3 Weeks Later, Why No Community Outcry?

[DMansMom]

BBM

I also felt that OP was being highly critical and is bashing locals and LE. I am surprised this thread hasn't been locked. It's easy to sit on the outside and criticize when you don't really know what's going on and are just purely speculating.

I would be saying the same thing if it were happening in my own backyard. And I thought that I said all of that in my first post. I'm not criticizing. I'm saying that I'm surprised. 3 weeks have passed of a little boy seemingly to have vanished without a trace from a public school and I guess I would have thought that perhaps someone from the community might have said something to the effect of being scared, frightened, angry, ready for some answers...something. It's like everyone has closed ranks and they aren't saying a peep and I hope that this ends with a positive outcome because otherwise, 3 weeks is a good amount of time for a case to go very cold.

I will repost what I wrote above:
Unless you guys know more, there hasn't been one additional shred of information given out that would lead anyone to think that it was a family member and there is no immediate danger to other children. The investigators haven't verified that, so to me, it would seem like there is a potential danger and if I lived there, I would be wanting some answers to that very question. I'm not saying "do it my way". I'm saying, if I lived there, I would want some answers by now and I would be going to the media to say it.

 

[mauirain]

I'm local. I feel criticized by the OP comments because we're not doing it his/her way.

What do you expect 'the community' to do? Did it occur to you that there might be information that 'the community' has that you do not?
I do not have a feeling that my locals have dropped the ball on this case. I believe it is being actively worked every day. I would love resolution as much as anyone would, but I understand that some jobs take longer than others.
I'd rather have them get it right than get it fast.

I am not outraged with LE. I feel like this was specific to the family involved and that's why there is no immediate danger to other people's children.

I am local as well and I don't feel criticized by this post at all. Everyone is entitled to have their own opinion and questions when they feel something isn't right. We need that sense of urgency, I would want it if my child was missing....

 

[ella971]

Why no public out cry...I'm only speaking for myself." No immediate danger to other children".I would want to know what leads you to believe this? If they have a lead they are working on fine.They could tell me something, anything to help me feel like my child is safe.I would be on high alert.When in doubt say no. How can you silence a whole town?

 

[DMansMom]

How can you silence a whole town?

I don't know how you can!

Like I said, for those who think I am being hyper-critical, I hope like hell that who LE is leading everyone to think it is indeed the perp in this case. I hope like hell that Kyron is still alive and safe 21 days after disappearing. But there have been other cases, with other LE, that pointed to a step parent, too, but LE couldn't get enough evidence to convict. So much so that, I believe, the community gave up searching for the abducted. Jaycee Dugard's stepdad said that Jaycee was taken from in front of their house by a man and a woman and they drove off in their car with her. Although they never were able to get enough evidence to put him on trial, LE always thought it was the stepdad who had done something with Jaycee. 18 years later, she was found, and there had always been that man and woman just like the stepfather had said.

It's been 3 weeks since Kyron went missing and my reason for being so interested in this case is not because I'm a crime sleuth or a whodunnit buff; but I wanted to know how a little boy could vanish from a public school so easily and I worried about my own little 7 year old boy. I also thought Kyron would have been found by now. It does not look like a good outcome and with no information coming from LE, I'm going to back to lurker mode and wait for something to come in from the google alert I set up on Kyron.

I hope that it is that he is found safe.

Thanks, everyone!

 

[WhyaDuck?]

IIRC, there have been candlelight vigils, a petition/movement to get cameras, a lot of local interest in the case and those few days where the media said concerned parents were keeping their kids out of school. I'm not sure what else I would expect from this community, aside from a missing persons group rising up for search efforts, but perhaps LE hasn't asked (if they are expecting to find a deceased child, they likely wouldn't ask, as nothing is worse for a crime scene than 100 well meaning but untrained volunteers). With Hasanni, there arose a very vocal and useful volunteer group that now also works for other missing kids, but I don't really blame the locals for not doing that if they feel the case is being handled by professionals.

Crime is not resolved quickly - pounding on LE's door really doesn't help speed it up. I dunno - I'm Canadian, so maybe the folks in Oregon and I have a more similar approach to things, in which you don't really get into a big public display unless it will actually result in some good product...?

I am a little surprized (and annoyed) when media outlets fail to put a missing kid on their homepage, but I don't blame the locals. There has been reaction, it's just been a bit laid back, publicly. As long as witnesses come forward with what they know and people keep an eye out for Kyron, I'm not sure what else we can expect them all to do.

That's just my two cents, so take it for what it's worth. I mean no disrespect towards anyone, whether they agree with me or not on things.

 

[WhyaDuck?]

