Kyron Horman, 7 years old PORTLAND, OR #1 6/5/10 - 6/30/10

[canadianmonkey]

Oregon Missing Boy Mystery: Day 6
June 9, 2010 - 12:27 PM | by: Claudia Cowan

Day 6, and still no trace of 7-year old Kyron Horman.

Troubling questions remain: How could he vanish from his elementary school, and be reported as absent, even after his teacher and others had seen him? Were there strangers milling around the big school science fair that day? What are the major leads in this case? Investigators may know the answers, but are telling reporters very little.

The FBI has released this new photograph showing the little boy in a funny hat as part of a smart strategy to keep his face, and the on-going search for him, in the media spotlight. Investigators say they’re focusing on specific areas in the city of Portland, though they're not saying where or why, and they're making a point of not calling this a criminal investigation, because there's still no evidence to indicate a crime has been committed. A former FBI profiler tells me all of this suggests investigators have reason to believe Kyron is still in the area, and they’re working to eliminate the local leads before widening their search. Some criminal experts following the case speculate the cops may have someone under surveillance. What is known is that state and rescue teams from all 36 counties in Oregon are arriving in Portland tonight, and the FBI Mobile Command Post is on scene--clear indications the case is expanding. Officially, authorities say the search is still focused on the woodsy, half-mile radius around Skyline Elementary School, where Kyron was last seen Friday morning.

We have yet to see the family face the press, but today they issued a statement thanking everyone for their support, and encouraging residents to check and recheck their property for any sign of Kyron. The statement was read by a sheriff’s deputy who has been with the family non-stop since Friday night, though officials say none of Kyron's relatives is considered a suspect. His parents got divorced in 2003, right around the time he was born. His mom lives in Medford, about 275 miles away, and according to relatives, sees her son on a regular basis. She's in Portland now, and the family is reportedly cooperating with investigators.

Until they get some answers, many parents at Kyron’s school aren’t taking any chances. Even though police and school officials are telling families they don't need to take extra precautions, that's exactly what many are doing: there have been twice the usual number of absences this week. People are scared, and they're keeping their kids close.

http://liveshots.blogs.foxnews.com/2010/06/09/oregon-missing-boy-mystery-day-6/?test=latestnews

[Wyks]

About the news report upthread reporting Kyron's lil friend Tanner noticing he wasn't there....... Am glad that Tanner's gma decided to go ahead and let this news out.  She says 'in part' to get Kyron's face out there etc.  Am thinking also to get the truth out there.  Seems this is something the school didn't want known for now.  That it was known by at least 10a that Kyron wasn't where he was supposed to be, and the alarm wasn't raised.  Yes I understand that one teacher was told about an appt etc.... still and all, even knowing that, Kyron "should have" been marked absent and the office alerted that his jacket was still there.  It was rainy outside, from what the news makes it sound like.  Even if he supposedly had an appt, he would have needed his jacket.  Teacher said maybe he went to the bathroom or getting a drink.  She 'should have' IMO gone right then to check!!  Or sent the substitute.  How many teachers were in his classroom anyway? 

<banging head on keyboard>  Kyron was failed by many that day.  IMO.

It's no freaking wonder they didn't want this news to get out.  Sigh.
 

[pamomma]

Totally agree Wyks!  It is pretty obvious why they didn't want this out in the press...it does NOT cast the school in a very good light.

I also want to say, that I realize this is a small school...but so is our town.  We have a k-6 and a 7-12, about 300-400 kids in each school, so about the same size as this one.  And that is NO excuse to "drop the ball" the way this school seems to have done.  As Canadianmonkey said, our kids don't leave the room without signing out and getting a hall pass...if the school was THAT small, then how long could it have taken to go check the bathroom for little Kyron??!! It seems the school tries to use the excuse of it's small size as an excuse for the poor communication and tracking of students, and that just isn't an acceptable excuse to me.
**also banging head off the keyboard!**

My "hinkey-meter" is starting to take aim...(i'm adopting that phrase b/c I really like!)

[canadianmonkey]

I'm curious...they have said the parents and children have been interviewed by the police.  Has anyone heard about the teachers being interviewed?

