Kenyan Boy Lost in Wilderness for 6 Days Rescued, Given Name of Pilot Who Located Him

• The little boy was herding livestock with his brothers when he got lost in the sprawling wilderness
• He comes from the Asa community, which is found 52 kilometres east of the northern Tsavo East park
• He had been missing for six days and both a team on the ground and aircraft looked for him tirelessly despite nagging doubts of him being alive after that long

A missing little boy from Asa, a community 52 kilometres east of the northern Tsavo East park, was found after six days of intense searching in the wilderness by both ground teams and a fixed-wing pilot.

Pilot Roan Carr-Hartley led the aerial search

According to the Sheldrick Wildlife Trust, after a fruitless search for some days, people started to believe that the worst had happened and he had died.

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SWT pilot Roan Carr-Hartley they had been notified of the boy's disappearance by the local chief on the evening of November 29.

"He reported that a four-year-old boy had gone missing during a storm the day prior, while out herding livestock with his brothers," said Roan.

"The chief had heard people from the neighbouring town speaking about a pilot who helped find a missing child just a few days prior. After hearing these stories, he too asked for aerial assistance," added the pilot.

When Roan flew over the boy's village, he could see a search party of 70 men fanning through the area's wild scrubland looking for the little boy.

Asa search party tracked the boy

The party had tracked the boy to an area 7 kilometres away from his home, but the tracks became unreadable.

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"It was an unforgiving environment for any person to be alone, let alone a child so young. However, because of heavy rains, there was no shortage of surface water. This at least gave me some peace of mind that the boy would be able to find water," said Roan.

"There have been times where I haven’t been able to locate a particular elephant for up to a week, let alone a four-year-old child," he disclosed.

On December 3, five nights after the boy went missing Roan was told the boy's tracks had been re-discovered a staggering 15 kilometres from his village.

"I was in shock that the boy was still alive, let alone walking. After nearly a week of heavy rainfall, with no food and predators roaming the area, one can be forgiven for losing hope," said the seasoned pilot.

Roan finally located the boy

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Roan spent time flying transects in an attempt to find the search party which had since disappeared, to narrow down the general area and begin his search but couldn't find them.

"But then, when I turned back to begin my westward transect, a miracle happened: I saw a tiny figure below me, surrounded by a mass of shrubs and trees. I could not believe my eyes, but there he was: a tiny boy surrounded by endless wilderness," said Roan.

"I was in shock that he was still alive and walking. I had not even begun to look for the boy; at that point, I was still searching for the group, which made it 10 times harder to believe what had just happened," he said.

Initially, the boy cowered away from the plane, then began darting under bushes and trees. He was obviously hypoglycaemic and stumbling as he walked.

"I immediately gained altitude and began to circle tightly, keeping my eyes fixed on him. In a land where everything looks the same, once you lose sight of something it can be very difficult to find it again," he said.

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The ground search party suddenly appeared 30 minutes later after seeing Roan circling for a while.

"I opened the door of the aircraft and began pointing at the boy. They realised I had found something and began running. They eventually got to the boy, who was frozen still in disbelief that his ordeal was over," he said.

"Upon reaching him, they lifted him above their shoulders and began cheering and chanting. It was a sight that made me well up as I watched from above. Finding him was a near-impossible objective, but somehow the stars aligned and he happened to be standing in a small, open area at the very moment I decided to turn," he added.

Asa search party sang for little boy

They took the boy home chanting songs of thanks and blessings and the boy’s parents provided food and water for the search party upon arrival.

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The little boy who had been carried by village mates who had carried him for 18 kilometres was emotionally welcomed by the entire village.

Roan was gifted a young billy goat by elders of the village, a very generous, meaningful gift, as billy goats from this area are highly sought after.

The brave little boy was rehydrated and put on a slow drip. He was also covered in mosquito bites and scratches from the bristling thorn bushes.

"His feet were blistered and riddled with thorns and cuts, which is little surprise given the huge distances he walked. He was extremely weak, as one can imagine. Two roaming doctors arrived to tend to the boy and ensure that he was okay," Roan described.

The little boy added Roan to his name and his friends nicknamed him ‘Pilot’ — a wonderful way to commemorate his six-day saga!

Emotions overflow as family meets their missing boy for the 1st time after over 4 years

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In another inspiring story, Briefly News reported that a family could not contain their emotions in a video on social media after being reunited with their son, who went missing over four years ago.

Ashong from Togo was one of over 40 missing children found in the Central Region of Ghana.

He was discovered at the Royal Seed Children's Home at Papaase No. 2 in the Awutu Senya East Municipality and subsequently shown on television in the Season 3 of the Missing Children Documentaries on Atinka TV, on March 7.

Source: TUKO.co.ke