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[Denise Harrison]

Print a poster:  http://www.projectja...KyronHorman.pdf

http://www.katu.com/news/95691389.html

Search continues for missing 7-year-old boy

By KATU.com Staff and News Sources




ORTLAND, Ore. – The National Guard is now assisting in the search for a second grader from Portland's Skyline Elementary School who went missing Friday.

That's according to a press conference held Saturday by the Multnomah County Sheriff's Office. The FBI also has asked to participate in the search, although as of Saturday – according to spokesman and Multnomah Captain Jason Gates – it had yet to do so.

Even so, more than 150 searchers have been scouring this rural part of Northwest Portland. Searchers include several law enforcement agencies and a police helicopter. Authorities have set up a perimeter around the school that only searchers are being allowed to cross.

We know that 7-year-old Kyron Horman did not return home on his school bus as scheduled at 3:30 p.m. Friday, June 4. Family called Skyline Elementary School soon after, and the Multnomah County Sheriff's Office became involved around 4 p.m.

Matt Shelby, spokesman for Portland Public Schools, said Kyron was with his stepmother at a science fair that morning (see photo above). However, Kyron never checked back in with his teacher afterward, Shelby said.

The boy's stepmother reports they walked through a number of classrooms and she last saw Kyron around 8:45 a.m. Friday. She last saw him, she reports, walking down the hallway toward his classroom at 11536 N.W. Skyline Blvd.

School staff report not seeing him after 8:45 a.m.

Multnomah County deputies called in their Search and Rescue team to begin a search of the area surrounding the school after school hours Friday. As the evening progressed, SearchOne Canine Inc. and Portland Police also joined in the search.

High grasses on the surrounding property are making the search difficult: "If they're not calling out to you," said a spokesman for the Multnomah County Sheriff's Office in the Saturday press conference, "unless you basically step right over them you're going to miss them."

On Friday a decision was made to upgrade the search to a Major Crimes Team investigation. This allows for more resources to be deployed, which included resources from Portland Police Bureau, Gresham Police Department, Fairview Police Department, Oregon State Patrol and the FBI.

Search and rescue resources also expanded to include SearchOne Canine Inc., Mountain Rescue, Yamhill County Canine and additional members of the Multnomah County Search and Rescue team. Members continued their searching throughout the night, encompassing more than 20 miles of road and two square miles. Portland Police Bureau's air unit also was called in.

Saturday morning, around 7 a.m., the Multnomah County Sheriff's Office readied for its second operational period to find Kyron Horman. It ordered more resources which include Search and Rescue resources from Washington County Sheriff's Office, Yamhill County Sheriff's Office, Clark County Washington, Pacific Northwest Search and Rescue and a National Guard helicopter.

Anyone with information regarding Kyron Horman's whereabouts has been asked to call the Multnomah County Sheriff's Office tip line, 1-503-261-2847, or to dial 9-1-1 with emergency information.

Lieutenant Mary Lindstrand, a spokesperson for the Multnomah County Sheriff's Office, said the agency would have searchers out as long as needed.

[Denise Harrison]

http://www.oregonliv...issing_por.html

Officers looking for second-grader missing in NW Portland

By Kate Mather, The Oregonian
June 04, 2010, 10:22PM



The Multnomah County Sheriff's Office is leading the search for a missing second-grade boy last seen at his Portland school at midmorning Friday.

Seven-year-old Kyron Horman was attending a science fair at Skyline Elementary School in northwest Portland, according to Matt Shelby, spokesman for Portland Public Schools. He was last seen about 9 a.m.

Kyron, who was with his stepmother at the fair that morning, never checked back in with his teacher afterward, Shelby said.

The stepmother notified Skyline about 4 p.m. when he didn't come home from school on the bus. Because Kyron had not been seen for several hours, Shelby said, school officials were "immediately concerned."

Portland police were notified shortly after that, Shelby said.

An automated phone message was sent to Skyline parents about 5:30 p.m. Friday. Parents of students at other schools in the district also received that message, Shelby said.

Portland police handed the case over to the sheriff's office, said Detective Mary Wheat, a police spokeswoman. The school, at 11536 N.W. Skyline Blvd., is in Multnomah County.

Lt. Mary Lindstrand, a sheriff's spokeswoman, said the agency would have searchers out as long as needed.

At 9:45 p.m., Lindstrand said she had more than 20 people, including detectives and two K-9 units, looking for Kyron in a broad area around the school. She requested that people stay away from the area to let searchers do their work.

Portland and Gresham police were assisting with the search, and the FBI was called, Lindstrand said.

The boy lives with his father and stepmother. Lindstrand said his mother, who lives out of the area, was on her way here.

Anyone with information regarding Kyron's whereabouts is asked to call a tip line at 503-261-2847.

[Denise Harrison]

http://www.oregonliv..._the_day_k.html

Details emerge about the day Kyron Horman turned up missing

By Lynne Terry, The Oregonian
June 05, 2010, 11:21PM

Friday began as a special day for 7-year-old Kyron Horman. His school in Northwest Portland was having a science fair and he was keen to show off his project to his stepmother.

So, instead of taking the bus near his home off Cornelius Pass Road as usual, he hopped into the car with his stepmother, Terri Moulton Horman, who drove him to Skyline Elementary School.

They arrived sometime after the school opened about 8 a.m., went to his classroom, dropped off his coat and backpack and he showed his stepmother his exhibit, "The Red-Eyed Tree Frog."

Horman, who has raised Kyron since he was an infant, snapped a picture of him standing in front of it that she later posted on her Facebook page. It shows a bespectacled and beaming short-haired boy wearing a blue "CSI" T-shirt in front of an exhibit with photos of bug-eyed frogs, an anatomical drawing of the creature and other artwork.

"He was so excited about his science project," said Carol Moulton, Horman's mother and Kyron's grandmother. "They had worked on it together. He was anxious to take it to school and show it off."


After that, the two looked at other projects set up on desks in classrooms. There are about 300 students at Skyline Elementary, and all of them were invited to contribute to the fair.

Although the school usually opens at 8:35 a.m. and the final bell rings 10 minutes later, the school opened as early as 8 Friday for the science fair, said Matt Shelby, spokesman for Portland Public Schools.

Other students and parents showed up early as well to check out the fair, and Terri and Kyron saw people they knew while looking at the exhibits, Carol Moulton said.

Terri often volunteers at the school, working closely with Kyron's teacher, Kristina Porter. Shelby said that Porter saw Kyron in her classroom with his stepmom before 8:45 a.m. and another instructor reported seeing him in another classroom at some point.

At 8:45 a.m. when the bell rang, Terri walked her stepson down the hall close to his class.

"He told her, 'I'm going back to the classroom, Mom,' and she waves to him and left," Carol Moulton said. "She thought he was safely at school just like he is everyday."

What happened to the boy who went missing is unclear.

Carol Moulton said the kids were supposed to report to their classes and be divided into small groups of a few students each. Each group was supposed to tour the science fair with a chaperone. Afterward, when they returned to their classes for roll call, Kyron wasn't there, she said.

After leaving the school, Terri went about her day, running errands and taking care of household chores. She is a former elementary school teacher and has worked as a substitute teacher at various schools, but Moulton said that in recent years she has mainly been a stay-at-home mom.

Kyron's father, Kaine Horman, works at Intel's main administrative facility in Oregon, the Jones Farm campus in Hillsboro, the company said.

Kyron's biological mother, Desiree Horman, and his father were officially divorced in February 2003, according to Washington County Circuit Court records.

