Kyron Horman Case: Boy's Mother Speaks Out on One-Year Anniversary of His Disappearance

June 4, 2011 — -- Kyron Horman's mother said today that one after her 7-year-old son disappeared from his Portland, Ore., elementary school, she believes that "the goodness in people" will bring the little boy home.

"This past year has been the most difficult and heartbreaking for us and everyone related to him," Kyron's mother, Desiree Young, said in a statement. "We feel honored to have Kyron in our lives, but our sense of loss and the senselessness of this act cannot be forgotten. While we think of this last year as a tragedy, we have also been witness to the incredible good in people that makes this burden easier."

In her statement, Young thanked everyone who provided support, thoughts and prayers.

"We would not be able to get through this without the support of law enforcement, volunteers, family, and the support of people everywhere that think about Kyron and care about bringing him home every day," she said. "My belief in the goodness in people and the strength of hearts everywhere has been restored. I believe that is what will bring Kyron home to us, the goodness in people."

Kyron disappeared the morning of June 4, after participating in an early morning science fair at his suburban Portland elementary school. Police said he was last seen walking down a hall at the school with his stepmother, Terri Horman.

Kyron's father, Kaine Horman, along with Young and the police, all pointed fingers at Terri Horman, but she has not been charged or even named a person of interest.

Kaine Horman filed for divorce, after being told that Terri Horman had allegedly tried to hire someone to kill him. Police have indicated that there are discrepancies in Terri Horman's account of what happened on the morning of June 4.

Terri Horman 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.

In February, 2011, Young said she had begun to put new pressure on Terri Horman with a clear message: She will not stop until Terri Horman is "brought to justice."

Young spoke with "Good Morning America" from Roseburg, Ore., the town 200 miles from where Kyron was last seen and the new home of Kyron's stepmother, Terri Horman.

"Kyron's story is not one of a child that wandered away from his school or was abducted by a stranger," Young said Saturday at a news conference in Roseburg. "It was somebody who was brought into our family. ...There is one person that knows where he is: Terri Horman, where is Kyron?"

Young said she has gone to Roseburg to distribute flyers urging people in the small town to keep asking that question of Terri Horman, the last person known to see Kyron.

"I believe that it was important to raise awareness in Roseburg, [where] people are not aware of who I am, who Kyron is, let alone Terri, who lives here," Young said.

"It was concerning, because we have knowledge that she's handing out Halloween candy to children, she's going into bars, and enjoying the holidays with her family -- all while Kyron is not here. We thought it was time to step it up a notch," she said.

Young also said investigators presented her with new evidence that she said raises questions about Terri Horman's character.

"[The evidence] indicated that not only could Terri be capable of this, but it was clear that she hated Kyron, and blamed everything on Kyron -- and had expressed that on various occasions to friends and people that she knew," she said this morning.

Young indicated that the people of Roseburg have been very supportive of her efforts to create awareness of the investigation and the search for her 8-year-old son, thanking them on air. But her direct statement to the boy's stepmother stayed on point.

"To Terri I have a different message -- I will be here each and every day to remind you of what you've done, remind you of Kyron, and make sure that you are brought to justice," she said firmly.

Bruce McCain, the former captain of Multnomah County Sheriff's Department, which spearheaded the search for the boy, told "GMA" it is a sad sign of the difficulty of the case that Young felt she had to escalate her efforts to find out what happened to her son.

"This is by far the most dramatic step she's taken," McCain said. "But the fact that a biological mother now has to take matters into her own hands again is a reflection on the status of the investigation.

"There is no bloody foot prints, no torn 'CSI' shirt, no broken eyeglasses -- so this investigation really has had a severe lack of physical evidence from the very beginning," he added.

Horman was previously the target of strong words from Young during an interview with "Good Morning America" in late August.

"You will go to jail, and whoever has been helping you, if they don't talk, they will go to jail," Young said. "I really believe that you want to do the right thing here and bring Kyron home."

Terri Horman's lawyer, Stephen Houze, has said that his client had received death threats and that the media frenzy surrounding the case had morphed into a "witch hunt."

Anyone with information regarding Kyron Horman's whereabouts is asked to call the Multnomah County Sheriff's Office tip line 503 261-2847.