Body of missing 4-year-old found in Walker County
BREAKING NEWS. IT’S WITH GREAT SADNESS THAT I’M HERE TO ANNOUNCE THAT WE HAVE LOCATED JONATHAN. AND JONATHAN IS DECEASED. AFTER MORE THAN 48 HOURS OF BEING MISSING THE SEARCH FOR A YOUNG BOY IN WALKER COUNTY HAS TAKEN A TRAGIC TURN. GOOD AFTERNOON. I’M CARLA WADE AND I’M BRITTANY DECKER. AUTHORITIES BELIEVE JONATHAN WANDERED OFF ON NEW YEAR’S EVE. HE WAS LAST SEEN AROUND 1130 THAT MORNING, RIGHT NEAR HIGHWAY 195, IN JASPER. AND THEY SAY THAT THE FOUR YEAR OLD WAS WITH HIS OLDER BROTHER AND A DOG. IN JUST A COUPLE OF HOURS AGO, THE WALKER COUNTY SHERIFF SAID. FOLEY WAS FOUND DEAD, BUT HIS DOG BUCK IS ALIVE. WE HAVE TEAM COVERAGE THIS AFTERNOON. THERE IS A VIGIL PLANNED TONIGHT AND WE HAVE NEW DETAILS ABOUT THE BOY’S FATHER, WHO HAS NOW BEEN CHARGED WITH CHILD ENDANGERMENT AND MANUFACTURING A DESTRUCTIVE DEVICE. LET’S GET RIGHT OUT TO WVTM 13. LISA CRANE, WHO IS LIVE IN WALKER COUNTY THIS EVENING. LISA, JUST A REALLY SAD DAY FOR THE COMMUNITY THERE. OF COURSE NOT. THE OUTCOME THAT PEOPLE WERE HOPING FOR. NOW, THERE WAS A LOT OF HOPE IN THIS COMMUNITY THAT THE SEARCHERS WOULD FIND FOUR YEAR OLD JOHN JOHN ALIVE, AND IT WAS VERY UPSETTING AND HEARTBREAKING, AS YOU CAN IMAGINE, TO ALL THOSE WHO HAD VOLUNTEERED IN THAT SEARCH, THAT THIS LITTLE BOY, THAT THAT WAS NOT THE OUTCOME THAT WE SAW HERE TODAY. NOW, ALMOST 200 VOLUNTEERS SHOWED UP OVER THE PAST 48 HOURS TO SEARCH FOR LITTLE JOHN FOLEY, AS WELL AS THE FBI, SBI AND LAW ENFORCEMENT. FIREFIGHTERS FROM ACROSS THE STATE. THEY USED A HELICOPTER, ATV AND DRONES TO SCAN THIS HEAVILY WOODED AND RURAL AREA. TODAY. THEY EXPANDED THEIR SEARCH, SAYING, BECAUSE JOHN JOHN MIGHT HAVE BEEN FOLLOWING HIS DOG BUCK, HE COULD HAVE GOTTEN MUCH FURTHER AWAY FROM HOME. JOHN, JOHN AND BUCK BEING TOGETHER. AND IF HE’S FOLLOWING THAT, IF HE’S FOLLOWING BUCK, THEN THERE’S NO TELLING HOW FAR THEY COULD HAVE TRAVELED. LIKE I SAID, IF YOU JUST LOOK AT STORIES ACROSS THE STATE AND THE NATION WHERE CHILDREN WANDER OFF, ESPECIALLY WITH WITH COMPANION, YOU KNOW, CANINES, THEY, THEY WANDER OFF TWO, THREE MILES, FOUR MILES. AND WE NOW KNOW THAT JOHN JOHN’S BODY WAS FOUND ABOUT TWO MILES AWAY FROM HIS HOME, HIS DOG BUCK, THERE, ALIVE AND STILL BY HIS SIDE. NOW WE WANT TO BRING IN WVTM 13 ZOE BLAIR WITH ME NOW. AND, ZOE, I KNOW YOU’VE BEEN COVERING THIS STORY NOW FOR A COUPLE OF DAYS, AND THERE HAD BEEN A PRAYER VIGIL PLANNED AT THE CHURCH HERE, CORNERSTONE CHURCH HERE, BEFORE WE FOUND THE BODY. BUT THEY’RE STILL GOING TO HAVE THAT PRAYER VIGIL. ABSOLUTELY, LISA. THEY’RE THE. ORIGINALLY THE VIGIL WAS SUPPOSED TO BE FOR THEM TO PRAY THAT HE WAS FOUND AND HE WAS FOUND, BUT NOW IT’S GOING TO BE PRAYING FOR SUPPORT FOR HIS FAMILY. THEY’RE ALSO GOING TO BE TAKING UP DONATIONS THIS EVENING JUST TO HELP THE FAMILY WITH ANYTHING THEY NEED DURING THIS TIME. IT’S OBVIOUSLY VERY HEARTBREAKING FOR THIS COMMUNITY, VERY HEARTBREAKING FOR THIS FAMILY, AND THIS COMMUNITY HAS REALLY COME TOGETHER OVER THE PAST FEW DAYS DURING THIS SEARCH. YOU KNOW, LIKE YOU SAID, I’VE BEEN OUT HERE, THERE WERE WELL OVER 100 VOLUNTEERS OUT HERE SEARCHING YESTERDAY. I KNOW THERE WERE A LOT BACK OUT HERE THIS MORNING AS WELL. THEY’VE BEEN DONATING FOOD, WATER TYPES, THINGS LIKE THAT FOR THE VOLUNTEERS, ALL KINDS OF THINGS TO SUPPORT THIS COMMUNITY. AND I KNOW THEY’RE COMING TOGETHER AGAIN TONIGHT. LOTS OF DIFFERENT CHURCHES, SEVERAL DIFFERENT CHURCHES FROM THE AREA ARE GOING TO BE HERE PRAYING FOR THE FAMILY AND JUST DOING WHAT THEY CAN TO SUPPORT THEM. YEAH, WE SAW THAT SO MANY PEOPLE COMING TOGETHER AS THE SHERIFF SAID, HE COULDN’T HAVE BEEN MORE PROUD OF THIS COMMUNITY