WALKER COUNTY, Ala. (WBRC) – The body of a missing 4-year-old in Walker County has been found, according to law enforcement in the area.
The Walker County Sheriff’s Office confirmed Friday they have found the body of Johnathan Everett Boley. He was located about two miles from the home. His dog, Buck, was found alive with him.
This is a breaking news update. More information will be provided as it becomes available.
Original story
As the search for a missing 4-year-old in Walker County enters its third day, Sheriff Nick Smith is pleading for the community’s help in finding him.
Smith said that, with 161 volunteers and 126 law enforcement personnel from multiple agencies, they covered about 500 acres during their search for Johnathan Boley Thursday.
Over 100 volunteers showed up Friday to continue the search.
Walker County Emergency Management Agency Director Regina Myers told WBRC that search efforts are being expanded into other areas that have not yet been covered. Volunteers are still not permitted to help with the search around the child’s home.
4-year-old Johnathan Everett Boley(Walker County Sheriff’s Office/ALEA)
“We’re very hopeful with the community support that we have,” Smith said. “I need the community to be out. I need you to be vigilant. Just because you may not necessarily be in this immediate area, I need everybody in Walker County, check your ring cameras, check your deer cameras, check your tree stands, check your deer houses, check your deer cameras. Look, look under your car, look under your car porch, your garages.”
Johnathan Everett Boley, or John John as he is called, was last seen in the 7000 block of Highway 195 at around 11:30 a.m. on Dec. 31 in north Walker County between the Manchester and the Thach communities.
Boley is four-feet tall and weighs 50 pounds. He was last seen wearing a yellow Mickey Mouse shirt, black pants and Paw Patrol shoes.
Smith said that with Boley’s small size, he could get into tight spaces.
“If you have tunnels, caves on your property, get out and look and make sure that we’re just not overlooking and make sure that we’re doing our due diligence to find this child,” Smith said.
Boley is reported to have been with a black Labrador named Buck.
“I’m very hopeful that they’re together,” Smith said. “I know we’ve experienced some cold nights, but I’m hoping that with Buck and John John, if they’re still together, that they’re able to stay warm.”
Rescue crews gathered on Jan. 1, 2026 as the search for a missing Walker County boy continues.(Malik Banks/WBRC)
The Walker County Sheriff’s Office received the call for a missing child at around 12:28 Wednesday afternoon.
“The indications were that (Johnathan) and his brother were outside playing around the fence line, with a dog,” Smith said at the time. “The brother said that the dog and his brother went across the fence line.”
Search crews utilized a thermal imaging drone in the hours following Boley’s disappearance, but Smith said Thursday that no heat signatures were detected.
Drone video of search for missing child in Walker County
Dive teams searched nearby ponds Thursday as WCSO deputies suspended the ground search near the father’s home after finding explosive materials in the house.
Jameson Kyle Boley, has since been charged with unlaw manufacturing of a destructive device and two counts of chemical endangerment of a child.
Smith said the charges are not related to his son’s disappearance.
“The father has been charged. It has nothing to in connection with the missing child, it’s something totally separate, but is still a factor that is hindering our search,” Sheriff Smith said Wednesday. “We have a search warrant for the property that they are having to take care of some explosive devices before we can get inside the residence and do a thorough search. There has been evidence of explosive devices on the property. We have suspended the search for civilians. We’ve asked them to refrain from searching at this time. We have identified at least eight other explosive devices. We do not believe they are charged, but I cannot say that to be sure until they are examined by the FBI bomb explosives team.”
Smith says neighbors have been hearing explosions “for weeks now.”
“The father is prior military. Neighbors have been saying they have 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 they heard a explosion around 4 a.m. Can’t say that’s any kind of connection to the missing child.”
Smith shared a photo Wednesday night of the dog he says was reportedly with Boley when he went missing.
Sheriff Nick Smith shared a photo of a dog said to have been with a four-year-old Walker County boy that went missing New Year’s Eve.(Walker County Sheriff Nick Smith)
“Talking to one of the neighbors, is that dog showed up pretty much everyday on their game cameras, at their corn feeder. The last time that he has the dog on his camera was on the 26th, the afternoon of (December) the 26th.
The sheriff’s office is asking that anyone with outdoor cameras on Highway 195 in the area that Boley went missing to check footage for anything and to contact the sheriff’s office if anything is found.
Authorities say the parents of the boy are separated and that he and the mother moved to Florida about a year ago.
In a news conference Thursday, Smith said the mother had arrived from Florida and has been working with authorities.
“The mother did make it in last night from Florida. We have spoken to her and she has cooperated with us to the best of her abilities,” Smith said.
If you have any tips, Smith says a tip line is being setup for people to call and encourages turning in any possible evidence to authorities.
“Right now, we are working on a tip line with the FBI and we will release that information when we get it available to where we can get a centralized, where all the tips aren’t getting spread out to everywhere. They will be able to send it to that. I encourage the public to one, if you live in this area, be vigilant. Look under your cars if you haven’t drove them in a few days, look in your garages, look in your carports, look anywhere where a child would be looking to get out of the elements,” said Smith.
The FBI, State Bureau of Investigation, Alabama Law Enforcement Agency, Sumiton Police Department, Jasper Police, and Adamsville Police have all been to the scene to assist.
Regina Myers said Friday that no additional volunteers are currently needed.
If you have any information on his whereabouts, you are asked to call the Walker County Sheriff’s Office at 205-384-7218 or 911.
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