A 4-year-old boy who wandered away from his family’s California campsite over the weekend was found safe 22 hours later “nestled under a tree,” authorities said, giving a happy ending to two very panicked parents.
The family had reported the boy missing at about 11 a.m. Thursday, after searching for an hour, the Fresno County Sheriff’s Office said in a statement. He was wearing just shorts and a T-shirt when he disappeared from the campsite at the Rancheria Campground.
More than 50 deputies and volunteers scoured the dense surrounding forest nonstop through the night. The effort included several surrounding law enforcement agencies as well as U.S. Forest Service rescuers deploying everything from dogs to helicopters, Fresno County Sheriff’s Lt. Brandon Pursell told KFSN-TV.
Searchers from one of those, the Tulare County Sheriff’s Office, found Christian about 8 a.m. Friday in good condition outside the campground, about a quarter mile from where he’d last been seen, Fresno County officials said.
“He was hungry and exhausted, but otherwise in good health,” the Fresno County Sheriff’s Office said in a statement. “We got him a sandwich and then carried him out to be reunited with Mom and Dad.”
Pursell said authorities were happy a tragedy had been averted.
“Huntington is known to have bears,” Pursell told KFSN. “There’s possibilities of big cats up there also. We also have snakes. There’s lots of little dangers up there. Slip-and-fall hazards and waterways.
With News Wire Services
