Missing Boy, 8, Found Safe After Surviving Days Alone in State Park

An 8-year-old Wisconsin boy was found safe Monday afternoon after braving Michigan's Upper Peninsula wilderness alone for more than two days.

Nante Niemi was discovered at 1:30 p.m. local time by search party volunteers approximately two miles from his campsite, Michigan State Police (MSP) said in a press release provided to Newsweek. The boy survived the elements by taking shelter under a log, where he was found. He is in good health and reunited with his family, MSP said.

The search for Nante ensued after he was last seen gathering firewood around 1 p.m. Saturday while on a camping trip with his family in Porcupine Mountains Wilderness State Park, according to police. His family first looked for the boy before notifying law enforcement later that evening, sparking a large-scale search by state and local police, as well as volunteers.

Newsweek has reached out via email to representatives for the Hurley School District and the state park.

Hurley schools posted about the second-grader's ordeal on Facebook, sharing photos of his rescue and saying words cannot describe the "emotions and joy" the students and staff experienced after hearing the news that Nante was safe.

The district shared another photo of Nante with several members of the search party and thanked those involved in bringing him home.

"We can't even adequately express our sincere gratitude. Although our emotions are very raw at this time, we want to acknowledge the extreme outpouring of love and support we received over these past few days," the school district said in the social media post. "May all those who took part in the search and rescue efforts know that your work will have a positive impact on many lives forever."

More than 150 search-and-rescue personnel from MSP and local police, including nine K9s, assisted in the roughly 40-square-mile search for Nante. The Porcupine Mountains terrain is very remote and hilly with a lot of standing water, ice or snow. Several seasonal roads are still impassable because of the snow depth, which made the search more challenging. Local media outlet Fox 6 says the area also has no cell phone service.

The Porcupine Mountains state park encompasses more than 60,000 acres, including forestland, waterfalls, the Lake Superior shoreline, rivers, trails and ridges. The state park is Michigan's largest and known for camping, hiking and other outdoor activities.

The park also celebrated Nante's rescue on social media, sharing pictures and saying "prayers were answered today" in a Facebook post.

"AMAZING news coming from the Porkies today! THANK YOU to all of those that have assisted in the search efforts. Prayers were answered today," park officials wrote.