Carol Moulton said that Kaine, 36, and Terri, 40, have been together for seven or eight years and that they have been married for four or five years. The couple have an 18-month-old girl.

"Terri has raised Kyron," her mother said. "She's been with him since he was an infant. She's as much of a mom as the mom is because the parents had separated about the time that Kyron was born."

She said he visits his biological mother in Medford every couple of weeks and that Desiree, 38, came to Portland as soon as she heard about his disappearance.

Kyron was supposed to take the bus home Friday, so Terri went to the bus stop at 3:30 p.m. to pick him up.

But the bus driver told her he wasn't there.

Panicked, she ran home and called the school to discover that he had been marked absent for the day.

She called 9-1-1, setting off a search that's drawn in a swarm of officers and several law enforcement agencies, including the FBI.

Officers, working with sniffer dogs, have combed the hilly, wooded area around Skyline Elementary.

Moulton doubts Kyron wandered off on his own. It's just not in his character, she said.

"He's a little bit dreamy. He's a sweet kid. He gets distracted. He's your typical second-grader," she said.

But he's no Huckleberry Finn.

"He's not real adventurous," she said. "He's a little timid. But if a friend wanted to go outside and look at something, he would follow the friend. He has a friend who he regularly gets in trouble with in the classroom because he talks too much."

Moulton said Kyron will not even venture far from his home in a wooded area.

"He won't get out of sight of the house," she said. "He's pretty insecure about that. So I can't see him wandering off."

His disappearance is devastating for the close-knit family, which plays board games together, goes bowling and enjoys visits to the Oregon Zoo. A few years ago, the family took a trip to Walt Disney World in Orlando, Fla.

Terri also has a 16-year-old son from a former marriage who has lived with her mom and dad for the past few months in Roseburg. The teen's father also lives in the area and the two are on a Boy Scout camping trip this weekend.

It will be difficult to give him the news, Moulton said.

"It's a total mystery," she said. "He just vanished. I just can't believe it."

Staff writer Stephen Beaven of The Oregonian contributed to this report.

[Denise Harrison]

http://www.oregonliv...tinues_hun.html

Day 3: FBI calls in criminal profiler in search for missing Skyline boy; interviews with students and parents begin

By Noelle Crombie, The Oregonian
June 06, 2010, 2:14PM

The FBI has brought a vast array of resources to help the search for 7-year-old Kyron Horman today including launching its Child Abduction Rapid Deployment Team. It's a regional team although they have flown in members from across the country, including a Quantico-based profiler who is on-site to help develop a complete profile of the boy.

2 p.m. -- Heavy rains have turned to lighter showers as a Yamhil County search and rescue team prepared to give reporters on a glimpse of the grid searching going on within a 2-mile radius of Skyline Elementary School.

1:50 p.m. -- The Oregonian's Stuart Tomlinson produced a video of today's developments outside the school.

1:29 p.m. -- Neighbors stop by Brooks Hill Historic church, across the street from the school, to mull over the investigation. "This kind of thing is unheard of," says Jim Kelley, 50.

Kelley, who lives about a mile and a half down hill, at the end of a winding, secluded country lane off Cornelius Pass, said police, federal agents, K-9 teams and helicopters scoured the area Saturday.

"We had two odd sightings of a vehicle on our road Friday," Kelley said. Around 3 p.m., he and a neighbor reported seeing a white pick-up truck with a female driver pull to the end of the long road, idle and then turn around. Then again at 2 a.m. Saturday morning, a similar white pickup truck appeared, idled and when a neighbor loosed her dogs, eased away.

"A, it was strange to have a car there, any car there, that we didn't know, and B, it was strange to have a vehicle come down our dead-end road twice in the same day, hours after a little boy goes missing," said Kelley. "That's beyond rare."

Kelley said authorities have twice searched the deep ravine, creek and railroad tracks located near the end of his street by air and on foot.

12:10 p.m. -- Relatives have begun distributing missing person fliers with a photo of Kyron and this description: "3' 8" tall, 50 pounds, blue eyes, brown hair. Last seen wearing black cargo pants, white socks, and worn black Skecher Tennis shoes with orange trim." In the accompanying photograph, taken at the science fair on the morning he disappeared, Kyron is wearing a dark-colored t-shirt with the "CSI" show logo.

The same information was also posted yesterday to helpfindmychild.net, a UK-based missing child site.

If it sounds familiar, contact the Multnomah County Sheriff's Tip Line at 503-261-2847, or call 9-1-1.

11:45 a.m. -- Counselors and support staff plan to gather at Skyline's K-8th grade school northwest of Portland first thing Monday morning, said Portland Public School District spokesman Matt Shelby. Overwhelmed students will have access to a "safe room" for additional counseling support.

"It's been hard for the students, hard for the parents, hard for the staff," Shelby said. "We're going to try and have as normal a day as we can tomorrow."

The school year is scheduled to end in 10 days.

11:35 a.m. -- Schools spokesman Shelby says parents were notified of the all-day Sunday debriefing with police and federal agents via a robocall Saturday. The oldest students at the school began to arrive at 10 a.m.; kindergarteners and first grade students are set to arrive with parents later in the afternoon.

11:10 a.m. -- Vickie Coghill, a 35-year resident of Portland's Skyline area, pointed to the billboard outside the school, which reads "June 4, I.B. Inquiry Expo, 8-10, Talent show, 1-2:45." Kyron was to take part in both the expo/science fair and the talent show, Coghill said.

"Something like this ripples through everyone," she said. "It's very frustrating. You want to help, but how?"

10:35: a.m. -- Today's search by 58 trained volunteers with sheriff's departments in Washington, Multnomah, Clark and Yamhill counties, coupled with additional searchers from Portland Mountain Rescue, Silver City, and Portland Northwest Search and Rescue, was expected to continue into the night, said Sgt. Diana Olsen, incident commander for Multnomah County Sheriff's Office Search and Rescue.

10:25 a.m. -- Saturday's search of the school, its immediate grounds, and the two mile-route between Kyron's home and the school yielded no clues, said Multnomah County incident commander Olsen.

"I'm hoping we will have completed a two-mile radius today of homes and fields, outbuildings, barns, tunnels, railroad tracks," Olsen said.

10:11 a.m. -- A Portland Public School District spokesman is enroute to the school, where counselors will be on hand Monday to help the children and teachers cope with the disappearance. The Multnomah County Search and Rescue coordinator arrives to speak with reporters.

9:48 a.m. -- The search for Kyron continues this morning as the first of 300 students and their parents return to Skyline Elementary to review details of the day the boy went missing.

Fifty detectives are on-hand to begin interviews at 10 a.m. continuing until 4 p.m.

9:33 a.m. -- Lt. Mary Lindstrand, public information officer for the Multnomah County Sheriff's office, implored the public to come forward with any information  they have about Kyron.  She urged people not to let weather keep them from coming forward.

"Our basis mission is to bring Kyron home," she said.

Authorities made no progress in the search for Kyron, which was suspended overnight but is resuming today with a 2-square-mile grid search. The massive effort to find the second-grader involves four county sheriff's departments, the Portland Police Bureau and a large number of federal agents with the FBI. So far, the search hasn't turned up any clues about the child's whereabouts.

Kyron Horman
The Oregonian's continuing coverage of missing second-grader Kyron Horman.The boy's stepmother, Terri Moulton Horman, took him to school Friday morning and the two walked through a science fair. Kyron showed off his project on the red-eyed tree frog and by 8:45 a.m. Kyron waved goodbye to Horman outside of his classroom. At some point after that, the boy's teacher, Kristina Porter, marked Kyron absent. It was not until 3:30 p.m., when she realized her stepson was not on the school bus, that Horman discovered he had been absent all day. She then called 9-1-1.

