Hopes Dashed: Suspected Sighting of Kyron Horman Not Missing Boy

June 12, 2010— -- Brief hopes that Kyron Horman had been found were shattered when it turned out a youngster seen in California was not the 7-year-old Portland, Oregon, boy who disappeared from school eight days ago.

Surveillance video from a Walmart store in Yreka, Calif., showed a young bespectacled boy just like Kyron, and there were at least two other reports Friday from the store of possible sightings of the missing boy.

But police investigating the reports found that the boy was the grandson of the older couple seen with him in the video.

Another possible sighting also turned out to be false, police said.

"I was contacted by a couple that had stayed at our local Motel 6 on Saturday, and they believed, after seeing Kyron's picture, that they saw a boy matching his description staying at the Motel 6 that night," Det. Steve Fahrney of the Yreka Police Department said.

The flurry of reports came after a psychic in Idaho said earlier in the week that Kyron would be found in Yreka. The psychic called a tip line in Sacramento, Calif., and his information was passed along to the Yreka police, Fahrney said.

Police responded by passing out flyers with a photo of Kyron and began receiving tips about possible sightings.

"We do have heightened concern," Fahrney said. "It's coincidental that we get basically these three tips in one week, so all of our officers are familiar with Kyron's picture."

Kyron disappeared the morning of June 4 following a school science fair. He was last seen by his stepmother, walking toward his classroom 150 feet away. But he never made it there.

He was last seen wearing a "CSI" T-shirt and black cargo pants.

Authories in the Portland area expanded their search today, as more support joined the effort from across the state.