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An Alabama teenager who mysteriously went missing Monday was shot dead by his younger brother and hidden in the woods behind the family’s home, authorities announced late Wednesday.
The tragic saga began Monday evening, when the boys’ father said he returned home around 7:30 p.m. and discovered that his 17-year-old son was nowhere to be found, the Pike County Sheriff’s Office said in a news release cited by local media. The next day, he said, he was called to pick his 14-year-old son up from school early because the boy was distraught over the “disappearance” of his older brother.
The two returned home and began searching for the 17-year-old, whose body was found by his father about 60 yards behind the family home, police said. Shortly after that grim discovery, investigators learned of alarming comments the 14-year-old allegedly made to a friend at school.