A 3-year-old boy, “Nong DJ,” who was reported missing last Wednesday has been found in a forest, three kilometers away from home.
Jessadakorn Chaiyo, or “DJ,” who was last seen at his family’s home last Wednesday was found alive, but exhausted, earlier yesterday after going missing for six days. He is now recovering at Vachira Phuket Hospital in Phkuet Town.
Search teams found the toddler in a forest near Anusorn 200 Pi Rd, behind the Wang Talang duty free store, at 11:40am — about three kilometres from his home.
Kusoldharm rescue worker Phattarawut Akanitthakorn, who was among the 30-strong search effort, explained that DJ’s family had asked them to search the forest after getting a sign from a neighborhood dog.
“They said that a dog Nong DJ had been playing with had turned up at the house twice and barked as if to tell them something,” Phattarawut said.
“Also, Nong DJ’s grandfather told us that residents in the area told him that they had heard a sound of a boy crying and saw one boy walking toward an abandoned shelter in the forest three days ago, but a dog barked at him so he ran off deeper into the forest,” he added.
“The residents did not think that the boy was a missing child. Instead they thought the boy belonged to Myanmar workers in the area. [The grandfather] reported this to police anyway and told them to search near the area.”
The search teams found DJ in an abandoned shelter by a canal with some leftover food and milk, The Phuket News reported.
The toddler had ulcerations on his feet from being in the water too long, and local media also reported that he has a blood infection.
Police are still investigating whether the toddler walked into the forest himself or if he was led there by a close relative, according to Thairath.