COMING TOGETHER, KIND OF FORGETTING ANY DIFFERENCES THEY MIGHT HAVE HAD, ALL HOPING FOR A REALLY POSITIVE OUTCOME. AND THEY DID HAVE THE OUTCOME THAT THEY HAD ASKED FOR TO FIND HIM. UNFORTUNATELY, NOT THE WAY ANY OF US WANTED TO HAVE THAT HAPPEN. ZOE, THANK YOU SO MUCH. NOW, IN THE FIRST FEW HOURS OF THE SEARCH YESTERDAY, AUTHORITIES REPORTED POSSIBLE EXPLOSIVE DEVICES AT JEMISON ALISE HOME. NOW, THAT SLOWED DOWN THE EFFORTS IN THOSE FIRST FEW HOURS AROUND THE HOME. FOR MORE ON THAT PART OF THE STORY, WE WANT TO GO BACK TO THE STUDIO NOW. WVTM 13 MICHAEL HIGDON ON THAT BREAKING NEWS DESK. NOW, MICHAEL, THE FATHER IS NOW FACING CRIMINAL CHARGES. WHAT CAN YOU TELL US ABOUT THAT? JEMISON KYLE BOLEY IS FACING THREE CHARGES AGAINST HIM IN CONNECTION WITH OFFICIALS FINDING EXPLOSIVES ON HIS PROPERTY DURING THE SEARCH FOR HIS MISSING CHILD. HE IS CHARGED WITH UNLAWFUL MANUFACTURE OF A DESTRUCTIVE DEVICE OR. BACTERIOLOGICAL WEAPON. HE’S ALSO FACING TWO COUNTS OF CHEMICAL ENDANGERMENT OF A CHILD, ALLEGING HE KNOWINGLY OR RECKLESSLY CAUSED OR PERMITTED A CHILD TO BE EXPOSED TO A CONTROLLED SUBSTANCE IDENTIFIED IN COURT DOCUMENTS AS METHAMPHETAMINE. THE WALKER COUNTY SHERIFF SAID TODAY, THOUGH THOSE CHARGES WERE SECONDARY TO HIM AND THAT BOLEY HAD BEEN COOPERATING AND PROVIDING DETAILS THAT HELPED IN THIS SEARCH. WE WERE ALSO TOLD BY THE WALKER COUNTY SHERIFF THAT BOLEY WAS A FORMER MILITARY MEMBER, THE ARMY CONFIRMING TODAY BOLEY DID SERVE IN THEIR BRANCH FROM MARCH OF 2003 THROUGH NOVEMBER OF 2006. THEY COULD NOT DISCLOSE ANY DISCHARGE INFORMATION. BRITTANY MICHAEL, THANKS SO MUCH. OF COURSE, WE’RE GOING TO CONTINUE TO STAY ON TOP OF THIS STORY. AS AGAIN, AUTHORITIES SAY THE FOUR YEAR OLD BOY WAS FOUND DEAD. WE’RE GOING TO GIVE YOU THE VERY LATEST INFORMATION AS SOON AS IT BECOMES AVAILABLE, AVAILABLE TO US. WE HAVE THE PRESS CONFERENCES, EVERYTHING THE WALKER COUNTY SHERIFF HAS SAID TO RIGHT ON OUR WEBSITE. NOW YO
Search crews found the body of the missing 4-year-old in Walker County Friday. Johnathan Everett Boley, 4, was last seen about 11:30 a.m. Wednesday in the 7000 block of Highway 195 in Jasper. Sheriff Nick Smith said the boy’s father reported him missing at about 1 p.m. Latest UpdatesThe body of Johnathan was found about 2 miles from the home.The dog was found alive with Johnathan’s body.The cause of death has yet to be determined and the investigation is ongoing.A vigil is being held at 7 p.m. CT Friday at Cornerstone Church, located at 7719 Highway 195 in Jasper.Watch the latest full news conference below.The searchAgencies used drones, divers and tracking dogs to search for the boy. A helicopter from Montgomery was also used.The sheriff said they were told Johnathan was with his older brother and a black Labrador retriever seen in this photo. That dog was also missing. Smith said that more than 161 volunteers and 126 first responders joined the search efforts on Thursday, with the FBI also assisting in the investigation.Watch video of the search scene on Thursday below: The search covered 500 acres on Thursday, but was temporarily suspended when volunteers flagged potential explosives, which were later identified as non-explosive items. Charges filedThe father of the missing boy, Jameson Kyle Boley, is charged with unlawful manufacture of a destructive device or bacteriological weapon and two counts of chemical endangerment of a child connected to methamphetamines. He was taken into custody after what were believed to be explosive devices were found on the property.Officials said what was found on the property weren’t explosive, and the house was cleared and secured. Neighbors said they have