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Miracle as Missing Boys Rescued in Missouri; Golden Globes Preparations; White House Tries to Convince Nation of New Strategy

Aired January 14, 2007 - 15:56   ET

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

FREDRICKA WHITFIELD, CNN ANCHOR: Hello, I'm Fredricka Whitfield in Atlanta. We're learning a bit more by the moment about the case of the two boys missing who have since been reunited with their families this weekend.
Our St. Louis affiliate KMOV's Robert Townsend just spoke to the two arresting police officers a moment ago. Here now is the interview with Kirkwood police officers Gary Wagster and Chris Nelson.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

ROBERT TOWNSEND, KMOV-TV CORRESPONDENT: Let's go back to that apartment on Friday afternoon. When was the first time that you (inaudible) that something here was not right? Tell me about it.

GARY WAGSTER, KIRKWOOD POLICE OFFICER: We were executing a search warrant for an incident that was totally unrelated to the incident involved here. As we were leaving -- we could not make contact with the individual, so we were leaving the apartment complex, and we noticed the white truck sitting in the parking lot. And at this time, we investigated. We made sure the plate wasn't stolen, the vehicle wasn't wanted, and that the VIN returned to the vehicle.

We did about 10 minutes of investigation, just different running of the registered owners, that type of thing. And at which time, upon the completion of that, we did a canvas of the area.

Upon doing the canvas of the area, we noticed two gentlemen up on a balcony about 50 yards away. And as I walked over toward the gentlemen, they asked if -- they said, "were you looking at that white truck?" And I said no, because technically I was there to serve a search warrant.

TOWNSEND: Was it Mike Devlin? Or was it somebody else?

WAGSTER: No, it was someone else. Mr. Hardin (ph), I think.

At which time I made contact with them, I said no, because I was there for something totally different anyway, and I didn't want to -- if he was the owner of the vehicle, I didn't want to spook him.

TOWNSEND: But it was the truck that zeroed in...

WAGSTER: Yes, it was the white Nissan truck with a camper shell, and the description that Mr. Hults had given, everything, the -- a lot of the details that he had given out, as far as the description of the vehicle, matched.

TOWNSEND: So what did you guys do next after you said, hey, look, this truck could possibly be the truck that they're looking for in the Ownby case?

CHRIS NELSON, KIRKWOOD POLICE OFFICER: Well, after Gary contacted the two individuals that were standing on the balcony, they said the owner of the truck actually lived almost where we had started out, you know, to serve the arrest warrant.

So we walked back over. We did a computer check of the vehicle. We ran the registered owner. And the -- Mr. Devlin actually walked out to throw out some trash. And we were talking to everybody in the area. And Officer Wagster and me had contact with him, and said, "hey, is this your truck?" And he said, "yeah, that's my truck."

We started talking to him. We've had some dealings with him before, he worked at Imo's -- so -- we all frequent Imo's. He worked there, so we saw him.

TOWNSEND: So he served you many pizzas?

NELSON: Yes, pizzas and salads.

TOWNSEND: OK.

NELSON: So we started talking to him, and I actually one time in the past arrested him for an unrelated traffic warrant or something like that, so I had kind of a rapport with him.

So we started out, just a casual conversation, Officer Wagster did. And when we started getting more into the investigation a little bit, his whole demeanor changed. Went from a casual conversation 180 degrees, 180 degrees from that. And we both started talking to him and weren't getting anywhere with him.

TOWNSEND: Did you guys ask him if you could search his apartment at that point?

NELSON: The specifics of the conservation we can't really get into, but common sense, you know, would, you know, that would be along those lines of the questions that we would ask him.

TOWNSEND: When did you make the connection, hey, look, did you ever see Ben and Shawn, by the way?

NELSON: Yes...

TOWNSEND: As you were standing there. Tell me about that, when you first saw those boys.

NELSON: Well, no, no, no, we saw -- you could see in the apartment -- we didn't see both of them. You could see in the apartment, through the blinds, there was an older teenage child, dark hair, wearing a hat, sitting at a computer in the kitchen playing a game. And based on the information, we had gotten during the canvas, it wasn't out of the ordinary because somebody had told us that the owner of the house right there, Mr. Devlin had either a teenage son or a teenage relative living with him. So that didn't set off any red flags.

TOWNSEND: So when you, let's move ahead. I'm beating the clock here. When did you actually say, hey, look, make the connection.

WAGSTER: As we were talking to Mr. Devlin, it was very happy-go- lucky, how are you doing, it's good to see you. I respect you guys and what you're doing. As the questions began to get more specific, that's when the attitude changed. His attitude changed at, it was like 180-degree difference and it threw a lot of red flags up for us.

TOWNSEND: Did you call your superiors, maybe get the task force, Franklin County, everybody gets over there. At that point did you know that it was Ben and Shawn, or did they have to take over the investigation? Tell me about that.

NELSON: They took over the investigation. After we had talked to Mr. Devlin, we got as far as we could with him, based on the information we had. So we had to turn it over to somebody else that had more information and more knowledge of the case.

TOWNSEND: Did you have a hunch this could be the suspect?

NELSON: It was enough for us to want to call the FBI.

WAGSTER: We had a definitely hunch that something was not right. We had an uneasy feeling. And as for one of us to have that, that's one thing. But for both of us to have it, as much as we work together, we knew that there was something.

TOWNSEND: Do you guys work together like partners?

NELSON: It's pretty much -- our schedules are different a little bit, but usually inasmuch as possible, we are working together.

TOWNSEND: How do you look back now, you realize what this case is getting national attention -- do you feel like heroes, can you believe it?

