Parents urge public to help in search of missing boy

(News Today) - 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.

Source : CNN

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