The Disappearance of Harley Dilly

Harley Dilly has been missing since December 20th, 2019. The 14 year-old boy vanished after leaving his family's Port Clinton, Ohio home to walk to school. The surveillance image on the right was captured between 6am and 7am on the morning of Harley's disappearance. This is the last known sighting of Harley. He never arrived at school and has not been seen or heard from again. 

The search for Harley has been widespread. Law enforcement agencies have reportedly searched approximately 150 acres surrounding the area where Harley was last seen. The searches included canine search & rescue teams and helicopters, but unfortunately no significant clues were found. However, investigators did state that they did not find any evidence that Harley was abducted. Investigators also initially stated that they were treating Harley's disappearance as a runaway, but they are still concerned for his safety. 

At this time, there has been very little information shared about why investigators think Harley might have run away. Harley's mother reportedly told police that Harley asked if he could stay home from school that morning because he was not feeling well, but she denied his request. Still, it is unclear if that would prompt Harley to not return home.

Since his disappearance, Harley's family members have made numerous public pleas for Harley's safe return. An official statement from the family appealed to Harley directly by stating, "Harley if you hear/read this, please come home we miss you, your family misses you. You are not in trouble. We love you." 

There is a $7000 reward being offered for information that could lead to Harley's safe return. If you have any information, please contact the Port Clinton Police Department at (419)-734-312.

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UPDATE (1/14/20): Harley's body has been found.

Police stated that they searched a vacant house in Port Clinton, where they found his jacket and glasses on the second floor. From there, police searched the chimney, where they found Harley's body. It is believed that Harley got trapped into the chimney on accident, however police have not stated why they think he entered the chimney. The investigation is ongoing. 

Rest in peace, Harley.

The Disappearance & Presumed Murder of Aranda Briones

16 year-old Aranda Briones has been missing since January 13th, 2019. The teen left her Moreno Valley, California home that day after telling her family that she was going to spend the day with a male friend from school. Aranda never returned home that evening and has not been seen or heard from again. The male friend (who was later identified as 18 year-old Owen Shover) stated that he dropped Aranda off at Moreno Valley Community Park between 6 and 6:30pm. However, investigators looked at footage of the park, and Aranda was not seen at any point that day. Additionally, the male friend said that he saw Aranda get into a four-door grey sedan. Aranda’s family reportedly does not know anybody with a car of that description, and said car was not seen on the park’s surveillance footage either.

According to Aranda’s brother, her Snapchat map feature placed her phone at a completely different location on the evening of January 13th. A female friend reportedly told Aranda’s family that she noticed Aranda’s Snapchat was showing her in Rubidoux that evening. When the friend texted Aranda to ask what she was doing there, Aranda’s phone was abruptly shut off. The phone has not been turned on again.

The investigation into Aranda’s disappearance has picked up quickly. Moreno Valley police began investigating a day after she was last seen. Shortly thereafter, the FBI and Riverside County sheriff’s human trafficking task force have joined the search. Investigators did not initially reveal the name of the male friend Aranda was last seen with, but it was clear from the very beginning that Aranda’s family is suspicious of his story.

A few weeks later, the male friend was identified. Two brothers named Gary Shover (21) and Owen Shover (18) were arrested and charged with Aranda’s murder. At that point, Owen was identified as the friend who told police that he dropped Aranda off at Moreno Valley Community Park the day she was last seen. At this time, investigators have not released a motive and Aranda’s body has still not been found. The FBI has made it clear that the investigation is still ongoing, and they are still encouraging anybody with information to contact them.

The Disappearance of Nathaniel Holmes

Nathaniel Holmes has been missing since December 19th, 2017. The 17-year old was last seen at his high school in Westminster, Colorado. Nathaniel had only been attending the high school for five weeks at the time, but according to his father Ben Holmes, he had already gotten into trouble quite a bit. Ben stated that Nathaniel appeared to be "on something" when he returned from school the day before his disappearance. Since Ben had to work, Nathaniel was sent to his mother's house so he could be monitored. His mother dropped him off at school the following morning, but he never attended his classes. Nathaniel instead went to the principal's office and asked to speak with a friend. The principal denied his request to call the friend out of class, and Nathaniel left the building after that. He called his mother and told her that he was going to a friend of his father's house and did not need to be picked up. Nathaniel has never been seen or heard from again.

