Police in Ohio have expanded their search for a boy who went missing more than a week ago on his way to school.
Harley Dilly, 14, was last seen on Dec. 20 in Port Clinton, Ohio, according to Facebook posts from local police. Surveillance footage reviewed by police appears to show Dilly last seen somewhere on his route from his home to the Port Clinton High & Middle School campus between 6 and 7 a.m. on Dec. 20. He was reported missing late Dec. 21.
The FBI, United States Marshal Service and National Center for Missing and Exploited Children are among the agencies that have joined the investigation, according to a news release issued Friday by the Port Clinton Police Department.
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An “extensive” search for Dilly in the Port Clinton area was conducted on Dec. 22. An additional search that covered over 150 acres and included roughly 75 law enforcement agencies, as well as helicopter and K-9 teams, was conducted on Dec. 26.
Authorities say they are “concerned for his safety” but that the investigation does not indicate foul play.
“We understand this is a 14 year old child and are exhausting every effort to locate Harley and reunite him with his family,” the police department said on their Facebook page.
Dilly’s family thanked everyone involved in the investigation for their work and begged for Harley’s safe return in a statement posted Friday on the police department’s Facebook page.
“We want to thank all the agencies and all the people from the community who have assisted in searching for our son Harley from now and through the holiday season,” the statement said. “As you can imagine our family is terribly distraught at this time. This is not the Christmas wish we had hoped for. We pray for the safe return of our son, Harley. Harley if you hear/read this, please come home we missed you, your family miss you. You are not in trouble. We love you.”
Police were dispatched to Dilly’s home last month to calm him down after a “family issue” occurred, according to NBC 24.
Police Chief Rob Hickman asked that local residents on Friday to go door-to-door and pass out Dilly’s missing person flyer. Police are offering a $7,000 reward for information leading to Dilly’s safe return.
Dilly was last seen wearing glasses, gray sweatpants, a maroon puffer jacket and black tennis shoes. He is 4 feet, 9 inches tall and weighs about 100 pounds. He has brown hair and green eyes.
Anyone with information regarding this case is asked to call the Port Clinton Police Department at (419) 734-3121 or the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children at (800) 843-5678.