Found Deceased OH - Harley Dilly, 14, walking to Port Clinton High School, 20 Dec 2019 #5

[GeorgiaRai]

This case seems to me one in which everyone deserves the benefit of the doubt.

Harley's parents, because who among us has not said something regrettable while stressed or angry? What child doesn't sometimes vent dramatically about their parents? It doesn't mean we get to judge his overall home life.

And LE, who did a great job in bringing in as much help as possible to explore all possibilities at once, which is something most missing teens are not given. And because they were being thorough in going back to recheck and reassess, he was found.

Things often seem more obvious in hindsight, but that's a trick our minds play on us in tragedies because they by nature are so difficult to accept, IMO.

Thank you so much for posting this - I agree 100% with all of it, especially the part I bolded.

 

[Hatfield]

Do you think it's possible that Harley pushed his jacket and his glasses through the hole with the intent to leave clues that he was inside? I can't imagine a puffer jacket just slipping through an 8 inch diameter hole. And the Chief did use the words "pushed."

I was thinking the same thing originally when I heard about the jacket and glasses found.

He may have gotten too warm with the jacket on as he started to panic inside the chimney so maybe he first took it off to not get over heated and then realized that if someone came in that home looking for him that if he got it out into that room then at least they would find a clue that he is in the home. He may have been worried that he would be sleeping or something when a person came looking for him or maybe he knew his voice would be hard to hear.

But yeah I think its very possible he purposely pushed the jacket outside to help someone know he was in the chimney.

And the glasses may have just been in the pocket of the jacket and fell out as he pushed the jacket out.

Its all so tragic and upsetting.

 

[IceIce9]

Sorry, but in my opinion when you have a missing kid, you will search the unoccupied houses at least in the immediate area, no matter if there is a sign of forced entry or not. Sadly in this case it would'nt have made a difference, because Harley was reported missing so late. JMO

And what made LE decide to search inside that home ? Was there a tip?

For some reason, however, police decided on Monday to return to the home and this time they went inside. But Hickman provided very few answers on what made this time different.

We were re-canvassing the areas we’ve already searched,” Hickman said when asked about it.

He never elaborated on why the house’s interior was searched on Monday when every other time it was deemed unnecessary.

The final time a reporter asked what spurred them to get the keys from the owners of the house Hickman threatened to end the news conference.

“I’ve already answered that,” Hickman said. “Folks, I’m done right now.”

 

[scdiv]

I think there was no need to "clean" chimneys back then because they only served as exhaust outlets for wood or gas stoves. My son's house was built in 1898 in Illinois and it has two chimneys: one for the fireplace and one for the bedroom wood stoves/later converted to gas stove in the kitchen. That chimney was dry-walled over upstairs after central heat was installed but it still exists next to the gas kitchen stove.

Do we know where and how Harley entered the house? Because I still have my doubts it was from the roof/chimney.

JMO

What is your thinking on how he ended up trapped in the chimney?

 

[whatsnext]

I would really like to know what made the Chief suddenly: wow, why not look inside that house again? Did they give an answer to that that makes sense? ETA no.

 

[scdiv]

I would really like to know what made the Chief suddenly: wow, why not look inside that house again? Did they give an answer to that that makes sense? ETA no.

It sounded imo like they were canvassing the street again and this time noticed for the first time that the house had a lock box, meaning multiple people could have access to that house, even though the house looked like it was all locked up and secured.

 

[Night Watcher]

In both recorded voice media and MSM print news linked on WS, homeowner/son identified only as "Jim," specifically asked that his last name NOT be used. You can hear him say it for yourself at the link below.

‘Our family is heartbroken over this’: Owner of home where Harley Dilly’s body was found speaks out

Actually the owner is named with last name on several MSM news websites as early as January 14. I will not post any links since the owners are considered "innocents" and their identities go against the posting rules. Check Toledo Blade, NBC24 WNWO and other MSM (mainstream media and mainstream news).

 

[whatsnext]

It sounded imo like they were canvassing the street again and this time noticed for the first time that the house had a lock box, meaning multiple people could have access to that house, even though the house looked like it was all locked up and secured.

Ok, I get it. But it still drives me crazy why they didn't search it sooner

 

[IceIce9]

I think there was no need to "clean" chimneys back then because they only served as exhaust outlets for wood or gas stoves. My son's house was built in 1898 in Illinois and it has two chimneys: one for the fireplace and one for the bedroom wood stoves/later converted to gas stove in the kitchen. That chimney was dry-walled over upstairs after central heat was installed but it still exists next to the gas kitchen stove.

Do we know where and how Harley entered the house? Because I still have my doubts it was from the roof/chimney.

JMO

Investigators should be able to tell whether he entered the house through the chimney because there would be evidence, right? It seems to me there would be scrape marks and smudges in the dust inside the chimney from either the top going down, or the bottom going up?

 

[IceIce9]

It sounded imo like they were canvassing the street again and this time noticed for the first time that the house had a lock box, meaning multiple people could have access to that house, even though the house looked like it was all locked up and secured.

