A 14-year-old neighbor has been arrested in the death of a 4-year-old Mandate, Calif., boy whose body was found in a dryer, police said.

Alex Christopher's body was found in the neighbor's dryer Saturday after he disappeared Friday, The Fresno (Calif.) Bee reported Monday.

The boy was allegedly put in the dryer after he was killed, Fresno County Sheriff Margaret Mimes said. The suspect's name was not released.

The crime has unsettled residents of Mandate, a farming community of about 11,000 people, City Councilor Joseph Riofrio said.

"Everybody was looking for the little boy," Riofrio said. "This is something that happens in big cities, in other places. Now it's happened here."

Mandate residents were raising money to help the boy's family. The boy's mother is pregnant and out of work and his father is a farm worker, Riofrio said.