Public Safety and Explosives

Authorities in Walker County, Alabama, arrested the boy’s father on drug and weapons charges after 4‑year‑old Johnathan Boley was found dead about two miles from the family home following a multi‑day search involving hundreds of officers, volunteers, K‑9 teams, drones and aircraft. A preliminary autopsy found the death consistent with hypothermia, investigators said the child had removed his shoes and drowning and foul play are not suspected, and officials cautioned the criminal charges against the father should not be conflated with the cause of death; the funeral is scheduled for Jan. 10.