The body of Johnathan Everett Boley, a 4-year-old boy who went missing in Alabama on New Year’s Eve, has been found, authorities announced in a press conference on Friday afternoon.
“We have located Johnathan, and Johnathan is deceased,” Walker County Sheriff Nick Smith told reporters.
He was found about 2 miles from his home, Smith added.
The boy’s father, Jameson Kyle Boley, has been arrested on a separate explosives-related charge and has been charged with two counts of chemical endangerment of a child, according to court records.
The child had last been seen at 11:30 a.m. Wednesday near Highway 195, in a wooded and rural area of Jasper, Alabama, according to the Alabama Law Enforcement Agency. Jasper is a small city located about 40 miles northwest of Birmingham.
He was last seen wearing a yellow Mickey Mouse shirt, black pants and Paw Patrol shoes.
The Walker County Sheriff’s Office received a call about the missing child at around 12:30 p.m. Wednesday, Smith told reporters Thursday.
Smith said it was reported to authorities that Johnathan was with his 6-year-old brother and their dog when he disappeared. Johnathan’s brother “identified the last place that he saw John John” and their dog, Smith told reporters Friday.
When Johnathan’s body was found on Friday, his dog was with him and still alive.
Explosives-related charge
Johnathan’s father has also been charged with unlawful manufacture of a destructive device or bacteriological weapon, court records show.
Smith told reporters that explosive devices were found on the child’s father’s property during the search and law enforcement had to “take care” of the devices before they could execute a thorough search warrant.
