Kyron Horman's Mom: Terri Horman 'Stashed' Missing Oregon Boy

July 28, 2010 — -- Desperate to see her 7-year-old son again, Kyron Horman's mother has lashed out at the boy's stepmother, saying she believes Terri Horman has "stashed" the missing boy somewhere.

Desiree Young told People magazine Tuesday that, despite repeated pleas for Terri Horman to cooperate with police, she's depending on the investigation to bring her son home.

"I believe that he's stashed," she said.

Her statement came the same day that she made an emotion public appearance alongside the investigators who have been searching for the second-grader for nearly two months.

"We love you Kyron, never give up hope," she said through her tears. "We are all coming to get you, to bring you home."

Multnomah County Sheriff's Office officials announced yesterday that the reward money for information leading to Kyron would be doubled to $50,000, with the money coming from an anonymous donor.

But police said little about their investigation, leaving most of the talking once again, to Kyron's parents, Young and father Kaine Horman. The supposed press conference that promised more information on the investigation abruptly ended with no further comment from police and no chance for questions.

Bruce McCain, a retired captain with the Multnomah County Sheriff's Office, accused authorities of using Kyron's family as "stage props."

"They're using Kaine Horman as their de-facto public information officer and he's got enough on his plate," he said.

But, he added, this could be yet another sign that the case is inching toward an arrest.

"A lot of people are saying is an arrest imminent. I would use the word imminent," McCain said. "I think we will see indictments out of this process inevitably."

In a taped interview with The Oregonian, Young said she was suspicious from the start, citing e-mails she received from Terri Horman on June 4, the day Kyron went missing.

"Sometimes I talk on her e-mail with her five times a day it depends on the day but she was very short and to the point which is very unusual for her," Young told the paper. "She e-mailed me like three or four times that day which is kinda strange, normally it is a wordy e-mail."

Investigators have subpoenaed and are searching numerous computers and hard drives, but no one has been charged in the case.

Grand Jury Convenes, Calls Terri Horman's Friend to Testify

Terri Horman has remained steadfastly silent through most of the investigation, only releasing brief statements through her attorney that she did not have anything to do with Kyron's disappearance.

But a recently convened grand jury might suggest otherwise. One of the first people subpoenaed was DeDe Spicher, a close friend of Terri Horman's who was named by Kaine Horman and Desiree Young last week as someone who may have aided Terri Horman in taking Kyron.

DeDe Spicher, 43, had no comment outside the courthouse Monday. She has not been charged with a crime. Her attorney, Chad Stavely, told ABC's Portland affiliate KATU that Spicher was asked no questions but told to return, possibly within a few weeks.

The search for Kyron is nearing its second month. He disappeared from his Portland elementary school after an early morning science fair.

In a statement released last week, Kaine Horman said neither his estranged wife or Spicher are 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 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."

Kaine Horman Refuses to Give Up Hope That Son Is Alive

The family's statement came one day after ABC's Portland affiliate KATU reported that Terri Horman had told Kyron's teachers and classmates that he would be out of the classroom that Friday at a doctor's appointment, giving the school no reason to expect him back after the science fair that morning.

But Terri Horman has been vague with investigators, the affiliate reported, later telling detective she was referring to the next Friday, June 11.

"Clearly even school children were aware that he was going to the doctor that day and they expected him to be at the doctor that day so now after the fact to say, 'I didn't know it was that day, it was another day,' it is weak," former homicide detective C.W. Jensen said.

The school had faced immense scrutiny in the days and weeks after Kryon vanished after Horman told investigators that she last saw Kyron before leaving the fair and only realized he was missing when he didn't get off the bus that afternoon.

"That now gives about a six- to seven-hour window in which no one was concerned about his whereabouts," McCain said, calling the move "carefully orchestrated."

Terri Horman is also being eyed in an alleged murder-for-hire plot in which she allegedly tried to hire a landscaper to kill Kaine Horman. Kaine Horman quickly filed for divorce and fled the family's home with the couple's 20-month-old daughter. He was granted an emergency restraining order keeping Terri Horman away from him and their little girl.

A judge evicted Terri Horman from the family's home earlier this month.

Terri Horman and her attorney have declined to comment on the allegations made by Kyron's parents. Her lawyer, Stephen Houze, said that his client has been receiving death threats and that the media frenzy surrounding the case has morphed into a "witch hunt."