It seems that they would have noticed the lockbox from the first time they searched. IMO

 

[JaePim]

I think there was no need to "clean" chimneys back then because they only served as exhaust outlets for wood or gas stoves. My son's house was built in 1898 in Illinois and it has two chimneys: one for the fireplace and one for the bedroom wood stoves/later converted to gas stove in the kitchen. That chimney was dry-walled over upstairs after central heat was installed but it still exists next to the gas kitchen stove.

Do we know where and how Harley entered the house? Because I still have my doubts it was from the roof/chimney.

JMO

There's no other way he could have ended up trapped in the chimney than from the roof. As previous posts and linked MSM articles have explained, there was no fireplace or large enough opening at the bottom. Otherwise he wouldn't have been trapped; he would have come out the bottom and this whole tragedy wouldn't have happened. MOO.

 

[GeorgiaRai]

Investigators should be able to tell whether he entered the house through the chimney because there would be evidence, right? It seems to me there would be scrape marks and smudges in the dust inside the chimney from either the top going down, or the bottom going up?

I don't think there is any "bottom going up". It's closed at the bottom (no fireplace) and the flue chute is small - way too small to pass through. I don't believe Harley knew that when he entered it from the roof; maybe not until after he pushed his coat through did he realize how small it was.

 

[Hatfield]

I would really like to know what made the Chief suddenly: wow, why not look inside that house again? Did they give an answer to that that makes sense? ETA no.

JMO
I agree their reasoning just made no sense and I think I know why. This is not to bash them or anyone else but to explain why I dont necessarily buy certain things told to us in situations like this.

Their legal department would have advised them before the press conference not to admit to any mistakes made because that opens them up to possible lawsuits. So IMO I think they realized they should have checked it way sooner and just could not admit that during the PC. If they would have said "Yeah, sorry we really should have entered that home way before now to check inside to make sure he wasnt in that home" then that gives ammunition to any possible lawsuits that could arise so I think they were being advised not to admit certain things.

I get it. They have to protect their department from any possible huge financial hits, but I also know that this is the sort of thing that erodes trust in them. The thing the lawyers sometimes forget is if we get total honesty in a situation like this, then maybe the parties involved would be thankful for the honesty, realize it was just human error, and then not pursue any lawsuits because of that honesty and integrity.

 

[whatsnext]

I only hope that LE agencies(all of them!!) will learn from this case. I am aware that this PD is a small one, and the people in charge are only humans. But still! So much anguish could have been prevented!

 

[Night Watcher]

I would really like to know what made the Chief suddenly: wow, why not look inside that house again? Did they give an answer to that that makes sense? ETA no.

My guess and only a guess. A breeze or wind blowing across the top of the chimney would pull an odor from the chimney and somebody noticed the odor at ground level. There were some warm temperatures days after December 20 into the 4os, 50s and maybe low 60s. JMHO.

 

[angelina1]

Investigators should be able to tell whether he entered the house through the chimney because there would be evidence, right? It seems to me there would be scrape marks and smudges in the dust inside the chimney from either the top going down, or the bottom going up?

He did not enter the house. He was found in the chimney which is not connected to any fireplace, so no way to enter the house from the chimney

 

[12midnight]

The homeowner mentions that it would be extremely difficult to get in the house through the chimney, but coming in from the top of the chimney isn't mentioned. But that is thought how he got in I thought. Also, was there any confirmation on whether he was feet first or head first?

 

[heed101]

It really bothers me that his family didn't report him missing for 2 days!

I agree and go back to the Friday morning when he disappeared and details of that morning are sketchy. Still wondering why the mom said this :


Mother of Harley Dilly pleads for his safe return In this article it says: " Asked when she last saw her son and whether it was that Friday morning, Dilly said, "I didn’t see him, I talked to him. There’s a difference. That’s really all we can say, it’s an open investigation and that’s the biggest thing people are not understanding. We can’t share because we don’t want to jeopardize him."

Why would this jeopardize him ??

 

[lindaromas]

I agree and go back to the Friday morning when he disappeared and details of that morning are sketchy. Still wondering why the mom said this :


Mother of Harley Dilly pleads for his safe return In this article it says: " Asked when she last saw her son and whether it was that Friday morning, Dilly said, "I didn’t see him, I talked to him. There’s a difference. That’s really all we can say, it’s an open investigation and that’s the biggest thing people are not understanding. We can’t share because we don’t want to jeopardize him."

Why would this jeopardize him ??

And Harley was already gone when the parents reported it. So sad.....

 

[v0x]

Community raising funds for family of missing boy found dead in chimney

Various organizations, residents and businesses had donated more than $18,000 to help investigators. Police on Tuesday announced they'd discovered his body.

Port Clinton Police Chief Robert J. Hickman said Harley was found inside an abandoned home within feet of his own.

Employees of Fisherman's Wharf on Madison Street, which launched a , and loved ones who started the Facebook page "Search Party for Harley Dilly," have turned their search-and-rescue fundraisers into collections for Harley's funeral expenses.

The nearly $6,000 raised on the page given to the police department will be given back to the boy's family, according to a social media post by the fishing company. The co-owner of the Facebook page changed its name to "Hearts For Harley" and created a PayPal account to collect funds for Harley's family.

"The Dillys are aware we are doing this in combination with Fisherman's Wharf," Megan Lenthe wrote on the social media page.
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