PORT CLINTON — Two people were charged with misdemeanor trespassing during a protest outside of the vacant Port Clinton house where the body of missing teenager Harley Dilly was found.
The protest started about 10 a.m. Sunday at the Fulton Street property, which is also near the Dilly youth’s family home. The police chief had told the event organizer that participants could gather on the sidewalk but not to be on the private property, according to a Port Clinton police report.
Rhonda S. Goehring, 53, and her daughter Amanda J. Brewer, 32, both of Fremont, were cited after they went into the backyard, the report shows. Ms. Goehring told police that she didn’t know she wasn’t allowed to be on the property and just wanted to put an angel on the porch.
Both are scheduled to appear in court on Wednesday.
“I was not part of the protesting group and neither was my daughter,” Ms. Goehring told The Blade on Monday.
Ms. Goehring said she had followed the story of the Dilly youth since he was reported missing and was part of search parties to find him. She said other items were on the porch and she and Ms. Brewer just wanted to pay their respects to the youth.
She doesn’t think she or her daughter should have been arrested. They were just barely into the yard when they were stopped by police, she said.
“I’ve never been in trouble, and neither has my daughter, with the law,” Ms. Goehring said.
About a dozen people protesting how Port Clinton police handled the search for the missing teen gathered in front of the Fulton Street property around the time Ms. Goehring and Ms. Brewer were cited for trespassing.
Between getting in and out of their vehicles to warm up, they waved signs at people passing in cars and called out “Justice for Harley.”
The Dilly youth first went missing in late December. Authorities and members of the community spent weeks searching for him before police found his body stuck in a chimney of the vacant home. Investigators have said the Dilly youth climbed into the chimney from the roof and became trapped. The Ottawa County coroner ruled he died of compressive asphyxia. The investigation remains open while toxicology results are pending.
Both police department officials and members of the community have defended how investigators handled the case.
Funeral arrangements were announced Thursday for the Dilly youth. Visitation is scheduled for 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. Saturday at the Gerner-Wolf-Walker Funeral Home & Crematory, 216 Washington St. Funeral services will be private.
First Published January 20, 2020, 10:43 p.m.
