Found Deceased OH - Harley Dilly, 14, walking to Port Clinton High School, 20 Dec 2019 #4

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The thing about chimneys is the diameter of the hole from top down can change to a smaller diameter depending on the particular chimney.

I looked up my chimney flue with a flashlight and at the very bottom where it connects to the metal framed fireplace insert, the diameter of the hole narrows before it gets to the actual fireplace. The section above that that goes to the roof has a larger diameter but near the bottom it gets narrower by about 5 inches or so.

Maybe he did have room at first to get most of the way down but if the diameter got narrower at the bottom he may have not realized that until it was too late.
 
BlueShoe said:
It is possible he got inside by going down the chimney. I don't think he was stuck in the chimney (unless someone else was involved) because of his coat being inside. Maybe he had some scrapes or bruises from going down the chimney and that is what LE is investigating. If here was some blood, it could have come from that, or something much worse. This is a terribly tragic story. MOO
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I wonder if he hid from something or someone he heard, and couldn't get back out of the chimney, or maybe had a rope hooked up in there and fell. But you'd think a 14 year old would yell if he were stuck. Just remembering being 14, although long ago, a vacant nearby house would become a club house. There have to be other kids who knew he used the house. He probably slept there multiple times just to worry the Mom (not dissing him, just speaking reality from a 14 year old mind). From all the activity on the second floor of the house, I wonder if the chimney had an opening there, ie fireplace, and on the ground floor. I don't blame the parents for not noticing the house was empty, it probably had lights at night, and may very well have been heated, given that he may have removed his own coat on those cold days/nights. Looks like the house opens on the other street, not on the street where parents live-
 
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BlueShoe said:
It is possible he got inside by going down the chimney. I don't think he was stuck in the chimney (unless someone else was involved) because of his coat being inside. Maybe he had some scrapes or bruises from going down the chimney and that is what LE is investigating. If here was some blood, it could have come from that, or something much worse. This is a terribly tragic story. MOO
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I don’t know what kind of chimneys other people have, but the ones I am familiar with, there is no way a person can get in the house by going down it. The flue opening is way too narrow for passage of any body part other than a hand or arm.

anyway, the idea that he may have been trapped is so horrific, I don’t want to speculate much on that yet.
 
I can buy into a 14 year old climbing down a chimney (I guess) to gain access to a locked, vacant home, but he had to have made it once to leave his jacket there, so why didn't he just unlock a back door or window instead of using the chimney (presumably) a second, fatal time? Using the chimney would seem like it would be far more likely to be seen...it's just so strange. Hoping the press conference gives some answers.

I know hindsight is 20/20, but I am still just flummoxed that a nearby, long-vacant home wasn't searched more thoroughly. Seems like one of the first things to do would be look in sheds, barns, parked RVs, vacant homes, etc. that are close by and would be known to him. I guess maybe it's just so hard to think of him right there and not found sooner.
 
If he was found inside the chimney, here's what is puzzling me. His coat was already inside, so if this is an accidental death, he must have been there before, maybe the day previous, and left his coat behind. This could make sense, since the grainy video image looks like he is not wearing that coat. My question is, if he went down the chimney previously, how did he get out? Climbing back out the chimney seems impossible to me. If it was through a door or window, why wouldn't he go back in that way? Very confusing at the moment, but maybe things will be clarified. MOO
 
When I lived in NYC a lot of apartments had lockboxes that the police and firemen could use to access the building, so they wouldn't have to rely on tenants. Mine did not, and having a flat close to the front, on more than one occasion I got a window knocked on from a locked out tenant..
 
Remember the family said Harley would leave for the night sometimes when there were disagreements in the household? I can't help but to speculate that he went to that house over night since he knew the people weren't living there. However, instead of just sitting in the living room because the homeowners could come home or people would see lights on, he found a place in a crawlspace or attic to hideout. That might explain the walls being removed. How he passed away is anyone's guess at this point. This is just a theory.

I still wonder what tipped the police off to look in the walls to begin with though?
 
nefes said:
I would think that they'd have knocked on every door nearby Harley's house and questioned those neighbors. And when nobody answered at the unoccupied house, they'd have went back and tried again. And if nobody answered there again, then they'd follow up on that, too. Like try again until they get somebody or try to contact the owner. Apparently they had no trouble contacting the owner yesterday to get permission to search..

So, the explanation that LE didn't know until yesterday that it was unoccupied is ridiculous if they were doing actual police work trying to find Harley. I mean, what, did they just go "Welp, I guess those people aren't going to talk to us. Moving on!" after nobody answered the door there..?

my opinion only
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We have investment (rental) properties that we have set up as a trust. This means if you were to look up who owns the house at xxxx whatever st, it wouldn't show our name specifically. There would need to be further investigation in order to find out who owned the property - maybe that's a possible scenario here which delayed the owner being contacted? Just a thought
 
Auntie Cipation said:
These are not yet known facts.


I agree that is creepy! And while it's probably not related to your guy, I just wanted to point out that who owns what property is publicly available information. Nowadays most counties have it searchable online, but this information is typically available at each county's recorder's office.
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Yes, I figured that was probably how he had obtained the information. He had to go searching for it, which creeped me out.
 
holtzmann said:
The only explanation I can think of is that they simply didn't realize the house wasn't occupied. Given its upkeep, it would be natural to not see it initially as a vacant home.

Neighbors might have known given that it hasn't been lived in in, according to homeowner, 10 years, but I couldn't tell you who half my neighbors are either, so... who knows?
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I would think LE would have canvassed the neighborhood several times - knocking on doors, etc. If LE didn’t already know the home was vacant, I would think they would have at least looked into why they were never able to make contact with an occupant during numerous attempts to speak with neighbors.
 
Nancy19XX said:
Just posting thoughts on the vacant property. 1. Either It was winterized, no heat, no running water. 2. Or it was still heated, water running, warm and if known to be vacant, could make a good hideout or a good place to commit a crime (if someone else is involved).
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Wonder if there was a caretaker locally that would check on place?
 
sabrecmc said:
I can buy into a 14 year old climbing down a chimney (I guess) to gain access to a locked, vacant home, but he had to have made it once to leave his jacket there, so why didn't he just unlock a back door or window instead of using the chimney (presumably) a second, fatal time? Using the chimney would seem like it would be far more likely to be seen...it's just so strange. Hoping the press conference gives some answers.

I know hindsight is 20/20, but I am still just flummoxed that a nearby, long-vacant home wasn't searched more thoroughly. Seems like one of the first things to do would be look in sheds, barns, parked RVs, vacant homes, etc. that are close by and would be known to him. I guess maybe it's just so hard to think of him right there and not found sooner.
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If the vacant home had zero signs of forced entry & it was locked up & ...I would cross it off.
 
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