A cause of death is still unknown days after a 4-year-old boy was found deceased near his father’s home, Alabama authorities said on Monday.
AL.com reported that Johnathan Boley’s autopsy found no signs of trauma or assault. Boley was visiting his father in Walker County when he vanished on Wednesday; his body was found two miles from the residence on Friday.
Boley’s 6-year-old brother reportedly last saw him crossing under a fence into the woods with the family dog, Buck — who was found alive alongside the boy’s body.
Sheriff Nick Smith said Boley was partially submerged in a creek. It is also unknown how long the boy had been dead before his body was located.
“One of the volunteers I spoke to said they saw the dog first and the dog kind of led them back to where John John was,” Smith told AL.com.
“It appears the dog was with him the whole time.”
Shortly after Boley’s reported disappearance, his father was arrested for explosive materials discovered inside his home and around his property. The FBI also responded to the scene because explosive materials from previous detonations were found in the woods where Boley had vanished.
Sheriff Nick Smith said the missing boy’s father, Jameson Boley, 40, was arrested for unlawful manufacturing of a destructive device or bacteriological or biological weapon. Smith also noted that the missing boy and his brother live with their mother in Florida, but they were with their father for five days. The boys were to return to their mother on Thursday.
Since then, Smith told AL.com that the amount of explosives discovered could have “leveled an entire home.” The sheriff said it is unclear what kind of explosives were in the father’s residence, or why he had them. Reports indicated that the father was formerly in the military.
In addition to the explosives charge, Jameson Boley was also accused of having methamphetamine within his sons’ reach. Smith said he has been informed of his son’s death.
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[Feature Photo: Alabama Law Enforcement Agency]