Unsolved: What Happened to 7-Year-Old Kyron Horman
On June 4, 2010, 7-year-old Kyron Horman attended his elementary school’s science fair. His stepmother recalls seeing him walking in the hallway of the school, and according to investigators, she was the last person to see him.
Kyron’s disappearance struck a feud between his biological parents, Kaine Horman and Desiree Young, and his stepmother. Many still suspect Terri Moulton was involved in her stepson’s disappearance even though she has never been officially named as a suspect or person of interest.
It’s been 9 years since his disappearance, but Kyron Horman’s case still remains unsolved.
What happened on the day of Kyron Horman’s disappearance?
On June 4, 2010, around 8 a.m., Kyron’s stepmother, Terri Lynn Moulton, took him to Skyline Elementary School for a science fair. After taking pictures and seeing other students’ projects, she said she remembered saying goodbye and seeing her stepson walking toward his classroom.
Classes began at 10 a.m. and Kyron’s homeroom teacher marked him absent.
Later that afternoon, around 1:30 p.m., Moulton posted a picture she took of Kyron smiling next to his science fair project from earlier that morning.
It wasn’t until 3:30 p.m., when Kyron wasn’t on the school bus, that Moulton and his father, Kaine, knew that their little boy was missing. Moulton called the school and learned that Kyron had been marked absent.
The school secretary called 911 to report that Kyron was missing and the search began.
What has happened since Kyron Horman’s disappearance?
June 11, 2010 — One week after Kyron disappeared from school, his parents and stepparents addressed the public for the first time. His stepfather, Tony Young, spoke on behalf of the rest of the family.
“Kyron, we miss you. We love you. We need you home right now,” he said during a news conference. “You mean everything to us. Until you come home, this family is not complete.”
June 13, 2010 — The massive search for Kyron ended and was classified as a criminal investigation. According to The Oregonian, it was one of the largest search efforts in the state’s history. Over 1,300 people from Oregon and neighboring states came to look for the boy.
June 14, 2010 — Kyron’s missing persons case was considered a criminal investigation. Kaine Horman responded to suspicions directed toward his then-wife, Moulton, “I believe she’s committed, as the rest of our family is, to finding Kyron.”
Kyron Richard Horman has been missing from Skyline Elementary School in Portland, Oregon, since June 4, 2010. He was last seen that morning after attending a science fair at the school. Can you help the #FBI bring him home?: https://t.co/FBOfFf3FZW #MissingChildrensDay pic.twitter.com/UiRt1xTR2K
— FBI Most Wanted (@FBIMostWanted) May 23, 2019
June 26, 2010 — A landscaper came forward and claimed that Moulton offered to pay him to kill Kaine seven months before Kyron’s disappearance. Moulton denied the claims and was not charged.
Two 911 calls were made by Terri from the Horman family home later that evening, one classified as a “threats” call and the other a “custody” issues call, according to People.
June 28, 2010 — Media outlets reported that Horman moved out of the house with his and Moulton’s 19-month-old daughter. Later that day, Moulton was served with a restraining order and dissolution of marriage.
Kaine Horman wrote in the petition for the restraining order that he believed that Moulton was “involved in the disappearance” of Kyron, contradicting what he said two weeks prior.
Sept. 9, 2010 — The family celebrated Kyron’s eighth birthday with two parties: one thrown by his mother and stepfather and the other thrown by his father.
June 4, 2012 — Kaine Horman shared that he continues to update Kyron’s room with things he thinks his son would be interested in. “My heart is with him all the time and I wonder what he is like now. I wonder what he is into. I wonder what he enjoys,” he told People. “It makes me feel like I am keeping pace with him when I am updating stuff. It makes me feel like he is still there.”
He also said that he continued to believe that his estranged wife was involved in Kyron’s disappearance.
Dec. 31, 2013 — Kaine Horman and Terri Moulton’s divorce became final.
Jan. 20, 2016 — Terri Moulton broke her silence and told People that she didn’t know her stepson’s location. She also called the murder-for-hire claim “completely bogus.”
“I’m speaking now because nobody is looking for my son anymore,” she said. “I want Kyron home. I love my son. There is no past tense. I want him home and I can’t fix this. I don’t know how to fix this.”
June 4, 2018 — Eight years after her son disappeared, Desiree Young posted an emotional Facebook post. “Now 8 years later we are still asking those same questions,” she wrote.
“How in the world can we still be here? Well not if I have anything to do about this,” she continued. “Stay tuned something big is coming I promise you. Terri isn’t going to get away with staying silent about where Kyron is, and not have to answer for it.”
Kyron Horman’s case remains unsolved, but his parents and stepparents have not lost hope that their now-16-year-old son will come home.
If you have any information on Kyron’s whereabouts, please contact the Multnomah County Sheriff’s Tip Line at 503-988-0560.
Liftable, a section of The Western Journal, is sharing unsolved cases, like Kyron’s, in hopes of keeping these stories alive and encouraging anyone with new information to contact the proper authorities. To read more of our “Unsolved” series, click here.
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