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Stunning Details of Missouri Kidnapping; Inflammatory Video From West Bank

Aired January 14, 2007 - 22:00   ET

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

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: You know, I had never had any problem with him at all. I mean, he was my manager. He counted my money. And you just don't do that with somebody that you don't trust.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

RICK SANCHEZ: The seat in middle America. Riveting details of an accused kidnapped lived right among the masses. He shopped, he worked, he called the cops when things went wrong. He paid his rent on time, all while allegedly hiding a disturbing secret.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I was told that he was Devlin's son. And you know, at first, obvious thought, I believed him.

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SANCHEZ: Misplaced trust. A community in shock, but are we too busy minding our own business? Tonight, the tough questions. Why didn't anyone notice something? Who is Michael Devlin? What was his strong hold over Shawn Hornbeck? And could the police have moved in sooner? A special edition of CNN NEWSROOM: Miracle in Missouri.

Good evening, I'm Rick Sanchez. That's what we're calling it, a miracle in Missouri. Authorities say it's hard to call it anything else. The tales of the seeming double kidnapping are unfolding by the hour. And many are finding those details truly unbelievable.

Tonight, both boys are back home. The suspect is in jail and he'll likely face more charges. But police are left with a mountain of unanswered questions to try and dive into.

Here is perhaps the most important one for them. What has been going on in that house for the past four years? We turn now to CNN's Jonathan Freed. He's joining us from Kirkwood, Missouri, where he's been looking into this story for the last 48 hours? Jonathan?

JONATHAN FREED, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Rick, people here are asking themselves if the allegations against this man are true, how has he managed to lead a double life for so long?

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE) JONATHAN FREED, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Police officers, Gary Wagster and Chris Nelson, are the ones who told the FBI they thought Michael Devlin could be the kidnapper they were searching for. They're the ones who started questioning Devlin outside his apartment building, when they realized his truck matched the description of the suspect's vehicle. And while they were talking to Devlin...

Something in the eyes changed? Was it physical? Did he get cold?

GARY WAGSTER, OFFICER, KIRKWOOD, MO., POLICE DEPT.: All of those. I mean...

FREED: So what was it?

CHRIS NELSON, OFFICER, KIRKWOOD, MO. POLICE DEPT.: All of it. I mean, his eyes, his speech, his attitude towards us. It just - it wasn't the same person that we were talking to two seconds ago.

FREED: The officers say it's ironic that the man they knew as Mike the pizza guy because he managed the restaurant near the police station would ultimately be charged with kidnapping 13-year-old Ben Ownby on Monday. And he was alleged to have held 15-year-old Shawn Hornbeck for more than four years. Mike Prosperi owns the pizza parlor and says he's known Devlin for a quarter century.

MIKE PROSPERI, OWNER, IMO'S PIZZA: There's not too many people that stay with the same job for 25 years. I mean, I never had any problem with him at all. I mean, he was my manager. He counted my money. And you know, and you just don't do that with somebody that you don't trust.

FREED: Prosperi says he did become suspicious of Devlin when he thought about his white truck and called in sick the day Ownby disappeared. He told police, who say investigators were getting ready to look into the tip, when Wagster and Nelson spotted the truck themselves.

NELSON: We're focusing on the positive that the kids were returned home. And that's the best thing that anybody can get out of this. And that's -- we're the happiest for that.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

FREED: Now the two officers told me, Rick, that they felt they had to do something about the way Devlin was acting when they looked at each other and talked to each other and said they both had the same gut feeling about it.

SANCHEZ: But you know, there seems to be a bit of a conflict here, Jonathan, because his co-workers seem to be saying that he led almost a secretive life, something they didn't know about. But his neighbors say they would see the 15-year-old out on a bicycle, many of them thinking that maybe it was a father and son situation. How do you put those two together? FREED: That's what we've been trying to do. And so far the way it seems to be adding up is that it depends on how you connect yourself here to the suspect.

If you lived around him, the people who lived in that apartment building over in the neighborhood or if there were kids involved, you seemed to look at him as a father with a son. The son was allowed to go out. And according to neighbors, reportedly had sleepovers at friends' houses, that kind of thing.