Also, I wonder if this is an effect we are seeing from the internet. Perhaps people don't do things, en masse, in public any more because they can hop on media news posts and message boards like this one and express their opinion. That has both good and bad sides to it, I guess - like pretty much every other change in society.

 

[Manfro]

I think school being out is key as well.

That also makes me wonder whether they think the abductor works at the school, which is why they're saying other children aren't in immediate danger.

 

[RoughlyCollie]

Because I'm now in the "If they don't arrest the stepmom by this weekend, I think they have screwed up and don't have a clue" camp, personally.

I don't think that LE necessarily screwed up if they haven't found Kyron and/or made an arrest soon, or even after a month.

LE has to work with the clues and leads they have, and if the information isn't there, they cannot manufacture it.

I have wondered if someone kidnapped Kyron for ransom and the initial contact was made, but none were made after that. This is unlikely, but I still think it is possible.

 

[WhyaDuck?]

I would be outraged because it's been 3 weeks. That's an incredibly long time for a 7 year old to be missing. And how do I, as Jane Q Public, know that they are doing their jobs? Maybe they are completely screwing this case up, focused on the SM when it wasn't her at all, and they don't have any idea what happened to Kyron at all. And here I would be as another parent of a little blonde haired 7 year old boy wondering if my kid was going to be next to disappear in a place filled with other children, parents and adults and where I always imagined him to be safe when I wasn't there with him.

I'm not at all saying that LE on this investigation is screwing up this case at all. What I am saying is that I am really surprised that no one in the community, where you have the potential for 600 parents to do so, has said anything like what I just wrote.

Maybe it's the east coast/west coast difference, but I can tell you, here, people would be putting some LE's feet to the proverbial fire right about now. If it went on for a month, you would start seeing detectives getting pulled from the case and a new lead investigator. Perhaps we are are more impatient lot. It's also hot here and we get cranky when it gets above 100.

BBM

Ha! You pin it on east/west, and I go north/south, so maybe you and I are on to something or other here. I'm from the east coast of Canada, and I don't think they'd react all that differently there than in Oregon, from what I have seen. Search parties are easy to rouse, but they are done at the request of LE, and usually in a time when weather or something makes it absolutely imperative to find someone who has been lost (not stolen). Otherwise, we usually only get het up over union things and fishing rights. :twocents:

 

[WhyaDuck?]

I think school being out is key as well.

That also makes me wonder whether they think the abductor works at the school, which is why they're saying other children aren't in immediate danger.

I agree. Once the scene of the crime is not in play any more, I think that impacts the discussion a lot, and you might be on to something with the kidnapping being intricately connected with the school.

In any case, I would guess that people are watching their kids a lot closer this summer.

 

[chasing.halos]

I didn't see this posted but maybe I missed it... here is one thing the community is doing:

Portland woman starts petition for 'Kyron's Law' to put surveillance cameras in schools nationwide
Portland resident Emmilie Caterham has started an online petition to bring security cameras to schools across the country.

Caterham said the idea for "Kyron's Law" -- which she hopes will require schools to install surveillance systems -- came after following the story of the missing Kyron Horman and talking to people on Facebook

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

I think it's fantastic. MOO.

 

[WhyaDuck?]

Search for Kyron Horman: Scared Parents Keep Kids Out of School
Cops: 'We are Looking for a Living Kyron Horman'

31 comments By NEAL KARLINSKY and SARAH NETTER
June 9, 2010

http://abcnews.go.com/GMA/Media/kyr...ts-kids-school-boy-vanished/story?id=10864503

June 16, 2010 11:20 AM
Kyron Horman Update: Hundreds Attend "Vigil of Hope"

http://www.cbsnews.com/8301-504083_162-20007876-504083.html

Wall of Hope at Skyline School maintains vigil for Kyron Horman
Published: Tuesday, June 22, 2010, 12:53 PM
Updated: Tuesday, June 22, 2010, 2:20 PM

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


(Just realized I didn't back up my earlier post with any links. TY to Chasing Halos for the petition link!)

 

[mauirain]

IIRC, there have been candlelight vigils, a petition/movement to get cameras, a lot of local interest in the case and those few days where the media said concerned parents were keeping their kids out of school. I'm not sure what else I would expect from this community, aside from a missing persons group rising up for search efforts, but perhaps LE hasn't asked (if they are expecting to find a deceased child, they likely wouldn't ask, as nothing is worse for a crime scene than 100 well meaning but untrained volunteers). With Hasanni, there arose a very vocal and useful volunteer group that now also works for other missing kids, but I don't really blame the locals for not doing that if they feel the case is being handled by professionals.

Crime is not resolved quickly - pounding on LE's door really doesn't help speed it up. I dunno - I'm Canadian, so maybe the folks in Oregon and I have a more similar approach to things, in which you don't really get into a big public display unless it will actually result in some good product...?