[Jenn]

http://www.kptv.com/...673/detail.html

Boy Still Missing; 'Normal' School Day Planned
Kyron Horman Missing Since Friday Morning

POSTED: 3:14 pm PDT June 6, 2010 UPDATED: 6:11 pm PDT June 6, 2010

PORTLAND, Ore. -- Students and parents from Skyline Elementary School were interviewed by deputies Sunday about the disappearance of 7-year-old Kyron Horman.

Multnomah County sheriff Dan Staton said Kyron was last seen by a fellow student near his classroom by the south entrance of the school in the late morning hours of Friday.

Kyron and his stepmother, Terri Moulton Horman, attended a school science fair that morning and she watched him walk to his classroom at about 8:45 a.m, deputies said.

Everyone who attended the science fair was asked to return to the school Sunday so they could be interviewed by detectives. Kim Vanko, who has three children who either attend or formerly attended the school, described the school as "tight-knit" and a "lovely, warm school."

"They're just trying to talk the kids through it and see if they can pick up any grains of information," Vanko said. "This is so sad."

Classes at Skyline will resume as scheduled Monday morning, said Matt Shelby, a district spokesman for Portland Public Schools.

"We're going to run as normal of a day as possible," he said.

Superintendent Carole Smith would not comment on the specific details of the timeline from Friday. Deputies have said Kyron's absence went unnoticed.

"Normally, when a student is marked absent, that goes down -- depending on the school -- throughout the day. The school secretary collects and enters it into the student information system and then, in most cases, the attendance calls it out," Shelby said.

The district did not release any details on when or if information about Kyron's absence was collected by the school. Shelby said that information is part of the sheriff's office investigation.

"We're cooperating with the investigation as much as we can," Shelby said. "On Monday, we're going to focus on supporting the students and staff."

Smith said the school leaders are reviewing district policies regarding absences in the wake of Kyron's disappearance.

She said the district will mandate the use of its automated attendance system that places phone calls to parents for students who don't have a prearranged absence. Thirty-seven of the 50 K-8 schools use the automated dialer system when there is an unreported absence.

It will take about one week for the system to be implemented at the other schools and, in the meantime, staff will manually make the calls.

Kyron lives just a few miles away from the school with his father and stepmother. He has an older half-brother.

Search For Clues Continues

Authorities have yet to comment if the ground search for Kyron revealed any evidence, but Lt. Harry Smith said search and rescue crews -- joined by the FBI and the National Guard -- completed an "immediate grid search" of an area around the school Saturday and Sunday.

Smith described the terrain around Skyline as rough, with steep inclines and ravines.

Gina Zimmerman, the president of the school's parent teacher association, said Kyron was excited for the school science fair Friday and his project was about a red-eyed tree frog.

"He's not the kind of child that would just go out of school, go searching or wandering around," Zimmerman said. "He's just a timid, sweet boy."

Kyron was supposed to be dropped off at the school bus stop near his house at about 3:45 p.m. Friday. Moulton Horman quickly realized her child was missing and then called the school, said Lt. Mary Lindstrand of the Multnomah County Sheriff’s Office.

School administrators said they started a search in the area but they were unable to find the boy. They called the non-emergency dispatch line to report Kyron as missing.

Officials with Portland Public Schools said they used their phone notification system to contact other parents and inform them that Kyron was reported missing.

Deputies launched their search at about 5:45 p.m. -- nearly nine hours after the boy was last seen. Since then, a number of local, state and federal police agencies have joined the search.

"We want to throw everything we can at this," said Capt. Jason Gates on Saturday. "If it were my son, this is what I would want to see."

There has been no indication of foul play in Kyron’s disappearance, but deputies upgraded the investigation to involve a major crimes team. Lindstrand said this allows more resources -- including those of the FBI and Oregon State Police -- to be used in the search.

With a number of neighboring police agencies helping in the search, deputies said civilian volunteers searching in the area will only complicate the process.

"We would appreciate if the civilian volunteers keep Kyron in your prayers, but please don't come to the scene because it affects our efficiency," Gates said.

Neighbors who live near Skyline Elementary School were asked to perform a "no-stone-unturned" search of their property.

"It would be very, very helpful to our process. If they find anything out of place, contact us through our tip line," Gates said.

Skyline School is located at 11536 NW Skyline Blvd. in a rural area of northwest Portland.

Deputies said they have been in communication with Kyron's family, but his father and stepmother did not wish to speak with media.

Anyone who may have any information on Kyron’s whereabouts is asked to call 503-261-2847.

He was last seen wearing a black T-shirt with the CSI logo on it. He is 3 feet 8 inches tall and 50 pounds with brown hair and blue eyes.

[Jenn]

http://www.oregonliv...ron_horman.html

Still no trace of Kyron Horman as police, FBI conclude third day of search

By The Oregonian June 06, 2010,NOELLE CROMBIE, KIMBERLY A.C. WILSON and STUART TOMLINSON

The investigation into the disappearance of Kyron Horman, the bespectacled 7-year-old last seen inside Skyline School on Friday morning, stretches into a fourth day today with the boy's whereabouts still a mystery.

Sunday, as Kyron's family ordered fliers carrying the boy's description and smiling face, authorities continued investigating his disappearance, calling in more than 65 detectives from various police agencies and nearly 60 trained searchers.

"Our basic mission is to bring Kyron home," said Lt. Mary Lindstrand,  a spokeswoman for the Multnomah County Sheriff's Office.

Late Sunday, Multnomah County Sheriff Daniel Staton issued a status report and raised the case level to increase public interest and focus. He said additional searches and interviews are planned, but he declined to discuss strategy or specifics of the investigation.

“Given the passage of time and the weather, we are characterizing this case as a missing endangered child,” he said.

Hundreds of Skyline students and their parents streamed into the school throughout the day for interviews with investigators, who wanted to know whether students spotted anything unusual at school Friday.

Police remain stymied as to what happened to the second-grader, described by his grandmother as dreamy, sweet and a bit timid. His stepmother said she last saw him at 8:45 a.m. Friday. She watched him walk toward his classroom after the pair toured the school's science fair.

During police interviews Sunday, a student said he last saw Kyron later that morning near the south entrance to the school. That was the last time the boy was seen, Staton said.

At some point that morning, Kyron's teacher, Kristina Porter, marked the boy as absent. But it wasn't until 3:30 p.m. -- when his stepmother, Terri Moulton Horman,  met the school bus -- that she discovered Kyron had been absent from school.

Nora Schreiber,  a Skyline parent and volunteer, said the school has three main entrances and one secure exit. Two of the doorways are near the main office and are monitored, while a third on the north side of the school is not. Kyron's classroom is adjacent to that door, which opens onto a rear parking lot.

Schreiber said she and her son, Jacob, 9, were interviewed Sunday by a federal agent. She said she told the agent that Friday was an especially hectic day at Skyline.

"On a normal day, seeing a stranger will make you go, 'Hmm. I wonder who that is?' On such a hectic day as Friday, there was such a lot going on. To tell you the truth, I was focused on looking at the (science) project and helping Jacob fill out his (evaluation) form and not on the faces around me."

Schreiber said Kyron was supposed to perform in the school's talent show at 1 p.m. but she didn't see him there.

Kris Delzell was among those who brought their children to the school for an interview with detectives.

"It's horrific," said Delzell, whose son Andrew, 9, attends the school.

"I hope they find him and that he's OK," her son said.

