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Devlin apparently felt comfortable enough with the ruse to call the police himself, once because of a dispute over his parking spot. "I hadn't been [in his spot] for two minutes when Devlin pulls up next to me and starts screaming," says neighbor Rob Bushelle. "Shawn got out of the truck and gave me a roll-of-his-eyes kind of look, like 'Well, buddy, my dad is going to kick your ass.' " This October Shawn even worked as a volunteer at the St. Louis Cardinals' World Series parade. Shawn "seemed to be enjoying the day," says a fellow volunteer. "It would have been incredibly easy for him to go up to one of the number of police who were there and say, 'Hey, here I am!' "
So why didn't he? Police say it's because Devlin threatened to kill Shawn and his family if he tried to run. "A threat to your life leads to helplessness and horror," says Terri Weaver, an associate psychology professor at Saint Louis University. Devlin's upstairs neighbor says he often heard Devlin browbeating Shawn. "You'd hear Mike yell, 'Can't you do anything right?' " says Reichard. Shawn may also have believed that neighbors were already aware that something was wrong. "Kids think adults know everything," says Weaver. "Shawn knew that neighbors knew he wasn't going to school, and nobody said or did anything about it." Ed Smart, father of Elizabeth Smart, points out that it's possible Shawn did indeed attempt to escape. "With Elizabeth, there were times she did try to get away, was caught and brought back and threatened again. She thought, 'It's not only my life in jeopardy when I run, it's my whole family.' "