But his own boss, somebody he'd known for a quarter century, told me that he never knew anything of a child that he was in any way responsible for and went so far, Rick, to say that he didn't even do anything like take home an extra pizza saying, you know, I have to feed my son. Nothing like that at all.

SANCHEZ: Unbelievable. Jonathan Freed has been on top on the story as we all have here for the last 48 hours or so. We thank you, Jonathan. We'll certainly get back to you if details warrant.

Then there's the question of how it's possible that this man could seemingly fool so many people. How was Michael Devlin able to allegedly kidnap an 11-year-old boy and then appear for four years to live that normal life right under the noses of his family, his co- workers, his next-door neighbors? How could no one suspect anything? Here's Cordell Whitlock from our St. Louis affiliate KSDK.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

CORDELL WHITLOCK, KSDK NEWS CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Michael Devlin lived in these non-descript apartments on South Holmes in Kirkwood near Oakland. Residents we spoke with say they never saw Ben Ownby, but there were frequent sightings of Shawn Hornbeck. Shawn's step-father Craig Akers said Shawn saw this age-enhanced picture of himself on a bench at the Kirkwood Schnook's on Manchester indicating he was at times out in public. Harry Richard lives above Devlin.

HARRY RICHARD, DEVLIN'S NEIGHBOR: I was told that he was Devlin's son. And you know, at first -- obvious thought, I believed him.

RICK BUTLER, DEVLIN'S NEIGHBOR: And I picked up the phone.

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.

BUTLER: Michael picked the phone up and then 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 nothing. Didn't act like there was anything out of the ordinary.

WHITLOCK: Butler says 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 stay at Devlin's apartment was anything but. However, not one resident we spoke with sensed something was wrong.

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

(END VIDEOTAPE)

SANCHEZ: That was Cordell Whitlock reporting from our affiliate KSDK.

To most, they seemed well, like father and son. But in reality, Shawn Hornbeck was a captive. So many chances, though, so many opportunities. Why didn't he ever tip anybody off, talk to one of his neighbors?

Child psychologist Susan Bartell has some answers about this. She's going to be joining us in just a bit.

Many of us go about our daily lives not noticing the guy next door, the kid downstairs, or the woman at the local supermarket. Could we all be more aware? Here's what we want to know. Could something like what happened in Missouri happen in your neighborhood perhaps? Or would you notice something?

Give us a call. That's 1-800-807-2620 . We'd like to hear from you. 1-800-807-2620. We're going to air some of your responses right here and share them with other viewers later this hour.

So just who is Michael Devlin? And did he deceive his family and his friends? We tackle those questions. We do so next.

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UNIDENTIFIED PERSON: I'm filling up my gas jugs for my generator. If the power goes down, I want to make sure I got plenty of fuel for my generator.

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SANCHEZ: Thousands of people starting their week without power. Others trying to keep the lights on. From Oklahoma to Michigan, snow, sleet, and ice causing some major problems. We're going to take you there live. Also, meteorologist Bonnie Schneider's going to be joining us in about 10 minutes. She's going to bring us your forecast and of course share all the information about what's going on in the midsection of the United States.

And then this. Pictures coming in of a lady screaming at her neighbor gets the attention of the Israeli prime minister. He's not happy with what he's seeing. You're going to see it yourself. We'll show it to you in 30 minutes.

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SANCHEZ: Now it's your turn to choose the news. Is there a particular story that you want to hear more about? E-mail us at weekends@cnn.com or send us your video or your webcam suggestion at cnn.com/exchange. And we're going to get your answer within the hour. We'll do that for you.

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(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

MIKE PROSPERI, OWNER, IMO'S PIZZA: The people that work for me, I've had two generations. So you know, to do background checks on - they don't have any background yet because they're only 16-years old. And I've known them - I'd say 80 percent of them since they were born. I've known their mom and dad.

So - like Mike, you know. I knew his brother Jamie. His brother Pat worked for me. They all worked for me.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

SANCHEZ: But there was obviously a lot that he didn't know. That was Michael Devlin's boss you just heard at that news conference at a Missouri pizza parlor where Devlin worked. Many questions still swirling around Devlin.

