Miraculous

Missing boys found:

BEAUFORT, Mo. - Shawn Hornbeck and Ben Ownby disappeared 4 1/2 years and 40 miles apart. Police were stunned to find both boys — alive and apparently well — in the same suburban St. Louis apartment.

The shocking development Friday was hailed as a miracle in two rural Missouri communities — Richwoods, where Shawn was 11 when he disappeared on Oct. 6, 2002 — and Beaufort 40 miles to the north, where Ben, 13, hadn't been seen since getting off a school bus Monday afternoon.

In fairness, it doesn't sound like either of these kidnappings could have been avoided by reasonable means. You can't keep your kids within eyesight 24/7/365.

But here's some further reading with good safety tips: Preventing abductions