NELSON: It didn't -- and I told a couple of other people -- it didn't really hit me until my daughter said you're a hero, and she's 11-years-old. And that right there kind of set me back a little bit. I mean, I realized the magnitude and still right now, we haven't fully you know, understood exactly what we had done just by doing our normal day to day work.

WAGSTER: With me, it was getting the call from one of my coworkers. Jimmy Patterson (ph) called me, patrol officer also, and he had told me the news, at which time I turned around and called Chris and let him know what was going on. And my kids come home, they were out doing something, I forget. But my wife and kids come home, and they see this on the news, and they're like, that's you. And they come running over, they hug me, and the emotion was just overwhelming.

TOWNSEND: Four-year mystery.

NELSON: Incredible.

WAGSTER: You can't describe the feeling, especially with us just doing our jobs, doing what we do every day. Anybody else in the department would have done it the same way we did. We work with a bunch of great people. And a lot of hard-working people here, and like you said, the FBI and Franklin County, enough can't be said about their cooperation and everything they have done for us.

TOWNSEND: So you pretty much credit good police work.

NELSON: That's what it boils down to.

TOWNSEND: Have you met -- I talked to Pam and Craig Akers yesterday, they want to desperately meet you.

WAGSTER: We definitely want to meet them. That would be the greatest gift to both me and Chris, would be to meet the parents and see the parents with their children.

TOWNSEND: And the boys.

WAGSTER: Absolutely.

NELSON: And so when you look back over this, I mean, hey, you're telling me street officers now, sergeant, captain tomorrow.

NELSON: Eventually, eventually we'd like to.

TOWNSEND: One more thing, I want to ask you, because when you look back at this, it was always that, that -- that Nissan that was put out there. I mean, once you saw that truck matching the description, everything else was triggered?

NELSON: It was like a puzzle. Everything that was said on TV about the description was there in front of us, it was matching to a tee.

TOWNSEND: Hard for you take all of this in at this point still?

WAGSTER: Exactly, very hard.

NELSON: Yes, surreal and overwhelming.

WAGSTER: I'm overwhelming, this is surreal. It is just amazing.

TOWNSEND: This has got to be the highlight of your career.

WAGSTER: Absolutely.

TOWNSEND: The biggest case?

NELSON: Well, it's the biggest case with the happiest ending, we'll say that.

TOWNSEND: Good. Anything else you want to add that maybe I didn't touch on?

WAGSTER: I appreciate you coming.

TOWNSEND: Goosebumps still?

NELSON: Yes.

WAGSTER: Yes.

TOWNSEND: You guys are so calm.

NELSON: Yes.

TOWNSEND: You've had 48 hours to take it in.

WAGSTER: We're sleep deprived a little bit.

NELSON: A little bit.

WAGSTER: We've been working quite a bit, as well as a lot of people had been working a lot of hours here.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

WHITFIELD: Two very happy Kirkwood, Missouri police officers, the arresting police officers who helped recover the two missing boys out of Missouri. Shawn Hornbeck missing four years, Ben Ownby, four days. These Kirkwood officers, Gary Wagster and Chris Nelson tell our affiliate KMOV's Robert Townsend how they acted on instinct after seeing the vehicle belonging to the suspect, then saw the older boy Shawn Hornbeck in the apartment of Michael Devlin. And through other discoveries were then able to later make an arrest.

So, among the questions still unanswered in this case, how could this have gone on for so long? And why after allegedly keeping one boy for four years, did Michael Devlin allegedly abduct a second boy? CNN's Jonathan Freed has been digging for answers in Kirkwood and joins me on the phone -- Jonathan?

JONATHAN FREED, CNN CORRESPONDENT (on phone): Fredricka, we were just having a conversation here with the gentleman who owns the pizza parlor where Devlin has been working. And this man tells us that he has known him for 25 years, a quarter century -- that he has worked for him for that entire time, that he started out as a pizza cook, worked his way up to manager, said "This guy counted my money. I trusted him with my money."

And to address the question that's out there of how could this have gone on for so long and nobody knew, he says that he never had an inkling that there was a boy or a teenager in his life at all. He never saw him with him, he said that he would have known if Devlin was a father or in any way was acting like a father for somebody.

He said that he never even, Fredricka, saw him take home an extra pizza as if he was going to go and feed a child.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

MIKE PROSPERI, MICHAEL DEVLIN'S EMPLOYER: I mean, he was my manager. HE counted my money,a nd you just don't do that with somebody that you don't trust, you know? And up until the time they showed him being arrested and taken away in the orange jumpsuit, I was convinced they had the wrong guy. I said there's just no way.

QUESTION: Did he ever talk about his personal life?

PROSPERI: Oh, yes.

QUESTION: Did he ever talk about his personal life?

PROSPERI: Not -- I mean, or than saying he was going to go over and help paint his mom's house or wallpaper his house, or visit his brother Jamie, something like that, nothing.

QUESTION: Never children?

PROSPERI: Never any mention of any children.

QUESTION: Did you ever go to his apartment?

QUESTION: You knew where he lived?

PROSPERI: Oh, yes.

QUESTION: Had you ever been there?

PROSPERI: Had I been to his house?

QUESTION: Yes.

PROSPERI: I drove by just to check out the truck. That's the only time I'd ever been to his house.

QUESTION: And that was this week?

PROSPERI: That was on Tuesday.

QUESTION: Does he have any social relationship at all?

PROSPERI: Never went out. We hunted several years ago, like 15 years ago or something like that.

QUESTION: Had you ever been to his house?

PROSPERI: No.