Did Kyron's teacher get interviewed?

[Tracygirl]

There are federal safety guidelines and laws all schools are supposed to adopt to keep them safe while at school. One is, the school is 100% responsible for the students from the time they enter either the school or bus until the time they are either delivered via bus or picked up by parents. There is no reason what so ever a child goes missing in a school.

The teacher who allegedly said he was in the bathroom is also the teacher who would have marked him absent I would guess. Never is a child assumed to have gone to an appointment without being signed out. We are not supposed to run our schools on assumptions. Something happened inside that school and I think the investigators know this.

[canadianmonkey]

There are federal safety guidelines and laws all schools are supposed to adopt to keep them safe while at school. One is, the school is 100% responsible for the students from the time they enter either the school or bus until the time they are either delivered via bus or picked up by parents. There is no reason what so ever a child goes missing in a school.

The teacher who allegedly said he was in the bathroom is also the teacher who would have marked him absent I would guess. Never is a child assumed to have gone to an appointment without being signed out. We are not supposed to run our schools on assumptions. Something happened inside that school and I think the investigators know this.

I agree.  I'm glad that Kyron's seat mate said he had seen Kyron's Mom leave by herself.  I think something happened IN the school. 

[theboyzmom]

There are federal safety guidelines and laws all schools are supposed to adopt to keep them safe while at school. One is, the school is 100% responsible for the students from the time they enter either the school or bus until the time they are either delivered via bus or picked up by parents. There is no reason what so ever a child goes missing in a school.

The teacher who allegedly said he was in the bathroom is also the teacher who would have marked him absent I would guess. Never is a child assumed to have gone to an appointment without being signed out. We are not supposed to run our schools on assumptions. Something happened inside that school and I think the investigators know this.

I hate to say it but I agree - something happened in the school and LE knows what it might be. I hope they are just not saying anything until they catch the person and hope that by sneaking up on that person Kyron may still be alive when they find him.

I agree that schools are 100% responsible for the kids during school - we are a small school - 2 buildings - and I have much the same reaction that some others have - all the kids know where the other kids are and what is going on. Most recognize me if not by name then as soandso's mom.

I agree.  I'm glad that Kyron's seat mate said he had seen Kyron's Mom leave by herself.  I think something happened IN the school. 

[canadianmonkey]

Kyron Horman: The view from across the street
Published: Thursday, June 10, 2010, 7:00 AM     Updated: Wednesday, June 09, 2010, 11:12 AM
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By Cindy Banks

After I got home from work last Friday, there was a knock on the door. My first thought was "pizza night!" But it wasn't a neighbor. It was two police officers and the principal from across the street.

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 "We are missing a little guy," they said. Have you seen anything?"

We searched the building. Nothing. Later that night, the news vans started to arrive.

My neighbors are devastated. This area is very much like a small town, even as close as it is to Portland. There is something about living here that melts the indifference toward others. We read the comments in the media that point fingers at some imagined lack of attention to safety, and we are stunned.

We don't live in fear. We know our neighbors. We know the school, and we look out for each other. I've only lived here for a few years, but when my dog got sick, neighbors showed up every single day at 6 a.m. and 6 p.m. to help me move him. When my mother died, flowers and food appeared on my counters from people I've never met.

 We live in a society that is poisoned by blame and fear. A situation like this calls for compassion, support and action – not eviscerating a competent staff at a wonderful school.

 A reporter from The Oregonian complained to me that she couldn't get any of the parents to talk to her. The sadness is overwhelming, and no one wants to interfere with the investigation. But everyone that I have talked to in my neighborhood is furious and hurt at the unfair comments that are being made about the school. So I convinced a very shy neighbor to grant an interview. The agreement was that the story would talk about what it was like to be a parent at Skyline. She gave an hour interview about the extraordinary and caring staff, how it feels as safe as her living room, how the principal knows every child by name. She gave examples of how they are safety conscious. When the story was published, the paper primarily used a comment about which exits are supervised or unsupervised. That's the other reason why people aren't talking very much.