Counselors will be at Skyline today, said district spokesman Matt Shelby.  Overwhelmed students will have access to a "safe room" for additional counseling.

"It's been hard for the students, hard for the parents, hard for the staff," Shelby said. "We're going to try and have as normal a day as we can."

Kyron's family made no public comment Sunday. Terri Horman was on Facebook throughout the day, receiving prayers and well-wishes from dozens of friends and relatives. A Facebook page dedicated to Kyron also was launched.

Investigators said Sunday they haven't turned up signs of foul play. Still, the FBI, which has assigned a sizable, though undisclosed, number of agents to the case, launched its Child Abduction Rapid Deployment Team, a group of agents and analysts that specializes in organizing large-scale investigations of child disappearances.

The team's involvement is standard when a child goes missing, said Beth Anne Steele,  a spokeswoman for the FBI's Portland field office.

The FBI also called in a Quantico, Va.-based profiler to develop a more complete portrait of Kyron.

"You want to find out what his ... strengths and weaknesses are," said former FBI profiler Clint Van Zandt,  now a Virginia-based security consultant. "Where would they go? Do they have a tendency to wander off? Do they have a tendency to cry? Have you ever talked to them about what to do if they get lost?

"You are trying to find out everything you can," he said, adding that the FBI's profile will go far beyond a physical description. He said the profiler wants to "find out what might make (the child) vulnerable to a predator."

Van Zandt said authorities tend to deploy lots of police resources in those crucial, early hours after a child goes missing.

"Everybody knows the clock is ticking," he said. "You don't want to hold back any resources. You don't want to refuse to go down any path right now."

The search, which at one point included a National Guard helicopter, will continue today.

The air search, having turned up nothing, ended Saturday. The ground search, which included a detailed grid search of the two miles between Skyline and Kyron's home, relies on volunteers, most of whom need to return to work today, said Sgt. Diana Olsen,  coordinator of the Multnomah County Sheriff's Office search and rescue operations.

"We won't even get a quarter of the numbers (of volunteers) we have today," she said Sunday.

She said searchers Sunday made a major push in soggy conditions and hilly terrain to complete their search.

So far, overnight weather conditions have been favorable for surviving if Kyron wandered off.

"It's warm even at night," Olsen said. "If he fell and injured himself, the expectation is he would still be alive."

Skyline is something of a rural island, where residents place tomato starts at the end of driveways with a sign asking $1 per pot on the honor system.

"It's a more urbane version of Mayberry, RFD," said Cindy Banks, who owns a former church across the street from Skyline School on the winding Northwest Skyline Boulevard. "We know our neighbors. We're all asking ourselves how something like this could happen here."

At the Plainview Grocery, just downhill from the school, a flier about the missing boy remains propped against the cash register.

A lunchtime visitor asked owner Dave Linden, "Is this the boy that went missing?"

Linden nodded solemnly. The shopper, a woman wearing a soggy blue fleece jacket, stooped to peer at the boy wearing a proud smile, a photo taken on the day Kyron Harmon went missing:

"Let me take a close look so I know who to look for," she said, before heading to her truck.

[Jenn]

http://www.wlos.com/....wlos.com.shtml

Search grows for missing boy

June 07, 2010 05:19 EDT

PORTLAND, Ore. (AP) -- Portland's school superintendent says crisis counselors will be at an elementary school today where a 7-year-old Oregon boy disappeared.

Investigators trying to find the boy have interviewed nearly 200 of his classmates and their parents and the FBI sent a team to take part in the expanding search.

Kyron Horman disappeared sometime after his stepmother left him at his Portland elementary school on Friday morning.

Sheriff Dan Staton said late last night that he was "not prepared" to call the boy's disappearance a kidnapping.

He says in a statement that there's a lot of information that must be thoroughly processed.

The boy and his stepmother attended a science fair at the school early Friday, and she last saw him walking down a hallway toward his second grade classroom at about 8:45 a.m.

[Jenn]

http://www.cnn.com/2...g.child/?hpt=T3

Police question students in case of missing second grader

By Gabriel Falcon,, CNN June 8, 2010 7:54 a.m. EDT

STORY HIGHLIGHTS

    * Police question students in case of missing 7-year-old
    * Seven-year-old missing since Friday
    * Counselors made available to children and teachers at school

(CNN) -- Police questioned nearly all of the children at an Oregon school where a missing 7-year-old child boy was last seen, authorities said Monday evening.

Captain Jason Gates of the Multnomah County Sheriff's Office said about 90 percent of the students at Skyline Elementary School were interviewed in connection with last Friday's disappearance of Kyron Horman.

In a statement released to the media, the sheriff's office said investigators were "appealing to the families who have not been interviewed to call the tip line and leave their information."

According to investigators, the boy's stepmother said she last the saw second-grader Friday morning while he was walking down the hallway towards his classroom.

"There was a science fair here at the school," Portland Schools spokesman Matt Shelby told CNN. "You had a situation with lots of parents and friends coming through the school, going class to class."

"Kyron was here with his stepmother, seen with his stepmother," Shelby said.

The science fair was held before the beginning of classes, Shelby added, "so working parents could come and participate" he said.

In the statement released Monday evening, authorities said search and rescue personnel have been canvassing new areas based on tips and information gathered by the sheriff's office.

"Tips have been coming in from all over the state and into Washington. All of those tips are being followed up and investigators are urging people to call the tip line with any information at all," the statement read.

The Multhnomah County sheriff's office reported that no one at the school saw Kyron after 8:45 a.m. Friday and that Kyron never made it to his classroom.

Searches in the school area were conducted Friday and over the weekend by several agencies, including the Portland Police Bureau, Gresham Police Department, Fairview Police Department, Oregon State Patrol, and the FBI.

Authorities have also utilized Portland Police bureau's air unit in an attempt to locate the missing child.

"My heart, and the hearts of everyone who is a part of Portland Public Schools, goes out to Kyron Horman and his family," said Portland Schools Superintendent Carole Smith in a statement.

"We are all wishing for Kyron's safe return as quickly as possible and we are grateful for the efforts of all the law enforcement agencies who have worked so tirelessly over the past 48 hours to determine the cause of Kyron's disappearance, locate him and return him safely home.

"The reported disappearance of a student from one of our schools is unprecedented and deeply troubling. Portland Public Schools is doing everything we can to assist the authorities in their effort to find Kyron."

Counselors have been made available to children and teachers at Kyron's school, Shelby said. "Our focus is on supporting the students and staff," he said.

Anyone with information on Kyron Horman's whereabouts is asked to call the Mutnomah County Sheriff's Office at 503-261-2847

[Jenn]

http://kdrv.com/news/local/176847

Searchers for missing Portland boy flooded with tips

June 7, 2010 KDRV Staff & Associated Press

PORTLAND, Ore. - A Medford mother is joining the search for her 7-year-old son missing four days from a Portland area school.

Desiree Young is reportedly heading north to look for her son Kyron Horman.

What's described as "an army of detectives" is working through 1,200 tips in the search for the second-grader.

The Multnomah County Sheriff's Office has now upgrading Horman's status from missing to endangered, but are not calling it a kidnapping.

The boy was last seen at Skyline Elementary School about 9 a.m. Friday walking to his classroom after his stepmother dropped him off at the school's science fair. When he didn't return home on the bus, his family called the school.

Officers searched the extensive woods outside the school Monday. They also interviewed parents driving their children to school.

FBI experts on child abduction have been dispatched to work on the boy's disappearance.

Skyline does not use an auto dial to alert parents about absences. However, school officials say that will change.

