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

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I see a lot of people wondering why Harley did not pick a lock, break a window, or break in the house some other way, rather than accessing it by chimney. I think there are 2 reasons: First of all, if he broke out a window or damaged the home somehow, he'd be in big trouble and held liable. He was already skating on thin ice with his mom and possibly the police. I truly believe he thought if he went in through the chimney, when he was ready to leave, he could go out a door, and lock it behind him, and voila! No one would ever know he'd been in the home. Second, I think this was an adventure, and as others upthread commented, an urban explore. The climbing the antenna tower, the thrill of doing this and not being caught (it was still dark, not much chance of somebody seeing him), "going down the chimney" like Santa, exploring an unoccupied house,--all of that appealed to his 14 yo self. MOO.
 
lindaromas said:
It really bothers me that his family didn't report him missing for 2 days!
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Also mom didn't answer phone call from school. Her son told her he didn't feel well, didn't want to go to go school. So even if she missed the call, why didn't she call back???? Would also like to know about seeing,him not seeing him,and what the difference really is. I would also like to have clarification of exactly when,and how He was reported missing. I think there could be a conflict of interest here,and for the integrity of the case,and respect for Harley. I completely agree. Hickman should step aside. MOO
 
lindaromas said:
It really bothers me that his family didn't report him missing for 2 days!
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Also mom didn't answer phone call from school. Her son told her he didn't feel well, didn't want to go to go school. So even if she missed the call, why didn't she call back???? Would also like to know about seeing,him not seeing him,and what the difference really is. I would also like to have clarification of exactly when,and how He was reported missing. I think there could be a conflict of interest here,and for the integrity of the case,and respect for Harley. I completely agree. Hickman should step aside. MOO
 
Tutter said:
is it possible he didn’t go home Thursday night after being told to leave his friends house? came in Friday morning early before 6 according to the cctv, talked to his mom ( who made a point she didn’t see him), wanted to stay home, and when he couldn’t, he then went to the house and tried to get in. So tired, hungry maybe didn’t feel well, just wanted to sleep?
I really can’t think of anything that fits him being seen on camera at 6:08 am, then climbing to the roof and into the chimney. Maybe he hung around outside for a while thinking of a way in and waited until it was light out to try the chimney.


What time did his mom say she talked to him?

it seems impossible that someone forced him into the chimney either, for many reasons.

such a sad strange case.
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According to a police update early on, the mom said she talked to him between 6-7am. There are quite a few inconsistencies with that morning. Some reports said 7am . He was seen leaving on surveillance at 6:08am and the police had checked earlier surveillance which matched up to his normal route .
 
To *not* enter a vacant house *right* across the street just because the doors and windows were locked, seems absolutely crazy, and especially for LE who've seen everything, since surely they would know that if someone *had* entered the home via perhaps an UNlocked door or window, they could easily have then locked it once inside? And surely once LE did their first canvass of the neighborhood, they would've discovered from neighbors that the house was vacant, even if they hadn't known it before then (which they likely did!). imo.
 
Diddian said:
.... The homeowner has said keys were not given out to others.
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RSBM

That also seems a ridiculous thing to say, considering the house had a lockbox on it, and it must have existed there for a reason? Surely over time they have given out the code for the lockbox (to people giving quotes and/or doing repairs/maintenance/renos, summer renters, etc?), and who is to say that an extra key wasn't made at some point?

Aren't those lockboxes easy to break into, as well?
 
deugirtni said:
To *not* enter a vacant house *right* across the street just because the doors and windows were locked, seems absolutely crazy, and especially for LE who've seen everything, since surely they would know that if someone *had* entered the home via perhaps an UNlocked door or window, they could easily have then locked it once inside? And surely once LE did their first canvass of the neighborhood, they would've discovered from neighbors that the house was vacant, even if they hadn't known it before then (which they likely did!). imo.
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This!! Not ONE of the neighbours mentioned this?
ETA it would'nt even need a neighbour to hint at this, if you have a house you can't make contact with his owners, LE has easy ways to find out.
 
deugirtni said:
RSBM

That also seems a ridiculous thing to say, considering the house had a lockbox on it, and it must have existed there for a reason? Surely over time they have given out the code for the lockbox (to people giving quotes and/or doing repairs/maintenance/renos, summer renters, etc?), and who is to say that an extra key wasn't made at some point?

