IL IL - Dermot Kelly, 16, Oglesby, Jan 1972

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Satch

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Hi Everyone,

I found some posts about him on the Websluth Forum but they closed. Dermot was about 16 years old when he left his Illinois home in late January of 1972 and never came back. I understand that a relative of Dermot posted that he was heavily into music, was somewhat rebellious at the time he disappeared, and that his parents were having some marital problems.

Was there anything on the day, week, or weeks leading up to his disappearance concerning clues that he was about to leave home? Did he have a fight with the family members and than just leave? Did they see him leave the house that day? Is their recollection as to where he said he was going? This same poster did say that she believed he may have gone to California to join the hippie-movement.

It's so sad to hear about people who vanish without a trace, because you wonder what could have been done to prevent this. Let's hope that any new information will return Dermot to his family, or tragically, if he has passed away, to bring closure to this almost forty year old case.

Satch
 
Is Dermots DNA in codis? Neither Charley Project or Doenetwork indicate whether or not his DNA is available. I know this is a horrible thought, but there are still 9 unidentified victims of John Wayne Gacy. I realize the dates are off with Dermot going missing in 1972, but I am not certain the estimated date of death is accurate for the remaining unidentified Gacy victims. Also, Oglesby is on the outskirts of the metro Chicago area, so the location is not off if Dermot remained in the area for some time after leaving home.

I'm curious to know if Dermot has been ruled out as one of those 9 John Does.
 
Cubby said:
Is Dermots DNA in codis? Neither Charley Project or Doenetwork indicate whether or not his DNA is available. I know this is a horrible thought, but there are still 9 unidentified victims of John Wayne Gacy. I realize the dates are off with Dermot going missing in 1972, but I am not certain the estimated date of death is accurate for the remaining unidentified Gacy victims. Also, Oglesby is on the outskirts of the metro Chicago area, so the location is not off if Dermot remained in the area for some time after leaving home.

I'm curious to know if Dermot has been ruled out as one of those 9 John Does.
Click to expand...

Thanks Cubby for this information,

Oh, that information about Gacy's victims really frightens me and I had never thought about this in connection to Dermot's case. However, thanks for providing Dermot with his own thread.

Satch
 
Thanks Satch. I hate even thinking that, but it has crossed my mind a few times and since Dermot has a thread I figured I'd post it..... The timing is kind of off 72 to 76 is enough years. I simply don't know enough about what Gacy was doing the few years prior to those bodies being found and we don't know if Dermot stuck around in the general area or not.

I PRAY I am wrong but I would really like to be certain his dna has been compared and he has been ruled out. Maybe it has crossed my mind because I am in the Chicago Metro area.......

I will see if I can figure out who to call to inquire if Dermot has been compared to these 9 UID's. One would think whoever is investigating this case would have already compared missing men in the general area, or even in all of Illinois or southern WI, but I just don't know. I will try making some calls this week.
 
Cubby said:
Is Dermots DNA in codis? Neither Charley Project or Doenetwork indicate whether or not his DNA is available. I know this is a horrible thought, but there are still 9 unidentified victims of John Wayne Gacy. I realize the dates are off with Dermot going missing in 1972, but I am not certain the estimated date of death is accurate for the remaining unidentified Gacy victims. Also, Oglesby is on the outskirts of the metro Chicago area, so the location is not off if Dermot remained in the area for some time after leaving home.

I'm curious to know if Dermot has been ruled out as one of those 9 John Does.
Click to expand...

Cubby, I don't believe Dermot's dna is submitted. At one time I thought he might be the male half of the two UIDs in Sumter, SC. I called Oglesby, PD. Their statement was that Dermot only had one living sister, parents deceased, and the last time they tried to get her to provide a dna sample she refused. Now if that's not true, then Dermot's sister needs to contact Oglesby, PD, and get this done.
 
I searched the Google News Archives for "Dermot Kelly", Chicago, and there is a very brief article on his case. Unfortunately it's a Pay-Per-View thing but for research purposes it is from The Chicago Tribune and the credited author is named Bob Wiedrich and the bi-line is "Youth Fled Society:Not Home: Family"

To paraphrase, the abstract implies that Dermot had a great deal of stress when he left home at 1:30PM on January 30, 1972, according to Mr, Wiedrich. If anyone is interested in obtaining the article, the abstract says it is from The Chicago Tribune, December 15, 1974 on Page 5.

Anything more than a sentence as to what happened to him would bring some closure to this case. I hope I did OK with trying to reference what little data I found. There really is so little information about him.