QUESTION: (inaudible) Any reference to his teenage son or to any kids of his?

PROSPERI: No. I knew him well enough that I knew he would never have -- 25 years. Unless he got married or something along and nobody knew about it. There was never any mention of any children at all.

QUESTION: So you did not know about children?

PROSPERI: No, no, not at all. I thought he lived alone. Everybody that worked for us thought he lived alone.

QUESTION: You have never seen him with a teenager?

PROSPERI: No. He would come to work, do his job, leave and that was it.

QUESTION: There was no rushing home, like I got kids?

PROSPERI: Never took -- never even took a pizza home like -- a 16-inch pizza to feed two people.

QUESTION: And how have you known him for 25 years? He worked for you?

PROSPERI: Yes.

QUESTION: Is that how you came to know him?

PROSPERI: Yes.

QUESTION: Or did you meet him somewhere else?

PROSPERI: No, no, no, his older brother worked for me. The people that I hire -- I've never put a help wanted sign out. It is all family that worked for me.

QUESTION: So he worked his way up to becoming a manager.

PROSPERI: Yes.

QUESTION: What did he start out doing?

PROSPERI: Pizza cook, making pizzas.

QUESTION: Twenty-five years ago. And you know his family.

QUESTION: Have you always been in that location?

PROSPERI: No, I operated the store in Webster and he started for five years, I guess, over at Webster, then came with me over to Kirkwood.

QUESTION: OK. And your -- I mean, still, I mean, you said he didn't believe it. What do you think now when you see that picture of him and that jumpsuit and...

PROSPERI: ... I guess it's finally starting to sink in. But I still can't understand how for that amount of time that he -- that nobody ever knew, you know.

QUESTION: Did he... PROSPERI: ... It wasn't that far from the street. I mean, it was probably less than a half a mile away.

QUESTION: During the time that you have known him, did he have any girlfriends? Did he make any reference in girlfriends or any relationships?

PROSPERI: No. But I mean, a lot my guys -- if they are dating somebody, they don't say hey I'm dating and something like that.

QUESTION: But he was making a reference or any point?

PROSPERI: No.

QUESTION: In the duration of his 25 years, did he always live in that apartment?

PROSPERI: No. No. He has had, I guess, maybe three other apartments.

QUESTION: OK.

QUESTION: Was there ever a point in the time -- I apologize. It is raining. Was there ever a point where you felt his personality shift or change or make you wonder he's in different moods?

PROSPERI: No. I guess three years ago, he was diagnosed as a diabetic. And his demeanor got much better because he wasn't -- didn't have the sugar.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

FREED: Now Fredricka, the reaction of that man, who is the owner of the pizza parlor, where Devlin has been the manager for many years, works for him for 25 years -- it is typical of what we are hearing here, even when you casually speak to police officers here, who may not even be involved in the case necessarily. Everybody is just standing around, looking at each other, jaws dropped in some cases when these details keep emerging and the story is just pressing forward because people just can't get their head around the fact that nobody knew what was going on.

WHITFIELD: Yes. It is pretty remarkable, Jonathan, because even hearing the two arresting police officers when they were talking to our affiliate reporter there, they talked about seeing him from time to time at the Imo's pizza parlor, so he was a familiar face and it really does sound like the case of a double life.

FREED: Right. And the pizza parlor would send pizza to the station because it was around the corner. And people here keep saying, how did he pull off this double life?

You know, people are asking was he even trying hard to do that. Is it just that he was able to do that for some reason and people just didn't look too closely because they just assumed that when some people might see him with the boy, that that looked normal and that when other people would see him without one, without a mention of one, that that would seem normal.

So why didn't these two worlds collide? That is a question that everybody here is asking, whether they are actively engaged in this investigation or not.

WHITFIELD: And what is striking here too is people are willing to say they knew him and describe him as such as such as being, you know, an ordinary guy or in some case some describe him as a loner. You are not running across the fact that people are running away from you, avoiding any kind of questions about Michael Devlin.

FREED: No, so far we are not. So far people are willing to talk. And a lot of that we feel is motivated by the amazement. People here are simply astonished that this is happening. Somebody they perhaps took no notice of because he was to some people's view a loner. Or somebody that was otherwise engaged in what seemed to be a normal life suddenly has this double life. And people are willing to talk about it because they are trying to get their heads around it as well.

WHITFIELD: Bizarre yesterday and still even more bizarre today. Jonathan Freed, thank you so much, from Kirkwood, Missouri.

So the reactions are across the board on this story. Suspect Michael Devlin's family has now weighed in as well. They've issued a written statement calling these, quote," difficult days" and the statement continues by saying quote, "Just as we are relieved that both Ben and Shawn are now safe, we hope that Michael will be safe as the facts of this case are revealed," end quote.

So what more do we know about Michael Devlin? Reporter Cordell Whitlock of CNN affiliate KSDK talked to the suspects' neighbors.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

CORDELL WHITLOCK, REPORTER, KSDK (voice over): Michael Devlin lived in these nondescript apartments on South Holmes in Kirkwood, near Oakland. Residents we spoke with say they ever never saw Ben Ownby, but there were frequent sightings of Shawn Hornbeck.

Shawn's stepfather, Craig Akers, said Shawn saw this aged- enhanced picture of himself on a bench at the Kirkwood Schnucks on Manchester, indicating he was at times out in public.

Harry Reichard lives above Devlin.

HARRY REICHARD, NEIGHBOR: I was told he was Devlin's son and, you know, first obvious thought, I believed him.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: And I picked up the phone over...

WHITLOCK: Last year, Rick Butler says he found a cell phone in front of his apartment, and when he called a stored number Devlin picked up.

