An 8-year-old boy who spent two days lost in a Michigan state park survived by eating snow and taking shelter under a log, police said.
Search party volunteers found Nante Niemi, an 8-year-old second-grader, at 1:30 p.m. Monday two miles from his campsite, Michigan State Police said in a news release.
Niemi was with his family on an annual camping trip Saturday in Michigan’s Porcupine Mountains Wilderness State Park, also called “the Porkies.” He was walking and gathering firewood for their campsite when he went missing, police said.
The boy had “braved the elements” by taking shelter under the log and is now back with his family, police said.
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Volunteers and rescue personnel stepped up to find him
Michigan State Police said more than 150 search and rescue personnel, K9s included, searched the 40-square mile area on foot. Some searched in the air and on water.
During the search, police said the search area was hilly with lots of standing water and some roads were impassable due to snow.
“The terrain is very remote and hilly with a lot of standing water due to the time of the year,” Michigan State Police wrote in a news release.
Once the public got wind that the boy was missing, volunteers offered to help with the search.
The 8-year-old is a second-grader in Wisconsin’s Hurley School District, an administrator said this week.
Once he was found, the district thanked everyone who played a part in bringing him home and shared photos of the people who found him carrying the boy to safety.
In another photo the district posted, the boy held a bottle of water and a partially-eaten snack, a stark difference from what he ate while lost in the state park.”Although our emotions are very raw at this time, we want to acknowledge the extreme outpouring of love and support we received over these past few days,” the district wrote on Facebook. “May all those who took part in the search and rescue efforts know that your work will have a positive impact on many lives forever!”
