Search for Kyron Horman: More Questions Than Answers as Mystery Nears Second Month

July 26, 2010 — -- After thousands of tips from across the globe, the search for missing Oregon second-grader Kyron Horman wound up this weekend right back where it started -- at his Portland elementary school.

Searchers descended on the property in and around Skyline Elementary School for several hours Saturday even as authorities assured the public that it was part of a routine search and not in response to a specific tip, according to ABC's Portland affiliate KATU.

In a report issued to the media Friday, the Multnomah County Sheriff's Office seemed to have little information about the boy's whereabouts, nearly two months after he vanished from the elementary school after an early morning science fair.

"We are continuing to hope Kyron is alive and will proceed under that premise," the Sheriff's Office report read, in response to e-mailed media questions.

Bruce McCain, a retired captain with the Multnomah County Sheriff's Office, questioned the use of the word "hope" in the statement even though the report also speaks of "significant progress" in the case.

"That is not really good news because what we were hoping for is, 'We have evidence to believe that he is alive,'" he said.

The Sheriff's Office also noted that Kyron's stepmother,Terri Horman, has not spoken with police since she retained a prominent Portland criminal defense attorney several weeks ago.

"It is very possible that there is simply no evidence in this case," Northeastern University professor and criminologist Jack Levin said. "My sense is there may not be a body or blood or crime witnesses and the police were hoping by playing a good cop approach to get a confession from the stepmother. But she hasn't confessed, she lawyered up."

Horman has not been charged in Kyron's disappearance or named a person of interest, but investigators have made it clear they believe she knows more about the case than she has let on.

"She may be innocent," he said. "We don't really know."

Police appear to be pressuring more of Terri Horman's friends.

Two women told KATU this weekend that police questioned them in relation to the case. One of the women said she was given a polygraph test and her home was searched.

Horman has also been pummeled with intense scrutiny, most of it coming from her own family. Her estranged husband Kaine Horman, Kyron's father, has publicly pinned his son's disappearance on her more than once.

Kaine Horman released a scathing statement last week alongside the boy's biological mother, Desiree Young, accusing one of Terri Horman's close friends of helping her orchestrate the boy's disappearance.

DeDe Spicher was identified by law enforcement as a confidante of Terri Horman and, according to Kaine Horman's statement last week, she's not cooperating with investigators.

"She has not only been in close communication with Terri but has been providing Terri with support and advice that is not in the best interests of our son," read the family statement, accompanied by a picture of Spicher. "Additional information provided shows that she is refusing to cooperate with law enforcement, she is also going as far as to suggest to others that may have information regarding Kyron's disappearance, not to cooperate as well."

The Oregonian reported that Spicher, 43, was spotted by a witness leaving her job for about 90 minutes on June 4, the day Kyron disappeared from his elementary school. She was gone, the paper reported, around the same time the boy is believed to have vanished and that a second witness reported not being able to reach Spicher on her cell phone during that time.

"We implore DeDe Spicher to come forward and cooperate with the investigators," the family's statement continued. "If we find out through the investigation that she caused a delay in us finding our son due to her lack of cooperation, we will pursue civil remedies in this matter."

McCain, noted Friday that the continued updates on the investigation that have been coming from Kyron's parents are unusual for a complicated criminal case such as this.

"There's been absolutely silence from this investigative team. Everything we're learning about this is coming from Kaine and the Youngs," he told "Good Morning America."

It could be an orchestrated move by police to increase pressure on Terri Horman, he speculated, or it could indicate a rift between Kyron's family and investigators.