I am a little surprized (and annoyed) when media outlets fail to put a missing kid on their homepage, but I don't blame the locals. There has been reaction, it's just been a bit laid back, publicly. As long as witnesses come forward with what they know and people keep an eye out for Kyron, I'm not sure what else we can expect them all to do.

That's just my two cents, so take it for what it's worth. I mean no disrespect towards anyone, whether they agree with me or not on things.

I am just mentioning a thought i just had reguarding the bolded statement above. I was just thinking about crime scene preservation. Where a search for a child is concerned do you think it is more important to preserve evidence than to find the child as quickly as possible with more people looking....trained or untrained???? The thought just popped into my head. I am not going against LE or the way things are done, i am just wondering. Sorry off topic. :waitasec:

Edited to add: So many cases seem to end with some hunter or hiker or worker finding the missing person on accident and might i say in places previously searched by LE.... MHO

 

[WhyaDuck?]

I am just mentioning a thought i just had reguarding the bolded statement above. I was just thinking about crime scene preservation. Where a search for a child is concerned do you think it is more important to preserve evidence than to find the child as quickly as possible with more people looking....trained or untrained???? The thought just popped into my head. I am not going against LE or the way things are done, i am just wondering. Sorry off topic. :waitasec:

I think if they thought the child would still be alive, recovering the living child would take precedence. But in cases where the child is presumed dead on some decision making level, preserving the evidence for conviction is top priority. We saw a lot of discussion of this in the Tori Stafford case here, locally, and people being frustrated with not more public search parties being called, but my understanding was that LE didn't want the possible sites trampled. We covered this when I was in my forensics degree - there's a lot of pros and cons all around. (Not posting as an "insider," just my personal opinion, which may be worth bubkes.)

But I think they may be concerned all the LE, along with the National Guard, may be trouble enough in this crucial time where physical evidence might still be salvageable. In time, when that is no longer an option, they might be less concerned about public searches/finding, IDK.

Again, just my opinion. MOO, etc.


ETA: To be perfectly clear - I do not work for LE, I do not speak for LE, I am not a local, I don't know nothing from nothing, etc. I do not mean to imply that LE would risk the child's life EVER in order just to preserve evidence - just that this is a consideration in their processes from my personal understanding (which could be wrong), and with their resources at this moment it might not be worth the risk. MOO, MHO, JMO, :cow: , :twocents: , etc, etc.

 

[PortlandMama]

I live right over the bridge in Wa. 15 minutes to portland airport. It has been very frustrating because LE states it is an isolated incident, but no POI. Just not sure they even have a clue. I guess we as parents have to be careful no matter what. So many thoughts go thru my mind, one minute I am pissed that LE would say the public is not entitled to any information. The next minute, I am hoping they are doing this because they do have their eye on someone and do not want to make any mistakes. I feel they do have someone they have their eye on. With what we do know from the PC and statements from LE, I would be keeping my eye on that person as well.

I just posted this on another thread in this forum: This worries me, because I don’t think LE ever actually said this, and I think it is affecting our communal thinking about what may have happened here, and about how much LE does or does not know. I think the news media paraphrased him (incorrectly, IMO) and this is being picked up repeatedly by other media, including social media (and on these threads).

I think what Jason Gates said was, “We have no reason to believe that this is anything other than an isolated case.” That was on Day 5. That’s a far cry from knowing it IS an isolated incident. It simply means they have no specific evidence that points to it being a random abduction. It does not conversely mean that they do have specific evidence pointing to it not being random. The same holds true for similar comments he has made about no reason to believe that other kids are in any danger or at risk, etc. He may have no reason NOT to believe it either, but it doesn’t help to send our community into a panic based on no evidence. (And there has been plenty of local coverage about teaching our kids stranger danger, nevertheless, as there probably should be.)

Can anyone point to a direct quote from Jason Gates or other LE connected with the case stating explicitly, “This is an isolated incident”? TIA.

 

[BeanE]

I just posted this on another thread in this forum: This worries me, because I don’t think LE ever actually said this, and I think it is affecting our communal thinking about what may have happened here, and about how much LE does or does not know. I think the news media paraphrased him (incorrectly, IMO) and this is being picked up repeatedly by other media, including social media (and on these threads).

I think what Jason Gates said was, “We have no reason to believe that this is anything other than an isolated case.” That was on Day 5. That’s a far cry from knowing it IS an isolated incident. It simply means they have no specific evidence that points to it being a random abduction. It does not conversely mean that they do have specific evidence pointing to it not being random. The same holds true for similar comments he has made about no reason to believe that other kids are in any danger or at risk, etc. He may have no reason NOT to believe it either, but it doesn’t help to send our community into a panic based on no evidence. (And there has been plenty of local coverage about teaching our kids stranger danger, nevertheless, as there probably should be.)