RICK BUTLER, NEIGHBOR: Michael picked the phone up and put Hornbeck on the phone.

WHITLOCK: Rick says the phone belonged to Shawn.

BUTLER: And I gave him directions to my apartment. And he said, "Oh, I live right across the street. It will only take me just a few minutes. "

So he came over and picked up his phone. He seemed a little bit nervous. But, you know, didn't act like there was anything out of the ordinary.

WHITLOCK: Butler said he assumed Hornbeck was Devlin's son. Several months ago he says the two were pitching a tent on the grass.

BUTLER: He was just a single father with his boy, you know, getting ready for a camping trip. So I didn't think anything unusual about it.

WHITLOCK: We of course now know Ben and Shawn's stay at Devlin's apartment was anything but. However, not one resident we spoke with sensed something was wrong.

REICHARD: He just seemed to me just like an average euphoric child, you know, as young kids are. Just going back and forth with, you know, their, you know, guardian, or parent, or relative, or whatever. And he didn't seem to display any type of social dysfunctions.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

WHITFIELD: So lots of reactions about Michael Devlin. A St. Louis newspaper says Michael Devlin moved into this ground level apartment back in 2002. His neighbors, as you heard from them, some say he kept to himself but he seemed like a pretty ordinary guy. Even others thought that he was just a single dad. Well joining us by phone now is Devlin's landlord, Bill Romer. And so Mr. Romer, what were your thoughts about Michael Devlin?

BILL ROMER, MICHAEL DEVLIN'S LANDLORD (on phone): Just total disbelief at the whole revelation. Just like everything else you have been broadcasting, I really can't believe it.

WHITFIELD: But before learning about this discovery and the arrest made, what kind of guy did he seem like to you?

ROMER: To me, he was almost an ideal tenant. He paid his rent on time and very pleasant and nice to me. Very kind of soft spoken, low key. Nothing out of the ordinary at all.

WHITFIELD: Did you ever observe within the past four years that wait a minute, there's someone else living in that apartment unit?

ROMER: Well I was in there a year and a half ago working on a plumbing problem in another unit, and I did notice a teenage boy sleeping on the couch. He had his back to me. I didn't think anything of it at the time. And in fact, I think Mike told me that it was his son. In fact on a recent lease that he renewed with, me he wrote in Shawn Devlin as another occupant in the unit.

WHITFIELD: So that wasn't strange to you or you never took it to the next step and had a conversation about oh, you know, what's this son that I never knew about? Or tell me a little bit more about your son?

ROMER: No, not really. You know, I don't know what more I would have done in light of everything that the neighbors and friends are saying either. They actually said you look exactly like Shawn Hornbeck. And Shawn just blew it off and said whatever. You know, it's all really strange. I don't know what I would have or could have done differently.

WHITFIELD: So you never got a look at him from the front. I know you described -- you know, seeing him on the sofa. But did you ever look at him from the front and then have that same kind of reaction that others did, that wait a minute, you look like that kid that's missing?

ROMER: No, I didn't. And in fact, if I had seen him from the front, I don't think I would have made the association. I had heard about the Hornbeck case. His face wasn't, you know emblazoned in my memory.

WHITFIELD: And so what have you heard, perhaps maybe from other tenants, who were saying anything about what their observations were about Shawn? What kind of a kid he seemed like? If he seemed like he was happy or if he seemed like something was wrong?

ROMER: From news stories and people I have talked to, everybody said he seemed happy. And actually, you saw him at that news conference and he looked smiling and healthy. I know he had friends in the area that he hung out with. And you know, went to the park and had pizza with and everything seemed fine. So no indication at all.

WHITFIELD: So now as a landlord and continuing to manage the apartment complex that you do, does this kind of discovery make you approach your job a little differently? Do you feel like you have greater curiosities about who is living in this apartment unit?

ROMER: I'm asking myself those questions, but I'm trying to figure out what I -- exactly I would do differently. You know, if I had run a background check on Devlin, I would have gotten a traffic violation come up, you know? Do I have -- and I think Shawn's parents didn't even have the DNA samples on him. I think that's one of the things their foundation worked on. But you know, what else should I have done? You know, take the kid in and run prints on him or something? I don't know.

WHITFIELD: Right. You felt like you had no reason to take it any other steps forward.

ROMER: Exactly.

WHITFIELD: That's what's made this whole thing so peculiar, because it seems as though so many are talking about all of this unfolding right in their view, but they had no idea that something was awry.

ROMER: Right. I was going to say friends talking right to his face saying you look just like Shawn Hornbeck, I mean, how much more can you do?

WHITFIELD: Yes. It is baffling. Bill Romer, landlord there in Kirkwood, Missouri, thank you so much for your time.

ROMER: You're welcome, thank you.

WHITFIELD: So no matter which way you look at it, this is a mysterious case. If there were opportunities for Shawn Hornbeck's escape, why wouldn't he take them? Or did he? We will talk to a psychiatrist who delves into the possible psychological entanglements straight ahead in the NEWSROOM.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

WHITFIELD: First, the miracle in Missouri. After a day of jubilation and wonder, some quiet time at home today for William Ben Ownby and Shawn Hornbeck. As for the boys' alleged abductor, new details and new questions.

Here's some of what we know about Michael Devlin. An adopted son with five siblings, he was raised in Kirkwood, Missouri, the same St. Louis suburb where the boys were rescued on Friday. Devlin held a job at the same pizza parlor for the past 15 years. His record was clean, no prior arrests. But he once risked blowing his cover by calling the cops on a neighbor over a parking space dispute. Co-workers describe him as reliable, but some neighbors called Devlin surly.

