The people who'd initially promised to contribute to reward funds are presumably local. They'd have known that in Sept. on the anniversary of the disappearance, media was stating that the reward was still a thing. If they were no longer backing the reward, they should have contacted media to correct that. Did media confirm with those backing the reward that the reward was still active, or was it LE that suggest that it was still active, or did media just make an assumption that reward was still active?
IMO, if reward funds are not held in escrow or in a local bank account, I'd assume there isn't really a reward.