Family helps Ben Ownby make life normal again

BEAUFORT, Mo. -- Life isn't normal again for Ben Ownby. But all in all, life seems pretty darn good.

Ben got home Saturday afternoon after a long day of Boy Scout training, where he was working to earn a merit badge in First Aid. He walked in the front door, looked around and stood stopped in his tracks with a big grin on his face.

"Whoa. There are lot of people here I do not know," he said.

Don and Doris Ownby's living room was crowded with cousins, friends, aunts, uncles and a few neighbors whom Ben hadn't yet met. The kitchen island was covered in food, and a surprise present for 13-year-old Ben was hidden not too far from the door.

The party was a quiet "welcome home" celebration. One small step in the family's long road back to life as they knew it just three weeks ago before Ben was abducted.

Don and Doris have been taking baby steps with Ben. He's been pushing hard to go back to school -- they're letting him do homework and sending him to counseling instead. Ben's uncle, Loyd Bailie, said therapists have told them not to rush it.

Ben still hasn't talked to his parents about what happened between Jan. 8, the Monday afternoon he disappeared, and the Friday evening when police and FBI agents rescued him.

Authorities say 41-year-old Michael Devlin kidnapped Ben and hid him in his suburban St. Louis apartment. Devlin kept 15-year-old Shawn Hornbeck captive there for four years, authorities say. Both boys were rescued and returned to their parents.

Both families say they are stepping out of the spotlight to enter a long process of healing.

Still wearing his Boy Scout uniform, Ben sat down in front of everyone and began opening his present, which was buried in a big blue bag beneath wads of red paper.

Behind his glasses, his eyes grew wide.

"Oh my God," he said.

"What is it?" someone called.

"The Wii," he said in shock, referring to the newest Nintendo video game system.

More than a dozen of Ben's relatives chipped in to get him the gift. An avid player, Ben said he wants to design video games when he grows up. And be a pilot.

A fast-talking child with a logical mind, Ben rattles off the names of his favorite jets and video game makers with equal enthusiasm.

Don Ownby said he and Doris are settling back into their routines. But life isn't the same after four horrible days of wondering if they would ever see their son again.

Just hours before Ben was rescued, their living room was a desperate place, filled with volunteers folding fliers with Ben's photo on them.

An ice storm was rolling in. Don Ownby said it was getting harder to hold out hope.

These days, the little hassles of life don't matter so much.

"Now we've got Ben back. We don't have any real problems," he said.

Downstairs in the basement, Ben hooked up the Wii and started practicing the sports games, surrounded by children and adults looking on.

"Anybody up for bowling?" he asked.