Friends Speak Out in Kyron Horman Case

The search for 7-year-old Kyron Horman is now in its ninth week, and the second grader's parents Kaine Horman and Desiree Young believe that Kyron's stepmother, Terri Horman, knows something about the disappearance of their son -- but she isn't talking.

CBS News correspondent Priya David Clemens reported Monday Young, Kyron's mother, has the harshest of words for Terri Horman.

Young told reporters, "There's ice in those veins, there's no feeling."

Authorities are now applying pressure to those close to Kyron's stepmother. And, Clemens reported, no one more so than her friend, DeDe Spicher.

Police have searched Spicher's home, and she appeared before a grand jury last Monday.

Though Spicher isn't talking, her friends are. In an "Early Show" exclusive, Spicher's closest friends have come to her defense.

Jaimee MacKinnon, Spicher's friend, told CBS News, "DeDe would never be involved in anything that would hurt anyone."

Karen Gjerning, another friend said, "If DeDe felt that Terri had anything to do with this, DeDe would not be standing next to Terri."

Spicher's friends also revealed that she moved in with Terri Horman soon after Terri's husband, Kaine, moved out and filed for divorce.

Gjerning said, "Because DeDe is the friend that she is she stopped what she was doing and went out and stayed with her for 10 days."

Authorities want to know what the two talked about in those 10 days, Clemens reported. Kyron's parents feel Spicher's advice to Terri Horman was "not in the best interest of their son."

Laurie Levenson, former federal prosecutor, told CBSNews, "Prosecutors would want DeDe to tell them everything they can about how Terri acted, what she said, who she saw while DeDe was living with Terri."

Clemens added investigators say they're making progress, but with no tangible evidence, all they can do is question people they suspect have answers.

Levenson explained, "By bringing DeDe to the grand jury the prosecutors are sending a message that the focus is on Terri and the people who are closest to her."

Spicher is expected to be called again by the grand jury again in four to six weeks.

On "The Early Show" Bruce McCain, former captain of the Multnomah County Sheriff's Office, said bringing Spicher before a grand jury is sending a message directly to her and the people around her.

"The statutory purpose of a grand jury is to investigate crimes that occur in the county. Now, there's a lot of talk last week about imminent indictments. We were cautious about saying, 'Slow down, folks,' but you have to remember criminal investigators can issue and serve search warrants. They cannot come into the police station and talk to police officers but a district attorney through the grand jury process can do that. So, all indications were that DeDe was not cooperating voluntarily with the police, so they sent her a clear message saying, 'We're going to bring you in, put you under oath and compel you to testify.' That seemed to have gotten the message to DeDe and indirectly to those around her," he said.

"Early Show" co-anchor Erica Hill pointed out Spicher's friends are telling CBS News exclusively that the day Kyron went missing she says in the 90-minute period that's unaccounted for, she forgot her cell phone and was at work.

McCain said there are two areas in focus with Spicher: "One is her own activity and location and conduct on June 4, the day Kyron disappeared. She needs to hold herself exactly accountable as to what she did. … They're also extremely interested in the 10-day period in which she was staying and living with Terri Horman. You know they discussed some things. What they were, we don't know. DeDe Spicher is the key to this on her own conduct, as well as what she knows about what Terri Horman did when she was living with her."

The focus has primarily been on Spicher and Terri Horman. Will other people also be brought in to be questioned in Kyron's disappearance?

"It looks like they're not quite ready for that," McCain said. "A grand jury's primary duty under the law is to investigate crimes. They have a powerful tool in that subpoena and compel testify. ... They may not be ready to take this to the indictment stage unless and until they first of all know what the crime is. Nobody is a suspect or person of interest; we don't have a definable crime here yet. That's really what's strange about this because they seem to be focusing on Terri Horman as having some culpability, but they don't know what she did. After nine weeks and a $500,000 the authorities are no closer to answering what happened to Kyron today as they were then."

So where does the investigation go from here?

McCain said, "I think we saw a clue on Friday because Desiree reminded everyone what we talked about here on this program -- that there was the seven-hour gap from the time Kyron disappeared to when she was reported missing -- and Desiree reported he could be anywhere. Kaine said he does not believe Kyron is in the immediate vicinity. I would not be surprised to see the local sheriff's office has hit a dead end. The focus is now more likely with the FBI, perhaps across state lines."