Investigators and school officials worked together to rule out whether Harley ever made it to school that Friday, searching all of their buildings and properties twice, including in the ceiling areas, dugouts, and other areas he could have hidden, said Port Clinton City Schools Superintendent Pat Adkins.
“The people behind this [effort] are not only our community members, but they are our friends and family,” he said. “We saw that with Devin when people came out in support, and people are coming out in support [now] for Harley. We fully believe Harley will return to Port Clinton, but we just have no idea where he is right now.”
This incident has been especially hard with students on break for its entirety, and that it came so closely on the heels of another tragedy — the accidental shooting death of a second-grader on Dec. 14, Mr. Adkins said. School administrators and counselors will meet Thursday to decide how to address Harley’s disappearance when students return to school on Monday.
Shannon Twining, who lives down the street from the Dilly family, said Harley would come by to pet their dogs, and that her 13-year-old daughter knew him. The family searched together in wooded areas, in other city neighborhoods, and at the library where her daughter said Harley liked to go.
“Basically, every time we go out, we are constantly heads on a swivel, looking around and making sure we don’t see him anywhere,” she said.
Ms. Twining said in the upcoming year that she plans to organize a coalition of parents willing to make sure kids make it safely to school and posted her thoughts on social media, which has played a large role in both ideas on where he might be, and on public opinion, both positive and negative.
“We are a tight-knit community, we should be looking out for each other,” she said. “If more parents get together, we can make sure no kid walks, and that every kid gets to and from school safely.”
'We are one big family:' Port Clinton rallies in effort to find missing teen
Do you know what the timeline is ? When was he reported missing? What about a cell phone? I have a son same age doesn't go anywhere without a cell phone. This is so sad.