[Lori Davis]

http://www.google.co...eYzk3AD9G8AO8O0

Teams from across Ore. searching for missing boy
By NIGEL DUARA (AP) – 06/10/2010

PORTLAND, Ore. — Investigators who have searched for six days for a missing 7-year-old Oregon boy without success are turning to experts from across the state to assist in the expanding effort.

The search has been slowed by the rough terrain surrounding the rural Skyline Elementary School, where 7-year-old Kyron Horman was reportedly last seen after a science fair by his stepmother on Friday morning.

Several storms have crossed the area, drenching searchers who called off their efforts on Friday night but have been working nearly 24 hours a day since.

On Wednesday, an experienced search and rescue expert said time is a factor in the search. Minutes later, a trickle of raindrops segued into a deluge that blew through the area.

"We have more resources coming," said Klamath County Sheriff Tim Evinger. "The clock is ticking on this search."

The hunt has been slow going, as the volunteer teams checked a half-mile radius around the school during the weekend, then did so again on Tuesday. Dressed in fluorescent-green vests and T-shirts, the volunteers ventured into the dense foliage that towers over every road and building in the area.

Information on the search has been scarce. Capt. Jason Gates of the Multnomah County Sheriff's Office said he's reticent to say much about the volunteers' efforts or any evidence recovered because it could interfere with the investigation.

Horman family members have declined interview requests, saying they were asked by police not to speak.

The second-grader was last seen about 9 a.m. on Friday, when his stepmother said she watched him walk down a hallway toward his classroom wearing a "CSI" T-shirt and dark cargo pants.

The search began after the boy did not come home on the school bus after class and his stepmother called 911 at about 3:45 p.m.

The primary agency in the search, the Multnomah County Sheriff's Office, has been emphatic in its efforts to portray the arrival of the additional searchers as a "natural progression" in the process.

The office said it was making use of a state law passed in 2007 in response to criticism of the way authorities conducted the search in 2006 for James Kim, a California man who went missing in Southern Oregon and was ultimately found dead of exposure.

An ensuing review of the search by the Oregon State Sheriffs' Association concluded that the effort was marked by crossed signals and several people trying to take charge of the search.

The concerns led to legislation streamlining communications between search and rescue units. That legislation was what led to the new search teams that were scheduled to arrive between Wednesday night and Thursday morning and "get to work right away," Evinger said.

Gates has been careful to say that his agency remains in charge of the investigation, despite the new search experts and the presence since Monday of the FBI.

Evinger, who headed a task force that recommended changes that resulted in the 2007 law, said the law foresees that local police conduct the search before crews from other counties are brought in.

"We pull out all the stops locally, initially," Evinger said. "It starts getting prolonged, you go statewide."

Fliers of Kyron dot the convenience stores and restaurants in the hills and river valley for miles around the school. Tips initially poured in — Gates said he had 1,200 called in by Monday — and police have been asking for more.

Some tips claim sightings of Kyron, which Gates said the search teams have checked out and found unsubstantiated. Most are called in from or refer to the Portland metro area, said Multnomah County Sheriff's Office spokeswoman Mary Lindstrand, so the search has focused there. Some calls, however, came from as far away as Washington state.

Sgt. Diana Olsen, search and rescue coordinator for the Multnomah County Sheriff's Office, said the volunteers are worn out but remain persistent.

"They're tired, exhausted," Olsen said. "(But) they don't want to stop."

The boy's family released a statement at a news conference on Wednesday asking residents around the school to check and recheck their property, outbuildings and sheds for any sign of the missing 7-year-old.

"There are a lot of rescuers out there," the family said in the statement. "Please don't stop."

Anyone with information on Kyron Horman's whereabouts is asked to call the Mutnomah County Sheriff's Office at 503-261-2847.

[Jenn]

http://www.cnn.com/2...on.missing.boy/

Parents urge public to help in search of missing boy

By Gabriel Falcon, CNNJune 10, 2010 8:10 a.m. EDT

Kyron Horman's stepmother said she last saw him walking in the hallway of his elementary school on June 4.

STORY HIGHLIGHTS

    * Parents urge public to continue search
    * Seven-year-old went missing last week
    * Stepmother reported the boy missing

(CNN) -- The parents of a missing Oregon boy have urged the public to continue helping authorities find their son.

"Please search your properties, your cars, your outbuildings, your sheds," the immediate family of Kyron Horman said in a statement Wednesday that was read by Captain Mike Shults of the Multnomah County Sheriff's Office. "Also check with your neighbors and friends who may be on vacation or may need assistance to search their property.

"There are a lot of resources out there to help. Please don't stop.

"Kyron's family would like to thank everyone for their support and interest in finding their son," the statement added. "The outpouring of support and continued effort strengthens their hope."

The 7-year-old Portland child was reported missing by his stepmother last Friday after he did not return home from school, authorities said.

According to investigators, Kyron's stepmother said she last saw him Friday morning walking down a hallway towards his second-grade classroom at Skyline Elementary School.

Police have described the incident as an "isolated case" and have no evidence suggesting a crime was committed. "We're not prepared to call it a criminal investigation at this point," Captain Jason Gates of the Multnomah County Sheriff's Office told reporters Tuesday, "But we are certainly prepared to call it a missing endangered child investigation."

Shults, who has been serving as a liaison with Kyron's parents said the family's "objective is to keep the focus on Kyron and not about anything else."

A statement by Kristina Porter, Kyron's teacher, was read at Wednesday's briefing by Ben Keefer, the principal of Skyline Elementary School.

"The students in Kyron's class miss him terribly, and we are all wishing for his safe return," said Porter. "It has been gratifying to see how caring and supportive the children have been with each other throughout this ordeal."

At Wednesday's briefing, Gates said a statewide search and rescue plan has been activated in connection with the case. Several hundred search and rescue members and teams from across the state will help in the efforts to locate the child.

Authorities continue to pursue hundreds of tips, most of them from Oregon and Washington.

"We don't have enough information to satisfy the criteria to complete an Amber Alert or issue an Amber Alert," Gates explained. "Amber Alerts are designed to find children very quickly when we have specific information."

Anyone with information on Kyron Horman's whereabouts is asked to call the Multnomah County Sheriff's Office at 503-261-2847.

[Jenn]

http://www.examiner....rold-Oregon-boy

Kyron Horman latest news: National Guard joins in search for missing 7-year-old Oregon boy

June 11, 6:24 AM Crime Examiner Cindy Adams



On Thursday, a National Guard helicopter joined searchers on horseback and about 125 other volunteers in the search for Kyron Horman in a wooded area near the Portland school where the 7-year-old went missing last Friday. Nonetheless, authorities report no evidence was found during the search.

Kyron vanished on the morning of June 4 at about 9 a.m. from Skyline Elementary School located in Northwest Portland, after he and his stepmother arrived at the school early to look at a science fair in which Kyron had a project.

He was last seen wearing a “CSI” t-shirt and dark cargo pants. His stepmother reports she last saw him as he walked down a hallway headed toward his second-grade classroom.

To see more photos of Kyron, click here.

The search for Kyron began at about 3:45 p.m. on Friday when he failed to come home on the school bus.

At a press conference Thursday, Sgt. Diana Olsen, a search and rescue coordinator for the Multnomah County Sheriff’s Office, said those searching were checking an area located within a 2-mile radius of Kyron’s school. They were diligent in their search despite the rain and cold temperatures.

According to the Ashland Daily Tidings, search teams from across the state will be checking power line clearings, back roads, and check areas already searched a second time.

Anyone with information regarding Kyron Horman’s whereabouts is asked to call the Multnomah County Sheriff's Office tip line at 503 261-2847, or to call 911 with emergency information.