Authorities believe Nathaniel left on his own accord. Still, Nathaniel's family members say that his disappearance is completely out of character. He left behind many personal items, including his iPad. It is unclear where Nathaniel was actually headed after he left his school. Investigators said that there is no evidence of foul play, but clues about what actually did happen have been far and few in between.

There is a $10,000 reward in place for anyone with information about Nathaniel's disappearance. If you have information that could help the investigation, please contact the Westminster police at 303-658-4360.

The Disappearance of Jared Chavis

19 year-old Jared Chavis, circa 2017.

Jared uploaded the picture on the left to his Facebook page on December 26th, 2017. He was going through an exciting time in his life at this point—he had recently completed ten months in the Air Force and was now pursuing work as a technician. Jared also had recently relocated from his home town in Louisiana to Houston, Texas. He moved in with his father’s niece and began to search for work opportunities in the Houston area. By all accounts, it appeared that Jared’s future was headed in a positive direction. With all of this in mind, Jared’s family and friends were shocked to learn that Jared seemingly vanished into thin air on January 12th, 2018.

On the evening Jared was last seen, he spoke to his mother on the phone around 9pm. Less than two hours later, Jared was last seen getting into vehicle at the 8800 block of Westheimer Road in Houston. The car was driven by a man known only by the nickname ‘Bolt Suave’. According to police, Jared was riding in the back seat of the car, and he got into an argument with ‘Bolt Suave’ at some point during the drive. The verbal argument eventually escalated to shots being fired. Witnesses told police that Jared never exited the vehicle. He has never been seen or heard from again. ‘Bolt Suave’ has allegedly been on the run ever since the incident occurred.

Investigators have not commented on whether or not Jared was wounded or killed by the gunfire that occurred in the car. They are also remaining silent about other details of the case in order to protect the investigation. However, ‘Bolt Suave’ has been named as a person of interest in the case and police are actively looking for both him and Jared.

A $10000 reward is being offered for any information that could help the case. If you have any information that could lead to their whereabouts, please contact the Houston Police Department at 832-394-1840.

List Series: Missing Person Cold Cases Classified as Runaways

An estimated 1.6-2.8 million teenagers in the United States run away from home each year. (source) There are a variety of different reasons a teenager might run away, and there are also many various dangers that teenagers face upon running away. Still, statistics show that most teens do return home--about 77% percent return within one week, and approximately only 7% of teens are missing for longer than a month. (source) There is always cause for concern when a teenager runs away, and when a runaway is gone for a prolonged period of time, those concerns intensify. There are certain cases where authorities reclassify a case labeled as a runaway to an endangered missing person. However, there are still numerous cases in which the runaway classification is maintained--even if the person has been missing without a trace for a prolonged period of time. Below is a list of seven such cases that are still classified as runaways, despite the fact that they have been missing for years.

7. Angel Wilson

Angel Wilson vanished at the age of 17 on August 10th, 2007. The teen lived in Spokane, Washington, and she was reportedly a habitual runaway since the age of 13. Angel dropped out of high school her sophomore year. While her father had custody of her, he stated that Angel rarely ever stayed at his home--instead, she opted to stay with friends...but she never stayed in the same place for long. When she turned 17, Angel's father granted her permission to marry a 21 year-old named Will Wilson. She moved into Will's house after getting married, but the couple often argued about Angel's alleged drug use. On the day Angel was last seen, Will reportedly caught her smoking methamphetamine inside their home. Will then gave her an ultimatum to quit using drugs or their relationship with end. This angered Angel, and she reportedly stormed out of the house. Will awoke the following morning and found her wedding ring on a nightstand. She has never been seen or heard from again.

Due to the fact that Angel was a habitual runaway, it is easy to understand why authorities classified her as such this time. However, there has not been a single trace of her for over a decade. In the past, Angel always returned home or at least stayed in touch with friends. While she might have left her home on her own accord, it does not seem likely that she has purposely stayed away after all this time. Angel's disappearance remains unsolved. [read more]

6. Adrianna Garcia

Adrianna Garcia was only 15 years old when she vanished without a trace on December 29th, 2004. That day, Adrianna left her family’s Tulsa, Oklahoma home to walk to a friend’s home that was located several miles away. She never arrived at her friend’s house and has never been seen or heard from again. Police classified Adrianna as a runaway, even though she had no prior history of running away. Her family members do not believe she would voluntarily leave; they stated that she had a happy home life and was close to her siblings. 

