On Friday, Mississippi police recovered the body of a 3-year-old boy who was never reported missing despite vanishing in January.

The toddler lived in Lake with his father and stepmother, Rodkis Fenderson and Kierra Patrick, but Scott County learned last Thursday that family members have not seen him in months. Investigators concluded that Fenderson fatally beat the boy on January 26th, according to WLBT.

Fenderson and Patrick, 24, allegedly gave relatives varying stories on what happened to his son. However, Fenderson confessed to burying him and led detectives to his body on Friday, according to Darkhorse Press.

Fenderson was charged with murder, while Patrick was charged with being an accessory to murder after the fact. The boy’s cause of death was not disclosed.

[Feature Photo: Scott County police]