So still a lot of puzzling questions about the captivity of those two boys in Missouri. A neighbor of the suspect, Michael Devlin, is quoted as saying Shawn, quote, "was always riding his bike and stuff. He had friends in the neighborhood. We just thought that it was his son or something," end quote.

And then this quote from one of Devlin's co-workers. "There was no inkling that something like this would ever be linked with him."

So what is going on here? How is it so much took place in plain sight, yet a dark secret was kept? For possible answers, let's turn to Dr. Jeffrey Lieberman, chair of the psychiatry department at Columbia University Medical Center. Good to see you.

JEFFREY LIEBERMAN, COLUMBIA UNIVERSITY MEDICAL CTR: Hi Fredricka, nice to be with you.

WHITFIELD: Well so many things that are so baffling about this. Mainly, that apparently at least Shawn Hornbeck was seen in public, whether it be with the suspect or playing even with other friends and then some reports indicate that he even kind of casually took on the suspect's last name. So these are characteristics of what in your view?

LIEBERMAN: Well, this kind of reaction in terms of a person who's been abducted or put into a captive situation somehow not resisting or even identifying with their captor is not all that uncommon. In fact, it's been given a name, Stockholm Syndrome.

And basically what this is a coping mechanism, a defense mechanism for somebody who's in a dire situation where they have been deprived of their normal freedom and maybe in a life-threatening situation, finding a way to get through it and survive in a way that's less stressful.

WHITFIELD: So doctor, when does that type of thing kick in? Is it after a few days of captivity, weeks, or are you typically seeing this kind of Stockholm Syndrome when someone has been kept for years?

LIEBERMAN: Usually it takes a while to evolve because first, when somebody is abducted or taken prisoner, they are in shock and they are reacting to the depravation of their freedom and their normal circumstances. And they are thinking, how am I going to survive? At that time, some people, not all people, some people and suspend the reality of the situation and find a way of seeing the person as a caretaker or seeing it in some positive emotional valance.

WHITFIELD: Is that kind of a survival mechanism? Is that something that someone goes into to say well, you know what, I want to at least survive so I'm going to cooperate?

LIEBERMAN: Exactly, exactly. If -- in evolution, you can see where individuals who are capable of suspending reality and adapt to this life-threatening, dire situation in a way that showed some positive attitude to their captor, these might be the people who would survive as opposed to those that are rebellious and would resist and would be killed.

WHITFIELD: Well you know, I think most people would think that the animal instinct is first you are fearful and then you become combative or angry or try to figure out a way out of it. So does everyone or should it be expected everyone goes through that phase first before there is any potential cooperation between abductor and abductee?

LIEBERMAN: Well, it's a different situation. For example, people who are in prison for committing crimes usually have -- they develop a resentment of authority and an oppositional behavior. People who are soldiers and they're prisoners of war are bound by an honor code. Don't cooperate with the enemy. Don't reveal anything but your name, rank, or serial number.

If you are a captive in this kind of situation, it is different. First, you are thinking how am I going to get through it? Then as you spend more time, days, weeks, you begin to see the human qualities of your captor and those resonate with the human emotions that you have and you begin to develop a relationship in the normative way in which relationships are developed.

Now not everybody is equally susceptible to it. Probably the classic example of the Stockholm Syndrome was Patty Hearst, who was abducted by Symbionese Liberation Army, who developed a positive attitude not just to her captors, but to their ideology as well.

WHITFIELD: Dr. Jeffrey Lieberman, thanks so much, of Columbia University. Thanks for joining us.

LIEBERMAN: You're welcome.

WHITFIELD: Well, it's all very confusing. But this past week did bring great news for the Ownby and Hornbeck families. Next in the NEWSROOM, an update on efforts to find hundreds of other children missing across the country.

And winter weather is causing some pretty serious hardships across the country's midsection. Coming up, we'll get the latest forecast.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

WHITFIELD: Now in the news more information about the two Missouri boys who were reunited with their families this weekend. There are conflicting descriptions of the suspect in the case, 41 year-old Michael Devlin, his employer calls him a well-mannered worker. Neighbors describe him as a loner with a quick temper. In 60 seconds we will hear from the officers who arrested Devlin.

Ice, sleet, snow and driving rain, all of it creating treacherous conditions in the nation's midsections. Thousands of people are without power. Governors in Missouri and Oklahoma have declared states of emergency. In Elk City, Oklahoma a packed minivan slid off an icy highway and seven people were killed.

And a firm pledge from U.S. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice, today she told Palestinian President Abbas the U.S. will take a more active role in peace efforts between Israelis and Palestinians. After meeting with Abbas, Rice flew to Jordan seeking support for President Bush's new Iraq plan.

We just heard from the police officers who arrested the suspect in that Missouri kidnapping case. Forty-one year-old Michael Devlin had no criminal record, just a pair of traffic fines. Police were investigating an unrelated case when they spotted what turned out to be Devlin's truck in the parking lot of his apartment complex. The officer's say when they approached Devlin his mood changed.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: So we started out just a casual conversation, Officer Wagster did. When we started getting more into the investigation a little bit, his whole demeanor changed. Went from a casual conversation, 180 degrees from that.

WHITFIELD: The Missouri boys are two of thousands of cases where kids across the country go missing. CNN's Gary Nurenberg is standing by live in Alexandria, Virginia at the Center for Missing & Exploited Children.

Gary.

