An 8-year-old missing for 2 days in Michigan state park ate snow until being found safe

An 8-year-old Wisconsin boy who went missing for two days while camping in Michigan with his family was found on Monday afternoon under a log by search party volunteers approximately two miles from his campsite, the state police said in a news release.

Mass rescue teams from Michigan and Wisconsin scoured Porcupine Mountains Wilderness State Park, a 60,000-acre forested park known as the "Porkies," searching for Nante Niemi, who had joined the annual family camping trip for the first time, his mother, Jessica Buerger, told local media.

Niemi, a student in the Hurley School District in Wisconsin, was last seen around 1 p.m. Saturday when he went to gather firewood in joined for the family campsite, state police said. Around 150 search and rescue personnel searched for the child within 40 square miles of the campsite in very remote and hilly terrain, said Michigan State Police.

Hurley School District said in a Facebook post they "stand by ready with 2 buses of volunteers waiting to go help search," and added that many professional agencies from Wisconsin and Michigan had been deployed throughout the area.

On Saturday his mother posted on her social media, "we appreciate the outpouring support…" but she implored everyone to "Please stay away it will make it harder to find him!"

The child was found underneath a log – where he had taken shelter – after wandering off a trail, police said. He told police that he "covered up with branches and leaves for warmth," and "ate clean snow for hydration."

Niemi is in good health and was reunited with his family, police said. The school district said in a post, "Words can not describe the emotions and joy the students and staff are experiencing at this moment!"

In:
• Wisconsin
• Michigan