Another neighbor stopped by last night to talk. She can't sleep. There are those of us who don't have kids -- we are the ones who call them "ankle biters" and make the milk carton jokes -- and yet she can't sleep. She wakes up feeling sick about a little boy she doesn't even know.

 Every day I see the officers working the case. They are deeply caring, exhausted, sad. But they still show up every day. Some of them are there without pay. They answer even the rudest questions with patience. They comfort people. They offer their phone numbers. The search-and-rescue people slog through mud, brave the rain and the blackberry thorns, climb steep ravines. People from the press talk about their own kids and bite their lips. Every day I drive up my street and see the white satellite towers above my roofline and think about what that means. And I wish that I could come around the corner and see them being lowered and everyone relieved.

We are extremely lucky to live in a place where people stay up all night because one of us is lost.

Cindy Banks lives in Northwest Portland.


http://www.oregonlive.com/opinion/index.ssf/2010/06/kyron_horman_the_view_from_acr.html

[Heart]

Kyron photo album appears on YouTube
http://www.kgw.com/news/local/Kyron-photo-album-appears-on-Youtube-96076584.html

[Heart]

Helicopter and horses join search for Oregon boy

By NIGEL DUARA (AP) – 47 minutes ago

PORTLAND, Ore. — A National Guard helicopter and searchers on horses joined about 125 volunteers on Thursday slogging through the rain-soaked brush and steep woods around a Portland school where a 7-year-old boy vanished nearly a week ago.

Authorities reported no results in their search and investigation into the disappearance of second-grader Kyron Horman from the Skyline Elementary School. He has been missing since Friday.

Sgt. Diana Olsen, search and rescue coordinator for the Multnomah County Sheriff's Office, said the searchers were checking an area within a two-mile radius of the school, an expansion from their previous efforts of a half-mile of intense ground searches.

Olsen said the searchers are "still going full ahead," though the constant rain and colder temperatures were taking a toll.

"They're wearing out, their numbers are dropping," Olsen said at a press conference on Thursday.

The certified volunteers will be assisted by search teams from around the state, who authorities called for on Wednesday under the allowances of a 2007 law that sets standards for search and rescue efforts.

The additional search and rescue teams came just in time, Olsen said. The certified volunteers mostly hold full-time jobs and had to take vacation days to participate in the search.

"Those resources were dying out," Olsen said.

The teams from across the state will check back roads and powerline clearings, comb some areas for a second time and explore new areas at the margin of the search area.

Kyron disappeared after a science fair he attended with his stepmother, who said she last saw him as he walked down a hallway toward his second-grade classroom wearing a "CSI" T-shirt and dark cargo pants. Authorities said the last reported sighting of Kyron was at about 9 a.m., but they have refused to say who made that sighting.

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

Capt. Jason Gates of the sheriff's office said he wouldn't describe Thursday's efforts as a "last push" but indicated earlier in the week that he hoped to scale back the operation at the end of the week.

"I'm not going to put a time when we're going to scale down," Gates said. "The longer it goes, the more critical it becomes."

The state law that guides search and rescue operations was passed in 2007 after authorities were criticized for the way they conducted the search for James Kim. The Californian disappeared in Southern Oregon in 2006 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 among search and rescue units.

Gates said Thursday that the law did not include a timeline for when other search and rescue teams should be called in, saying that decision is "case-specific."

http://www.google.com/hostednews/ap/article/ALeqM5j9b2LUBiZZfn4HkSTtQZpweYzk3AD9G8KPS80

[Tamikosmom]

Kyron's home and property must to be searched; father and stepmother must be polygraphed and ... school must be searched ... everywhere.  Kyron could have met his demise within the school walls and ... was hidden.

Think about Annie Le.

Janet

++++

Clues point to inside job in Yale killing
Sept . 14, 2009

NEW HAVEN, Conn. - Clues increasingly pointed to an inside job Monday in the slaying of a Yale graduate student whose body was found stuffed inside a wall five days after she vanished from a heavily secured lab building accessible only to university employees. ....