heard explosions for weeks. There was one reported Wednesday, but officials cannot confirm if that is connected to the missing child. The child’s mother moved to Florida one year ago and the father is given limited time each year for visitation, according to the sheriff. The child went missing during visitation for the holidays. Jameson Boley was in the Army from March of 2003 until November of 2006. His discharge information couldn’t be disclosed, according to an Army spokesperson.The sheriff said the father has been cooperating with them.Community responseJohnathan’s aunt, Kim Smith, described him Thursday night as a “country boy who loves nature, Paw Patrol, and running.” A vigil is being held at 7 p.m. CT Friday at Cornerstone Church, located at 7719 Highway 195 in Jasper.This is a developing story and will be updated as information becomes available. Stay updated on the latest stories with the WVTM 13 app. You can download it here.
JASPER, Ala. —
Search crews found the body of the missing 4-year-old in Walker County Friday.
Johnathan Everett Boley, 4, was last seen about 11:30 a.m. Wednesday in the 7000 block of Highway 195 in Jasper. Sheriff Nick Smith said the boy’s father reported him missing at about 1 p.m.
Latest UpdatesThe body of Johnathan was found about 2 miles from the home.The dog was found alive with Johnathan’s body.The cause of death has yet to be determined and the investigation is ongoing.A vigil is being held at 7 p.m. CT Friday at Cornerstone Church, located at 7719 Highway 195 in Jasper.
Watch the latest full news conference below.
The search
Agencies used drones, divers and tracking dogs to search for the boy. A helicopter from Montgomery was also used.
The sheriff said they were told Johnathan was with his older brother and a black Labrador retriever seen in this photo. That dog was also missing.
Walker County Sheriff’s Office
Smith said that more than 161 volunteers and 126 first responders joined the search efforts on Thursday, with the FBI also assisting in the investigation.
Watch video of the search scene on Thursday below:
The search covered 500 acres on Thursday, but was temporarily suspended when volunteers flagged potential explosives, which were later identified as non-explosive items.
Charges filed
The father of the missing boy, Jameson Kyle Boley, is charged with unlawful manufacture of a destructive device or bacteriological weapon and two counts of chemical endangerment of a child connected to methamphetamines. He was taken into custody after what were believed to be explosive devices were found on the property.
Officials said what was found on the property weren’t explosive, and the house was cleared and secured. Neighbors said they have heard explosions for weeks. There was one reported Wednesday, but officials cannot confirm if that is connected to the missing child.
The child’s mother moved to Florida one year ago and the father is given limited time each year for visitation, according to the sheriff. The child went missing during visitation for the holidays.
Jameson Boley was in the Army from March of 2003 until November of 2006. His discharge information couldn’t be disclosed, according to an Army spokesperson.
The sheriff said the father has been cooperating with them.
Johnathan’s aunt, Kim Smith, described him Thursday night as a “country boy who loves nature, Paw Patrol, and running.”
A vigil is being held at 7 p.m. CT Friday at Cornerstone Church, located at 7719 Highway 195 in Jasper.
This is a developing story and will be updated as information becomes available. Stay updated on the latest stories with the WVTM 13 app. You can download it here.