A coroner has clarified the cause of death for a 13-year-old Kansas boy, who was discovered lifeless in a creek bed in Missouri on December 22.

The Wyandotte County Coroner’s Office in Kansas determined that Airen Andula succumbed to multiple dog bites, as reported by WDAF.

Andula was declared missing on December 21. He was last observed riding his bicycle in Linn County, Kansas, heading towards a neighbor’s house where he was tasked with pet care, according to CrimeOnline.

During the search effort, 47-year-old Damon Leonard reached out to Bates County, Missouri deputies, confessing that the boy had died and that he knew the location of the body. Leonard guided authorities to a secluded, rural spot about half an hour from his residence, where search teams discovered the body at the bottom of a steep ravine.

Leonard faces charges in Missouri for abandonment of a corpse, and in Kansas, he is charged with interference with law enforcement, criminal desecration, and allowing a dangerous dog to roam freely.

Leonard is in custody in Missouri on a $100,000 cash bond.