Yamato Tanooka, 7, was found by a soldier in a military drill area in Japan's northernmost main island of Hokkaido Friday morning, Kyodo News reported. The boy told police he had been in the drill area for several days after walking alone through the forest.
The location was about three miles from where he originally disappeared, according to reports. The boy, apparently unharmed, was flown to a hospital by helicopter for checkups, NHK TV reported.
The boy’s parents had made him get out of their car as punishment on Saturday, they told Japanese TV news, leaving him in a forest reputed as ridden with bears. When they returned several minutes later, he had vanished.
More than 180 rescuers, including troops, have been searching the area. The parents reportedly told police they had punished the boy for throwing rocks at people and cars while playing at a river earlier in the day.
