Hawaii County police will call in specialists — perhaps forensic anthropologists like those who search for the remains of service personnel missing in action — to comb through an area where the father of “Peter Boy” Kema says he disposed of his body decades ago.

Peter Kema Sr., as part of a plea deal, led police Sunday to a site in Puna where he claims he dumped his 6-year-old son’s body in 1997.

“We took him out for a reconstruction, and he guided us out to the Puna District and explained the conditions under which he disposed of his son’s body, and pointed out the general area where it is,” police Capt. Randall Medeiros said by telephone Tuesday. “We weren’t able to locate the body immediately.”

Medeiros said Kema took police to a large area that he was familiar with, but not near the Nanawale home where the Kema family lived when Peter Boy went missing.

After a few hours, Medeiros said, police realized they did not have the expertise to determine the location on their own and will seek help.

“The method we’re going to need to employ is beyond our capabilities,” he said. In searching for Peter Boy’s body in the past, the Hawaii County Police Department used the Joint POW/MIA Accounting Command (JPAC) and tools such as ground-penetrating radar, although that might not be used in this case.

“It has the potential to be quite an expansive area,” he said.

Kema and his wife, Jaylin, had lied to authorities and the public for nearly 20 years after their son, Peter Kema Jr., disappeared.

The Kemas were both arrested on suspicion of second-degree murder in April 2016. Peter Kema Sr. pleaded guilty earlier this month to manslaughter and hindering prosecution.

As part of that plea deal, he had to lead police to the boy’s remains. But if police fail to find anything, he must take a polygraph test to ensure he is being truthful as to where he says the remains are.

He now faces a 20-year sentence and must serve a mandatory minimum of six years, compared with a life sentence for a murder conviction.

Police had to arrange a time when Kema’s court- appointed lawyer, Stanton Oshiro, was free to accompany his client for the reconstruction, and Sunday was the first opportunity, Medeiros said.

Kema explained “to a degree” how the body was disposed of, Medeiros said, adding it was premature to share those details now.

But the captain, who worked on the case as a detective almost 20 years ago, did not use the term “buried” to describe the disposal.

“When we’ve exhausted everything that could possibly be done, we’ll come up with some kind of statement,” he said.

Kema’s manslaughter plea included the admission that he caused his son’s death by failing to get medical help, recklessly causing his death by multiple assaults and failing to get help from law enforcement and medical personnel.

Deputy prosecutor Rick Damerville, who handled the case, said the boy likely died of septic shock due to a large, festering wound. While he and his three siblings all suffered child abuse, Peter Boy’s horrific treatment, which began during infancy, was the worst, his siblings said.

Although Hawaii County Prosecutor Mitch Roth had said after the change of plea that he was the last to agree to the plea agreement, he wanted to help Peter Boy’s maternal grandfather, James Acol, fulfill the dying wish of his wife, Yolanda, to find their grandson’s body and bring some closure to the family.

Jaylin Kema also accepted a plea deal in exchange for her testimony against her husband if the case had gone to trial. She is scheduled to be freed Thursday on supervised release after a year in jail. She will be sentenced May 30 and is expected to receive a one-year sentence with credit for time served.