Kidnapper had Live, posted image of victim [update 1]
Some of our readers may have heard of the recent recovery of two kidnapped boys in Missouri. As the story goes, Ben Ownby, 13 (missing since last week) and Shawn Hornbeck, 15 (missing since October 2002) were found in the apartment home of one Michael Devlin, 41. The safe return of these two boys to their families is certainly cause for celebration, but the story goes further than that. Gamertag Radio has the full story: Devlin is a member of Xbox Live. While this is nothing extraordinary in and of itself, one of Devlin's acts is strange to say the least. On the website Gamertagpics.com, Devlin -- under his Gamertag, DevilDevlin -- posted a photograph of Hornbeck taken during his captivity. Devlin was online playing Saints Row as recently as January 13.
Oddly, Hornbeck had many opportunities to escape, as he was allowed to ride a bicycle and was often seen playing video games with the apartment door open (Hornbeck also found the time to pierce both his ear and tongue). The behavior seems strange, though psychologists are quick to point out that victims of kidnap often revert into a "survival mode" in order to cope. Whatever the motives of Devlin, we're glad to report the boys' safe return.
Update: Removed side note.