Now jailed on a million dollars bond for allegedly kidnapping two boys. But we do have some answers about the life he led. He's 41- years old and a 300-pound diabetic. He lost a toe to a disease in 2002, the same year that Shawn Hornbeck disappeared.

Devlin is one of six kids. And he was - has no arrest record that we know of. He lived in a modest two bedroom apartment. His lawyer says he paid his rent on time. His neighbors call him a loner, held a couple of jobs as a pizza parlor manager, an overnight phone attendant at a funeral home.

Devlin's lawyers were scheduled to speak to CNN today, but at the last minute they canceled.

We also know this about Devlin. He has a family and they do seem to care about him. They say they're as surprised as anyone that Devlin was allegedly involved in the boys' disappearance. In fact, this is the statement that they put out. "As parents, the Devlin Family along with all compassionate people have prayed for the safe return of these young men to their loved ones. Just as we are relieved that both Ben and Shawn are now safe, we hope that Michael will be safe as the facts of his case revealed."

Why would someone allegedly kidnapped stay with their abductor? How would we characterize that relationship? Those questions taken on by a child psychologist in 15 minutes.

And don't forget tonight's last call. Could this happen in your neighborhood? What would you notice? Give us a call at 1-800-807- 2620.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

SANCHEZ: We have moved into the control room now. And we want to share with you some of the video that we've been getting in all over the country. This has to do with that severe weather that we've been talking about.

We've got a row of monitors here. And we're going to be starting right here. This is in Oklahoma. This is a horrible car accident. Many people killed in this car accident.

According to police in the reports that they've been bringing in, seven people were killed when this vehicle went head on with a tractor trailer. As a result of the devastation, more officials are saying that they're expecting that there could be other accidents. What they're trying to do is try and keep as many people as they can off the roads.

Now let's bring you over here. This is another story that we've been following. This is a similar situation that develops all the time because of the bad weather and all the ice and the snow.

This is a roof collapse also in Oklahoma. And you'll see in the pictures that the roof came absolutely down. It's in -- a roof at a school gym. All the ice and the accumulated snow they say was just too much. The good news out of this story is that no one was hurt.

But as we follow this story in different parts of the country, mostly the middle of the United States, we've got correspondents who have been following it throughout the day.

Jeff Flock is going to be joining us now here. He has the very latest on this. Jeff, what do we know?

JEFF FLOCK, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, Rick, you know, last time we talked to some people who were trying to stay warm despite the fact that they were in a neighborhood where the power is completely out. We're still in that same neighborhood. Still no lights on in the neighborhood, even though they were told by the power company a few hours ago that maybe they'd have it back by this time.

As you can see, tree limbs and pieces of trees down everywhere we go. We wanted to get inside one of these houses and give you a real sense of what it looks like if you're in the dark. You got no heat. You got no power.

This fellow by the name of Bill Hamilton, and I think if we come in the door, he'll let us come in here without shooting us. Hey, Bill, where are you? All right, let me just let you get in here. And you've got -- I don't know if you want to kill the light, Tim, just to show people what it's like when they're no - go ahead and just kill our light.

So now pardon us. If you think it's dark, maybe you feel like you're out in the dark. That's what you feel like, right?

BILL: Yes, it is.

FLOCK: Hold on, let me grab a candle. Oh, is that - hey, Tim, is that any better? Can we see us here now? What is this like for you in the dark?

BILL: It's really hard, really, really hard. No heat, no lights. I mean, it's really bad.

FLOCK: You just got off with the power company. What did they tell you?

BILL: They said that it could take up to a week before they get this straightened out.

FLOCK: So you might be in this situation for a week?

BILL: Yes.

FLOCK: Well, part of the good news, we thought, Rick, is that the big freeze, the additional freezing rain that was possible and had been forecast, they're saying now that probably won't happen. But despite that, the temperature's still going to get down there. And all this power that's still out is going to be out for a while.

BILL: Yes, it will. I'm just hoping for blankets and anything else to stay warm.

FLOCK: Just before we get away here quickly, you've got candles over here. And what else am I seeing around here? I don't want to go too far in that direction, but...

BILL: All around, candles just so we have light. I mean, I'm the only one that lives in the home right now.