GARY NURENBERG, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Fredricka the officials here really believe the public play0 as key role in finding some of these kids and bringing them home. Joann Donnellan is one of the people who believe that's strongly. And at their Website Missingkids.com the public can go and take a look at some cases. You have one you want to show us where you think the public may be able to solve this one relatively soon.

JOANN DONNELLAN, CTR. FOR MISSING & EXPLOITED CHILDREN: Absolutely Gary. We truly believe your viewers can help us bring home Ruben Blackwell. Let's go to the Website and let's take a look at his picture. Ten years ago Ruben was taken by his father. At the time Ruben was only 4. Today he is 10 years old. You see the age progression. We do that so people have a vision of what he will look like today. He was taken from Clinton, Maryland. And he -- but he could be anywhere across the United States. The important thing here is his father. You know, his father now could have changed appearance; he could be salt and pepper hair, without a mustache. And he worked in the school system in Maryland. Those are the types of descriptors we want people to zero in on to try to help find Ruben.

NURENBERG: So in this particular case look for someone that looks like Ruben's dad in the school system.

DONNELLAN: Absolutely and then also Ruben could also be going by the name Bennett.

NURENBERG: Let's take a look at another case.

DONNELLAN: OK great. The next case we have are the Lyon sisters. The Lyon sisters disappeared in 1975. This is a very old case. I can tell you, these two sisters were walking to Wheaton Plaza Mall back in 1975. They were together, Katherine was 11 and Sheilah was 13. We truly believe someone must have seen something. You have two girls who disappear at one time. And the key really, age progression is very important. Obviously, they are now in their 40s. Someone saw something the day that they walked to the shopping center. What we say at the center is that you need to call in. Someone knows something. You have a lead. Let law enforce many decide if it is a good one or not.

NURENBERG: Really an example that you never do give you up no matter how much time has gone by.

DONNELLAN: No. We never give up here at the center. We keep hope alive. Every case, we don't close it until we can get some sort of resolution. The public plays a very powerful role in bringing the children home.

NURENBERG: We should mention quickly that Wheaton Plaza is a suburb of Washington, D.C., in Maryland. Not just pictures on Missingkids.com but plenty of advice for parents who are looking for help.

The Website has a variety of tips for parents to protect kids, click what to do if your child is missing, and get a list of things to do immediately. Call authorities with a detailed description of your child. Click child safety and you get a wide menu of options from general advice for all parents, always know where your children are, to specific recommendations on Internet safety, check privacy settings, to guidelines on safe behavior, walking to and from school when many abductions take place. Don't go alone take a friend.

All of that on Missingkids.com information about any missing kids 1-800-the-lost.

Fredricka.

WHITFIELD: All right. Thanks so much. Gary Nurenberg.

This information just in out of Philadelphia. A report of an explosion-taking place at a Philadelphia subway station. At Broad and Lehigh in north Philadelphia. Early reports indicate that a liquid bottle may have exploded or been ignited. Fire and hazard material teams are on the scene. The line apparently is back in routine operations. No reported injuries.

Let's talk about weather. It is pretty bad out there. The nation's midsection is in a deep freeze. Hit by three consecutive days of ice, sleet, snow, and heavy rain. Thousands are without power. And states of emergency have been declared in both Missouri and Oklahoma.

A slick interstate leads to a deadly crash in Oklahoma. Using either highways or railroads are nearly impossible because of the weather right now. And other travelers remain stranded at that state's largest airport.

Reggie Aqui joins us live from Oklahoma City. Reggie.

REGGIE AQUI, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Fredricka the day started off in a very -- with a very dangerous reminder of what's going on the roads. Seven people died about two hours west of Oklahoma City as their van went out of control, spun around and crossed the median right into the way of an oncoming truck. And actually, the worst of the weather today came after that accident. That was at 4:00 a.m. about 9:00 in the morning, we got this. A layer that went on top of what we already have of the ice of some sleet. So now you can actually shovel the stuff. If you are watching us yesterday, you knew that you couldn't get into it if you walked on it. This wouldn't have happened. You wouldn't have seen any imprint because it was just a layer of ice.

Take a look at that sleet and the conditions on the roads that we saw today. We are talking about probably another half an inch of sleet here in the Oklahoma City area. The worst of it passed us and went southeast to that portion of the state. They are really facing some hardships there because of what's going on with the power lines. Whereas we got sleet, they were getting much more freezing rain and freezing rain is more dangerous because it is heavier and it really weighs down those power lines. It means that a lot of folks that are out of power. Right now in the state there are 90,000 people that can't turn the lights on.

Because of that, what the state is doing is they are opening up more shelters at the Red Cross, is helping with that. Also today we saw some people going to the gas stations, not so much to fill up fuel for their cars but for something else. MIKE DUFFY, OKLAHOMA CITY RESIDENT: I'm filling up my gas jugs for my generator. If the power goes down I want to make sure I have plenty of fuel for my generator.

AQUI: Luckily for all of those people who are in Oklahoma City they are not having to worry about the power going out. They have been spared for that. For the other folks they are going to have to have another night at home without being able to turn on anything that goes with electricity.

WHITFIELD: That's brutal. Thanks so much Reggie Aqui.

The state of Missouri is also under a state of emergency with more freezing rain expected to barrel in. Live for us now outside St. Louis Jeff Flock. Jeff.

JEFF FLOCK, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Indeed Fredricka we can top you. About 125,000 people without power here. I will tell you. If you like it nasty, you are in the right place. Take a look at the ice on these trees that have come down. Look at this stuff. It is just coating everything. We are bracing for it to be even worse. It is going to get very, very cold here tonight. Already this weight that the ice has put on the trees, it snapped them off. Look at this one. Just sheered this one off. You can see up in the tops of these - hey Christine, come over here. Would you, please? Neighborhood full of people who will not have power tonight, who will not be warm tonight. Your backyard, you told me, looks like what?

