Nine-Year-Missing For 13 Days In Rainforest Found Safe

A nine-year-old boy missing in the Amazon jungle for 13 days has been found by rescuers in Ecuador.

Picture shows firefighter treating the injuries on the nine-year-old boy, undated. He was rescued from the jungle after being missing for thirteen days, in Pastaza, Ecuador, on Sunday, Feb. 26, 2023. (@BomberosPuyoEc/Newsflash)

The boy and his brother had left their home in the community of Conambo, Pastaza Province, to go hunting in an area near the remote locality of Montalvo.

But the brothers became separated and the nine-year-old – reported local media – became hopelessly lost.

Search and rescue teams were mobilised for the near-impossible task of scouring the vast rainforest for the missing boy.

Astonishingly, he was found 13 days later – on 26th February – by a farmer in a disused house in a village called Pucayacu.

The spot where he was found is about 80 kilometres (50 miles) from where he was last seen.

The boy, who is from the Sapara indigenous group, was dehydrated and had injuries to his legs, back and arms when he was collected by firefighters.

Picture shows the injuries on the nine-year-old boy, undated. He was rescued from the jungle after being missing for thirteen days, in Pastaza, Ecuador, on Sunday, Feb. 26, 2023. (@BomberosPuyoEc/Newsflash)

The officers from the Pastaza Fire Department took him to a health facility in Puyo town for a medical check-up.

He was later reunited with his relieved family in the Conambo community.

The Sapara people – also known as Zapara or Zaparo – number approximately 350 and live in the Amazon Rainforest in the Ecuador-Peru border area.

They survive through hunting and fishing.

Only four people, all elderly, are said to still speak the endangered Zaparo language.

The boy’s full name was not divulged in reports, but his initials were given as L. S. C.