FLOCK: Got you. Bill, I appreciate it. Thank you. I want to say good luck to you.

BILL: Yes, thank you and good luck. I mean, that's all I could hope.

SANCHEZ: I'm going to give you the candle back. And we'll see how it turns out. Rick, that's the latest from here. We're in Ofallon, Missouri where as you can see, they're still in the dark.

SANCHEZ: Boy, Jeff, that's what we call an actuality. I mean, you've really given us a sense of what's going on and what those people are having to cope with. We thank you for that.

Let's take you from Jeff now to Bonnie Schneider. She's actually going to give us a sense of what's happening across the middle of the United States. As you watch his report, Bonnie, you can't help but feel bad for some of the elderly in that area. I mean, somebody who can get around like that gentleman is fine, but it's got to be real tough on some of the older people there, huh?

BONNIE SCHNEIDER, CNN METEOROLOGIST: Oh, very tough, indeed. And it does take a long time to get the power back on. And the problem is the temperatures will remain cold in St. Louis for quite some time.

The only good news, Jeff mentioned it, the chance for freezing rain has gone down dramatically. So St. Louis is out of the ice storm warning that was in effect. So that's good news.

The problem is it will still be cold and blustery going forward.

Now looking at the big picture, the threat of wintry weather, though, stretches all the way north to Chicago and down through Dallas tonight. We're looking at the potential for freezing rain and very blustery conditions.

But now the threat has pushed as far to the east as New England. We have winter weather advisories posted for cities including Boston, meaning you'll see some icy weather on the roads in the morning hours.

Temperatures are warm on the Cape. But look at this, back in New Hampshire, it's already below freezing. So that means any moisture that falls will add a glaze to the roads.

Now taking a closer look, St. Louis now is 37. That's good news. That will really prevent that freezing rain from coming down and icing over already iced roads.

Heavy rain has been falling throughout much of Tennessee and Arkansas. And the temperatures have been barely cold in Kansas City. Now in the 20s.

Tulsa now is starting to get some more freezing rain and also under a winter weather advisory as we move forward.

Now speaking of wintry weather, we're talking about Chicago. This morning when you wake up tomorrow morning, you will be finding a lot of snow on the ground, at least a couple of inches. The temperature's right at freezing now, but notice all this precipitation coming in. And as those numbers drop down below freezing tonight, you'll be looking at snow accumulating.

On Monday, about - I'd say about two to four inches. Now we have a winter storm warning in Chicago, but how about the hill country of Texas? That's right. For Austin and San Antonio, we're looking at very cold conditions tonight and likely to see icy weather as well for Monday's commute. So keep that in mind.

Now the big picture for overnight lows across the country shows the cold air well in place, dropping down to negative numbers in Denver, Colorado. Down to negative 6 there. And certainly, it will feel a lot colder as well.

The only warm spots on the map here is much of the southeast. New York City, you're not under a winter weather advisory. Temperatures will be too warm, but we are looking at wet weather in the forecast, particularly as we work our way towards Monday. You can see that low pushing further off to the east. And it'll bring some soggy conditions, especially here for the Mississippi Valley and then up through the northeast as well. More snow on tap for Minneapolis as well.

Well, our viewers are sending in some dramatic photos of the winter storm through i-report. Leo Harris in Maryland Heights, Missouri was standing on his back deck when he saw a power line snapping. He told his wife to run and get the camera. She started taking pictures as soon as the tree caught fire.

They lost power for a while, but things are back to normal now. That's an incredible picture.

Bobby Brooks of Springfield, Missouri sent in this photo of a neighbor's tree. It fell on her driveway this weekend and totaled her husband's truck and trailer that was behind it. The family still is without power.

Now it's your turn to say i-report for CNN. Send us your pictures or video of breaking news or just cool stories you'd like to see. Go to cnn.com and click on i-report to find out how to become a part of the most trusted name in the news. Rick?

SANCHEZ: All right, thanks so much, Bonnie. We appreciate it.

Speaking of video, by the way, you hear stories about the situation in the Middle East all the time between the Israelis and the Palestinians. That is, you hear a lot of politicians talking about it.