CHRISTINE ANDERSON-KUSS, O'FALLON RESIDENT: Looks like a tornado has gone through. It is like what happened in July of this past year.

FLOCK: You had a tornado.

ANDERSON-KUSS: Yes. We walked out. You couldn't get out the back door. Tree limbs down, limbs on the roof. Thickly coated with ice. Not a winter wonderland.

FLOCK: They say maybe even more yet tonight.

ANDERSON-KUSS: Yes. Third round today. All we can hope for is crank the heat in the house. I'm cooking a nice meal right now and let's hope we can get power and keep it.

FLOCK: As we talk, Tim, I don't know if you can see but these houses all without power. What are people doing? What are you doing to stay warm?

ANDERSON-KUSS: Well a couple of our neighbors down the street, we have gotten together. There is a gentleman up here that does another family member here on the street; we cut up wood and helping him use his fireplace and trying to help each other out. My neighbor across the street he got up on our roof, thanks to him, and he cut a limb off. My husband and him, everybody is pulling together and we are running extension cord from your house. Another guy has a generator. Whatever we can do to help each other. Whoever has the power at the time. FLOCK: Christine, good luck. I hope this does not last long.

ANDERSON-KUSS: I'm blessed. God has kept my house intact.

FLOCK: Great spirit here at least Fredricka in O'Fallon, Missouri where it is bad but perhaps the worst is still to come. We are going to watch it throughout the evening and talk to you again tomorrow.

WHITFIELD: Yes it is bad but neighbor helping neighbor, that made it better. Jeff Flock, thanks so much. Bonnie Schneider is in the Severe Weather Center, so Bonnie we know that they might be getting or at least they seem to be bracing for another blast tonight.

BONNIE SCHNEIDER, CNN METEOROLOGIST: This could be the most intense one of all. We see the winds pick up with the last blast coming through. The storm advisories have now pushed all of the way to Chicago because we are expecting snow in Chicago tonight, just a few inches. Temperatures right now in Chicago about 33-32 degrees. They will drop down by the time that precipitation moves in. So we are looking at an all-snow situation whereas further to the south where have you that warm air mass overriding the shallow cold air that's in place, that's where we are still expecting more freezing rain. You can see it moving in right now.

The temperatures will fall tonight and turn bitterly cold so that will be a concern for St. Louis. To the south across Tennessee into Kentucky and also -- across much of the southeast, temperatures are much milder. We are looking at very heavy rain and that can make for a dangerous situation in terms of flooding. Right along the border here in places like Springfield where you are getting a wintry mix happening, watch out particularly for bridges and overpasses. The wind wraps around them and that cools them down even faster. Even if the temperature seems mild outside.

Ice accumulation, these totals are just coming in now and they are incredible. Two inches of ice, that's a lot of ice. Even if you have a quarter of an inch we had recorded in Independent, Kansas. That definitely can coat the roadways to the point there will be a lot of traffic accidents as a result. In Tulsa, the combination has brought some sleet so kind of mixing in with the ice. We have two inches of that on the ground. Incredible numbers coming in as the totals are being tallied up.

Let's look forward now towards Monday. The storm system finally makes some progress and works its way further to the north and east. It is a slow-moving front that has a lot of moisture associated with it. We are still going to keep some icy weather in the forecast. At least for the first part of Monday. Eventually, things will improve the only problem, Fredricka; the cold temperatures aren't going anywhere. The arctic air is well in place and it should sit there for the next few days.

WHITFIELD: That's pretty miserable. Two inches of ice, I don't think I ever heard of that before.

SCHNEIDER: That's a lot of ice.

WHITFIELD: Thanks so much, Bonnie. Our other big story we continue to look at. All weekend long, held for more than four years. But not hidden. New details emerge about a young boy's captive life. Our top story straight ahead in THE NEWSROOM.

SCHNEIDER: I'm CNN meteorologist Bonnie Schneider with a look at your cold and flu report for Sunday. We are well under way with cold and flu season and now we have widespread activity reported across much of the southeast. Including Georgia, Alabama, and South Carolina. You will find moderate activity or sporadic outbreaks through the Rockies. No activity across areas towards New England. And regional outbreaks in Texas and in Florida. That's a look at your cold and flu report for Sunday. I'm meteorologist Bonnie Schneider.

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WHITFIELD: More on this top story after a day of jubilation and wonder. Some quiet time at home today for William Ben Ownby and Shawn Hornbeck. As for the boys' alleged abductor, new details and new questions. Here's some of what we know about Michael Devlin. An adopted son with five siblings. He was raised in Kirkwood, Missouri. The same St. Louis suburb where the boys were rescued Friday. Devlin held a job at the same pizza parlor for 15 years. His record was clean. No prior arrests. He once risked blowing his cover by calling the police on a neighbor over a parking space dispute. Co-workers described him as reliable. But some neighbors call Devlin surly.

This other story we continue to follow out of Philadelphia, we hear there has been an underground explosion at a Philadelphia subway station at Broad and Lehigh in north Philadelphia. Fire and hazard material teams are on the scene. The line, however, is back in routine operation. That's the good news. Also good news, no reports of injuries. We will follow that story.

The Democrats oppose it. His military critics don't like it either. But that's not stopping President Bush from moving ahead with plans to increase U.S. troop levels in Iraq. The president sat down with CBS Scott Pelly to talk about the new strategy.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

SCOTT PELLY, CBS CORRESPONDENT: Do you believe have you the authority to put the troops in there no matter what the Congress wants to do?

