwest winds. And those can cause some additional damage.

You might see more downed power lines as a result and more trees kind of crackling and snapping. We have heard from residents here, that it sounds like a gunshot, as you can probably imagine, it is probably rather unnerving.

Also, Motorists have been encouraged to stay off the roads. The icy conditions have made travel on roads, not just difficult, but in some cases, impossible -- Rick.

SANCHEZ: All right, Sumi Das, thank you. Reporting to us. We're glad we cleared up the problem we had with the transmission, Sumi. Appreciate hearing from you.

Oklahoma began the day with about 40,000 homes and businesses without power. To find out just how they're dealing with this icy mess, as well, down there, given that we're going from St. Louis to Oklahoma now. Let's talk to the lieutenant-governor there, it's Jari Askins, good enough to join us now to give us a sense.

What's the biggest complaint that you're getting from residents? What are you able to do for them at this point?

LT. GOV. JARI ASKINS, OKLAHOMA: Well, our residents have been really wonderful. We had great warning that the storms were coming and so most of our citizens were able to get to the grocery store to get the provisions they need to handle things.

But we now have over 68,000 homes without power. Our utility companies are working like other states to restore power before this next wave comes in tomorrow morning and before the arctic cold comes in Monday and Tuesday.

SANCHEZ: Folks like yourself, and myself, would probably be able to make do if you weren't able to use our electricity. But if you're elderly, you might need a little bit of help. Are you going to areas where there might be some elderly folks, and trying to get them out of there? Get them to shelters? What are you doing for them?

ASKINS: You know, that's what Oklahomans do best is help each other. Our emergency Management officials in the local areas, are working with communities, with American Red Cross and Salvation Army to make contact with elderly citizens, as well as with our homeless, and make sure shelters are provided to them. As well as the travelers who may be stranded, so that we can keep them out of this weather.

SANCHEZ: We've been doing stories, in the past, I'm sure you've seen them. The one out in Oregon comes to mind, people who became stranded, and lost their lives as a result. What are you doing about the roadways to make sure that people can get where they need to be, and to perhaps keep people off the roads who don't need to go anywhere?

ASKINS: We have had or Oklahoma Department of Transportation, as well as city crews have been working across the state, since early yesterday, to keep emergency routes passable. We have some roads and highways that have been closed because of downed power lines, or downed trees. Our Oklahoma Highway Patrol has worked over 150 accidents, many of those with injuries, and a couple with fatalities. We are urging all citizens -- and all travelers -- to stay home, don't drive. Leave the roads and highways to road crews and the emergency personnel.

SANCHEZ: Lieutenant-Governor Jari Askins from the state of Oklahoma. Thank you for joining us and bringing us up to day on that situation.

CNN, your severe weather center, continues to follow the wicked weather pattern that we have been showing you in different states. Our Bonnie Schneider has the very latest now.

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SANCHEZ: The latest from those two boys found, one was missing for four years. We'll tell you about the other one, as well. You're watching CNN, the most trusted name in news.

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SANCHEZ: More to tell you about that weather system. It's a wintry weather system that is dumping more snow on Colorado, as well today. Last week, at this time, a massive avalanche shut down part of the state highway, knocking cars off the road.

Our "Tech Effect" segment this week, Rob Marciano looks at high and low-tech ways that crews are now using to find people buried in snow.

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ROB MARCIANO, CNN METEOROLOGIST, CNN NEWSROOM (voice over): Dave Hill is with Routt County Search & Rescue. He gets the call when someone is buried in an avalanche. In his business, time is everything.

DAVE HILL, ROUTT COUNTY SEARCH & RESCUE: If we can get to you in the first 15 minutes, you have about an 80 percent chance of surviving. That chance begins to drop off drastically after that. By the time we hit 30 minutes, you have a 50/50 chance of being alive when we get to you.

MARCIANO: In essence, the people you're with are your best chances for survival. So, it's crucial they carry the proper equipment and know how to use it. A probe, shovel, and most importantly, avalanche beacon.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Yeah, I'm starting to get a signal.