But what's it like on the ground? What are people there saying? Here's the video we're going to be sharing with you tonight. It's a video on the web. And as you can imagine, it grabbed the attention of people in charge, the images and the impressions in just 15 minutes.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

Based on the information we got 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 a teenage son or a teenage relative living with him. So that didn't set off any red flags. (END VIDEO CLIP)

SANCHEZ: But first, police, neighbors, and relatives all wondering why they didn't know about this situation with the man and a missing boy, who was right under their noses. I'm going to ask a psychologist the questions that so many of us want answered about this. We'll be right back.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

SANCHEZ: Welcome back. Let's catch you up on the headlines now. President Bush said it's OK for his critics in Congress to disagree with his new plan for Iraq, but they don't have the authority he says to cut funding or reverse his decision.

In tonight's "60 Minutes", Mr. Bush said it's my responsibility to put forward the plan that I think will succeed. I believe if they start trying to cut off funds, they better explain to the American people and the soldiers why their plan will succeed.

Also this. Police are patrolling churches in Greenville, North Carolina tonight. That's a town outside Raleigh. Last night, two Baptist churches caught fire and a third was broken into, all within a span of an hour. Police are treating the churches as crime scenes.

In Huntingtown, West Virginia, the fire chief is calling last night's apartment blaze his city's worst fire in a half century. Seven people, including a child, were killed. And the death count could climb even higher. Marshall University students were among the people that were living there.

A possible breakthrough in the fight against Alzheimer's. Researchers have identified a gene that appears to increase the risk of developing the disease. As usual in studies like this, more research is needed, but the findings could lead to a new understanding of what causes Alzheimer's.

As we cover this miracle in Missouri story from so many angles, the suspect's neighborhood, the boy's friends, what the police are saying, we focus on key questions. How could neighbors not suspect anything/ Why didn't the 15-year-old tip somebody off? What kind of relationship did he have with the suspected kidnapper? Was he a father figure, for example, or a friend, or maybe something more sinister than that?

Here the story's stunning details.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

OFFICER GARY WAGSTER, KIRKWOOD POLICE: We had an uneasy feeling. And for one of us to have that, that's one thing. But for most of us to have it, as much as we work we knew.

SANCHEZ (voice over): Yet no one else seemed to pick up on what two Missouri police officers sensed right off the bat, something wasn't quite right inside Michael Devlin's nondescript Kirkwood apartment.

HARRY REICHARDS, NEIGHBOR: I was told that he was Devlin's son. And, you know, my first obvious thought, I believed him.

SANCHEZ: Harry Reichards wasn't alone. For more than four years, neighbors, strangers, you name it, they all saw Shawn Hornbeck and the 41-year-old man now suspected of being the teen's kidnapper numerous times and never suspected anything.

RICK BUTLER, NEIGHBOR: And I picked up the phone over...

SANCHEZ: Last year a neighbor, Rick Butler, says he found a cell phone in front of his apartment and called a stored number. Devlin picked up and then he put Hornbeck on the phone.

BUTLER: 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 anything was out of the ordinary.

SANCHEZ: A few months ago Butler once again saw the two pitching a tent in 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.

SANCHEZ: No one other than the two Kirkwood police officers sensed that anything was wrong, including Devlin's boss, who has known the pizza parlor manager for decades.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: He's worked with me 25 years. So, I mean, there's not too many people that stay with the same job for 25 years. I mean, I never had any problem with him at all. I mean, he was my manager. He counted my money. You know? And you just don't do that with somebody that you don't trust.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

SANCHEZ: Let's talk about the suspect, Michael Devlin. With the exception of some traffic tickets, he had no criminal record. He's lived in the same St. Louis suburb all of his life, held two jobs, one of them for 25 years. Yet there is another side.

Here's reporter Jake Wagman from the "St. Louis Post-Dispatch."

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

JAKE WAGMAN, REPORTER, "ST. LOUIS POST-DISPATCH": It's incredibly bizarre. At first, the profile that emerged of Devlin was sort of as this average guy. But as you saw, the story moves on and you peel back the letters, a very compelling story -- incident that we reported today was that he apparently got into a fight in his -- or something close to an altercation in his apartment complex over a parking space. Somebody parked in his parking space and he called the police. So here he has the poster boy for missing children in Missouri, quite literally, and he has an altercation over a missing -- over a parking space, and he called the police. And you sort of wonder -- I mean, he at least felt very confident that Shawn was not going to go to the police or seek to run away or anything like that.

