A Japanese boy who had been missing for six days in a bear-infested forest has been found alive, just three miles from where he was last seen.
More than 200 army personnel, police officers and volunteers combed dense forestry for Yamato Tanooka, who vanished after being abandoned in a remote area, believed to be populated by brown bears, in the north of Japan on Saturday.
The seven-year-old child was exhausted, dehydrated and malnourished and suffered minor cuts and grazes but was able to enjoy a first meal of rice balls and bread. When rescuers discovered him he was lying on some mattresses in a military hut, having walked through the mountains and onto a Self-Defense Forces training facility near the town of Shikabe.
According to The Guardian, the child was ‘incredibly calm considering he had been missing for seven days. He didn’t panic at all’.
‘One of our soldiers was preparing for drills this morning and unlocked the door of a building on the base, and there he was,’ a member of the Self-Defence Forces told NHK national television.
‘When he asked ‘are you Yamato?’ the boy said yes. Then he said he was hungry, so the soldier gave him some water, bread and riceballs.’
After being reunited with his parents, Yamato was airlifted to Hakodate Hospital for treatment.
Speaking outside the hospital, his tearful father, Takayuki Tanooka, told waiting press:
“My excessive act forced my son to have a painful time,”
“I deeply apologise to people at his school, people in the rescue operation, and everybody for causing them trouble,” he said.
“I have poured all my love into my son, but from now on, I would want to do more, together with him. I would like to protect him while he grows up. Thank you very much.”
Earlier this week a spokesman for the Hokkaido Prefectural Police said the child went missing at approximately 4pm (local time) as the family foraged for wild vegetables. His parents reported him missing at 6pm.
The couple originally claimed that their son had disappeared during a day trip but later admitted that they told him to get out of the car on the way home “as punishment” for throwing rocks earlier that day.
The parents said apparently drove back immediately to the area where they left Yamato but he was not there.
Police in Japan are believed to be considering neglect charges.
Main image: Nippon TV News
