Charley Project has updated Dermot's profile, with the new information that we have learned:
http://www.charleyproject.org/cases/k/kelly_dermot.html
Satch
http://www.charleyproject.org/cases/k/kelly_dermot.html
Satch
Thank you Dan and welcome to Websleuths. :welcome:
I had guessed about 1.25 miles so thank you for the confirmation, as well as the additional information about the Vermilion and Illinois Rivers.
I want to commend your work on the article about Dermot's disappearance. I've been a member of WS for 5 years this month and I think yours is by far the best, most well written article I have read.
I wish more journalists took their work as seriously as you do.
Fantastic, excellent job. Thank you!
- Did Dermot confide any any close friends or people outside of the family in discussions of what he was thinking? We have learned in Part 1 of the article that "You could never tell what Dermot was thinking. He would never say." Well, perhaps if there was strained relationships in the family, maybe Dermot would not want to say what he was thinking to family or other relatives, but perhaps to close friends. If those people are still around, what if anything did Dermot say to them before he disappeared that could indicate something was wrong?
- Did Dermot keep a journal or diary of any kind? If this was collected as evidence, what did it say? Was there a pattern to Dermot's thoughts and writings that would suggest one behavior or set of behaviors over the others?
- What items did Dermot value that he left behind? Sometimes very subtle clues of evidence can provide greater detail as to what a person might be thinking, acting, or planning to do.
- Over the course of his life in years, months, days, weeks, before he left home, what was his personality like? If it changed over time, how?
- Was Dermot taking any prescription or over the counter medication? If so, for what symptoms?
- What little evidence there is of the parents' relationship suggests a faltering marriage that was sometimes abusive and a father going through a job loss? How long had the relationship been failing? Were Dermot and/or his other siblings subjected to a lot of anger or abusive behaviors in the home? This could certainly compel anyone over time to say, "I want out!!!!"
- Was Dermot or any members of the family seeking therapy for the issues they were experiencing? For how long?
- What was the relationship like between Dermot and his siblings?
- How did the economic, social, and political changes of the times (60's-70's) affect Dermot and his family? Was there a lot of forced political beliefs instilled by the parents? For example they might have had strong conservative views vs. Dermot who may have supported 60's radical views? Maybe Dermot was looking for peace and love and could not find it in a home for a constant fighting and bickering. If such existed. Did this build up over time in the Kelly household and reach a boiling point, forcing Dermot to leave and never want to come back? I think this question is HUGE.
Satch
Additionally. Most of what was said about Dermot, was someone else's perceptions. We don't have any direct quotes from Dermot himself other than the statement from his father that Dermot wanted to go make a life for himself all on his own. (paraphrased from memory.)
Maybe I am personalizing this too much, but having grown up in a family where I wasn't permitted to have my own thoughts, my own feelings or seek out my own direction with my own interests... I can't help but believe that perhaps something along those lines was the basis for the family struggles Dermot had with his family. Especially during such changing times as the late 60's, early 70's. For example, something along the lines of everyone in our family went to college, so Dermot will go to College. The family has always done it this way, so Dermot will do it this way.
I don't place blame on anyone if that were the case. It's just something that stood out to me with Dermots comment that he was going to make a life for himself on his own terms. Maybe the medical treatment he received was not necessarily for depression or mental illness, but the families way of trying to get Dermot to conform to their way of thinking. Especially since we know he attended parochial school.
Maybe he was depressed or despondant because of his own true self being stifled. Without anyone to encourage and show interest in his becoming the person he truly wanted to be. Maybe he went target shooting to have some time by himself to think. He had many siblings, so perhaps he didn't have the privacy he sought at home to think. Or perhaps as he expressed his independent minded way of thinking he was given less room to 'breath' and pursue his own independent dreams.
Just my thoughts based on the knowledge we learnt from the most recent article.
My impression is Dermot was deeply compassionate towards subjects and individuals who were taboo to his family. And by that I do not mean sexual orientation. I mean causes type thing.
Dermot is certainly an intriguing fascinating person. One I think I would have liked to meet and talk to. Listen to what he thought and had to say. Maybe because we are of two very different generations ( I graduated HS in the 80's) the common interests wouldn't have been there, but needless to say, I do find him interesting. I think he had a lot to offer society, and that had he had the right encouragement, not necessarily from family or teachers, but from those who shared his common interests he would have made a great impact.
We'll never know what he may have accomplished..... gone too young, many unanswered questions and unknowns.
The Chicago Tribune column by Robert Weidrich appears to have relied entirely upon information provided by the parents. There is no mention that Dermot's boots and jacket, and presumably his rifle, were found. If between the time these items were found on Jan. 31, 1972 and publication of the column in December 1974, it was determined these items did not belong to Dermot, it should have been mentioned in the column. This leads me to believe the parents did not mention the items to Weidrich.
UTICA — Human remains have been located in the Illinois River near Starved Rock State Park in north-central Illinois.
http://www.rrstar.com/updates/x1700912273/Human-remains-found-in-Illinois-River-near-state-park
These remains were found in April of 2011. There is nothing in the article to indicate the condition the remains were found. (what state of decomp, fully skeletal or ??) Have these remains been identified?