Beaufort, Mo. – Searchers fanned out in wooded areas Tuesday looking for a 13-year-old boy who disappeared after stepping off his school bus a day earlier. The FBI is investigating, and officials fear the boy may have been kidnapped.
Authorities issued an Amber Alert for William “Ben” Ownby. A friend who left the bus with him told authorities that after the two parted, he saw a small white pickup with a camper shell speeding away from where Ben had been walking.
Sheriff Gary Toelke said Ben’s parents told authorities it would be out of character for him to run away. Teachers said Ben is an “A” student, “the type of student everyone would like to have,” Toelke said.
The boy’s father, William Ownby, said neighbors had spotted the same truck cruising up and down a county road near his wooded subdivision earlier that day.
“We have a tightknit community here and when there’s something out of place, people notice,” said Ownby, who was at home with his family and friends.
Beaufort Fire Chief William Borgmann said searchers were looking for Ben on foot, horseback and ATV in the hilly area about 60 miles southwest of St. Louis.