Aren't those lockboxes easy to break into, as well?
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RBBM

It depends on the lockbox.

One of our condo units is up for sale. The realtor's lockbox (with the gate key and unit key) opens with a combination, and it is very sturdy.

Harley's end makes me angry. He survived a less-than-desirable family situation, enjoyed school and would have made valuable contributions to Society. I believe Harley would have helped his parents and his family.

What a waste of a promising life.

JMVHO.
 
sallye818 said:
I see a lot of people wondering why Harley did not pick a lock, break a window, or break in the house some other way, rather than accessing it by chimney. I think there are 2 reasons: First of all, if he broke out a window or damaged the home somehow, he'd be in big trouble and held liable. He was already skating on thin ice with his mom and possibly the police. I truly believe he thought if he went in through the chimney, when he was ready to leave, he could go out a door, and lock it behind him, and voila! No one would ever know he'd been in the home. Second, I think this was an adventure, and as others upthread commented, an urban explore. The climbing the antenna tower, the thrill of doing this and not being caught (it was still dark, not much chance of somebody seeing him), "going down the chimney" like Santa, exploring an unoccupied house,--all of that appealed to his 14 yo self. MOO.
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Great Points and I totally agree with both.

Especially him not wanting to get in trouble anymore. One video I watched of his where he really didnt want to get in trouble anymore because of a 30 day threat to be taken away for 30 days or something along those lines.

He thought he had found a way in through the Chimney to avoid doing damage to the home and avoid getting in any trouble.

Its so tragic and upsetting and I cant stop thinking about poor Harley. I hate to think about some things like maybe if they had found him sooner he may have still had a chance. But even if he died quickly, by not finding him sooner, it made the poor parents worry about him the whole time which is why it is so upsetting that home was not even entered before it was.

ETA - and it gets even worse when you think about the body's evidence getting older and harder for LE to forensically investigate. Not to mention funeral "presentation" considerations or if an Open Casket would have been something the family wanted, etc.

Its just horrible all the way around that he wasnt found much sooner than he was.
 
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deugirtni said:
RSBM

That also seems a ridiculous thing to say, considering the house had a lockbox on it, and it must have existed there for a reason? Surely over time they have given out the code for the lockbox (to people giving quotes and/or doing repairs/maintenance/renos, summer renters, etc?), and who is to say that an extra key wasn't made at some point?

Aren't those lockboxes easy to break into, as well?
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Honestly, I thought it sounded a little ridiculous too. Why have a lockbox if SOMEONE isn't using it? I have a part-time vacation home and both my property manager and a neighbor/friend have keys. While he usually accompanies vendors doing work on the home, occasionally the property manager lends out the key (with my permission) to trusted vendors for plumbing or structure repairs, pest control, turn on/off water for irrigation system. That key is marked "DO NOT COPY," but that isn't really much protection against preventing a copy.

It's been reported that renovations are being made to the home. Are those only happening when the homeowner is on site?
 
DBM. Already discussed and answered.
 
Falcon500 said:
Another one. Hindsight is 20/20. What if the police had run right to that house the minute that parents reported him missing? He would have been just as dead as he was earlier this week.
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I know that, but in my opinion it would have taken alot of the heat off the family, and the whole case. Do you really think that it is normal to NOT search vacant houses that are close by?
 
whatsnext said:
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.
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AgeofAquaruis said:
He was pretty evasive,and on the defence in regards to that. MOO
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Yes he was! He definitely did not want to answer that question. I'm thinking he had to have received a tip and did not want to reveal the source for whatever reason.