Satch
 
Satch said:
I searched the Google News Archives for "Dermot Kelly", Chicago, and there is a very brief article on his case. Unfortunately it's a Pay-Per-View thing but for research purposes it is from The Chicago Tribune and the credited author is named Bob Wiedrich and the bi-line is "Youth Fled Society:Not Home: Family"

To paraphrase, the abstract implies that Dermot had a great deal of stress when he left home at 1:30PM on January 30, 1972, according to Mr, Wiedrich. If anyone is interested in obtaining the article, the abstract says it is from The Chicago Tribune, December 15, 1974 on Page 5.

Anything more than a sentence as to what happened to him would bring some closure to this case. I hope I did OK with trying to reference what little data I found. There really is so little information about him.

Satch
Click to expand...

Hi All,

Has anyone tried to look up that newspaper archive above? Sadly, that information may be the only evidence we have. No leads, or anything. I wish I knew what was in that article.

Satch
 
Cubby said:
Thanks Satch. I hate even thinking that, but it has crossed my mind a few times and since Dermot has a thread I figured I'd post it..... The timing is kind of off 72 to 76 is enough years. I simply don't know enough about what Gacy was doing the few years prior to those bodies being found and we don't know if Dermot stuck around in the general area or not.

I PRAY I am wrong but I would really like to be certain his dna has been compared and he has been ruled out. Maybe it has crossed my mind because I am in the Chicago Metro area.......

I will see if I can figure out who to call to inquire if Dermot has been compared to these 9 UID's. One would think whoever is investigating this case would have already compared missing men in the general area, or even in all of Illinois or southern WI, but I just don't know. I will try making some calls this week.
Click to expand...

I am now really concerned and this is going to haunt me, because I just looked up Wikipedia for John Wayne Gacy and there is a victims list that said his earliest victim's disappearance was in January, 1972. The date was January 3, 1972 and Dermot left home on January 30, 1972. I always thought that Gacy's murders took place later than 1972. It lists eight unidentified victims of Gacy. Was there tragically a ninth that Wikipedia fails to mention?

We know that Wikipedia is often not the most trusted source of information. But that early January 1972 date makes me more uneasy now. I think there would just be peace and closure to the case, even if we could be sure that Dermot left home, found peace and happiness in life and is either safe or if he passed away, did he go in peace?

Here is the Wikipedia link for Gacy: His victims' list is near the middle to middle bottom of the page:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/John_Wayne_Gacy

Satch
 
Satch said:
I am now really concerned and this is going to haunt me, because I just looked up Wikipedia for John Wayne Gacy and there is a victims list that said his earliest victim's disappearance was in January, 1972. The date was January 3, 1972 and Dermot left home on January 30, 1972. I always thought that Gacy's murders took place later than 1972. It lists eight unidentified victims of Gacy. Was there tragically a ninth that Wikipedia fails to mention?

We know that Wikipedia is often not the most trusted source of information. But that early January 1972 date makes me more uneasy now. I think there would just be peace and closure to the case, even if we could be sure that Dermot left home, found peace and happiness in life and is either safe or if he passed away, did he go in peace?

Here is the Wikipedia link for Gacy: His victims' list is near the middle to middle bottom of the page:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/John_Wayne_Gacy

Satch
Click to expand...

BBM. Doenetwork also lists 8. There was 9 but one was identified w/in the last year or so IIRC.
 
A call to the LaSalle County sheriffs office led to the following info.

The detective I spoke with believes Dermot was ruled out as one of the remaining unidentified victims of Gacy. He didn't have the file in front of him, but his recollection was that Dermot was compared and ruled out.

He also let me know Dermot was compared to a then unidentified man who was involved in a train wreck in Wisconsin. I could not find a still unidentified male who matched that description at Doenetwork, so perhaps there is no file online -or- that person has since been identified.

There is a possibility Dermot drowned as LE's investigation led to finding some foot prints that led to a river area - he did not indicate which river.

I have a call into the Cook County medical examiners office to inquire if there is a list of rule outs for the unidentified victims of Gacy. I'm hoping for a call back, if not I will try again in a few days.
 
Cubby said:
A call to the LaSalle County sheriffs office led to the following info.

The detective I spoke with believes Dermot was ruled out as one of the remaining unidentified victims of Gacy. He didn't have the file in front of him, but his recollection was that Dermot was compared and ruled out.

He also let me know Dermot was compared to a then unidentified man who was involved in a train wreck in Wisconsin. I could not find a still unidentified male who matched that description at Doenetwork, so perhaps there is no file online -or- that person has since been identified.

