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Other commitments take Akers family to Perryville, Texas

RICHWOODS – In an unusual move, the director of the Shawn Hornbeck Search and Rescue Team said Friday that it is not asking for volunteers to help conduct searches this weekend.

Craig Akers, father of the missing 11-year-old boy, said members of the search team have other commitments both today and Sunday and thus additional volunteers are not being asked to show up. The commitments, however, are related to the organization’s efforts on behalf of Shawn and other missing children.

One group from the team will be in Perryville with its electronic equipment this weekend to fingerprint and photograph children. The fingerprints and photos are recorded on a computer disk that can be used with a software program to print flyers and other information should the child disappear. It can also record other pertinent information about the child and be updated as the child grows older.

Some other members of the team will be participating in the St. Louis Marathon, Akers said. They will be spreading the word about Shawn’s disappearance and recruiting future assistance.

Pam and Craig Akers will be in Austin, Texas, this weekend for the Music for Missing Children program. The concert benefits the efforts of groups seeking missing children throughout the nation.

Normally, there would be expanded search efforts this weekend, Craig Akers said, but not with the other activities. He added that the weather forecast calls for showers and thunderstorms which would probably have hampered any search efforts this weekend.

In no way are the efforts to locate Shawn being scaled back, Akers stressed. Searches are still conducted daily through the week with the core members of the team. On weekends, more volunteers tend to show up and wider ground searches are carried out.

Most of the searches now are within a 20-mile radius of this northern Washington County community. Akers said if information comes in that might indicate an area farther away, the team will go there with its tracking dog.

When not searching during the week, Akers said, he and other team members are seeking permission from property owners to conduct searches in areas not yet covered around Richwoods. He indicated there are still a lot of areas that have not been looked at closely and can best be covered by people who are on foot rather than on ATVs or on horseback.

While it is an unusual situation this weekend, Akers said the team still needs volunteers whenever they might be available. They may contact the team’s command post by calling 1-866-400-5353. There is somebody there most of the time to take calls.

The team has moved the command post to a trailer on the Akers’ property. He said the best way to find it is to turn off Route A in Richwoods onto the road directly across from the Lion’s Club monument. He said the road does not have a sign, so the road number is insignificant.

Shawn disappeared on the afternoon of Oct. 6 while riding his bicycle around the community. He is described as being 4-8 in height, weighs 90 pounds, has brown hair and eyes. He was wearing an orange Astro’s T-shirt, blue jeans and white Nike athletic shoes.

Massive searches have turned up no sign of the boy nor his bicycle. The bicycle, which would be a major clue as to what might have happened, is described as a 20-inch, lime green NEXT brand mountain bike.

Federal, state and local authorities continue to investigate the boy’s disappearance but say they have come up with absolutely no evidence as to what happened to him. They have said from the start that the case is being looked upon as a criminal investigation with the possibility of an abduction not being ruled out.

There has been a $20,000 reward posted for the safe return of Shawn. In addition, another $11,000 reward has been offered for information leading to an arrest and conviction in connection with the case.

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