County law enforcement Tuesday afternoon announced the reward for tips leading to the return of seven-year-old Kyron Horman will be doubled to $50,000 thanks to the contribution of an anonymous donor.
The little boy, whose disappearance from his school June 4 has led the entire state and thousands of supporters around the world on an emotional rollercoaster, is thought to be the only child missing and presumed the victim of criminal activity in the state.
County Sheriff's Captain Monte Reiser, Assistant Chief Tim Moore, and Horman's biological mother Desiree Young spent a scant few minutes at a press conference Tuesday afternoon responding to media questions submitted via email over the past two weeks.
However they took no new questions, and announced at the start that no specific queries about the criminal investigation into the child's whereabouts would be answered.
All three appeared to imply they believe the child is still alive, and begged members of the public to keep looking out for him and phoning in tips to the Kyron Horman hotline, 503-261-2847. Anyone who believes they have seen him is urged to dial 911.
Young said the family believes that whomever "has" Kyron, "their goals remain the same as ours, and we remain confident they will bring him home soon."
Weeping, Young closed the press conference with the words, "We love you Kyron -- never give up hope."
No one at the press conference mentioned Kyron's stepmother, Terri Moulton Horman, who was kicked out of the family home and is currently going through divorce proceedings by Kyron's biological father, Kaine.
The father reportedly broke up the family after learning from sheriffs investigators that Moulton Horman had tried to pay her new lover to kill him.
Law enforcement is not speaking publicly about Moulton Horman's role in the disappearance, but she was apparently the last person to see the boy and one of her friends testified about her activities yesterday before a Multnomah County Grand Jury.
Reiser and Moore said at the press conference that it is important for the public to keep Kyron's picture at the forefront and remain vigilant for any breaks in the case.
Today's press conference was likely a disappointment for the many Kyron watchers seeking details on exactly what law enforcement is doing to find him. The officials said they continue to record tips from the tipline, conduct physical searches and administer polygraph tests to individuals of interest, but no suspect names were revealed.
Moore said county investigators have logged 11,000 hours following up on some 3,500 tips in what amounts to the largest search effort ever in Oregon history.
He said although Multnomah County Commissioners' move to allocate more funds for the search effort was greatly appreciated, county law enforcement had decided not to ask for additional funding.
He said a detailed expense report on the search effort would be made available in October.