SANCHEZ: I'm figuring this is what people are thinking, right? What was it that he was able to do that was able to allay any fears, any doubts from any of those people who lived in this community? How was he able to seemingly almost buffalo (ph) so many people?

WAGMAN: Well, you're talking about -- you know, what's interesting is there's a lot of sort of psychology going on now. Everyone is talking about Stockholm Syndrome, which is, of course, this sort of the captive bonding with their captor. But also, you know, nobody ever asked. And so there's a certain thing -- I guess it's called diffusion of responsibility.

No one really asked, people who knew this guy, who is this kid with him? Is it his -- and I think -- and one of our other reporters, Todd Franklin (ph), had this great piece in today's paper about how, does it speaks to sort of a larger societal problem that people could just mind their business without even realizing, is it his godson, is it his son?

SANCHEZ: Yes.

WAGMAN: You know, and so the reason it's so captivating, the story, because it tells different things about sort of who we are. You know, would we do something, or even if we were 11 years old and kidnapped, would we have the guts to run away or to do -- it's all sorts of strange nuances and twists.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

SANCHEZ: Jake Wagman of the "St. Louis Post-Dispatch." He talks about a diffusion of responsibility on the part of the neighbors. Wasn't some of the responsibility on Shawn Hornbeck himself to perhaps take matters into his own hands and flee his captors, you would think?

I asked psychologist Susan Bartell what their relationship may have been. Was the alleged kidnapper acting as a friend, a father figure, or maybe something more sinister?

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

SUSAN BARTELL, CHILD PSYCHOLOGIST: He might have fantasized in a sort of warped, sick, kind of way that he was Shawn's friend. But no one should ever, ever imagine that that was the truth. And he perhaps tried to convince Shawn that he was his friend.

And over the duration of the four years, might even have brain washed Shawn into thinking that he was his friend and convinced Shawn perhaps that his family didn't want him anymore and that he was Shawn's friend, and perhaps even someone who could take care of him. But there's no way possible that that was the truth, absolutely not. SANCHEZ: So then what's the motivation for characters like this?

BARTELL: You know, they are sick people, and we don't know what the motivation is. Possibly some kind of abuse, possibly some kind of sense of loneliness, possibly wanting to have a child. Until, you know, the police and the family let us know, until he talks about it, there's no way of knowing this particular person's motive. But certainly it was something sinister, absolutely, without a question.

SANCHEZ: We often think of these abuse cases as someone in an alley with a knife. But in many cases abusers actually befriend their victims, don't they, make them almost dependent on them?

BARTELL: Very often abusers do that because that's the way to lure the child into the situation where they can start abusing them. Most often, in fact, that's what happens.

They start off befriending the child in a very gradual way and make the child feel that they are their friend, that they're someone who is going to take care of them, they're someone who wants to give them things, really to show interest in them, and really take care of them. And then only gradually do they start abusing them. And it's possible that that's what happened in this situation.

SANCHEZ: Yes, I was just going to say, do you fear that that may have been the M.O. in this particular case?

BARTELL: It's very possible. We really have no way of knowing. But clearly, because he stayed there for so long without being rescued, and because he did make friends in the neighborhood, he rode his bike in the neighborhood, this is not a situation of a child who was kept locked in a basement, that there were some very, very serious and scary mental games that were being played with him that allowed him to remain captive.

And people need to understand that, that escaping isn't something that happens, you know, when you are being held captive only by locks and chains. But if you are being mentally held captive, that can be just as terrifying for a child.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

SANCHEZ: That's child psychologist, Susan Bartell.

By the way, we should let you know that CNN's going to stay on top of the story. We've been on it since it broke -- since it broke, and we're going to stay on it tomorrow with any development on this. In fact, tomorrow on "AMERICAN MORNING," when you wake up, they're going to be dedicating about two hours of this starting at 6:00 a.m., the "Miracle in Missouri," the very latest news on the missing boys case.

