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Mom Of Oregon Boy Missing For 12 Years Asks For New Task Force To Investigate
Kyron Horman disappeared at age seven from a school science fair in Portland, Oregon 12 years ago. His mom is demanding the creation of a task force to take up the search for him.
Detectives continue to scramble for answers and any clues as to the whereabouts of an Oregon boy, who vanished from a school science fair at the age of 7 more than a decade ago.
If alive today, Kyron Horman would be 19 years old. Last week, on the twelfth anniversary of his disappearance, officials released an age-progressed image of him in the hopes of drawing renewed attention to the case.
“As we’ve seen in recent days, families can get answers long after a child’s disappearance,” John Bischoff, the vice president of NCMEC’s Missing Children Division told Oxygen.com in a statement on Monday morning. “We’ve learned to never give up hope and to never stop believing in the safe recovery of these children.”
His biological mother called on Multnomah County District Attorney Mike Schmidt to create a specialized task force dedicated to solving Horman’s case.
"I want the D.A. to know who I am and to know who Kyron is," Desiree Young told Medford, Oregon television station Fox26 last week. "I want him to make Kyron a priority again."
A spokesperson for Schmidt’s office, however, declined to comment on the formation of a possible new task force when reached on Monday.
"My heart goes out to Kyron’s family and the dedicated and compassionate community they have built around his disappearance," Schmidt said in a statement sent to Oxygen.com. "To date, this case is open and we remain committed to investigating new facts and evidence should either surface."
“As a parent, I can’t imagine the pain and struggle Kyron’s family has experienced — and continues to experience — without him," Multnomah County Sheriff Mike Reese told Oxygen.com. "That’s why we have never given up or slowed down in trying to find Kyron. Our detectives continue to review evidence follow-up on tips we receive."
Kyron vanished on June 4, 2010. The last known picture of the 7-year-old shows him grinning, standing in front of his science fair exhibit about tree frogs at Skyline Elementary School in Portland. Kyron, who never returned home after classes that day, was last seen at the school by his stepmother Terri Horman.
A massive search around the boy’s school turned up no concrete signs of the 7-year-old’s whereabouts.
For years, however, Young and a community of online sleuths tracking the case have become convinced Terri Horman, Kyron’s stepmother, played a part in the child’s suspected abduction.
"Yeah, I believe that she did something that day,” Young also told Medford, Oregon news outlet KTVL in 2017. "She still hasn't revealed all of the true things that happened on June fourth."
Terri Horman has never officially been named as a person of interest or suspect in the case and she had long denied any involvement in the boy’s disappearance. Horman maintains that she last saw her stepson walking down a school hallway towards his classroom after the science fair on the day he vanished.
"I saw him walking down to his room,” she told PEOPLE in 2016. “My vision of him is the back of his head almost at the door. That's what I see when I sit here and think about him — that's my last thought."
Terri Horman was also grilled by Dr. Phil in front of a studio audience in 2016 over accusations she was mixed up in the case. Shortly after her televised appearance, she was arrested for allegedly stealing a roommate's firearm.
Kyron was last seen wearing a black t-shirt with green "CSI" letters, black cargo pants, white socks and black Sketchers sneakers with orange trim. He wore glasses at the time of his disappearance.
In 2015, the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children had released an earlier age-advanced image of Harmon.
The FBI is also assisting local authorities in the missing person’s case. No other information was available from officials this week.
Anyone with further information is urged to contact the Multnomah County Sheriff's Office by calling 503-823-3333 or 503-261-2847. Additionally, tips can also be submitted via the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children’s 24-hour tip line at 1-800-THE-LOST.
