It certainly seems a very strange case, don't know much about kidnappers and their captives
But it seems a good thing that the boys are back home, where they belong

This incident made me think of the Steven Stayner case, in which a young boy was held for seven years by a man who abused him but also sent him to school or left him alone while he was at work. Stayner had numerous opportunities to escape, but he was not motivated to do so until his kidnapper brought home a much younger boy, who cried for his parents. He finally seized his chance, taking the younger child with him. Rather poignantly, when the two walked into a police station, Stayner could not remember his surname.

I don't think we can underestimate the powerful and traumatic effects of such an experience on a human being of any age. When you've been abducted, you are both frightened by your kidnapper and dependent on him for your survival. The extreme uncertainty and insecurity of such a situation would make it difficult to act.

Like several of us, I have a teenage son and I've seen the powerful influence of peers on kids as well as other adults. These people might even be well meaning but even one of our local teen centers had a lot of preachy stuff that really could have taken over a kid's mind if they let it.

Even in the best of families, you are ambivalent about your parents and their values and what they're giving you in terms of lessons about life. I had a good family, yet I felt comfortable with my best friend's parents too. Fortunately they were very good people!

I wish I could say I couldn't imagine this happening to a kid, but I can. It would be easier than you think. A few problems at home as we all have, then, somehow you meet up with an adult who seems a lot funner than your parents, or you're abducted even...and then, threats or not, you might think that this situation is better than what you've got at home.

With girls, I've seen that boyfriends tend to influence them at one point to the extent of forgetting their common sense. When you teach, you see it every day. Then, the minute the parents set in on how unsuitable the boyfriend is, the worse it gets. You're elevating that guy to hero status in one fell swoop. Although it doesn't seem like it, many girls are just feeling this urge to have their own lives early on.

If teens or preteens come under the influence of a strong personality, they might kind of 'convert' to this person's way of life.

This isn't going to be easy for that kid...at all.

The older boy, Shawn Hornbeck, was 11 at the time of his abduction. According to what I read, he was told he or his parents would be killed if he tried to seek out help. After hearing this long enough, one tends to believe it. I've also heard that he was molested during his captivity and told that he would go to jail if he told anybody about the pornography he was forced to make.

I'm reminded of the Sharon Marshall case quite a bit. She was kidnapped when she was very young, molested, abused and eventually killed by her captor. He sent her to school, she had friends and a job, she had boyfriends. She never told a soul that her father wasn't her father. This creep went one step further and married her after posing as her father for years!

My point is, the whys and what ifs are important, but we none of us know how we would react if it were us. I hope it's something none of us ever have first hand knowledge to draw from.

Last night, a talk show pundit claimed that Shawn must have enjoyed his captivity. That statement makes my blood boil!

Edited because I forgot to touch on something else. Yes, the sicko who held Hornbeck and Ben Ownby looks like your average guy. That's the scary part, a good percentage of these people look like you and me.

One more thought I wish to add, Ben's friend and neighbor saw the abduction and gave police such a great description of the car that that case was solved in a very short time, that kid deserves a medal, a party, something. If it wasn't for his keen observations, Ben and Shawn would still be missing.

That's another part of this case that's so baffling. There must have been neighbours and others who sensed something wasn't right, especially in a small town like that one. Apparently the boy even drove around town in his captor's white truck and didn't attend school!
As I understand it, the police were tipped off once before the call which led to the arrest but decided not to check it out. It's just strange all the way around, and as Indie said - very unnerving.
Maybe a situation like this would be good to discuss with your kids in some way. Like most parents, I have had 'the stranger' talk with them but never considered delving into the finer points to be aware of - brain washing, threats and other kinds of emotional manipulation. What a complex, uncertain world this is fast becoming.

From what I've read, the boys were held captive in Kirkwood, Missouri. Even though it may be a small town in itself, it is a suburb of St Louis. You wouldn't actually be IN a small town there. But, I agree, you would think some neighbors would have thought something was strange when the boy didn't attend school and stayed home playing video games all day.

Not only that, but officials suspect the boy himself got online and actually viewed his parents' website, asking them questions like "When are you going to give up looking for your son?"
Very creepy - not to mention heartless.

They've been discussing that aspect on a true crime site I visit. It's not outside of the realm of possibility to believe that the kidnapper made those posts and not Shawn himself. They know the posts were made from a computer in the home where he was being held and that's about all.

I was thinking about this last night. Specifically, how can a person be so manipulated and twisted by another person that they would taunt their own family who is searching for them? I'm fascinated by the psychology behind it, to be frank. There was a woman who was kidnapped by a man and his girlfriend (possibly wife) and held in a box under thei bed. After some time, she was permitted to write home, shop by herself and even visit her family. She didn't stay willingly, but she never asked for help. I think this case is very similar in terms of the methods used to keep Shawn compliant without drawing too much attention.

It's possible, though not excusable, that neighbors were afraid to get involved. Or, this man may have had people living with him at other times, so nobody thought much of it. I can say with great certainty that if my grandmother's neighbors suddenly had a teenaged boy living with them, the neighborhood wouldn't bat an eyelash. People come and go there all of the time. We'd likely just figure they'd taken in another transient.

It's all speculation at this point. I doubt whether information heard on one internet forum would be more credible than another. Even on a 'crime scene' site, obviously no one really connected to the case would be free to comment or provide any details.

This whole thing reminds me of the Steven Stayner story. Abducted at age 7 in 1972, Steven Stayner was held captive for eight years. As Steven, who went by Dennis, began to age he was forced to help his kidnapper grab another small boy to serve as his "replacement". Steven didn't want the younger child to suffer the way he had for all those years and ran away with the younger child to safety. He had a terrible time readjusting to home life as his family didn't know him any longer and allowed him to do almost whatever he wanted in order to not upset him. Sadly, he was never the same again but when he reached adulthood he managed to marry and father his own children only to be tragically killed in a motorcycle accident.

This new story has a similar ring to it. I worry what stories will come to light about this young boy and how difficult resuming a normal life will be for him. On the other hand, how overjoyed his parents and friends must be right now, in an age where abducted children are often never found, this one has a happy ending.

I kinda hope the media (that is, we) will leave him more or less alone. I would not be at all surprised if there is quite a bit of trouble one way and another, and it won't be good for him if there are newspaper headlines every time he has a fight with his mom, or skips classes....