A little boy survived two days in the freezing, remote Michigan wilderness by eating snow, hiding under a log, and covering himself with branches to keep warm.
Identified as Nante Niemi, 8, he was found at 1:30 Monday afternoon two miles from the Porcupine Mountains Wilderness State Park campground where he was staying with his family, Michigan State Police said.
The second-grader, wearing only a sweatshirt and sweatpants, had gone missing 48 hours earlier when he left the Wakefield campground to gather firewood.
The missing juvenile walked an entire trail that led him to a dead end.
Instead of continuing to wander through the 60,000-acre unmarked forest, described by authorities as a “very remote” park, the boy cleverly ducked down and found shelter under a log.
Officials said Nante used “branches and leaves for warmth and covered the log he was under. He had no food but ate clean snow to hydrate himself.”
The infant endured temperatures that dipped into the 40s on the two nights he was alone, the New York Post reported.
At least 150 people from various police groups, including a K9, joined the search by ground, air, and water.
The search teams covered an area of approximately 40 square miles.
When they finally found Nante, rescuers offered to take him to his family, but the boy said he preferred to finish the journey on foot.
“They offered to take him out today, but he told the guys who found him that he wanted to walk!” said Michigan State Police.
Since then, according to authorities, Nante has been reunited with his family, and his health condition is good.