'Missouri Miracle,' 1 Year Later

A year has passed since police cracked the 4-day-old kidnapping case of Ben Ownby, and with it, astonishingly, the 4-year-old case of Shawn Hornbeck. After police found both boys alive and brought their kidnapper to justice, the feel-good tale became known as the “Missouri Miracle.” The St. Louis Post-Dispatch checks in a year later and finds both teens doing well.

The Ownby family is happily reunited, though Ben, 14, won’t discuss his ordeal. "That will come when he wants it," said his mom. Shawn, 16, is almost caught up in school. Kidnapper Michael Devlin is serving 74 life sentences. The teen who cracked the case, has become a minor celebrity, as has the sheriff. "It gives you hope that there's always a chance," he said. (More crime stories.)