“He assured me he would never give up and that he would always find an answer for me. Anytime I wanted to give up he would push me, tell me I couldn’t and to keep going. A lot of couples don’t make it through something like that, but we sure did. We leaned on each other. We comforted each other.”

After Shawn’s rescue, Craig Akers continued his quest to help find answers for families of other missing children. But, ultimately, his right leg had to be amputated up to his hip after complications from the vascular disease.

“If his health would have allowed him, Craig would have stayed involved, but he could no longer search and walk through the woods with a search dog,” Pam Akers said. “For me, I tried to continue the work, but every time I showed up for a search, my nightmares started up again.”

“I thought that was something I could do but unfortunately for me, it was like living it all over again. I would have the same vivid dreams even though Shawn was home safe. I know that parent’s pain. I don’t think that’s something you ever get over. It will always affect us for the rest of our lives.”