[Jenn]

http://www.kmtr.com/...6cEiybvhuQ.cspx

More Crews to Help in Missing Boy Search

Reported by: Megan Higgens  Nohelani Graf Last Update: 6/10 11:55 pm

Portland (KMTR) -- Thursday, a National Guard helicopter circled the area above Skyline Elementary looking for any sign of second grader, Kyron Horman. The seven year old was last seen Friday at school.

On the ground, dozens of searchers check back roads, thick brush and rugged terrain near the school.

For some, the search is personal.

"I'm a retired first grade teacher. So the children I worked with are seven years old. Every time I look at his picture I see one of my students," said a Jackson County volunteer.

Search efforts are being kept within two miles of Skyline Elementary.

Authorities said they're investigating all scenarios, but won't provide details about interviews, any possible evidence or investigative techniques.

Meantime, close to two dozen Lane County Search and Rescue members will gear up and head to Portland Friday morning.

They'll focus on the ground search but some will join the command center to help coordinate crews.

They're also sending up several posse members on horseback.

Deputy Wade Martin told NewsSource 16 they're ready to provide some relief and most importantly fresh eyes.

“You look for everything, clues, footprints, pieces of paper, clothing, anything that comes up that's what they're looking for – plus, looking for the child.  But you're looking for any kind of evidence that going to help lead to that,” said Martin.

Each County helping is committed to at least two days of search time.

Meantime, Authorities are asking people across the state to keep their eyes open for Kyron. To see Kyron’s photo and information go to KMTR.com.

[Lori Davis]

http://www.oregonliv...art_is_not.html

Boy spotted in Walmart is not Kyron Horman
Published: Friday, June 11, 2010, 3:44 PM   
Updated: Friday, June 11, 2010, 3:51 PM
Aimee Green, The Oregonian

A young boy seen in a Walmart in Yreka, Calif. is not missing 7-year-old Kyron Horman.

Police in the 7,300-person town, on Interstate 5 just south of the Oregon border, said they received a report that Kyron was seen at the superstore Thursday with a man and a woman. News accounts of the sighting — along with video surveillance showing a boy matching Kyron’s description in the store — created a buzz and brief hope that the eight-day search could be over.

An officer who went to Walmart today to investigate further spotted the couple with the boy. They happened to be shopping there again.

It was not Kyron, but even the officer thought the resemblance was strong, said a police employee who declined to be named.

The couple turned out to be the boy’s grandparents.

[Deborah]

Searchers Seen Near Sauvie Island Bridge



Searchers Seen Near Sauvie Island Bridge

Deputies Display Replicas Of Kyron Horman's Clothing

POSTED: 7:15 am PDT June 11, 2010
UPDATED: 7:24 pm PDT June 11, 2010


PORTLAND, Ore. -- One week after the disappearance of 7-year-old Kyron Horman, sheriff's office horse trailers could be seen stationed at the bottom of the Sauvie Island Bridge on Friday morning.

Multnomah County deputies said 211 people were on the ground as part of an expanding search in northwest Portland, but they did not comment on specific locations. The bridge is located about 4.5 miles away from Skyline School, where Kyron was last seen on the morning of June 4.

Kyron is considered a missing endangered child. Since the second-grader's disappearance, investigators have interviewed every student at Skyline School. They've also interviewed parents and staff.

"This is all about bringing Kyron home," said Capt. Monte Reiser, of the sheriff's office. "We are doing everything we can toward that end."

Authorities displayed clothing similar to what Kyron was last seen wearing. Reiser said the boy was wearing black size 11 Sketchers shoes, size 7 cargo pants (which were darker than the pants shown by deputies), white Hanes athletic socks and a black T-shirt with a "CSI" logo.

Kyron's stepmother, father and biological mother have all cooperated with the investigation, deputies said. Four of Kyron's immediate family members made their first public appearance Friday afternoon.

But beyond deputies saying that they're following up on every tip they receive and that interviews have been conducted, investigators have been guarded with any information about the case.

"We don't release many details of an ongoing investigation for a number of reasons," Reiser said. "Early release of information can affect the operational integrity of the investigation. New and incoming information is often unconfirmed and needs substantiation prior to release."

Search crews were seen looking around the Horman family home Thursday morning.

"Everyone that I talked to just can't imagine what happened," said Jeanne Levasseur, who lives nearby. "There's so much speculation going on."

Multnomah County deputies have showed no sign of scaling back the exhaustive search to find him. They said they continue to work around the clock.

"Dusk, dawn and beyond," Reiser said.

Jake Jackson, who attends the same school as Kyron, thanked the search crews Thursday.



On Friday, deputies displayed clothing similar to what Kyron was last seen wearing. | Jamie Wilson / KPTV


"I just want to say thank you for trying to find my friend," he said. "I've known him for a couple years and … I'm hoping he'll get home safely."

Carla Jackson, Jake's mother, said the FBI has been checking every home in the Skyline area in hopes of finding a clue.

"The FBI actually came by our house last night and we let them in voluntarily," she said. "I guess that's what they're doing in the area, which I think is great because they were saying leave no stone unturned."

Anyone with a tip that may help find Kyron is asked to call 503-261-2847.

[Lori Davis]

http://kezi.com/news/local/177552

Eugene Woman Determined to Help Find Missing Portland Boy

June 12, 2010
By Stacia Kalinoski

EUGENE, Ore.--It's another day without any strong leads in the massive search to find Portland 7-year old Kyron Horman.

This is day nine of what has become an extensive search. More than 300 people were out looking for the little boy Saturday.

One of those resources is right in our backyard.

A Eugene woman has made it her mission to find Kyron alive.

Kay Lutz-Ritzheimer set out Saturday on a trip up and down the coast, posting fliers of the little boy in gas stations, restaurants and truck stops. Her grandson is the same age as Kyron and goes to school in the area he disappeared.

Police have said the most valuable resource at this point is the public, and Ritzheimer says she can't sit around and do nothing.

"Everyone seems to be chipping in, people in the community are doing it also, and I was looking for how I could help. Rather than just saying 'I wish I could do something, i thought there must be something," she said.

Ritzheimer posted four dozen fliers Saturday, and says most of the people she has encountered are more than willing to help spread those fliers out.

She plans to continue her mission Sunday, heading back up north via another highway. If you'd like to help out, click on Newslinks: there's a website that will link you to the flyer.

You can just make copies, like Ritzheimer did, and pass them out.

[Deborah]

Criminal Investigation now


Oregon Authorities Launch Criminal Investigation in Missing Boy Case

Published June 13, 2010

Oregon authorities opened a criminal investigation Sunday into the disappearance of a 7-year-old Portland boy, after a massive land search yielded no clues into the second-grader's whereabouts.

Kyron Horman, a student at Skyline Elementary School in Portland, Ore., disappeared June 4 after attending a science fair at the school.

After an extensive, 10-day search that included scouring hills and deep woods near the rural elementary school, Multnomah County Sheriff Dan Staton said Sunday that most of the search and rescue crews are being sent home.

But, Staton said, law enforcement and volunteers will not stop their search for the boy, described by family and friends as fun-loving and quiet.

"We are going to continue this investigation on a criminal level," he said, adding that a $25,000 reward is being offered for any information leading to the boy's location.

Multnomah County Capt. Monte Reiser also said that authorities are searching "a number of individual locations that have come up as a result of tips," though he declined to provide details.

"All along, we have said we are looking at a full spectrum of possibilities," Reiser said, adding, "our commitment and resources are unwavering."

