Six-Year-Old Boy Found Alive After Four Days in Northern Vietnam Forest

A six-year-old boy who had been missing for four days was found alive in a forest in northern Vietnam, authorities confirmed on Thursday.

The boy disappeared on Saturday after failing to return home with his siblings from a family gathering in Yen Bai province. Concerned for his safety, local police in Lam Giang commune initiated a large-scale search operation, even draining a pond out of fear that he might have fallen into it.

Over 200 volunteers joined the search effort, according to state media reports. The boy was eventually found on Wednesday, exhausted and covered in mud, sitting in a cassava bush within the forest.

A local man, who heard the boy crying, made the discovery and alerted authorities. Police confirmed that the boy was given food and had his health assessed immediately. “He is okay now,” said a police official, who spoke to AFP on condition of anonymity.

The boy’s mother, Ly Thi Phai, expressed her immense relief to VietnamNet. “I was so happy that my child returned alive,” she said, tearfully noting how much thinner and weaker he looked compared to before his disappearance.

The boy recounted that he had become lost in the dense forest and grew increasingly disoriented the more he tried to find his way home. To survive, he drank water from a stream and consumed leaves and wild fruits that he recognized.