It is unclear why police would label Adrianna as a runaway. Over 15 years have passed, and police have yet to comment on their reasoning behind classifying her as such. Adrianna is still labeled as a runaway to this day, and her case remains unsolved. [read more]

5. Heather Lewis

Heather Lewis vanished at the age of 13 on April 4th, 2003. The young teen was last seen at her middle school in Ely, Nevada. Heather was sent home from school that day after she got suspended for having cigarettes in her possession. After leaving the building, Heather never made it home and has never been seen or heard from again.

Both Heather's family members and authorities believed she ran away from the get-go. Heather and her mother were having trouble getting along at the time and she was reportedly unhappy at home. However, it appears Heather intended to have a completely normal day on the day she disappeared. She left the house with only her school items, and none of her friends were able to provide information about where Heather might have gone. Since years and years have passed since Heather was last seen, her family members now believe she came to harm after running away. Despite this, she is still classified as a runaway and her disappearance remains unsolved today. [read more]

4. Sophie Reeder

Sophie Reeder has been missing since May 19th, 2017. The 15 year-old left her residence in Fort Lauderdale, Florida that evening and never returned.  The last known sighting of her was captured by surveillance cameras on West Davie boulevard around 10pm that evening. Sophie was never seen or heard from again after that.

Sophie has been classified as a runaway, however the authorities worry she may have been a victim of human trafficking or an online predator. She ran away once before, but was only gone for a day. This time around, Sophie left behind all of her belongings and there has not been any activity on her mobile devices since the day she disappeared. Investigators were able to search Sophie’s computer after she vanished; it was there that they found evidence that she may have fallen victim to human traffickers or an online predator. However, investigators have not elaborated on said evidence and there are very few other details on what exactly they found on her computer.

Despite the belief that Sophie fell victim to trafficking, authorities still classify her as a runaway to this day. Her disappearance remains unsolved. [read more]

3. Andrew Mayorga

Andrew Mayorga was in the midst of moving across the country when he vanished on January 4th, 2007. The 17 year-old previously lived with his mother in Washington state, but during late December 2006/early January 2007, Andrew began traveling towards Louisiana--where he planned to live with his grandmother. During his trip he decided to stop in San Antonio, Texas to stay with a man known as the family's "honorary grandfather" during the holiday season. During his stay in San Antonio, Andrew worked for this man at his law firm. 

The "honorary grandfather" reportedly went to check on Andrew on the evening of January 3rd, and noticed he was not in his bed. However, many of his personal items and his pet dog were still at the home. Once Andrew was reported missing, authorities determined that he was last seen the following morning around 7:30am, standing on a corner near Travis Park. This is the last confirmed sighting of him. 

Despite the strange circumstances surrounding his disappearance, authorities classified Andrew as a runaway. There was a theory put forth that he might have met somebody on MySpace--but before authorities were able to search the computer Andrew was using, the 'honorary grandfather' threw the computer away. While this seems suspicious, authorities have still not labeled this man as a suspect and have continued to label Andrew as a runaway.  His case remains unsolved today. [read more] 

2. Ciara Stacho

16 year old Ciara Stacho has been missing since August 7th, 2015. She was a frequent runaway and authorities believe that she left on her own accord. Ciara had actually run away from her Inkster, Michigan home weeks earlier, but had been keeping in touch with her loved ones and updating her social media pages regularly. In fact, in early August, Ciara texted her mother to tell her that she was ready to come home. Her mother was excited for her daughter’s return, but Ciara never showed up as planned. All additional contact between Ciara and her loved ones ceased on August 7th, 2015. This was also the last time that Ciara accessed her social media pages.

Although Ciara had a history of running away, she has never gone this long without contacting her family members or friends. There have been no credible sightings of her since her disappearance. Despite this, Ciara's status still remains as a runaway, and her case remains unsolved. [read more]

1. Nachida Chandara

Nachida Chandara has been missing since March 14th, 2007. She was only 15 years old at the time she was reported missing, and there are very few details about available about the circumstances around her disappearance. What is known is that Nachida was last seen at her family’s home in Phoenix, Arizona the day disappeared. She left her home sometime after 10pm, and never returned again. After she was reported missing, authorities classified Nachida as a runaway.