GEORGE W. BUSH, PRESIDENT OF THE U.S: I think I have in this situation, I do, yes. I fully understand they -- they could try to stop me from doing it. But I made my decision. And we are going forward.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

WHITFIELD: That interview is what some are calling a full-court press the White House is trying to convince a skeptical nation that the new strategy will work. There were more sales pitches today even as supporters deal with a new wrinkle. Here is CNN's Kathleen Koch.

KATHLEEN KOCH, CNN CORRESPONDENT: The administration sales team was out in force. President Bush, Vice President Cheney, and the national security adviser. The pitch that the new Iraq plan will work better than opponents call for a graduate draw down.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: We simply go back and revalidate the strategy that Osama Bin Laden has been following from day one. If you kill enough Americans, you can force them to quit, that we don't have the stomach for the fight. That's not an answer.

KOCH: Lawmakers at the same time were staking out their positions. Possible presidential contenders leaving no doubt about where they stand.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I think this has to work and I believe it can succeed.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: It represents the most dangerous foreign policy blunder since Vietnam.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: A disaster policy on the part of the Bush administration.

KOCH: Adding to the debate, tough talk against suspected Iranian activity in Iraq. U.S. troops in Iraq detained five Iranians last week. The U.S. military says they are members of the Iranian Revolutionary Guard, a group known for providing funds, weapons, training and roadside bombs to extremists in Iraq.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Iran is fishing in troubled waters if you will inside of Iraq. And the president has responded to that.

KOCH: National Security Adviser Stephen Hadley insist the administration is not preparing for U.S. military action against Iran.

STEPHEN HADLEY, NATIONAL SECURITY ADVISER: No. The president has said very clearly that the issues that we have with Iran should be solved diplomatically.

KOCH: Hadley later said Iraq was the best place to take on Iranians who were helping Iraqi insurgents. But wouldn't say the U.S. has no authority to go into Iran.

HADLEY: I didn't say that. This is another issue any time you have questions about crossing international borders there are legal issues.

KOCH: Lawmakers are eyeing the developments with caution.

SEN. JOHN MCCAIN, (R) ARIZONA: I think it is very, very important that if Iranians are in Iraq, paying people to be suicide bombers, to help the training and equipping them, and it is vital that we go after them, too. REP. JOHN MURTHA, (D) PENNSYLVANIA: I don't think that the president is trying to build a case. I don't think he has the authority to go into Iran.

KOCH: But President Bush does have the authority and for now the funds already budgeted to send more U.S. troops into Iraq. Vice President Cheney insisting this week's promised nonbinding Congressional resolution opposing the increase will not affect the president's plans.

Fredrica.

WHITFIELD: Kathleen Koch at the White House. Thanks so much.

So let's go out west where dreams of gold are straight ahead in THE NEWSROOM our lovely Sibila Vargas is right there on the red carpet.

SIBILA VARGAS, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Yes getting ready for the Golden Globes. Break out the bubbly. This will be a big party. I will give you the inside scoop of one of the hottest after parties when CNN NEWSROOM continues.

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WHITFIELD: Well some movie veterans and even the new starlets are hoping they will be taking home new hardware on Monday. Namely, Golden Globe statuettes. The Hollywood party planners are working overtime for Monday's big bash. They are already out there including our Sibila Vargas. So early.

VARGAS: Hi. Fredricka I'm out here. Celebrities will be here in less than 24 hours. You know, they don't call it Hollywood's biggest party for nothing. They have these little bottles of Moet Chandon to greet the celebrities as they come in. It is not just about the awards show itself. But the after parties are some of the biggest parties. There's about seven of them going on. One of the hottest is the "InStyle" and Warner Brothers party. Here to tell us -- give us the 411 on the scoop is Kelly Austing from "InStyle" Magazine. Why is this the hottest party to go to?

KELLY AUSTING, "INSTYLE" MAGAZINE" In Style and Warner Brothers just knows how to throw a great party. We have live entertainment, we have tons of food, and we have bubbly drinks. It is a great place to kick off your shoes and have a great time.

VARGAS: Who comes to these parties?

AUSTING: Everyone. This year we are just so excited about the wattage that's coming. We have everyone from George Clooney to Salma Hayek.

VARGAS: You also have a chocolate theme. I was -- I was surprised when I saw this room. It is extraordinary. Tell me about that. AUSTING: The Godiva chocolate lounge. It is walls of chocolate, furniture of chocolate. Everything decadent. The Godiva gold collection.

VARAGS: Set the stage. What goes down at the parties? What happens? Are they eating, dancing?

AUSTING: At our party it is -- we are one of the few parties that have live entertainment. There's dancing. One year we had the "Desperate Housewives" all cutting the rug. It was great. It is just everyone kicks off their shoes and has a great time. Relax. And it is fun.

VARGAS: Well thank you so much for joining us. Of course, it is bubbly and chocolate. What's not to love?

WHITFIELD: No kidding. Where is my invitation? I'm there. You know what I'm noticing? Your bottle doesn't look full. My second question --

VARGAS: OK.

WHITFIELD: What about the chocolate? Is it edible?

VARGAS: It is all edible. Absolutely. I don't think they are going to get around to all of that.

WHITFIELD: All right. Thanks a lot for Sibila. My kind of party, champagne and chocolate.

All right. Straight-ahead, IN THE NEWSROOM new details of the alleged kidnapper in Missouri. Live coverage of this breaking story continues.

Marshall University faces another tragedy. More on what students at this West Virginia school are coping with now.

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