A 13-year-old boy who vanished from a gravel road in Missouri five days ago was found alive Friday in a house near St. Louis, along with a 15-year-old boy who had been missing since 2002.

The teens were found in a house in Kirkwood belonging to Michael Devlin, 41, who has been charged with one count of first-degree kidnapping, Sheriff Gary Toelke said.

The sheriff said both boys appeared unharmed. The 13-year-old, William (Ben) Ownby, appeared somewhat dazed as he walked into the sheriff's department, where he was reunited with his family Friday night.

"His eyes lit up like silver dollars," said Loyd Bailie, who was escorted to the Franklin County Sheriff's Department with Ben's parents.

Everyone broke into tears and Ben's parents embraced him, Bailie said.

Routine warrant led to discovery

The straight-A student and Boy Scout was last seen Monday after he stepped off his school bus and ran down a gravel road toward his home in Beaufort, about 90 kilometres from Kirkwood.

A friend who left the bus with the boy 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.

Kirkwood city police officers were serving a warrant on an apartment complex Thursday night when they noticed a white truck matching the description of a vehicle authorities had been searching for in the investigation.

Toelke said authorities were surprised to find another boy who identified himself as Shawn Hornbeck.

Hornbeck disappeared from his home in Richwoods, Mo., in October 2002, when he was 11. He went for a bike ride and never returned.

Parents depleted savings in search

Hornbeck's parents, Pam and Craig Akers, were reunited with their son, Toelke said.

His parents, dozens of volunteers and sniffer dogs searched for weeks after his disappearance. The couple set up a website and listened to anyone who offered a tip.

Craig Akers, Shawn's stepfather, quit his job as a software designer to devote his time to a foundation bearing his son's name.

They depleted their savings, borrowed against their retirement and talked to psychics. The financial strain forced both of them back to work.

A retired police officer volunteered to work on the case until Shawn was found.

Even though so much time had passed, Pam Akers said her son is frozen in her memory as an 11-year-old boy.

"It's been four years," she said on the anniversary of his disappearance last fall. "But for me, it's just been one long continuous day."

Toelke said authorities were still investigating the motive behind the alleged abductions.