Reward money nearing $10,000 for information on missing Ohio teen Harley Dilly
Three weeks after a Port Clinton, Ohio, boy was last seen, several organizations have raised almost $10,000 in reward money for any information leading to his safe return.
More than a half dozen organizations and businesses have donated since 14-year-old Harley Dilly was last seen on surveillance video walking to his high school on Dec. 20.
Dilly, who is 4-feet-9-inches tall, weighs 100 pounds and has brown hair and green eyes, was wearing glasses, grey sweatpants, a maroon "puffy" jacket and black sneakers, police said.
His family and the more than 70 law enforcement officials involved in the extensive search efforts have been "concerned for his safety" when the reward funds began at $4,000 on Christmas day.
Dilly's mother, Heather Dilly, spoke publicly for the first time on Friday since her son went missing.
"There's no words for any of this. I would never want anybody to go through this," Heather Dilly told Cleveland ABC station WEWS. "I mean, somebody had to have seen something."
She said the investigation is taking so much longer than she anticipated and is praying her son comes home safely.
"You see everything on TV, you watch all these crime shows and you think, 'oh, that's never going to happen.' And they solve it in an hour. It doesn't take an hour to find out everything," she said. "I love you Harley, please come home. Please, I just … We need you, I don't believe that you ran, but if you did just please, this isn't you."
Three local businesses, as of Thursday, and a couple submitted checks to increase the hopes of finding Dilly.
Fisherman's Wharf and BeYoutiful Hair/Nail Salon gave $2,000, Catawba Island Jewelers added $125 and RadAir Complete Car Care issued a $2,200 check. A couple gave an extra $1,000.
Port Clinton Police Department has posted daily updates on the social media account and as of Friday morning, there was "no new information to report."
Officials are asking anyone with information about Dilly's whereabouts to call The National Center for Missing and Exploited Children 800-843-5678 or the Port Clinton Police Department 419-734-3121.
