FRESNO, Calif. — A 4-year-old boy who went missing from a California campground on Thursday was found safe after spending 22 hours alone in the wilderness, authorities said.
Rescuers found Christian Ramirez, of Torrance, under a tree around 8 a.m. PDT on Friday, KFSN-TV reported. The boy had gone missing from the Rancheria Campground at Huntington Lake, where he’d been staying with his family.
Ramirez, who is 3 feet tall and weighs 40 pounds, spent the night in the woods in a T-shirt and shorts, according to the television station.
“In situation, in a matter of less than five minutes, he just disappeared,” Fresno County Sheriff’s Lt. Brandon Pursell told KFSN. “We’re fortunate this morning that as these searchers were calling out for the boy, he called back.”
According to a Facebook post by the Fresno County Sheriff’s Office, the boy was about a quarter mile away from where he reportedly disappeared.
“Christian is in good condition, he was just tired and hungry,” the sheriff’s office said. “He has been reunited with his parents. No further details of his disappearance are available at this time.”
The boy was found by members of the Tulare County Search and Rescue Team.
It was unclear how Christian became separated from his parents.
“He wasn’t in the campground area any longer,” Pursell told KABC-TV. “He was out in a wooded area. It was pretty clear that he had been lost and he had kind of hunkered down for the entire night.”
Pursell told KFNS that the boy was fortunate that he did not encounter any wildlife during his time alone.
“Huntington is known to have bears. There’s possibilities of big cats up there also,” he told the television station. “We also have snakes. There’s lots of little dangers up there. Slip-and-fall hazards and waterways.”
Pursell said the rescue team “got lucky” finding the boy safe and in good health, KFNS reported.
“There’s a lot of things that could have gone really, really wrong with this one, and we got lucky, the family got lucky,” he said. “The boy is very, very fortunate to be with his family.”
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