Yet another reason why no rational person should waste time or money on psychic shysters.

Montel Williams’ psychic pal Sylvia Browne told the family of missing Shawn Hornbeck he was dead shortly after the Missouri boy vanished – and later allegedly offered to help locate his body for $700 per half hour.

The popular TV clairvoyant appeared on the “Montel Williams Show” in February 2003, four months after Shawn disappeared, and told Pam and Craig Akers she believed their son was “no longer with us.”

She also advised that his body could be found in a wooded area 20 miles from their Richwoods, Mo., home, near two large jagged boulders.

Shawn, now 15, was found alive and well last Friday, living just miles away with a man now charged with snatching the boy when he was 11.

Browne’s “vision” of his death caused search teams to redirect their efforts and drew dozens of calls from the public who believed they lived near the woods matching Browne’s descriptions.
The family also claims the psychic then tried to cash in, which Browne vigorously denies.

“She called Pam and Craig about one month after the show and pretty much offered her services to continue their discussion for a fee,” said Wayne Evans, a spokesman for the Shawn Hornbeck Foundation.