They originally called the homeowner to ask permission to enter the house, the homeowner gave them the code to the lockbox but the key was not inside. The last person at the house had accidentally forgotten to put the key back inside and took it home with him. So LE first had to drive to the town where the homeowner lived and get the key. So at first it didn't sound like there was a sense of urgency, they took the time to go get the key instead of breaking a window to get inside right away. But then when they did arrive to the home to actually go inside, all of the police presence blocking off several streets, crime scene people on the scene, it was like they already knew they were going to find him inside. This case is just so puzzling!
 
deugirtni said:
RSBM

That also seems a ridiculous thing to say, considering the house had a lockbox on it, and it must have existed there for a reason? Surely over time they have given out the code for the lockbox (to people giving quotes and/or doing repairs/maintenance/renos, summer renters, etc?), and who is to say that an extra key wasn't made at some point?

Aren't those lockboxes easy to break into, as well?
Click to expand...
We had one on a vacation property we rented out in another state and it would have been almost impossible to break into. Half the time the renters called when trying to get in the house because they couldn't figure the lock box out or even get into it themselves. Now we use a Yale lock and digital codes because it's so much easier to give out different personalized numbers and keep an eye on who's using. A lot of people have never seen lock boxes before and our renters had no idea how to use. Some people had no idea how to open the box to put the key back at the end of their trip. They would leave the keys on the counter when they departed and we'd get an email saying where it was and I couldn't open the box! But that thing was sturdy. Believe me, people tried to break it! It's possible that whoever did the first search by the house didn't realize what that was?

It was so long before Harley was even noticed to be missing that even finding the house sooner likely would not have helped. Not showing up for school should have raised the first alarm that something was amiss. And then I think the fact that he expressed wanting to stay home that day and mom made him go led to speculation that he was angry and had run away. When in reality he might have just wanted a place to himself to chill for the day. Or who knows - he had time, maybe the antenna ladder caught his eye, he wanted to scope it out, and still planned on heading out to school. I do wonder like some have said here if once he was up on the roof, the climb back down looked so scary and difficult that he thought the chimney might be a safer/easier way off.
 
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scdiv said:
...I do wonder like some have said here if once he was up on the roof, the climb back down looked so scary and difficult that he thought the chimney might be a safer/easier way off.
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This could be. My husband noticed a loose shingle on the ridge of our former garage roof (which was somewhat steep, but not as much as the Fulton Rd house). He climbed a ladder and went up to fix the shingle, turned around, and chickened out. We tried a few things, incl. wood stakes I threw up to him to nail down and build a scaffold of sorts, but he couldn't get down. I had to call the fire department.

He'd been wearing rubber soled sneakers. The fire fighter gave him roofing sandals with little spikes in them and then my husband said he felt like he could dance on the roof. The crowd that had gathered took plenty of pictures, as did I, and the firefighters.
 
Harley's obituary was released on Thursday, it reads:

Harley J. Dilly, 14, of Port Clinton, Ohio passed away on Tuesday, January 14, 2020. He was born on August 12, 2005 in Fremont, Ohio, the son of Marcus and Heather (Styndl) Dilly.

Harley was a Freshman at Port Clinton High School, and enjoyed various sports, gaming, robotics, making YouTube videos and singing. He always felt like he was the underdog, and as a result, he had a very giving heart and became very brave. He hated to make mistakes, and was inspired to become a counselor or a leader in the future.

Did you ever find a penny while walking through town? Harley would drop pennies while walking, as pennies from Heaven for other people. He had a soft heart and wanted to be a blessing to other people. Every year during the Christmas holiday season, he would volunteer to ring the bell for the Salvation Army.

He was a loving son, brother and grandson, and will be deeply missed by his family and friends, including his three best friends: James, Daniel and Junior.

Survivors include his parents, Marcus and Heather; sister, Ashlyn Dilly; brother, Roary Dilly; maternal grandparents, Robert and Carolee Styndl; paternal grandmother, Mary Dilly; aunts, Meredith (Robert) Marflak and Betty (Frank) Dotson; uncles, Raymond Dilly, Jr. and Christopher Dilly; niece, Rylee Dilly-Daly; as well as many cousins, and friends from school. He was preceded in death by his paternal grandfather, Raymond Dilly, Sr., and maternal great-grandparents, Robert and Rose Styndl, Sr."

Memorial contributions may be made on PayPal for the establishment of a scholarship fund in Harley’s name.

Obituary released for Port Clinton teen Harley Dilly; Public memorial service to be held Jan. 25
 
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