Shleifer Marketing Communications, Portland Oregon
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Kyron Horman case touches everyone

Denny Shleifer for NWExaminer

So how can one little boy touch so many people? The disappearance of 7-year-old Kyron Horman from Skyline Elementary School June 4 triggered national exposure that has yet to slacken.

Since the second day of the search, all four major television networks plus People Magazine and the Associated Press had reporters and camera crews based across the road from the school at Brooks Hill Historic Church. All Portland-area TV and radio stations have been there, along with The Oregonian and Portland Tribune. Even Eugene and Medford television stations sent crews.

I know the roster of news departments so well because for three weeks, I’ve been part of the pack. I’ve been a TV news reporter/producer/editor in Portland, San Francisco, Detroit and Denver, but now I live in the Pearl District and have my own marketing and public relations firm. CBS news hired me to cover the Horman case.

Much of my time is spent at the church, which is now used mainly for weddings and events. It’s owned by Cindy Banks, who generously opened it to the news media to help the Multnomah County Sheriff’s office handle the flow of information.

I’ve witnessed so many ebbs and flows to this story. I saw how the Skyline community banded together to help each other, to help law enforcement, to help the search and rescue team, to help the parents and children who attend Skyline and to help the news media.

Friends of the Horman family set up a Facebook page: Bring Kyron Home. They put banners up on U.S. Highway 26 and other major roadways. A T-shirt and wrist band were produced. A tip line (503-261-2847) was established.

A moving candlelight prayer vigil at the Sunset Presbyterian Church was organized by a volunteer team led by Becky Anderson Owens, the mother of two small children.

“I went to high school with Kaine [Kyron’s father] and we reunited as friends years later when we both moved to the Portland area,” said Anderson Owens. “We just wanted to help bring Kyron home.”

As days turned into weeks, Kyron’s mysterious disappearance led police investigators from search mode to a criminal investigation. I saw cars and trucks slowly pulling into the Skyline School parking lot on Father’s Day, bringing questionnaires to authorities, who hope new clues will be uncovered.

It was eerily quiet that day as four small, red balloons—two hearts and two shaped liked stars—were tied to a chain-link face near Skyline Road. A handwritten sign read, “Wall of Hope for Kyron Horman.” Each day more and more balloons, cards and flowers are added.

It has been a very difficult story to cover as a journalist. The family has been resistant to discuss the disappearance with the news media. Law enforcement has been as helpful as possible, but cannot divulge information that could hurt their chances of making a case and resolving the mysterious disappearance.

Finally, on the three-week anniversary of Kyron’s disappearance, Kyron’s biological mom, Desiree Young and his father, Kaine Horman, met the four major television networks and the Portland news media.

The day before, the family met with us at the historic church. Lt. Mary Lindstrand of the Multnomah County Sheriff’s Office warned us that Desiree and Kaine “could not” discuss any portion of what has turned into a criminal investigation of their missing boy.

The parents kept their composure as they proudly showed us new videos and pictures of Kyron. The room was quiet. It was a truly moving experience. Three hours later, they left to rest and prepare for the next day of live interviews on all of the major television networks and then do the same type of interviews all over again with the four Portland television stations.

The story continues. Kyron is still missing. We all go back to watching, listening, reporting and hoping that a resolution will come any day.

After living with the story for almost a month, we have come to feel in some way like an extension of the family. Desiree and Kaine echoed what all of us are hoping: “We just want to bring Kyron home.”

Denny Shleifer is a CBS news freelance producer based in Portland. He also operates Shleifer Marketing Communications Inc. He can reached at denny@shleifermarketing.com or 503-888-6913.
Shleifer Marketing, Denny Shleifer, public relations, Portland, Oregon, press, media contacts, public relations, advertising, marketing, graphic design, marketing, communications, brochures, newsletters, media training, crisis communications, corporate video production, speech writing. Shleifer Marketing, Denny Shleifer, public relations, Portland, Oregon, press, media contacts, public relations, advertising, marketing, graphic design, marketing, communications, brochures, newsletters, media training, crisis communications, corporate video production, speech writing.