When a person goes missing, everyone can agree on one thing; the sooner the person is found
the better.
The more time that passes, the less likely the chances are the person will be found alive.
However in some cases, a missing person is finally found alive years after they mysteriously
disappeared.
These are five stories of kidnapping victims who were found alive years later.
5.
Kamiyah Mobley
Kamiyah Mobley was born in Florida on July 10, 1998 to sixteen-year-old Shanara Mobley.
When Kamiyah was only 8 hours old, a woman dressed in hospital attire entered Shanara’s
room and proceeded to assist her with the baby.
Believing the woman was a nurse, Shanara allowed her to take Kamiyah out of the room.
Instead the woman left the hospital with the baby, and mysteriously disappeared.
With no photographs of Kamiyah, Shanara sought help from the center of missing and exploited
children.
They were able to create a computer generated composite sketch that included distinctive
features Kamiyah possessed.
In 2017, police investigated several tips that a young woman meeting Kamiyah’s description
was living in South Carolina with her mother Gloria Williams.
The young woman, who was named Alexis Manigo, was given a DNA swab.
After a short wait, it was confirmed that Alexis was really Kamiyah Mobley.
Gloria confessed to impersonating a nurse in order to kidnap Kamiyah.
She claimed that the recent loss of her own child is what had motivated her to abduct
another.
Gloria was sentenced to 18 years in prison, however maintains contact with Alexis, who
has chosen to keep the name grew up with.
Shanara was reunited with her missing daughter, however they do not have an ongoing relationship.
4.
Paul Fronczak
On April 27th, 1964, Paul Fronczak was kidnapped from the Michael Reese Hospital in Chicago,
Illinois when he was only two days old.
A woman impersonating a nurse claimed she was taking Paul to the hospital’s nursery
but instead disappeared with the infant sparking an extensive multi-state search that produced
few clues.
Two years later an abandoned toddler was found in New Jersey matching Paul’s description.
While Paul had no real distinguishing characteristics, the Fronczak’s believed the child’s ears
matched their missing sons.
There was limited testing available, however a blood test confirmed the child was the same
blood type as Paul.
The Fronczak’s would go on to raise the boy they believed to be their son, but by
the age of 10 Paul began to have doubts about who he was.
While searching for Christmas presents in his parents attic, Paul discovered a box containing
old pictures and newspaper clippings about the abduction.
In 2012, his suspicions were confirmed when a DNA test proved he was not the Fronczak’s
biological son.
In his quest to find his real identity, Paul began a Facebook group telling his story.
Through this group, Paul made contact with a woman from Michigan who believed her father,
a man named Kevin Baty, might be the real Paul Fronczak.
In 2018 it was confirmed that Kevin was the Fronczak's missing son.
Kevin's biological father had passed away before Kevin had the chance to talk to him,
however he was able to contact his biological mother.
Sadly, and in a bizarre twist of fate, Kevin lost his battle with cancer on April 25th,
2020, the day he had only recently discovered was his actual birthday.
3.
Shawn Hornbeck
On October 6th, 2002 11-year-old Shawn Hornbeck left his parents Richwoods, Missouri home
to ride his bike to a friend’s house.
It was a short ride, and Shawn had made the trip many times in the past, however when
Shawn didn’t return home by curfew, his parents began to worry.
Their concern intensified when they learned that Shawn had never made it to his friend’s
house that afternoon.
Police were summoned and the search for Shawn began.
Police conducted an extensive search for Shawn, scouring fields, abandoned houses, and bodies
of water hoping to find any clue as to the whereabouts of the missing boy.
Shawn’s parents searched relentlessly for their missing son as well, exhausting their
savings and retirement funds and even hiring private detectives to aid investigators in
the search.
Unfortunately with few clues, and no suspects, the case quickly turned cold, leaving Shawn’s
family without the answers they so desperately sought.
A little over 4 years later, on January 8th, 2007 a 13-year-old boy named Ben Ownby was
abducted by a man in a white truck while waiting for his school bus to arrive.
A 15-year-old neighbor of Ben’s who had witnessed the abduction was able to give police
a detailed description of the vehicle.
Four days later, police answering an unrelated call at an apartment complex 50 miles away
in Kirkwood, Missouri, noticed a truck matching the description of the one Ben’s neighbor
had given.
The truck was traced to a resident of the apartment complex named Mike Devlin, a pizzeria
manager and part time funeral home worker.
FBI agents immediately went to Devlin’s apartment to question him about the abduction.
Devlin initially denied them access to the home, however he eventually allowed them inside
where they discovered not only Ben, but another boy as well.
Investigators quickly learned that the second boy was Shawn Hornbeck.
Shawn recounted to police the events that occurred when was abducted.
He explained that while riding to his friend’s house, Devlin had purposely hit him with his
truck, knocking him from his bicycle.
At first, Devlin seemed concerned, however only moments later Devlin ordered Shawn into
the back of his truck telling him, “You were just at the wrong place at the wrong
time.”
For the next month, Devlin kept Shawn tied up in his small apartment.
When Shawn agreed not to tell anyone about his situation, Devlin untied him.
For the next four years, Shawn would live with Devlin under the guise he was his son,
always under constant threat that if he told the truth, Devlin would hurt his family.
Eventually Devlin allowed Shawn to leave the apartment, have friends, and even a cell phone,
but did not allow him to attend school.
Shawn kept the secret, but during his captivity he attempted to subtly reach out to his parents
over the internet.
