local news
League
Season
Opener
continued from page 1
tation of African Americans in the criminal
justice and child welfare systems through
Racial Impact Statements; expansion of
Project Clean Slate to help ex-offenders
back into the job market.
—Workforce Diversity and Equal Pay:
tion to cuts disproportionately impacting
services to the African American communi-
ty.
The Urban League’s Our Voices United
Legislative Action day is supported by more
than 40 organizations. The day will feature
presentations
from
the
G o v e r n o r ’s
Director
of
Diversity
&
Inclusion, Frank
Garcia, Reps.
Lew Frederick
and Jefferson
Smith, BOLI
Commissioner
Brad Avakian,
— Marcus C. Mundy, Urban League president and CEO Sens.
Jackie
Winters
and
Rod Monroe,
expansion of wage and hour protections to and more.
For
more
information
go
to
help tackle poverty and low pay; and jobs
and contracts for minorities on federally www.ulpdx.org or call 503-280-2600.
funded construction projects.
—Fairness in State Budget Cuts: opposi-
‘We face extraordinary challenges
and inequities in employment, health
care, education, economic
opportunity, housing and in the
criminal justice and child welfare
systems’
PHOTO bY SuSan frieD
Missing
Nia Gosset gets a hit in
one of the first softball
games of the season
April 9 at Garfield
Playfield. The Seattle
Central Lassies played
the Rainier Rockers at
Garfield Playfield in
Seattle.
continued from page 1
spokesperson in the case during the search,
the child’s mother became a prime suspect.
Within months that mother, Casey
Anthony, was arrested for murder; the tod-
dler’s remains were found; and Bart’s repu-
tation as a publicist in the case drew deri-
sion and anger that endures through the
uniquely lasting power of the Internet.
“Up until that Caylee Anthony case you
could get, if you searched me on the
Internet, there was nothing
but good things,” Bart said.
“But these groups – they can
say anything they want. My
family and friends finally just
said, ‘stop reading the
blogs.’”
On the other hand, the
soon-to-be-renamed
RIP
Yashawnee Facebook group
has distributed more than
6,000 family-approved flyers with the girl’s
picture, organized vigils and done news
interviews about their work.
Vaughn’s mother, Shaquita Louis, posted
a heartbreaking thank-you note to the
group’s page Friday afternoon, haltingly
sharing her personal pain and making sure
the page’s fans knew they were welcomed
to a vigil scheduled for Saturday night.
“The vast majority of people who get
involved in these cases are doing it for the
right reasons – they want nothing more than
to assist in the safe recovery of a missing
child,” Klaas said.
sites often attack Kyron’s step-mother and
one in particular, the Terri Moulton Horman
‘Raw Uncensored Public Opinion News
Site,’ welcomes abusive threats against her.
The site also solicits donations to
BringKyronHome.org, the child’s official
family web page.
Others posting Internet items about the
Horman case are also soliciting money for
their work, including K9 Search and Rescue
says. “They’re never held accountable for
anything they say and do.”
When his own daughter was kidnapped
from inside their home 18 years ago, Klaas
says his family found themselves in such a
welter of pain and confusion that they
reached out to anyone who offered help – at
one point finding themselves in a cattle pas-
ture in the middle of the night with the prop-
erty owner waving a gun, after a ‘forensic
psychic’ promised to lead them
to their daughter’s location.
The situation was resolved
without harm, but Klaas says
it’s just one example of how
tough it is to sort through the
emotional journey touched off
by a missing child.
“I’ve been trying to work on
something recently and it’s
about order in chaos,” he says.
“When these people go missing chaos
seems to rule everything – it seems to rule
the family, they don’t know where to go or
what to do and I say this from experience.
“You have these people that just exploit
that chaos for their own ends, people who
really have nothing going in their lives but
to wait around for something like this to
happen.
“I don’t know how one addresses that
quite frankly,” he says. “I don’t.”
‘The vast majority of people who get
involved in these cases are doing it for
the right reasons’
kyron Horman — magnet for rage,
money appeals
The June, 2010, disappearance of Kyron
Horman touched off an avalanche of emo-
tional attachment to his case among people
who have no personal tie to his family or
friends.
