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

[Diddian]

This is also not an apology. If you stepped on my toe without meaning to, you still stepped on my toe.

I apologize.

 

[skywalker20]

RIP Harley! This outcome is truly very, very heartbreaking!

 

[bellyup]

Another thought.

They saw the lockbox and thought “we should check that house....let’s get permission from the owner”...

... but shut down four streets and had BCI, a dozen cops and ambulances there for a routine check bc they saw a lock box?

Taking photos for 9 hours? Blocking all the windows? Nope. Nope. Nope.

 

[Lusitana]

Where is Harley's school backpack?

 

[MassGuy]

Another thought.

They saw the lockbox and thought “we should check that house....let’s get permission from the owner”...

... but shut down four streets and had BCI, a dozen cops and ambulances there for a routine check bc they saw a lock box?

Taking photos for 9 hours? Blocking all the windows? Nope. Nope. Nope.

They probably made entry first, and when they discovered Harley’s belongings, that’s when they called in the cavalry.

 

[squareandrabbet]

You know, I am often a cynical person. I don't think Harley had the best parents or home life, and I have been suspicious of them. But I am willing to admit when it appears I've been wrong, and it is looking like I probably was. I can EASILY see a boy trying to access a locked home through a chimney. Those who say "Oh a 14 year old boy would never..." have probably never had or been a 14 year old boy. I've had more than one, and cannot even begin to tell you the stories. I also had a couple of brothers, and have heard stories from my husband, my dad and two granddads. Teenage boys get up to all sorts of antics even crazier than this sounds. It's beginning to look like a very tragic freak accident, and it some ways that is just as sad. Under these circumstances, I can only hope and pray that his demise was rapid.

I wish I could "like" this 100x! I took a class in young adult librarianship, and there have been many studies on the psychology of risk-taking teenagers:

Why Your Teenager Does Such Crazy Things

Short version: To impress peers. If Harley was in fact thinking this was the precursor to filming YT videos about it, this makes perfect sense.

If his coat and glasses were pushed through the flue you have to think he was head first, I’d say.

This only works if he wasn't wearing the coat, IMO, as it would have been tough to get it off over his arms and then head.

 

[amayla]

Oh my word. I have a 14 year old son. It looks like basically a ladder right to the roof. Yes the space is small but I can see this happening. They are so wiry and flexible. And what a challenge it would be which is exciting and thrilling. I feel the need to have a conversation about the dangers of chimneys with him now.

 

[crsr18]

So if he slipped, not from the antenna but just went further or faster down the chimney than he had intended, his arms were likely above his head. He would have been holding on to the top of the chimney prior to slipping. He would have been trapped in that confined space with his arms stuck in the upright position. Obviously that would be terribly uncomfortable. I suppose it would be possible to wiggle out of his coat. If his coat wasn’t zipped (or maybe even if it was) it probably would have been pushed up anyway as his body was sliding down. He could have shoved it through the flue in a desperate attempt to escape, or be noticed, or maybe just to get it off from resting between him and his only source of air...the top of the chimney.

 

[SassynOz]

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.

I don’t think he tossed them. I think it was the the flue the wind combo just yanked anything not secure off. It’s hard to explain without a visual example.

 

[princessmonokuma]

I really do think we need to think about the face that Heather apparently spoke to Harley but didn't see him which she makes VERY clear for some reason and does not want to talk about it (

)

Also the fact Harley was allegedly meeting somebody of an unknown identity.

 

[osu]

"Police say that Dilly was climbing up an antenna, slipped off and into a chimney and was stuck."​

Wow, what are the chances of that? I need to see an aerial view.

 

[BOSCOE]

Harley removed his jacket so in my mind he thought he could enter home through chimney. I also don't believe he attempted entry head first.

 

[bellyup]

Well the risk taking 14 year old is home.

Would you try to go in the chimney?

Oh. Yeah. Definitely. Well probably not if I was alone. If it’s a vacant house why am I going to risk a chimney. I’d just get into the house another way. Find a video - Pick a lock. Break a window.

If you did go in the chimney....?
Well I wouldn’t just go. I’d try. See if I could fit. Stick my legs in it. But not like if someone wasn’t there. No kid would do that without a friend there to get you out when you get stuck.

So you think you’d get stuck?
For sure. I’d be like “I’m about to get stuck” right before I did it.

 

[SassynOz]

So if he slipped, not from the antenna but just went further or faster down the chimney than he had intended, his arms were likely above his head. He would have been holding on to the top of the chimney prior to slipping. He would have been trapped in that confined space with his arms stuck in the upright position. Obviously that would be terribly uncomfortable. I suppose it would be possible to wiggle out of his coat. If his coat wasn’t zipped (or maybe even if it was) it probably would have been pushed up anyway as his body was sliding down. He could have shoved it through the flue in a desperate attempt to escape, or be noticed, or maybe just to get it off from resting between him and his only source of air...the top of the chimney.

These coats are packable also so they are really warm even if they look thin. But they pack down super small.

 

[holtzmann]

If he was wearing the coat when he entered the chimney (which i can't see as being possible), then if he entered feet first i feel pretty sure that the interior of the chimney would have been so close that the coat would have ridden off as his body descended, come off over his head, and perhaps even taken his glasses with it. Perhaps once over his head, he pushed it through the second floor flue opening.

 

[Diddian]

Well the risk taking 14 year old is home.

Would you try to go in the chimney?

Oh. Yeah. Definitely. Well probably not if I was alone. If it’s a vacant house why am I going to risk a chimney. I’d just get into the house another way. Find a video - Pick a lock. Break a window.

If you did go in the chimney....?
Well I wouldn’t just go. I’d try. See if I could fit. Stick my legs in it. But not like if someone wasn’t there. No kid would do that without a friend there to get you out when you get stuck.

So you think you’d get stuck?
For sure. I’d be like “I’m about to get stuck” right before I did it.

May be best to make sure your 14 year old not only carries a phone, but also wears a bluetooth headset. And always has a buddy. Just in case.

 

[holtzmann]

Also the fact Harley was allegedly meeting somebody of an unknown identity.

Where is this from?

 

[BOSCOE]

These coats are packable also so they are really warm even if they look thin. But they pack down super small.

ITA.
Puffer jackets or vests are not made the way they were years ago. I have one which came with its own matching small bag for packing.
In other words they are really not PUFFY anymore.

 

[margarita25]

Oh no, this is exactly what happened to a boy here in Colorado. He got stuck...

 

[Oregonmama]

I don’t think he tossed them. I think it was the the flue the wind combo just yanked anything not secure off. It’s hard to explain without a visual example.

a backdraft effect? IMO