I'm half wondering if they're looking more for evidence - something dropped or thrown away - from the perp to give them a clue who it might be, as much as they are looking for Kyron if he did just wander away.
It would fit a kidnapping theory based on retribution toward the LE dad, and their seeming belief that Kyron is alive. The 24/7 LE presence (ransom call). The more-than-usual support of the family. The lack of intense concern that his time is running out if he's off in the woods after wandering away.
Perhaps it is a kidnapping scenario, and there are no pleas for his return, because they are being regularly contacted by the kidnapper.
It would account for LE seeming to cut off the reward fund.
I'm in the process of trying to think this through. I should have waited to think it through more.
Hey BeanE & Everyone Else ~
I've been lurking & following this case (or should I say trying to keep up) & have been baffled right along with the rest of ya'll. I haven't followed a slew of cases, but I've followed enough to be confused by this one.
BeanE - I think your theory of a kidnapping/ransom scenario is definitely plausible! Like you, I've been thinking it through for many days now, and trying to talk myself out of it & waiting for more info from LE to point me in another direction. But with each subsequesnt PC, I lean a little more in the direction of a possible kidnapping/ransom.
I've been feeling like a ping pong ball bouncing back & forth between the idea that little Kyron may have for some reason wandered off campus that morning, or that he may have been abducted by someone who has made certain "demands" - not necessarily monetary demands, but some sort of "request" in exchange for little Kyron's release.
This is my opinion only - based on what we have all read & heard in the media from LE, which is extremely little, compared with other missing children cases.
The only thing that stops me from completely jumping off the fence is the fact that the ground search has expanded in the past couple of days. It leads me to suspect, as have others, that LE may have no evidence to support any particular theory in one direction or another.
UNLESS - a possible ransom "request" has already been fulfilled, and the possible "kidnapper" has given LE vague clues as to Kyron's whereabouts, and LE is scrambling to find him.
One of the things that stops me from completely believing that Kyron wandered off school property & into the woods is due to what I've seen in pics & read from locals who have posted here about the density of the woods - overgrown with Himalayan blackberries, stinging nettles, etc. - not to mention the difficulty the trained SAR workers are having traversing that terrain with all the ravines & steep slopes. It's hard to imagine a little boy wending his way very far through that kind of landscape. It's not as if there are manicured & groomed trails that he would have followed.
I live in the PNW (not Oregon) and, as an experienced adult hiker who has been in areas similar to what has been described in the Skyline area, I would be hard-pressed to cover much ground in those conditions. I truly can't envision a child bush-whacking through all that vegetation & climbing up & down those steep ravines & slopes.
If he wandered off campus, he most likely followed a road. If that's the case, there is the store up the road from his school, and I would think that someone would have seen him.
If he didn't wander off campus, IMO, he was taken by someone (or more than one person) who planned this out meticulously , and I hope & pray that he's found & returned to his family very soon - safe & sound.
LE said in a recent presser that they didn't want to release any info that might influence anyone's recollection (paraphrasing here), or compromise the integrity of the investigation. I assume they've finished interviewing everyone @ the school. I expected at this point for LE to either say they have credible leads or to say they have no credible leads. They've said neither, as far as I can decipher.
Which leads me to think they:
1. Have absolutely no clue & are back to square one
2. This is truly a "unique" situation involving kidnapping & some sort of ransom request
But, I will have to think it through a little more, and await more info.
At any rate - my thoughts and prayers are with little Kyron & his family. I hope they're all celebrating his safe return home soon!
