By: Ashley Ritchie

The makeshift memorial in front of the apartment where four-year-old Alex Mercado lived continues to grow.

"I'm just amazed that the mother and father, if it was me, I would be crushed, and they have just gone on so strong," Matt Flood, family spokesperson, said.

Mercado's family first reported him missing around 4:30 Friday afternoon.

He was headed to the park to play about an hour and a half earlier.

But he never made it.

"Unfortunately, by the time the Mendota Police Department was called and law enforcement got involved in this search, little Alex Mercado was already dead," Fresno County Sheriff Margaret Mims said.

Federal, county and local authorities searched day and night for Alex.

Saturday afternoon, a second sweep of the area led them inside a neighbor's apartment, where his body was found inside the clothes dryer.

"The investigation has revealed that Alex's cause of death was a result of drowning," Mims said.

The 14-year-old boy who lived there is now the only suspect.

Deputies say he was home alone at the time of the murder and though they have drawn conclusions about a motive, they're not ready to release them.

For Alex's family, the news doesn't bring him back.

"I don't want to say it wasn't really anything new. But their son is gone regardless of the results. That's not gonna change," Flood said.

The Mendota Police Department was established just two months ago.

Chief Jerry Galvin says this is not the start they wanted.

"We went from searching for a juvenile we thought was a missing person that we thought was just attracted to a park and we would quickly find him. This is one of those cases where that didn't turn out to be the outcome," Mendota Police Chief Jerry Galvin said.

"This is a religious family and the kids have been taught about Heaven. And they believe that Alex is in Heaven and that he's safe and that he's resting now," Flood said.

Deputies say this is just the beginning of the investigation and they expect a lot more information to come out.

As far as the suspect's parents, deputies say they don't have any grounds to charge them on.

And they still have every reason to believe the 14-year-old boy committed the murder by himself.

The district attorney is waiting for more information from the autopsy, before they file charges against the suspect.

A memorial fund has been set up at Westamerica Bank to help pay for Alex's funeral.

You can donate at any Westamerica to the "Alex Mercado Memorial Fund".