On a website dedicated to the search for Shawn, he asked the question, “How long will you
be searching for your son?” using his real name as the username.
His parents however thought it was either a cruel joke, or simply someone with the same
name as their son.
Both Ben and Shawn were reunited with their parents.
Mike Devlin confessed and pleaded guilty to all charges, receiving 71 life sentences for
his crimes.
2.
Steven Stayner
On December 4th, 1972 7-year-old Steven Stayner vanished into thin air while walking home
from school in Merced, California.
That afternoon, Steven was approached by a man named ​​Ervin Murphy.
Murphy, who was impersonating a member of the church, asked Steven if his mother would
be willing to donate anything.
When Steven replied yes, Murphy asked where he lived.
Around this time, a second man named Kenneth Parnell approached in his car and offered
the pair a ride to Steven’s home.
Parnell and Murphy had become acquainted while working together at a resort in Yosemite National
Park.
Parnell was able to convince Murphy he was an aspiring minister and persuaded Murphy
to assist him in abducting a young boy to raise as his own in a “religious household.”
Together the pair devised a plan and soon after they came upon Steven.
After Steven willingly got into the car, instead of driving him home, Parnell drove him to
a cabin he owned in nearby Catheys Valley.
At first Steven pleaded to be returned to his family, however Parnell was able to convince
the young boy that his family had given him legal custody and couldn’t afford to care
for him anymore.
Years later, Steven would learn that Parnell’s cabin where he was held was less than 500
feet from his great grandfather's house.
For the next seven years, Steven, who was now called Dennis, would move around California
with his abductor.
Parnell even enrolled him in school using the name Dennis Parnell along with his original
birthdate.
As Steven got older, Parnell used him to attempt to lure in a new victim, however Steven would
often sabotage the kidnapping attempts.
On February 14th, 1980, when Steven was 14-years-old, Parnell successfully kidnapped 5-year-old
Timothy White with the help of one of Steven’s teenage friends.
Parnell had promised him drugs and money in return, and he agreed.
Timothy was held captive for several weeks until on March 1, 1980, Steven decided he
wasn’t going to allow Timothy to suffer at the hands of Parnell the way he had.
When Parnell left for his night security job, Steven took Timothy and the pair hitchhiked
to nearby Ukiah, the town Timothy had been abducted from.
Unable to locate Timothy’s house, Steven went to the police station.
Once there he immediately told police the truth about who he and Timothy were.
He also gave them their abductors name and address and by the following morning, Parnell
was in custody.
Both boys were reunited with their parents.
Kenneth Parnell was sentenced to only seven years in prison for his crimes.
Colleen Stan
20-year-Colleen Stan vanished without a trace from Eugene, Oregon in May of 1977 while hitchhiking
to California for a friend’s birthday party.
Having hitchhiked in the past, Colleen was fully aware of the dangers that accompanied
this method of transportation and was careful about who she accepted a ride from.
A short time later, Colleen was offered a ride from a family in a blue van.
Colleen was quick to accept the ride from Cameron and Janice Hooker as they seemed like
nice people and had a small baby in tow.
The ride started off well enough and the Hooker’s even made a pitstop just so Colleen could
use the restroom.
However a short time later, Cameron stopped the car in a rural location under the guise
of sightseeing and began threatening Colleen at knife point.
It was at this time that he secured a wooden box around Colleen’s head to prevent her
from seeing where they were going.
The Hookers took Colleen back to their home in Red Bluff, California.
There, they kept Colleen in a wooden box under the couple's water bed for years.
Colleen was confined to the small coffin-like box sometimes for 23 hours a day, only being
allowed out to eat, do chores, or be assaulted by Cameron.
Cameron slowly brainwashed Colleen into believing that if she ever tried to escape, a crime
syndicate he referred to as “The Company,” would come after her and her family.
Eventually Colleen earned Cameron’s trust and was granted small freedoms by him.
In March of 1981, she was allowed to go and visit her family by herself.
Colleen maintained that she was living with a boyfriend in another city, however her parents
wondered if perhaps Colleen had gotten involved in a cult.
The following day, she took Cameron to her parents house, introducing him as her boyfriend
hoping to relieve some of their suspicions.
When Colleen and Cameron returned to the mobile home where the Hooker’s resided, Cameron
was furious.
He believed Colleen’s parents were on to them, and blamed her.
For the next three years, Colleen would once again be confined to the box beneath the bed.
She was ordered to be silent for 23 hours a day, and use a bedpan to relieve herself.
She was fed only table scraps, and temperatures inside the box would sometimes hit as high
as 100 degrees.
In May of 1984, Colleen was allowed to get a job working as a hotel maid.
Still believing that “The Company” was always watching her, Colleen abided by Cameron’s
rules, never hinting at her situation to coworkers.
When Cameron announced to Janice that he wanted to take Colleen as his second wife, Janice
decided she had had enough.
In secret, she went to the hotel where Colleen worked and confessed to her that “The Company”
did not exist, no one was watching her, and she would face no repercussions if she left.
Armed with this new found knowledge, Colleen phoned Cameron and told him she was leaving.
Colleen hopped on a bus and went straight home.
Over the next few weeks Collen stayed in contact with both Cameron and Janice over the phone.
At Janice’s request she did not go to the police, to give Cameron time to do the right
thing and turn himself in.
However, three months later Janice went to the police herself and told them the truth
about what had happened.
Cameron Hooker was quickly arrested.
In 1985, Janice agreed to testify against Cameron in exchange for full immunity.
Cameron was found guilty and sentenced
to 104 years in prison.