Can anyone point to a direct quote from Jason Gates or other LE connected with the case stating explicitly, “This is an isolated incident”? TIA.

He said 'isolated case', not 'isolated incident'.

Gates said nearly all of the students at the school have been interviewed, as well as the majority of the faculty and staff. He said that investigators "have no reason to believe this is anything but an isolated case," and that area families need not take extra precautions with their children.

http://www.cbsnews.com/8301-504083_162-20007198-504083.html

 

[mauirain]

I just posted this on another thread in this forum: This worries me, because I don’t think LE ever actually said this, and I think it is affecting our communal thinking about what may have happened here, and about how much LE does or does not know. I think the news media paraphrased him (incorrectly, IMO) and this is being picked up repeatedly by other media, including social media (and on these threads).

I think what Jason Gates said was, “We have no reason to believe that this is anything other than an isolated case.” That was on Day 5. That’s a far cry from knowing it IS an isolated incident. It simply means they have no specific evidence that points to it being a random abduction. It does not conversely mean that they do have specific evidence pointing to it not being random. The same holds true for similar comments he has made about no reason to believe that other kids are in any danger or at risk, etc. He may have no reason NOT to believe it either, but it doesn’t help to send our community into a panic based on no evidence. (And there has been plenty of local coverage about teaching our kids stranger danger, nevertheless, as there probably should be.)

Can anyone point to a direct quote from Jason Gates or other LE connected with the case stating explicitly, “This is an isolated incident”? TIA.

Sorry, I wasn't trying to quote anyone. But I don't think it is a "far cry" either.....I mean are we as parents of young children supposed to try to read between the lines of every statement LE makes????????

 

[mauirain]

He said 'isolated case', not 'isolated incident'.

Gates said nearly all of the students at the school have been interviewed, as well as the majority of the faculty and staff. He said that investigators "have no reason to believe this is anything but an isolated case," and that area families need not take extra precautions with their children.

http://www.cbsnews.com/8301-504083_162-20007198-504083.html

Sorry, it was me who said "isolated case"......I wasn't trying to give a direct quote. I don't think the majority of the public can quote word for word either. I am just saying that was the message that is coming across.

 

[PDXMom]

I am local as well and I don't feel criticized by this post at all. Everyone is entitled to have their own opinion and questions when they feel something isn't right. We need that sense of urgency, I would want it if my child was missing....

Nor do I feel criticized by anyone's opinion. Locals don't have the only right to state their opinions. I'm local too, BTW.

URGENCY - yes, that's what is missing here! We have supposedly hundreds of people working on this case exclusively, the FBI is in town (or working on this case remotely?), a child disappeared from a *public school*. Why do we not see any increased police presence anywhere? Why are there no apparent searches anymore? Why does no one interviewed in the media seem angry that this has happened? Why does *no one* say "look for Kyron!" With the release of all these pictures and videos, no one has come out and asked the public to help find him, look for him at kids' events, summer festivals, or anywhere. That's really disturbing to me. We have nothing to go on but cryptic non-statments by *crying* LE. Feels like there's a volcano right under my feet here in Portland. And I also feel our community is being bullied by LE right now, in that if any individual were to get that sense of urgency so sorely lacking right now, they'd swiftly be accused of "hampering the investigation". That's BS, misleading, and unfair, IMHO.

 

[dorothyz]

Nor do I feel criticized by anyone's opinion. Locals don't have the only right to state their opinions. I'm local too, BTW.

URGENCY - yes, that's what is missing here! We have supposedly hundreds of people working on this case exclusively, the FBI is in town (or working on this case remotely?), a child disappeared from a *public school*. Why do we not see any increased police presence anywhere? Why are there no apparent searches anymore? Why does no one interviewed in the media seem angry that this has happened? Why does *no one* say "look for Kyron!" With the release of all these pictures and videos, no one has come out and asked the public to help find him, look for him at kids' events, summer festivals, or anywhere. That's really disturbing to me. We have nothing to go on but cryptic non-statments by *crying* LE. Feels like there's a volcano right under my feet here in Portland. And I also feel our community is being bullied by LE right now, in that if any individual were to get that sense of urgency so sorely lacking right now, they'd swiftly be accused of "hampering the investigation". That's BS, misleading, and unfair, IMHO.

I have to agree with this, and am also local. While I don't feel we necessarily have any right to know about the details of the investigation if it will harm the case, I am very surprised more people aren't demanding more, and that there aren't more unauthorized searches going on. It makes me wonder if LE has given some type of assurance to the other parents that we don't know about. Still, that's hundreds of people to keep under wraps.