Tragic discovery: Child missing for a month found dead inside chimney of abandoned home

Harley Dilly was last seen in the area of his Port Clinton, Ohio, home at 6:08 a.m. on the morning of Friday, December 20th, 2019. He was walking to school, but never arrived there. A search and investigation ensued that included vast numbers of local, state, and federal organizations and agencies in a valiant effort to find the missing 14-year-old.

Almost one month after being reported missing – and in a mysterious set of circumstances not yet completely explained, the boy’s lifeless body was recovered from the chimney of an abandoned home. That abandoned home was located just across the street from Harley’s home, according to USA Today.

Port Clinton Police Chief Rob Hickman said that his office believes that Harley climbed up and along an antenna that led up to the abandoned home’s roof, and that “he slipped off and into a chimney, where he became stuck.” Hickman went on to report that Harley’s death was accidental and that there were no indications of foul play.

“It’s not the outcome we wanted,” Hickman said during an emotional press conference, according to WOIO. “I promise myself not to break down today.” ~ CBS News

That abandoned home had been searched several times – but investigators always found that all the doors to the house were secure and there were no signs of forced entry. But police decided to search that house again, and that’s when Dilly’s body was recovered.

Police are currently unsure why Dilly attempted to enter the home’s chimney. Hickman described the presumed sequence of events, saying that the teen climbed an antenna tower to the roof and entered the chimney. His coat and glasses dropped through a flue into the second floor and a blockage between floors trapped him. ~ International Business Times

An autopsy was conducted yesterday to determine the young man’s cause of death. The Ottawa County Coroner’s Office did reveal the cause of death to be “compressive asphyxia,” but will be releaseing more information as it becomes available.