Ohio boy Harley Dilly died after getting trapped in chimney of empty house: 'The chimney was 9-by-13 inches wide'
PORT CLINTON, OHIO: The body of an Ohio teenager who had disappeared late December was found stuck inside a chimney of an unoccupied house, authorities revealed. It was earlier revealed that the body had been found, with no further details.
According to Chief Robert Hickman, the police in Port Clinton revealed that 14-year-old Harley Dilly died after climbing into the house's chimney on his own and then getting trapped in a space of around 9 inches by 13 inches. Hickman shared with reporters, "It's not the outcome we wanted" but at least "the family has closure".
"His family was notified early this morning, and this appears to be an accident," he shared. When the authorities had entered the house, which is very close to Harley's family home, they found the boy's glasses and jacket on the second floor before finding his body inside the chimney, as reported by NBC.
Hickman shared, "It appears Harley climbed ... to the roof and entered the chimney. Once in the chimney, Harley’s jacket and glasses were pushed from the chimney through a flue and into the second floor of the house. The chimney was blocked between the second and first floor, which trapped Harley."
The police had searched the house multiple times earlier but had not gone inside as there were no signs of a broken lock or window. When they ran out of leads, they went back to all the empty houses that they had previously searched and entered the property when they made the tragic discovery.
"With any investigation, we start back from the beginning and re-canvass everything that has already been checked," he added. The state Bureau of Criminal Investigation issued an advisory on Tuesday in order to end the search for Dilly who had disappeared on his way to school in Port Clinton.
The advisory read, "THE CHILD HAS BEEN RECOVERED. THANK YOU FOR YOUR ASSISTANCE." Dilly's sister took to Facebook to say, "R.I.H. Harley Dilly and fly high, confirmed by the PD both out there and here in my town."