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/32810822/ns/us_news-crime_and_courts/
 

[Heart]

Kyron Horman: Timeline of events since boy's disappearance

Published: Thursday, June 10, 2010, 1:10 PM     Updated: Thursday, June 10, 2010, 2:36 PM
The Oregonian The Oregonian


Kyron Horman went missing Friday, June 4.

The following is a timeline of events. The Oregonian's reporters and editors will adjust this account over time to add and adjust information.

Searchers have declined to provide some details of the investigation, including when school officials marked Kyron Horman absent on June 4. Here's a basic look at what happened on the day the second-grader disappeared from Skyline School and the following days:
Friday, June 4

8 a.m. Skyline Elementary, 11536 N.W. Skyline Blvd., opens early so students and parents can tour the science fair. A billboard outside 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.

Terri Moulton Horman arrives shortly afterward with her stepson, Kyron.

8:15 a.m. Gina Zimmerman, president of the school PTA, arrives and sees Kyron with his stepmother in front of his exhibit.

8:45 a.m. Terri Horman leaves after watching Kyron walk toward his classroom after touring the science fair.

9 a.m. Someone reports seeing Kyron at the school, but investigators won't say who or where. It's the last time anyone remembers seeing the boy.

10 a.m. Classes begin.

At some point, Kyron's homeroom teacher, Kristina Porter, reports him absent.

1:21 p.m. Terri Horman posts photos of Kyron at the science fair on her Facebook page.

3:30 p.m. Terri Horman goes to meet the school bus and discovers that Kyron has been absent all day. She calls 9-1-1.

3:45 p.m. Search begins.

5:30 p.m. Rapid broadcast message from Portland Public Schools goes out to alert families of a missing student. The message: "Kyron Hormon did not arrive at home today." It was broadcast to the phones of parents across the school district.

7 p.m. Multnomah County sheriff's Detective Sergeant Lee Gosson alerts Sgt. Travis Gullberg, the county's on-call coordinator for search-and-rescue efforts, to the need to begin a formal missing persons search for Kyron. Later, the FBI's Child Abduction Rapid Deployment team is dispatched.

8:15 p.m. The Oregonian receives an e-mailed photo of Kyron from Multnomah County Sheriff's Office spokeswoman Lt. Mary Lindstrand, provided by Skyline School secretary Sharon Hall.

Saturday, June 5

5 a.m. Pacific Northwest Search and Rescue receives a call from Multnomah County. When they arrived on site, there were already teams on the ground. They've had about 60 to 70 people involved in the search.

9:08 a.m. The Associated Press receives its first notification that Kyron Hormon is missing, via an e-mail with the subject line: SHERIFF'S OFFICE CONTINUES SEARCH FOR 7 YEAR OLD KYRON HORMAN

Helpfindmychild.net, a UK-based missing child site creates a page for Kyron.

A tip line is created: 503-261-2847.

Noon: During a news conference, a sheriff's spokesman says the search for Kyron is still a missing-person case and not a criminal investigation.

The Portland Public School district uses its rapid broadcast system to alert staff and parents of Skyline School students on hand Friday to come to the K-8 on Sunday for debriefings by police and federal agents. The oldest students are advised to arrive at 10 a.m.; kindergartners and first-graders are to arrive with parents later in the day.

4 and 8 p.m.: Authorities hold two news conferences and announce that the FBI and the National Guard have joined the effort. Search-and-rescue crews complete an "immediate grid search" around the school.

10:23 p.m. Facebook page created for supporters of Kyron and his family.

Sunday, June 6

8.58 a.m. Terri Moulton Horman posts on Facebook to say she has ordered missing-person fliers: "I ordered 1000 fliers, they will be coming to our house. I will let people know when they are here and we can go from there. Thank you everyone."  The FBI announces that they have brought in a Quantico, Va.-based profiler to create a profile of the boy.

9:48 a.m. The first of 300 students and their parents return to Skyline School to be interviewed by detectives. Fifty detectives are on-hand for interviews that continue until 4 p.m.