There is a possibility Dermot drowned as LE's investigation led to finding some foot prints that led to a river area - he did not indicate which river.

I have a call into the Cook County medical examiners office to inquire if there is a list of rule outs for the unidentified victims of Gacy. I'm hoping for a call back, if not I will try again in a few days.
Click to expand...

Thank you Cubby for this information so very much!

But what is really sad seems to be that of what little leads are coming in, that Dermot is no longer living. Still hoping that someday that Pay Per View Chicago paper tidbit that I referenced above, might give us some insight into what was happening in the Kelly home before he vanished, and up to two years after. (It was written in 1974.)

At least the indications are that the defective believes Dermot was ruled out as a Gacy victim, Thank God for that. It would be interesting to find out the significance of the unidentified man in the Wisconsin trainwreck, the possible river and footprints connection to Dermot, and any other new information. Like the name of the train crash in Wisconsin. The date of the crash, and the name of the river with the mysterious footprints.

Thanks again very much!

Satch
 
Hi all--when I saw this UID that was added yesterday or so to Doe Network, I kept thinking he looks a bit like someone I've seen, so I did a search on Charley. I don't know if anyone has already checked? I'm in Scotland, but happy to email the proper contact, unless someone on the other side of the pond wishes to?

Let me know what you think...here is the link. the UID is listed as 20 - 30 & 5'9", but I think it looks close enough to check:

http://www.doenetwork.org/cases/1436umil.html
 
Satch said:
Thank you Cubby for this information so very much!

But what is really sad seems to be that of what little leads are coming in, that Dermot is no longer living. Still hoping that someday that Pay Per View Chicago paper tidbit that I referenced above, might give us some insight into what was happening in the Kelly home before he vanished, and up to two years after. (It was written in 1974.)

At least the indications are that the defective believes Dermot was ruled out as a Gacy victim, Thank God for that. It would be interesting to find out the significance of the unidentified man in the Wisconsin trainwreck, the possible river and footprints connection to Dermot, and any other new information. Like the name of the train crash in Wisconsin. The date of the crash, and the name of the river with the mysterious footprints.

Thanks again very much!

Satch
Click to expand...

I didn't take a look at the map to guess which river, but it would be likely a river within the vicinity Dermott went missing. If he was feeling down, it is possible he could have walked a good distance the day or a few days of going missing. Sadly, I have an old HS friend who took his life and the events leading up to his suicide determined he walked several hours and several miles between two fairly large towns in the suburbs of Chicago. A 5 or 10 mile walk would not be out of the question in relation to a river. IMO.



I did not get the impression the man Dermot was compared to from the trainwreck was still unidentified.
 
kitbits said:
Hi all--when I saw this UID that was added yesterday or so to Doe Network, I kept thinking he looks a bit like someone I've seen, so I did a search on Charley. I don't know if anyone has already checked? I'm in Scotland, but happy to email the proper contact, unless someone on the other side of the pond wishes to?

Let me know what you think...here is the link. the UID is listed as 20 - 30 & 5'9", but I think it looks close enough to check:

http://www.doenetwork.org/cases/1436umil.html
Click to expand...

The hts are a bit off but they do resemble each other. I think the telling sign with this John Doe is doenetwork reports he had extensive dental work a week or two before death. I can put in a call to the detective I spoke with handling Dermot's case and ask about the dental work. I think he would know that info off the bat to rule in our out the potential match.
 
Cubby said:
The hts are a bit off but they do resemble each other. I think the telling sign with this John Doe is doenetwork reports he had extensive dental work a week or two before death. I can put in a call to the detective I spoke with handling Dermot's case and ask about the dental work. I think he would know that info off the bat to rule in our out the potential match.
Click to expand...

yes, my thoughts exactly. Many thanks, Cubby-much appreciated if you could do that. I'm having awful luck with overseas phonecalls lately :s
 
Cubby said:
The hts are a bit off but they do resemble each other. I think the telling sign with this John Doe is doenetwork reports he had extensive dental work a week or two before death. I can put in a call to the detective I spoke with handling Dermot's case and ask about the dental work. I think he would know that info off the bat to rule in our out the potential match.
Click to expand...

Good observation about the dental work of this John Doe,

I just think that the estimated age is too far off for it to resemble a match. Dermot was between 16-17 years of age, and this unidentified victim is estimated between 30-45 years of age. Discovery estimated two years after his death. Probably a good 10-15 years too old for a match. What do you all think?

Satch
 
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