MARCIANO: The beacon transmits and receives a signal from others in your group. Here, a beacon has been hidden in the snow. This searcher homes in on it in seconds.

(on camera): Some winter clothing companies are even sewing devices right into their jackets. Like this Rayco Reflector. It helps rescuers in the area find the victim more quickly, when they have the proper radar. But still experts urge, there is no substitute for an avalanche beacon.

(Voice over): Even so --

HILL: Absolutely, one of the oldest pieces of avalanche technology we have and still one of the best.

MARCIANO: Search dogs can smell a human buried deep in the snow.

HILL: The whole idea is somebody is up in the snow and they need to go and find them.

MARCIANO (on camera): You want to find me? OK. It's time to hide in the snow cave for a little demonstration.

HILL: Do you have the radio, so you can talk to us, and let us know what's going on? Then we'll start the exercise and tell the dog find you.

MARCIANO: Tell them to hurry.

HILL: Got it.

And, Rob, this is Dave with a radio check, how do you hear me?

MARCIANO: I hear you loud and clear.

HILL: OK, then.

So, he is working around the pile right now, trying to find a good spot where the odor comes through. We're going to go ahead and help the dog out a little bit, still use them for the primary search. We're just trying to make it's easier for them to confirm they really found him.

MARCIANO (voice over): For rescue dogs, it's merely a game. But for those stuck deep under an avalanche of snow, it could be a lifesaver.

(on camera): Good boy, thanks for rescuing me.

(Voice over): Ralph Marciano, Steamboat Springs, Colorado.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

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(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

DORIS OWNBY, BEN OWNBY'S MOTHER: We're just ecstatic. Don't want to let him go, or out of our sight. He's doesn't want us to hold onto him, but we have. Just -- we're just excited and happy to have him at home.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

SANCHEZ: That is the mother of Ben Ownby. He is a 13-year-old Missouri boy who was found alive four days after he disappeared near his home. Another teenager, who vanished more than four years ago, was found with him, inside an apartment complex just outside St. Louis.

The 41-year-old man who lived in that apartment complex has been charged now with first degree kidnapping.

A man who knows the agony of what these families have been going through is Mark Klaas. But in his, there was no happy ending. After Klaas' 12-year-old daughter Polly was kidnapped at knife point from her mother's California home in 1993, her body was found two months later.

Mark Klaas founded the KlaasKids Foundation, dedicated to fighting crime against children. Klaas says this latest reunion of the boys underscores finding missing children is a team effort.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

MARC KLAAS, KLASSKIDS FOUNDATION: This is all about partnerships between law enforcement and media and the public. These are protocols that have been evolving for years and years and years now. We have a much greater understanding of the issue than we ever did before.

The technology has advanced tremendously. Law enforcement understands the integral components here, in how working together, we can really start making a change. As a result of that, and as a result of legislation that has been passed over the course of the last 12 or 13 years, we're seeing more and more of these children recovered, much more quickly than they ever have in the past.

That's a testament to people like Craig Akers, and to people like me, and people like Ed Smart, and to the families and the law enforcement and the legislators. We're all a part of this evolution. No one entity should ever give themselves too much credit.

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SANCHEZ: So many families like Mr. Klaas end up dedicating themselves to this cause for the rest of their lives, after going through something like this. His is not different. Klaas says the situation in Missouri proved that investigators in missing children's cases should never lose hope, should never ignore leads, no matter how cold their cases may appear to be.

I'm going to be back here at 10:0 p.m. tonight. And we're planning something special for you tonight. Obviously, this story, as we have been for the last 24 hours or so, but we're also going to get into who the Akers are.

And for those of you who didn't see it, we are going to replay the Akers family news conference, which left so many people spellbound after watching it.

And retirement, in your 30s, we're going to talk to a couple who did it and are still going strong. So they have tips, right? They're going to share them with you; 16 years after leaving the rat race.

But first, Lou Dobbs, remember those border patrol agents, agents who were sentenced to lengthy prison terms for protecting the U.S. border? They're just days away from jail. Lou updates the fight for their freedom. That's straight ahead at 6 p.m. Eastern.

Quick break, and then the headlines.

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