The boy's parents also attended the Sunday afternoon news conference, but they did not speak.

The hunt for Kyron is among the largest searches in state history.

Roughly 300 trained rescuers hit the ground on Saturday, about 100 more than were present during the week, combing rough terrain for any trace of the boy.

Some areas were searched by teams with dogs, then searched by horseback and finally searched again by "grid searches," the slow, methodical process of looking for clues or tracks.

[Jenn]

http://www.examiner....a-criminal-case

Search for missing Kyron Horman is now a criminal case

June 14, 12:08 AM Missing Persons Examiner Jerrie Dean



The search for missing 7-year old Portland boy, Kyron Horman ended today as rescue teams headed home.  After 10 days they have not been able to uncover any sign of Kyron and the case has now been classified as a criminal investigation.

"We will be continuing this investigation. It is not going to stop, and I am not going to cease in dedication resources to locating Kyron," said Sheriff Dan Staton from the Multnomah County Sheriff Dept.

Kyron Horman's family made their second public appearance today, to show a blown-up photo of Kyron, but did not take any questions nor speak.

8-year-old Tanner Pumala, a desk mate of Kyron says, "I went downstairs, and that was the last time I saw him and I never seen him after that," Tanner told KOIN news. Tanner said, the class was regrouping and it was the substitute that noticed Kyron was missing.

"And she was like 'oh no where's Kyron there's only five' and Mrs. Porter was like it's okay calm down, calm down he's probably in the bathroom or getting a drink of water and she said alright I'm going to leave and she left, " says Tanner Pumala

Tanner said that he noticed that Kyron was not on the school bus when they were going home.

"How he went unnoticed is absolutely just beyond me, say's Tanner's grandmother Wendy Fuhrer.

It would have to be that Kyron knew or trusted. Kids just don't vanish and I find this heart-wrenching, absolutely heart-wrenching and the family what they are going through, I can't even imagine ", said Fuhrer.

Fuhrer said that Tanner told her that he had seen Kyron's mom leaving the school building and Kyron was not with her when she left.

The FBI and the Sheriff asked them to not talk but they decide to talk to keep a face on this investigation.

Kyron's family made their first public appearance on Friday, asking people to keep searching.

"Please Kyron, keep up the hope," Tony Young, Kyron's stepfather, said. "We believe in you and we know you will be back with us soon."


The Multnomah County Sheriff's Office is seeking video of traffic on 15 portland roads taken June 3 and June 4. If you have any footage please contact the sheriff office. The streets are: Northwest Cornelius Pass Road, Northwest Germantown Road, Northwest Logie Trails Road, Northwest Rocky Point Road, Northwest Skyline Road, Northwest 185th Avenue, Northwest West Union Road, Northwest Springville Road, Bethany Boulevard, Northwest Newberry Road, Northwest McNamee Road, U.S. 30 between Northwest Rocky Point Road to Northwest Germantown Road, Northwest Kaiser Road, Northwest Thompson Road, Northwest Laidlaw Road.

Tip line: 503-261-2847

[Jenn]

http://www.thenewstr...or-missing.html

Search scaled down for missing Portland boy

Published: 06/14/10 7:51 am

PORTLAND, Ore. — With the reclassification of the disappearance of a 7-year-old Portland boy as a criminal case, the search for Kyron Horman is scaling down to local teams.

Multnomah County Sheriff Dan Staton says they’ll keep looking, but searchers from across the Northwest are being sent home.

The Oregonian reports the search has been one of the largest in state history with more than 1,300 people searching around Skyline School. That’s where Kyron was last seen June 4 at his science fair exhibit on red tree frogs.

A $25,000 reward is offered to help find Kyron.

[Jenn]

http://www.examiner....sing-Oregon-boy

Kyron Horman update: Hundreds attend Tuesday night vigil for missing Oregon boy

June 16, 3:07 AM Crime Examiner Cindy Adams



Tuesday evening, hundreds gathered together at a vigil held for missing Oregon boy Kyron Horman, who disappeared Friday, June 4, after showing up to school early to attend a science fair.

Friends and neighbors attended the vigil to comfort each other and pray that the 7-year-old returns home safe and sound.

Michael Cook, who helped organize the event at the Sunset Presbyterian Church, told The Oregonian, “We know that time has passed… We know that time isn’t necessarily on our side… But every case is unique, and we’re hopeful that Kyron is found soon and returned to his family, safely, where he belongs.”

Bob and Judy Bobosky, who have a grandson close to Kyron’s age, also attended the vigil. Bob said “When human efforts alone don’t bring about a result, you turn to God.”

To see photos of replica eyeglasses and clothing Kyron was wearing when he went missing, click here.

Sunset Pastor Ron Kincaid said three of his own children attend the rural Skyline School, where Kyron vanished. He asked those at the vigil to pray for the second-grader, the Horman family, the school’s staff, and those investigating the case.

To see a computer edited photo of Kyron without eyeglasses, click here.

Reading from Jeremiah 23:23-24, Kincaid said “Can anyone hide from me in some secret place?” He noted that the passage meant that “We know that God is everywhere and knows exactly where Kyron is.”

As the vigil closed, hundreds of candles were lit and those in attendance left messages of encouragement for Kyron’s family.

Kyron was last seen wearing a “CSI” t-shirt and black cargo pants.

Anyone with information regarding Kyron Horman’s whereabouts is asked to call the Multnomah County Sheriff's Office tip line at 503-261-2847, or to call 911 with emergency information.

[Jenn]

http://ac360.blogs.c...ut-missing-boy/

School year closes without missing boy

June 15, 2010

The Oregon school where Kyron Horman was reported missing nearly two weeks ago marked its last day of the school year on Tuesday.

A slide show featuring all the children at Skyline Elementary was shown at a special assembly, Portland schools spokesman Matt Selby told CNN. He said the slide show included a picture of Kyron.

Horman’s stepmother reported the 7-year-old missing on June 4 after he did not return from school, authorities said. According to investigators, the stepmother said she last saw the second-grader walking down a hallway towards his class.

The Multnomah County Sheriff’s Office originally called the investigation into Kyron’s disappearance as an endangered missing child case. It has since classified it as a criminal inquiry.

On Monday, the sheriff’s office released photographs to the public of a replica of the eyeglass frame worn by Kyron on the day he vanished.

In a briefing on Monday, Captain Jason Gates of the Multnomah County Sheriff’s Office said 1,300 people participated in the massive search efforts for Kyron. An additional 213 separate investigators from 42 law enforcement agencies also assisted in looking for him, Gates said.

“The Office is steeled in its resolve to not let this become a cold case,” Gates said. “We are focused on this investigation and we remind all citizens of the $25,000 reward for information leading us to Kyron.”

Anyone with information regarding Kyron Horman's whereabouts is asked to call the Multnomah County Sheriff's Office at (503) 261-2847.

[Jenn]

http://www.cnn.com/2...on.missing.boy/

Police: Dive teams involved in search for missing Oregon boy

By Gabriel Falcon, CNN June 17, 2010 8:57 a.m. EDT

STORY HIGHLIGHTS

    * Police search waterways for missing Oregon boy
    * Authorities won't give specifics on dive team search
    * Kyron Horman last seen June 4

(CNN) -- Police divers looked in undisclosed waterways for evidence Wednesday connected to the disappearance of an Oregon boy who vanished from his school nearly two weeks ago, authorities told CNN.

"We had dive teams out helping, but I can't talk about the specifics where they were searching," said Lt. Mary Lindstrand, spokeswoman for the Multnomah County Sheriff's Office. Lindstrand would not provide details of the operation but said the dive teams have previously been at the location.