And also, CNN.com. Just click on it and you'll be able to get all the information from there as well, along with the latest news.

CNN primetime will focus on all the other missing children cases that are still out there.

Stay with CNN. We'll bring you the latest as this case develops.

Get more information any time as well by, as I said, by clicking on to CNN.com.

It's been months since the cease-fire in the Middle East, but that doesn't calm the tensions. Not after you see this.

This video got the attention of Israel's prime minister, but what he says about it is different. That's next.

Also, with all the bad weather, will you be able to fly tomorrow? Meteorologist Bonnie Schneider is going to join us in about 10 minutes with the flight track and let you know what's going on.

We'll be right back.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

SANCHEZ: It's a new commitment in an age-old fight. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice says the U.S. wants to get more involved in solving the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. She made her comments during a West Bank meeting with Palestinian president Mahmoud Abbas. Rice also says that she will keep working toward the creation of a Palestinian state.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

CONDOLEEZZA RICE, SECRETARY OF STATE: The establishment of a Palestinian state should be pursued on its own merits, not because of anything else. Not because of Iran, not because of Iraq, not because of anything. The Palestinian people have waited a long time for their own state.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

SANCHEZ: Well, in practice, of course, even the most committed diplomats have been stymied by the complex realities in the Middle East.

CNN's Joshua Levs reports on a recent incident in the West Bank that's getting a lot of attention. It was captured on video and spread by the Internet, and it's inflamed passions on both sides.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

JOSHUA LEVS, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice over): The video that appeared on an Internet news site shows an Israeli women screaming insults at a Palestinian woman as Israeli soldiers stand by, apparently doing nothing to stop it. We don't know what led to the confrontation, but we do know the media has been all over it. So much so that Israeli prime minister Ehud Olmert expressed outrage at his Sunday cabinet meeting, saying he was ashamed of what he saw.

Talking about the woman hurling the insults, he says, "I expect all the supporters of the settlers and all those who love the land of Israel to completely disassociate themselves from her, because she shames this entire sector."

(on camera): Now Israeli media are reporting that some Jewish groups in the West Bank are going to start gathering amateur video of attacks and harassment against them by Palestinians in the region, perhaps opening a new Internet front in the war of public opinion.

Joshua Levs, CNN, Atlanta.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

SANCHEZ: Well, as we've been telling you, the weather is wreaking havoc throughout parts of the Midwest. People are stuck, stranded, they can't get to where they need to be.

Our Bonnie Schneider is going to be joining us next with what travel delays will exist tomorrow.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

SANCHEZ: Here's what we're going to do for you now. We're going to fly you across the NEWSROOM and take you over to Bonnie Schneider. She's going to be following, well, how many people will be able to fly tomorrow because of the severe weather conditions in the middle of the United States.

(WEATHER REPORT)

SANCHEZ: Back to our top story now, the miracle in Missouri, the story of the weekend, really.

Once again, here are some of the story's stunning details.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

SANCHEZ (voice over): Last Monday, Ben Ownby, a seventh grader from Beaufort, Missouri, vanishes after getting off a school bus near his home.

DORIS OWNBY, BEN OWNBY'S MOTHER: We want people to know that we just want Ben back.

SANCHEZ: There was a clue left though with this kidnapping. A fellow student describes a beat-up white Nissan truck. Days after Ben's disappearance, police visit an apartment complex in a St. Louis suburb to serve a warrant in an unrelated case. They notice, though, a vehicle matching the truck's description.

They believe it belongs to 41-year-old Michael Devlin, an employee at a local pizza parlor and funeral home. Authorities interview Devlin. And when they search his apartment...

SHERIFF GARY TOELKE, FRANKLIN COUNTY, MISSOURI: We did locate Ben this afternoon in the city of Kirkwood, and we have also located Shawn Hornbeck, who was at the same residence. SANCHEZ: Wait a second. Let's back up.

Shawn Hornbeck, who is Shawn Hornbeck? Back up more than four years and you'll find out. Forty-eight miles away, in fact, October 6, 2002, 11-year-old Shawn Hornbeck disappears while riding his bike to a friend's house.

