MEDFORD — A dog who stayed by the side of a 5-year-old boy who died of hypothermia may have tried to drag the boy to safety, sheriff's deputies said.

Investigators found small holes consistent with the dog's teeth in the pants and T-shirt of Connor Sutherland of Medford, whose body was found Monday after he wandered away from his grandmother's house in Grants Pass on Sunday.

"They were smaller holes, like the tears made by a dog trying to pull somebody," said Detective Jim Mason of the Josephine County sheriff's office.

No punctures were found in Connor's skin, indicating the dog, a St. Bernard and great Dane mix named Lobo, was not trying to bite the boy, Mason said.

The boy's aunt, Amy Sutherland-Cohut, said the family still does not know why Lobo did not bark earlier to alert searchers. Connor and the dog were friendly but they had not developed a special bond, she said.

"Initially Connor was even afraid of him," she said. "But he grew to like him more over time."