12:10 p.m. Relatives begin distributing missing person fliers with a photo of Kyron and this description: 3-feet, 8-inches tall, 50 pounds, blue eyes, brown hair. Last seen wearing black cargo pants, white socks and worn black Skechers tennis shoes with orange trim.

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.



3:30 p.m. Carole Smith, superintendent of Portland Public Schools, appears at a news conference and outlines a series of immediate steps the district was taking to address security concerns in the wake of the second-grader's disappearance.

9 p.m. The Multnomah County sheriff escalates Kyron's disappearance to a missing endangered child case, but does not call it a kidnapping.

Monday, June 7

Early a.m. Eighteen certified search-and-rescue volunteers resume sweeping the area near the school as deputies canvass the neighborhood, handing out fliers and jotting down license plate numbers of passing vehicles along Northwest Skyline Boulevard.

8:30 a.m. The school district staffs a counseling hot line at 503-916-3931 to answer questions or offer help districtwide.

8:45 a.m. Classes resume at Skyline School. Counselors are on hand.

Evening: Kelly Ramirez, the sister of Kyron's birth mother, Desiree Horman, issues a statement thanking the community on behalf of the family for their concern and support.

Tuesday, June 8

Search and rescue crews resume search, checking locations identified by phone tips and investigative leads.

Noon: Authorities offer briefing. They do not accept questions.

9:25 p.m. A Facebook support group for Kyron, Missing Kyron Horman, announces the creation of a reward fund.

"We are now working on a paypal acct which will directly take your donations to the "Kyron Horman Fund" at Chase Bank. It will take Paypal a day or so to verify the acct and become active. If you prefer to wait until that time we will then place a donation button on the main homepage we have provided. We will keep you informed as to when that will be. It is our hope that this reward fund will prompt someone with the information police need to return Kyron home. I am sure the outpouring of well wishes, prayers and love sent by all of you is helping Kyron's family through this very difficult time."

Wednesday, June 9

Morning Terri Moulton Horman makes her Facebook wall private.

11 a.m. FBI spokeswoman Beth Anne Steele says the Hormon family "is not speaking to the media because they do not believe it's in the best interest of finding Kyron."



Noon At news briefing, Multnomah County Sheriff's Capt. Mike Shults reads a statement from Kyron Horman's immediate family: "Kyron's family would like to thank people for support and interest in finding their son. The outpouring of support and continued effort strengthens their hope. We need for folks to continue to assist us in our goal. Please search your properties -- cars, out buildings, sheds, etc. Also check with neighbors and friends who may be on vacation or may need in assistance in searching. There are a lot of resources here to help you search, so please don't stop. It is obviously a difficult time and they want to speak to the public so you can hear it from Kyron's family as they come together to share their message. Their objective is to keep the focus on Kyron and not about anything else."



9:45 p.m. Portland Mountain Rescue received a call from Multnomah County Sheriff's Office to join the search.

Thursday, June 10

11:30 a.m. A Facebook support group for Kyron, Missing Kyron Horman, announces an update to the creation of a reward fund. You may now make a secure donation to the Kyron Horman Fund via paypal. To do so visit his ChildSeek Network homepage.

http://www.oregonlive.com/portland/index.ssf/2010/06/kyron_horman_chronology_of_eve.html

[MuffyBee]

http://www.momlogic.com/2010/06/kyron_horman_why_havent_the_parents_spoken_out_yet.php
(Video)
Kyron Horman: Why Haven't the Parents Spoken Out?
June 10, 2010

We can't stop thinking about missing second grader Kyron Horman. He's been missing for seven days. But why haven't his parents spoken out yet?
Kyron's parents have not gone on camera to make a public plea for their son. C. W. Jensen, a retired Portland, Ore., police detective, said that's not unheard of -- but it's not the norm, either. "Generally, parents in cases like this are incredibly distraught," he told KATU. "They're almost just dysfunctional."

Kyron's stepmom has gotten criticism for posting trivial messages on Facebook (such as, "Hitting the gym tomorrow") since her stepson has gone missing. She also reportedly was playing Treasure Island on Facebook at 5:34 PM Friday -- just TWO HOURS after she reported Kyron missing. She didn't change her profile pic to one of Kyron for six whole days -- even though her husband and countless friends and concerned strangers all did.

