Man charged with abandoning missing Kansas boy’s body in Missouri creek bed
A man has been charged with abandoning a corpse after a teen boy missing from a small Kansas community was found dead across state lines this week.
Damon B. Leonard, 47, is in custody and charged in connection with 13-year-old Airen Andula’s death. Leonard allegedly led investigators to the location where Airen’s body was found, according to court records filed in Bates County, Missouri.
Airen was reported missing Sunday after he was last seen around 8 a.m. in the Holiday Lakes community near Pleasanton, Kansas.
A search effort involving several area law enforcement agencies ensued. The search was suspended around 2 a.m. Monday due to difficult terrain, then continued later that morning, according to the Linn County Sheriff’s Office.
Court records filed in support of charges against Leonard now reveal how Airen’s body was found.
Deputies with the Bates County Sheriff’s Office responded to Leonard’s home in Pleasanton in Monday after he called the sheriff’s office about Airen. Leonard allegedly told deputies that he knew Airen was dead and where his body was, according to court records.
Leonard led deputies to a remote, rural area in Bates County where they found Airen’s body down a large ravine in a creek bed.
According to court records, Leonard told deputies that he transported the boy’s body from Kansas to Missouri and left the body in the bottom of the creek before traveling back to his home in Kansas.
Deputies obtained a warrant and took Leonard into custody Monday. He appeared in court via video conference for arraignment Tuesday, where the court entered a not guilty plea on his behalf.
Leonard completed an application for a public defender and is due to appear in court again at 9 a.m. Jan. 15 for a status hearing, according to online court records.
He is being held in the Bates County Jail on a $100,000 cash-only bond.
The Linn County Sheriff’s Office requested an outside agency lead the investigation, due to a conflict of interest with local agencies, according to a news release.
The Kansas City, Kansas, Police Department is leading the investigation with the assistance of the Kansas Bureau of Investigation Crime Scene Response Team, the news release said.
As of Wednesday, the boy’s cause of death was still undetermined pending a medical examination and autopsy.
In a news release Tuesday, KCK police said they also expect charges to be filed in Linn County in connection with Airen’s death.
The Linn County Sheriff’s Office and KCK police did not immediately respond to questions about the investigation.
“Our hearts go out to the family and friends during this incredibly difficult time,” the Linn County Sheriff’s Office said in a statement. “Our community is mourning this heartbreaking loss, and we respectfully ask that the family’s privacy be honored as they grieve.”
