Search for Missing 4-Year-Old in Walker County Slowed After Police Find Explosives

The search for a missing toddler in Walker County has been slowed down after law enforcement officers reportedly discovered explosive devices during a search of the boy's father's property.

The Alabama Law Enforcement Agency issued a missing and endangered persons alert for 4-year-old Johnathan Everett Boley on Wednesday, New Year's Eve, and said the child is missing and believed to be in danger.

Boley was last seen at about 11:30 a.m. in the 7000 block of Highway 195 in Jasper, and police said he was wearing a yellow Mickey Mouse shirt, black pants and Paw Patrol-branded shoes. He weighs about 50 pounds and has strawberry blonde hair and blue eyes.

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The emergency search for Boley continued on Thursday, January 1st, but reportedly became far more dangerous and complicated than expected when police discovered improvised explosive devices on a property in Jasper.

Sheriff Nick Smith told searchers and local media that explosives and booby traps had been found and the public should halt their search efforts until the area can be made safe.

Devices in photos shared by police seem to be assembled in PVC pipe.

Law enforcement officers have reportedly detained the boy's father after discovering the makeshift bombs, and the search for the missing 4-year-old will resume on Friday.

For more coverage of the search as it goes on, stay connected to the Tuscaloosa Thread.