Can you even IMAGINE being on Facebook if your child was missing? It's unfathomable.

Jensen said that the stepmom's Facebook activity -- especially the stuff about "hitting the gym" -- is unusual. "What I know from being an investigator and dealing with parents in tragic situations like this -- homicides, kidnappings, stuff like that -- they just really couldn't much function other than to sit and wait for us to call," he told KATU.

What's wrong with this picture?

Do you think that Kyron's stepmom had something to do with his disappearance?

[MuffyBee]

http://www.kptv.com/news/23862169/detail.html
TriMet Buses Shuttle Crews In Kyron Search
June 10, 2010

PORTLAND, Ore. -- TriMet provided shuttle buses to help transport searchers who turned out by the dozen Thursday to look for 7-year-old Kyron Horman.

Multnomah County authorities said Kyron was last seen on the morning of June 4 at Skyline School. His stepmother called the school later that afternoon when Kyron did not get off the bus at his stop, deputies said. The school then contacted authorities, who have been searching for the second-grader ever since.

Capt. Jason Gates of Multnomah County said every county in Oregon has been called upon to contribute to the search. So far, 18 counties have committed resources to scour the area surrounding Skyline School.

TriMet spokeswoman Mary Fetsch said the search commanders asked for TriMet to lend a hand. She said TriMet bus drivers were eager to help for as long as the search crews need transportation.

[MuffyBee]

http://news.opb.org/article/7559-search-missing-portland-7-year-old-widens/
Search For Missing Portland 7-Year-Old Widens
June 10, 2010

National Guard helicopters and searchers on horses have joined about 500 volunteers looking for Kyron Horman.
 Kyron Horman


The seven-year-old disappeared seven days ago and authorities still don't know whether he wandered away from school or was taken.

The search area has been expanded to two miles around Skyline Elementary.

Sean Richards is with a team from Klamath County. It's relieving other crews.

Sean Richards: 'It's an honor for us to be here to back them up. We've got new boots to put on the ground and hopefully we'll bring him home."

The teams are checking everywhere from back roads, to powerline clearings. Some areas are being searched for a second time.

About 18 counties from around the state are now helping. The search crews are housed at the Wapato Jail site.

[Tracygirl]

I think it is important to understand the families of missing children do not own the public a statement nor do they have to ever talk to the media if they wish not to. Perhaps the investigators are asking them to not speak to the press as they did supposedly with the student who said the step mom left without Kyron.

[New Monkey]

While I agree that every family handles crisis differently, there are definitely patterns or behaviors considered "normal" and this family is not exhibiting those.

[Starlit]

I'm not speculating the step-mom but one would think if there is a talent show she would want to be there to watch and not go home to play on facebook IMO

[cookie]

I'm not speculating the step-mom but one would think if there is a talent show she would want to be there to watch and not go home to play on facebook IMO

agreed..I have no feelings one way or the other of what happened to this little boy..but I would be at the talent show too...not on fb if my kid was in a talent show...
this case is really odd...something is just not adding up, but I find that in a lot of these cases of missing children..sigh...

[SuzieQ]

I'm not speculating the step-mom but one would think if there is a talent show she would want to be there to watch and not go home to play on facebook IMO

agreed..I have no feelings one way or the other of what happened to this little boy..but I would be at the talent show too...not on fb if my kid was in a talent show...
this case is really odd...something is just not adding up, but I find that in a lot of these cases of missing children..sigh...

Just some what ifs. What if the talent show was just for the school that afternoon and one for the parents, grandparents, etc that night or a later night. I know they do that a lot here.

I can't remember the step-mothers exact words about going to the gym the next day. I thought she said she was going to the gym not hitting the gym. What if she meant the school gym? What better place to stage for the search and rescue.

Just like someone here found out that facebook listed times is your time, not necessarly in the poster times. So she wasn't playing games after Kyron went missing.

Again I would really like to know how well they have searched the school and I mean every nook and cranny? It seemed like the school went on as usual, so how could they search that well?