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The Search for Rachel, a father's journal

Monday, January 1 through Sunday, January 21, 2007

Some wonderful news was announced on Friday, January 12. Shawn Hornbeck has been found alive! It's such a wonderful thing. I think the odds of his returning home safly were very very slim, but miracles do happen.

I met Shawn's mother Pam and stepfather Craig in New York in 2003. We were all appearing on The Montel Show. The show featured psychic Sylvia Browne, who predicted Shawn was murdered and his bike was dumped elsewhere. Craig and Pam then attended our Music for the Missing Concert in 2003. I flew to St. Louis to attend the one year anniversary of Shawn's disappearance on October 6, 2003. We have stayed in touch a little since then, but we both had a missing child to concentrate on.

Then on January 12 police were following a lead about another missing boy and not only found that 13-year-old boy but also found Shawn with the male abductor.

I think most people have heard of Stockholm Syndrome where a captive becomes complacent and stays with the abductor voluntarily. Several psychologists have stated that this probably happened to Shawn. After all, he was only 11 years old when he was taken.

Monday, January 22 though Wednesday, January 31

On Saturday, February 10, 2007, Rachel Alert Network will have an information table at the Children's Health Festival at the Dell Diamond in Round Rock. The event is sponsored by the Insure-a-Child Foundation, and this will be our fourth year there. Other organizations such as hospitals, clinics, and safety agencies will also be represented. Please join us between 10:00 a.m. and 2:00 p.m.

I spoke with my friend Lori, who is the sister of murdered Colleen Reed. On December 29, 1991, Kenneth McDuff and Alva Hank Worley abducted 28-year-old Colleen Reed from an Austin, Texas, car wash. Both men sexually assaulted Colleen and murdered her within hours of the abduction.

McDuff was executed in the late 1990s, but Worley did not receive the death sentence. Two years ago we helped with a letter writing campaign protesting Worley's parole. Colleen's family attended the parole hearing, and they were successful in keeping Worley in jail.

Unfortunately, after just two years Worley is eligible for parole again. We need to do another letter writing campaign to keep this man off the street. Please visit rachelcookesearch.org/worley.html for more information.