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

[bellyup]

I'm also struggling with a low income child being in trouble before for breaking expensive things.... tossing his glasses down a chimney.

I was a poor kid. You *knew* to protect your glasses or else.

 

[Beth11311]

I'm hopeful that with the small confines of the space, Harley was unable to expand his chest and died of positional asphyxiation quite quickly. The widest part of him (likely his chest/shoulders) must have been stuck, and death would be quick, I hope. RIH, Harley.

 

[Linda7NJ]

Edited for weird posting of previous post along with current

Whilst she certainly isn’t going to win any awards. In all fairness, parents are urged STRONGLY not to search themselves. The shock of FINDING THEIR CHILD is an image no parent should ever have OF their child. Children should be remembered by their parents how they were in life, not a decomposing discolored corpse.

 

[Mermaid76]

His last moments must have been terrifying. Poor kid.

omg this is horrible

 

[Gunslinging Granny]

Photo of the roof and chimney

 

[Linda7NJ]

I'm also struggling with a low income child being in trouble before for breaking expensive things.... tossing his glasses down a chimney.

I was a poor kid. You *knew* to protect your glasses or else.

In his video they're taped up on both sides- I think breaking stuff was his norm

 

[kaen]

I'm also struggling with a low income child being in trouble before for breaking expensive things.... tossing his glasses down a chimney.

I was a poor kid. You *knew* to protect your glasses or else.

So horrible to think about this, but, we don't know which way he went in. If he went in head first, then the glasses could have fallen off of his face. I would think he threw the jacket down, thinking he would get it after he descended. If he went in feet first, he wouldn't have had room for the glasses get down the stack.

 

[Bellecent]

I'm struggling with how a puffy coat itself wouldn't get stuck? I have a 14 year old. He has a puffy coat. I don't see how in the world it would fall through a 9x13" opening without getting stuck. It would have to be shoved. And that's if the chimney is absolutely straight to the ground floor (most aren't).

And why didn't the glasses and jacket and up between the 2nd and 1st floor blockage?

 

[Gunslinging Granny]

I'm trying to picture a chimney in my head so I searched for chimney diagrams and this seems to be a basic diagram of a chimney but I know theirs went through two floors.

 

[Gunslinging Granny]

And why didn't the glasses and jacket and up between the 2nd and 1st floor blockage?

Because he pushed them out of the 2nd floor flue opening when he was stuck.

 

[weepingangel]

The house I grew up in had these
Flue Hole Covers - Stove Pipe Covers | Woodstove Outlet
covering holes in the second floor walls about 6-8 inches diameter (stove pipe size) going into the chimney.
That’s how his coat and glasses ended up on the second floor (he pushed them out the hole)

I'm trying to picture a chimney in my head so I searched for chimney diagrams and this seems to be a basic diagram of a chimney but I know theirs went through two floors.

 

[SuziQ]

Rsbm

Not necessarily. If he couldn't expand his chest to inhale, he would have died fairly quickly. I honestly don't think he was able to breathe and suffocated shortly after he became trapped.

This isn't anyone's fault. He just made a bad choice, like many teens do, and it was an unfortunate fatal choice.

ITA. Poor Harley was gone before he was reported missing. 41 hours.....

 

[TropicalTapioca]

I'm also struggling with a low income child being in trouble before for breaking expensive things.... tossing his glasses down a chimney.

I was a poor kid. You *knew* to protect your glasses or else.

My thought is that he tossed the jacket and possibly the glasses fell off trying to go down the chimney itself.

 

[Beth11311]

So horrible to think about this, but, we don't know which way he went in. If he went in head first, then the glasses could have fallen off of his face. I would think he threw the jacket down, thinking he would get it after he descended. If he went in feet first, he wouldn't have had room for the glasses get down the stack.

Good god, I understand making poor decisions but what would possess anyone, even a reckless teen, to go HEAD FIRST into a chimney!? I agree with you, we have no idea what way he went in, but I mean <modsnip>, NO WAY. We are always taught feet first, especially when you can't see the bottom. Yikes.

 

[LovesPeace2]

My heart breaks for Harley and his family . I can’t judge the parents . youth with personality disorder are hard on a parent and a lot of times help isn’t available you gotta fight for it . Parents handle it differently sometimes it’s really hard and a lot of rebellion .but the le I’m angry at them even last night after Harley’s sister posted the police chief said no body. Can’t believe him he’s trying to cover his butt because he messed up really bad . Rest in piece Harley

 

[squareandrabbet]

I am so sad for Harley and his family. I can't make judgments on LE or anyone because so clearly this is a tragic accident. Young people (and older ones, too, I guess) make all kinds of choices that have bad outcomes never thinking about the worst thing that can happen.

Years ago a man in Iowa went missing and was found nine years later behind a cooler in the grocery store where he worked. Employees often took rests on top of the coolers and he apparently rolled behind the cooler and died. (Body behind cooler in abandoned grocery store ID'd as man who went missing nine years ago)

Young man in Port Chester NY fell through the roof into an elevator shaft at an abandoned hospital and died. Difference for him being found was that he was with friends (Port Chester: Teen dies falling from hospital roof).

It took nine years to find Joshua Maddux in Colorado (https://nypost.com/2015/09/30/body-of-18-year-old-missing-for-7-years-found-in-chimney/).

My point is that these kinds of accidents happen. One poor choice/mistake and catastrophe can happen. We know that teens have not finished developing brain-wise and that their decision-making can be erratic.

My thoughts are with Harley and his family as well as the LEO (who I am sure are assessing what could have been done differently even if the result may have been the same).

Also, let's not forget this lady, who fell behind a bookcase and died trying to execute a maneuver that she and her sister had both done many times before; the simple plugging in of an appliance:

Missing woman found dead behind bookcase

 

[bellyup]

DBM

 

[squareandrabbet]

also, before everyone is too hard on the chief, he did have a good and accurate idea about Harley voluntarily running away.

He did spend a lot of time making those personal appeals to Harley that made no sense to more than one person on this thread at the time; and he probably did track down the leads suggesting to known predators, so there's that.

 

[Gunslinging Granny]

My heart breaks for Harley and his family . I can’t judge the parents . youth with personality disorder are hard on a parent and a lot of times help isn’t available you gotta fight for it . Parents handle it differently sometimes it’s really hard and a lot of rebellion .but the le I’m angry at them even last night after Harley’s sister posted the police chief said no body. Can’t believe him he’s trying to cover his butt because he messed up really bad . Rest in piece Harley

LE went in the house last night and couldn't find a body. Later that evening someone arrived with equipment to look into the chimney flue and behind the walls. Just because an unoccupied house has a decomposition smell doesn't mean it is a human body that is decomposing. Squirrel, raccoons, opossums, cats, and even tiny mice leave a terrible smell when they die behind a wall.

 

[userunnamed]

yeah, I think he tossed his jacket and glasses. Maybe to make himself slimmer to move around more. He might have been carrying the jacket when he went down. I can't imagine how he could even move his arms up and down in the tight of a space though.