CARLSBAD, Calif. -- The father of Eric Sears' hiking friend says investigators presented statements in an affidavit that are either false or taken out of context, it was reported Friday.

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"They coerced, badgered and intimidated (my son) until he didn't know what he was saying," said the friend's father.

The friend's identity cannot be revealed because he is a juvenile.

Sears went missing July 15 while hiking with his friend at Joshua Tree National Park. His body was found July 23. The cause of death has not been determined, pending toxicology reports.

The father told the North County Times that a polygraph test conducted on his son was done without parents or an attorney present.

Investigators said in an affidavit released Monday that Eric may have been murdered. No charges have been filed against the friend and authorities said he is not a suspect, the Times reported.

Still, the father told the Times that he was frustrated that investigators have cast suspicion on his son. He said investigators portrayed the actions of both he and his son as suspicious.

The affidavit quoted one investigator as saying he did not believe the friend was under the influence of the hallucinogenic drug Jimson weed and that he "demonstrated selective memory loss," and changed his story.

The father told the Times that the affidavit was not true and that his son's statements have remained consistent.

According to the affidavit, the father was seen by an investigator reaching into Eric's truck and removing a knife.

He told the Times that he and his son were taken to the truck by investigators so his son could identify items in the vehicle. As his son searched through his duffel bag, he found an old camping knife, he told the newspaper.

"We believed them and we trusted them" the father told the Times. "They used that trust to get (my son) in a back room and interrogate him, to just hammer him."