Dad of missing 4-year-old arrested on explosives charge
The father’s arrest has ‘nothing to do with’ his son’s disappearance, the local sheriff said
Authorities are still searching for a four-year-old Alabama boy who went missing on New Year’s Eve as his father has been reportedly arrested on explosives and endangerment charges.
Johnathan Everett Boley, 4, was last seen Wednesday around 11:30 a.m. in Jasper, Alabama, a small town about 40 miles northwest of Birmingham, according to the Alabama Law Enforcement Agency. He goes by the nickname John John, Walker County Sheriff Nick Smith said Friday.
Johnathan has blond hair and blue eyes, and was last seen wearing a yellow Mickey Mouse shirt, black pants and Paw Patrol shoes, the agency said. Anyone with information about his location should contact the Walker County Sheriff’s Office.
The Walker County Sheriff’s Office first received a call about his disappearance around 12:30 p.m. Wednesday, Smith said at a Thursday press conference. Johnathan’s father has since been charged, but the case against him has “nothing to do with” his son’s disappearance, Smith said.
The sheriff did not name the father or specify the charge at the press conference. However, he later identified the father as Jameson Kyle Boley and said he was arrested and charged with unlawful manufacturing of a destructive device or bacteriological or biological weapon, according to AL.com. He’s also been charged with two counts of chemical endangerment of a child, WVTM 13 reports.
“The family, including the dad, has helped trying to do everything they can to help provide information,” Smith said Friday.
Police found “evidence of explosive devices on the property during the search,” as well as “eight other potential explosive devices” across the street from the home, Smith said. Investigators later determined the devices across the street were not explosives, Smith said at a Thursday evening press conference.
Neighbors told investigators they have been hearing explosions for “weeks.”
“Neighbors have said they've been hearing explosions for weeks now. They didn't really know where it was coming from. The morning before the report came in, one of the neighbors reported that they heard an explosion about 4 a.m. that morning,” Smith said.
Investigators were told Johnathan was playing outside with his six-year-old brother and his dog before he vanished. The brother told his father Johnathan and the dog went past the fence line, and he hasn’t been seen since, Smith told WBRC 6 News. The dog is also still missing.
When police arrived at the scene, they searched the house to ensure the missing boy wasn’t hiding, then deployed drones to continue the search by air, Smith told reporters. Police are also using helicopters, thermal detection and K-9 units to search for the child.
The boy was reported missing in a rural and heavily wooded area. Investigators are searching the area, but have yet to find any indication that he’s in the woods.
“We've got no thermal, no imagery from the helicopter and drones. Ground searches hasn't revealed anything to my knowledge,” Smith said Thursday afternoon.
The parents are separated, and his mother moved to Florida a year ago, Smith told reporters. His father had “five days of custody a year,” he explained. Johnathan’s mother is cooperating with investigators, Smith noted.
The Independent has contacted the Walker County Sheriff’s Office for comment.
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