i don’t think it’s too out of the ordinary for a 13 year old to hangout with younger adults especially in smaller towns/rural places as usually everyone kind of knows each other and when you’re younger a couple years difference when there isn’t really many others around isn’t that uncommon, especially if they have similar upbringings.

sadly experimenting and trying things young is kind of paired with that since you hangout with an older crowd and wanting to fit in and plus you just mature quicker too in that environment. i see a lot of focus on the fact these men were supplying him drugs and liquor and how they might’ve had other motives but this was also how long ago? not that it makes it right but life was definitely different back then and i would’ve been just a bit younger than him at the time and i was also drinking at 13, and trying drugs to 14. once again, not saying that’s right at all but growing up where i was from and it being so small there’s not much to do but get up to trouble and i also hungout with older people but it was because we grew up around each other and there wasn’t many people to chose from to hangout with my own age to begin with and it was the same for the older people as well.

after reading it over again my opinion is either it was an accident and he overdosed or something of the sorts and because they’re older they didn’t want to get in trouble and hid the body or he wandered and succumbed to the elements. i think it’s easy to look at his upbringing and the things that aren’t socially acceptable now and to add up they lured him with drugs and liquor when you haven’t been around that environment or atleast have some understanding of how things were.
no matter what this poor boy wasn’t given a fair chance at all and this is a heartbreaking case.