Kyron Horman, 7, was last seen the morning of June 4 walking down the hallway of Skyline Elementary School in Portland as he headed to his second-grade classroom, his stepmother has told investigators, according to police.

The investigation, which was originally classified as a missing endangered child case, has now been labeled a criminal probe. Authorities, who continue asking the public for help, have pursued hundreds of leads from Oregon and beyond. "We were at 1,200 (tips) the first week and they've been coming in steady since," Lindstrand said.

Linstrand added that she is hopeful that Kyron will be found alive. "That would be the best outcome," she said.

On Tuesday, a prayer vigil for Kyron at Sunset Presbyterian Church drew hundreds of people.

Kyron was wearing dark cargo pants and a black t-shirt with the CSI logo on it at the time of his disappearance. He is 3'8" tall, weighs 50 lbs., and has brown hair and blue eyes.

Anyone with information on Kyron Horman's whereabouts is asked to call the Multnomah County Sheriff's Office.

[Jenn]

http://abcnews.go.co...ory?id=10936101

Kyron Horman Plea: 'Missing Endangered' Billboard Campaign
Police Looking for 'That One Tip That Will Bring Kyron Home'

By CLAYTON SANDELL and KRISTIN FRASER PORTLAND, Ore., June 16, 2010

Investigators renewed their call for the public's help in their search for missing boy Kyron Horman, the 7-year-old who disappeared from his elementary school on June 4.

Thirty large billboards with Kyron's smiling, bespectacled face, the words "Endangered Missing," and a phone number to call have started popping up throughout the region, written in English, Spanish and Russian.

The billboards were donated by Clear Channel "to help get the message out to bring Kyron home," according to the Multnomah County Sheriff's Office.

"We're still waiting for that one tip. That one tip that will bring Kyron home," Multnomah County Sheriff's Office spokeswoman Lt. Mary Lindstrand said.

Lindstrand characterized the investigation as "moving forward" but declined to provide further details. Tips from the public continue to come in on "a consistent basis" she said, but didn't provide an exact number.

One tip arrived in the mail written on a postcard, Lindstrand said.

Police said dive teams continued searching bodies of water near where Kyron disappeared. Investigators including members of the sheriff's major crimes team and the FBI are canvassing a four mile radius around Kyron's school and re-interviewing parents, students and school employees.

Lindstrand said sheriff's officials are in regular contact with Kyron's parents, who have declined interviews.

"They said, 'We don't want our faces out there. We want Kyron's face out there,'" she said.

Police declared the case a criminal investigation Sunday and since Monday have refused to grant any interviews or provide regular updates.

Lindstrand held a brief press conference today outside a sheriff's building because she said investigators want to keep the public interested in the case.

Lindstrand also said the television show "America's Most Wanted" is currently preparing a story on Kyron's case.

Kyron disappeared on the morning of June 4, after he and his stepmother Terri Horman attended a school science fair where Kyron had displayed a project on red tree frogs. His stepmother said she last saw Kyron walking down a hallway toward his classroom.

When Kyron didn't come home on the bus that Friday afternoon, his parents called the school, which in turn called 911, launching what Gates said could be the largest search operation in Oregon history.

Approximately 1,300 searchers in the field were joined by 213 additional investigators from 42 different agencies from California, Oregon and Washington. A National Guard helicopter also joined in the search.

Many of the search teams have packed up and headed home, although a small number of local teams will be on call in case there are any new leads or developments.

Kyron's family has only appeared twice in public since he disappeared. On Friday, his stepfather made an emotional plea for his return.

"You mean everything to us," said his stepfather Tony Young. "And until you come home this family's not complete. Please Kyron, keep up the hope."

For many people here, the distinction between a missing persons case and a criminal one is irrelevant since Kyron is still nowhere to be found.

"It has not changed our focus," family friend Becky Owens said. "Our focus has been and will continue to be finding Kyron. So it doesn't change what we're doing, getting his face out to as many people as possible."

[Deborah]

Kyron Horman's Stepmom Under Scrutiny in Missing Child Case  

Mara Gay

June 18

The search for missing 7-year-old Kyron Horman is now focused on the boy's stepmother, Terri Moulton Horman.

Two weeks after the little boy disappeared from his Oregon elementary school, Willamette Week reports that investigators have determined that Moulton Horman was not where she said she was on the day her stepson vanished.

Greg Wahl-Stephens, AP
The investigation into missing Portland boy Kyron Horman is now focused on his stepmother Terri Moulton Harmon, seen here with Kyron's father Kaine.
Police say Moulton Horman's cell phone records show that on June 4, the day Kyron was last seen, she was on Sauvie Island, five miles from Kyron's school. Rescuers have been combing that island for any signs of the second-grader since June 10.

Willamette Week, citing unnamed law-enforcement officials "from agencies at the city, county and federal level," says Moulton Horman raised suspicions almost immediately for having claimed to have gone to the gym after reporting Kyron missing.

"Hitting the gym," she wrote on her Facebook wall that morning.

[Lori Davis]

http://www.chron.com...ll/7060999.html

http://www.chron.com...ll/7060999.html
Police seek info. on stepmom of missing Oregon boy
By STEVEN DUBOIS
June 18, 2010, 5:52PM

PORTLAND, Ore. — Detectives investigating the disappearance of a 7-year-old Oregon boy two weeks ago put out a call Friday for information on the whereabouts that day of his stepmother — the last person to see him alive.

Investigators refuse to say whether they have a suspect. Police passed out fliers Friday in hopes of jogging the memory of anybody who might have information on Kyron Horman's case, said Capt. Jason Gates of the Multnomah County sheriff's department.

A questionnaire that accompanies the flier has gone to everybody who was at Skyline School on June 4, he said. The boy was last seen there after a science fair he attended that morning with his stepmother, Terri Moulton Horman.

"Terri is the last known person to have seen Kyron alive before he disappeared," Gates said.

The stepmother, who has raised Kyron since he was an infant, contacted the school on the afternoon of the disappearance, when the boy didn't come home on his school bus. Kyron lived with his father and stepmother about 2 miles from the school.

The flier includes two questionnaires — a 10-question form directed at adults and an eight-question survey for children. Both ask if anyone saw Kyron or the stepmother at or near the elementary school, or if they witnessed a pickup matching the description of the family's white Ford F250 pickup.

The stepmother appeared at a news conference last week with the boy's father to appeal for help in finding the boy. "We fully support the release of this flier," said a family statement that Gates read Friday.

Searchers spent 10 days checking the area near the school and the family's home before the sheriff's office scaled back the search effort and reclassified the disappearance as a criminal investigation. Gates said he couldn't eliminate the possibility that Kyron was abducted by a stranger, but "the need for the public to be alarmed is very low."

Searchers have been combing Sauvie Island, 10 miles northwest of downtown Portland, but police refuse to say why.

The Willamette Week newspaper, citing anonymous police sources, reported that cell phone records show Terri Horman was there June 4.

"I don't have control over what papers report," Gates said when asked about the Willamette Week article.

Terri Horman's Facebook activity has also been deemed suspicious by a bevy of armchair detectives — people leaving comments online — wondering why she was "hitting the gym" a few days after her stepson disappeared or why she failed to quickly change her profile picture from her biological daughter to Kyron.

The pickup was recently towed from the Horman home, but Gates said it was because of a mechanical problem, not the investigation.

Detectives have refused to answer most questions about the specifics of their investigation.

"Our primary goal is to not make any mistakes in this case, to be as perfect as we can be in investigating this case," Gates said.