A 23-year-old Kennesaw man is behind bars without bond after Marietta Police say he hid a toddler's body in the woods, then called 911 to report the child missing.

Dairon Keith was arrested Saturday, Aug. 8, and booked into the Cobb County Adult Detention Center on two felony charges: concealing a death and making false statements. Keith is the boyfriend of 2-year-old Messiah Harris's mother and was caring for the child at the time, according to 11Alive.

Messiah was weeks away from his third birthday.

Officers responded to the Briggs at Powers Park apartment complex at 8 Ridge Run SE, off Franklin Gateway near Dobbins Air Reserve Base, just before 2 p.m. Friday, Aug. 7, after Keith called 911 to report Messiah missing. Keith told dispatchers and responding officers the child was last seen at the apartment around 1:30 p.m. wearing blue and white striped pajamas, according to Patch.

Messiah's mother was not home.

Multiple agencies joined the search. Messiah's body was found around 7:20 p.m. Friday in a wooded area behind the complex.

Marietta Police detectives determined Keith had placed the child's body in the woods and loosely covered it with dirt and vegetation before calling 911, the department said. Marietta Police spokesperson Chuck McPhilamy said preliminary evidence indicated the body had been in the woods "for a considerable amount of time" and that Messiah was likely already dead when the missing-child report was made, according to Patch's report citing WSB-TV.

"This is the worst end that we could possibly have asked for," McPhilamy said Friday night, according to WSB-TV.

The cause and manner of Messiah's death have not been announced. The Cobb County Medical Examiner's Office is investigating the time and cause of death, according to the Cobb County Courier. Detectives said additional charges may be filed based on autopsy findings and further investigation.

Neighbor Matt Ducre told WSB-TV he last saw Messiah on Thursday evening with the boyfriend, who was holding the child. Ducre said the family, including a couple of other small children, had moved in from out of state about a month earlier.

McPhilamy said Saturday the investigation remains in its early stages. No court date has been announced.

Anyone with information is asked to contact the Marietta Police Department.