PAM AKERS, SHAWN HORNBECK'S MOTHER: This is totally out of the ordinary for him. He's never been late, he's scared of the dark. That's why when he didn't come home last night I knew it wasn't right.

SANCHEZ: In the months that follow, Shawn's stepfather quits his job to devote himself full time to a foundation set up in Shawn's name, seeking to help other parents of missing children. Pam and Craig Akers never stopped hoping that they will somehow find Shawn alive.

CRAIG AKERS, SHAWN HORNBECK'S STEPFATHER: Hope keeps you going. Hope keeps you alive. Hope gets you up in the morning. You know, I've always thought that once you lose hope, it's over.

SANCHEZ: The Shawn Hornbeck trail seems to go away and stays ice cold.

Fast forward to Friday, this past Friday. Shawn Hornbeck, now 15 years old, he's discovered in the same apartment with Ben Ownby.

Back to Michael Devlin. He's arrested, charged with one count of first-degree kidnapping. Prosecutors say more charges are likely.

The boys' families naturally are overjoyed at the return of their sons and credit those who helped in the search. Pam and Craig Akers vow to continue their work for other missing children.

C. AKERS: Just because we've recovered our own son doesn't mean that our work is done. And I don't think that work will ever be done. But once again, just -- we're just so thankful for everyone, for everything that's been done.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

SANCHEZ: But a lot of people are left wondering, who is Michael Devlin? Well, here's what we know about him.

He's 41 years old, 300 pounds, a diabetic. Lost a toe to the disease in 2002, in fact, the very same year that Shawn Hornbeck disappeared.

Devlin is one of six kids, has no arrest record that we know of, lived in a modest two-bedroom apartment. His lawyer says paid his rent on time. His neighbors call him a bit of a loner. Held a couple of jobs as a pizza parlor manager and an overnight phone attendant at a funeral home.

Devlin's lawyers were scheduled to speak to CNN earlier today but they canceled. We also know this about Devlin. He has a family, and they do seem to care enough about him. They say they're surprised as anybody that he would be allegedly involved in the boys' disappearance.

But they did put out this statement, and it reads, "As parents, the Devlin family, along with all compassionate people, have prayed for the safe return of these young men to their loved ones. Just as we are relieved that both Ben and Shawn are now safe, we hope that Michael will be safe as the facts of his case are revealed."

Stay with CNN for the very latest on this story. We'll break in with any development as it happens. And, of course, we'll follow every lead.

"AMERICAN MORNING" is going to pick up the story at 6:00 a.m. Eastern. They're going to be dedicating about two hours to it.

CNN reporters are going to be chasing the investigation as more details come out on Monday, focusing on both the families and what police know.

Along with the latest news, CNN primetime will also focus on all the other missing children cases out there.

Stay with CNN. We're on top of it for you.

A check of the hour's headlines is after the break. But first, your responses to our "Last Call" question. "Ben Ownby and Shawn Hornbeck, hidden in plain sight, could this possibly happen in your neighborhood?" we asked.

Here's what you had to say.

(BEGIN AUDIO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: This is Daryn (ph) in Hanover, PA. Yes, it could happen in my neighborhood, because it's happening all over neighborhoods across this country. It's an epidemic, and nobody is doing anything about it.

Until we put these people away that are perpetrating these hideous acts upon our children, it's going to continue. It's like it's accepted in our society.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: It could happen in my neighborhood because we've learned in the last 10 years with all the abductions and all the murders that we can never judge a book by its cover. Sometimes a person looks perfect and they're a serial killer.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I think it can only happen in my neighborhood if the perpetrator kept the victim hidden. Otherwise, my neighbors and I would question who this person is if we saw the child out.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: This is Kyle (ph) from Sarasota, Florida, and I think that it can happen, like, in our type of neighborhood area because, like, even though it's residential, people are too worried about themselves and not paying attention to what's around them. And, like, things are going around. Like, we've got to be more aware of who's with who and what's going on.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Hi. This is Mike Sogly (ph) from Angola, Indiana. And I don't believe that I would know because I usually keep to myself. So I usually never really talk to the neighbors that much. I go to work, come home and do my own family thing.

(END AUDIO CLIP)

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