Online networks set up to help in the
search for the missing gradeschooler have
flourished, including a Facebook page with
nearly 86,000 “likes.”
While most comments are about praying
for his return, a steady stream of rage also
runs through the page.
“COME ON, LE (law enforcement) —
DO YOUR JOB,” one comment dated April
7, 2011, says. “10 MONTHS, AND STILL
NO KYRON?!?! REALLY?? 10 WHOLE
MONTHS?? DO YOUR JOB!! DO.
YOUR. FRICKIN’. JOB!!!”
Listservs set up on missing child-focused
business owner Harry Oakes.
Oakes, who has brought his search dogs
to Sauvie Island to search for Kyron’s
remains, has itemized his costs on Kyron
searches on his blog.
A Facebook page called “Private Search
for Kyron Horman” showcases Oakes’
efforts (in faulty spelling and punctuation)
– which are not sanctioned by law enforce-
ment or green-lighted by the Horman fami-
ly.
“Harry Oakes is a professional
for profit investigator, and at this
time he is donating his time,
knowledge, energy, and resources,”
the page says. “Harry is not want-
ing this group or any group to pro-
mote his business when it comes to
finding Kyron. He wants to help
the Sherrif who promised with
tears in his eyes on T.V. to bring
Kyron
Horman
home.
“Since Harry is not getting paid for this
search and he is a for profit’ business he can
not accept donations. He can however,
accept gifts.
“We are setting up a Paypal account for
Harry to reimburse him , and his searchers.
Paypal is a reputable company for sending
and recieving money. Harry will be provid-
ing reciepts to show what he has used the
money for,and we will post updates to you.”
Whom to Trust?
Bart, who emerged in media reports in
early April as the spokesperson for
Vaughn’s mother and grandmother, says she
is not being paid for writing press releases
and arranging media interviews.
She says she has received payment for her
services in two out of the 16 missing child
cases she has worked on. Her regular career
is working as a publicist for her one-person
Vancouver-based company, Helping Heroes
Productions, Inc.
“What I am able to bring to the table is
help the family speak to the media,” she
says. “Many law enforcement agencies tend
not to like families to speak out much
because it ‘brings in bogus tips and wastes
our time,’ and that is a direct quote from an
FBI agent who we had on CNN.”
Bart says she was invited to represent
Vaughn’s family by a city of Portland
employee. Since she stepped up and started
making media appearances, another woman
– claiming affiliation with a group that has
proven impossible to verify – attended the
Wednesday morning City Council memori-
al for Vaughn, claiming to be a family
spokeswoman.
“High profile means media rich and there
are individuals who will exploit your child’s
tragedy to cash in their fifteen minutes of
fame,” Klaas’ website
says. “You need neither
new best friends nor an
entourage. Your goal is to
find ways to promote your
child’s case and further the
investigation.”
A $1,000 reward has
been
offered
by
Crimestoppers for infor-
mation that will help in the
investigation of Yashawnee Vaughn’s death
and disappearance. Contact Crimestoppers
at 503-823-HELP.
Keep up with the community-wide
leafleting campaign and get a copy of the
official flyers for Vaughn at Facebook,
Yashawnee Vaughn RIP We want justice
(the name may be changed soon).
For more information about Marc Klaas’
nonprofit
organization
go
to
http://www.klaaskids.org .
‘... these people can do this because
they’re not held accountable at all’
Setting Standards
“See, these people can do this because
they’re not held accountable at all,” Klaas
The problem is it’s not against the law for
opportunists to step into a family’s life and
insinuate themselves into a tragedy.
“The issue in this case is people who are
taking advantage of a vulnerable family and
who are sometimes able to get their hooks
into a family and drive a wedge in between
families and law enforcement,” says
Portland Police Lt. Pete Simpson. “They
tell the families, ‘they don’t care about you,
but I do.
“Then comes the ask – the ‘if you can
raise some money, I can do some more,’”
Simpson says.
next week, Part ii, Missing Child
exploiters: Following the Money
april 13, 2011 The Portland Skanner Page 3