KSHB 41 reporter Ryan Gamboa covers Miami County in Kansas and Cass County in Missouri. He also covers agricultural topics. Gamboa has been monitoring the search for Airen since it began. KSHB 41 first reported his death on Monday and a viewer tip gave us a head start on Leonard's charges and him being held in the Bates County, Missouri jail. Share your story idea with Ryan.
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A 13-year-old Kansas boy who went missing on Sunday while doing a favor for neighbors was found dead in a Missouri ravine, and a 47-year-old man has been charged in connection with the case.
Airen Andula disappeared from his Pleasanton, Kansas, neighborhood after riding his bike to a neighbor's house to feed their pets while they were out of town.
Police later recovered the boy's body in a ravine in Bates County, Missouri.
Damon Leonard, who the family says is their neighbor, faces charges in Missouri for abandonment of a corpse.
According to charging documents, Leonard told police he knew Airen was dead and where to find his body while multiple agencies were searching for the missing teen.
"All that time spent lost, answers could've been sooner, I'd probably be more forgiving had it been an accident," Airen's father, Charles Andula, said.
Charles Andula said his son was found "in a brush pile covered up." They've heard numerous theories in the events leading up to their son's death, but police have not released his cause of death. An autopsy is scheduled for late morning on Wednesday.
"I just can't imagine him laying there like that. I just can't forgive a man like that," Andula said.
The tragedy has devastated the small town of Pleasanton just days before Christmas. Airen's parents, Anita Gunn and Charles Andula, along with his two sisters, Allison and Addison, are struggling to cope with their loss.
"We thought this was going to be the safest place for our babies," Gunn said with tears in her eyes. "I am so sorry Airen."
"A big nightmare. It's unbelievable and we're still not wanting to believe it's real, but we know it is," Gunn said.
Gunn described her son as "awesome" and "so funny, so kind, very lovable." She jokingly called him "Mommy's little princess" because he never got in trouble.
"He was the one that started this family. I was so old, I thought I was so old when I had him," Gunn said. "My Hairbear, definitely, that's who he was my hair bear."
The grieving mother said Airen "had so much life he didn't get to live that he was ready for."
"It makes you angry with God, because you don't know why such an angel like that had to go that way and would be found that way, so disrespectfully," she added. "I don't wish that on anyone."
Charles Andula says he's still processing the loss while trying to be strong for his daughters.
"Nobody in the world deserves to be treated like a bag of trash and thrown out," Andula said.
Don Epps, Superintendent of the Pleasanton School District, described Airen as a beloved member of the community who embodied the school's values.
"Airen was a sweet young man. He would never cause any trouble whatsoever, he worked extremely hard. I always called him a young man of action, not words," Epps said.
"This school is the heartbeat of our town, but the people give it its pulse," Epps said.
Epps told KSHB 41, Airen always treated people the right way, whether in the lunch line or anywhere else in school.
"It's devastating. Right now we want to put our heart and our thoughts and prayers to his family, and to his classmates and his teachers," Epps said.
"He had a place here and we loved him. We hope he loved being here. It's a family, our community is a family," he added.
The superintendent said the school wants to honor Airen's legacy through everyday actions.
"Airen was a Blue Jay and is always going to be a Blue Jay, and we're going to honor him every single time through our actions, like he did every day," Epps said.
The family wants Airen to be remembered the same way, as the lovable, kind and awesome kid they knew, and they're sharing advice with other parents in the wake of this tragedy.
"You gotta keep your babies close," Gunn said.
"If you are distanced from your family, don't let that distance come between you. Life is short. You could be gone anytime," Andula said.
Police expect to provide an update on Wednesday afternoon following the late morning autopsy.
Leonard is being held on a $100,000 cash-only bond in the Bates County, Missouri jail. The Kansas City, Kansas Police Department is leading the investigation. Missouri court filings state that Leonard will likely be charged with in the death of 13-year-old Andula.
KSHB 41 will continue to monitor any developments in this story as they become available.
This story was reported on-air by a journalist and has been converted to this platform with the assistance of AI. Our editorial team verifies all reporting on all platforms for fairness and accuracy.
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