Two months later, in May 2007, investigators were somehow able to verify that Nachida was in Detroit, Michigan. She was believed to be using the name Lisa Tran as an alias. It is unclear how investigators received this information, and there have not been any other known sightings of her since May 2007. Over a decade has passed since Nachida was last seen, but she is still classified as a runaway. Her case remains unsolved. [read more]

The Murder of Damaris Reyes Rivas

Damaris Reyes Rivas (pictured left) was only 15 years-old when she was brutally murdered by a group of MS-13 gang members on January 8th 2017. Venus Romero Iraheta (pictured right) was one of the 10 gang members who participated in the attack. She was only 17 years-old at the time. Damaris lived in Gaithersburg, Maryland prior to her death, however she was killed in Springfield, Virginia. 

Damaris’ murder is believed to be motivated by the December 2016 murder of 21 year-old Christian Sosa Rivas. Christian was Venus’ boyfriend, and he referred to himself as the leader of his MS-13 clique, known as the Harrison Clique. At some point before his death, Christian reportedly angered members of two other MS-13 cliques: the Coronados and the Via Satellites. It is believed that the leaders of those cliques were angry about Christian falsely claiming his title as a gang leader. On the day of Christian’s murder, Damaris allegedly texted him and asked him to meet her at a park in Dumfries, Virginia. Damaris herself was actually not at the park, though. Instead, a group of gang members from the other cliques met Christian there and proceeded to attack him. 

On the day Damaris was murdered, she was asked to meet Venus and the others at Lake Accotink Park in Springfield. Damaris thought they were meeting to smoke marijuana, but when she showed up, she was ambushed by the group of gang members from Christian’s clique, all ranging from ages 15 to 21. A series of cell phone videos revealed that they tortured and interrogated Damaris for several minutes. One video shows Damaris being forced to stand naked in the 21-degree weather, while another video shows Damaris laying in a pile of leaves in her own blood.

Venus was the main assailant in the attack. She admitted to investigators that she said “see you in fucking hell” before she stabbed Damaris 13 times. Damaris was then left to die; she unfortunately succumbed to her injuries around 20 minutes later. Other MS-13 gang members went back to the park to retrieve her body, and they eventually dumped her in a puddle near an industrial park. Damaris’ body was found about a month later.

All of the 10 people involved in Damaris’ murder have been convicted. Venus was most recently sentenced; she received 40 years in prison. She offered an apology at her sentencing, stating, “I know I made the biggest mistake of my life. I am sorry.”

The Disappearance of Christina Voltaire

22 year-old Christina Voltaire vanished during the evening of January 8th, 2011. She was last seen at her apartment in Winter Haven, Florida, where she lived while she was studying nuclear medicine at Keiser University. Christina lived by herself at the apartment, but she knew at least one other person who lived at the complex: Charles Pierre-Gilles. Charles is also the brother of Christina’s ex-boyfriend Dieuseul Pierre-Gilles.

The day Christina vanished, Charles’ car broke down so he asked Christina if he could borrow hers. Christina agreed, and Charles went to her apartment to get her keys. When he got there, Charles said that Christina was laying on her bed in a black robe and doing homework. She didn’t speak of any plans to go out that night—in fact, Christina told Charles that she wasn’t feeling well. However, when Charles returned to her apartment 45 minutes later, Christina was gone. The robe she was wearing was left laying on the bed and there were no signs of a struggle in the apartment. Charles thought that she had just stepped out for a minute and he decided to wait for her. After hours passed with no sign of her, Charles reported Christina missing.

Charles was very cooperative throughout the investigation. Christina’s ex/Charles brother Dieuseul, on the other hand, refused to speak with investigators and immediately hired a lawyer. Dieuseul did speak to the media, though. He told reporters that he and Christina had broken up almost a year earlier, after he found out that he wasn’t the father of her infant daughter. Her daughter unfortunately passed away of undetermined causes around the time they broke up.

Police have not named any persons of interest in Christina’s disappearance. Prior to vanishing, Christina told her father that Dieuseul was aggressive and she was afraid of him. Christina’s mother stated that she felt Christina had to choose between Dieuseul and Charles, however Charles denies having a romantic relationship with her.

Christina remains missing today. The investigation into her disappearance is still open. If you have any information that could help lead to her whereabouts, please contact the Winter Haven Police Department at 863-291-5858.