An 11-year-old boy who went missing in the mountains was found alive after 13 days in a remote forested valley 8 kilometers from his home. The remarkable rescue took place in Zhaoqing City, Guangdong Province. On June 1st, reporters revisited the scene and spoke exclusively with Mo Wenjie, chief of Shidong police station of Huaiji Branch Bureau of Zhaoqing Municipal Public Security Bureau, and Guo Zhiheng, a police dog handler with the bureau's canine unit, to reconstruct the rescue operation behind what many have called a miracle of survival.

On the afternoon of May 18th, the 11-year-old boy went missing from Anhua Village in Shidong Town, Huaiji County, Zhaoqing. After his family failed to locate him, they reported the case to police. Following an investigation and door-to-door inquiries, police concluded that the child had likely headed into the mountains. "Our area is mountainous. The deeper you go into the mountains, the denser the vegetation and the more complicated the terrain becomes. Combined with the rain, the search operation did not go smoothly at the beginning," Mo told reporters.

Guo arrived at the search site immediately with Zhuifeng, a police dog aged just over two years. Zhuifeng, a Belgian Malinois trained in tracking and search operations, had participated in dozens of rescue missions. At first, the dog successfully traced the boy's route into the mountains. However, dense forests, numerous branching paths and continuous heavy rainfall repeatedly interrupted the trail. The hot weather also made sustained high-intensity searching more difficult for the police dog.

Rain further complicated access to the mountainous area. The roads were so slippery that even motorcycles could not pass through. Faced with more than 7,000 mu of forestland, search personnel had no choice but to proceed on foot. According to Mo, more than 100 people entered the mountains every day during the search, with cumulative search efforts exceeding 1,000 person-times. "Village officials and local residents voluntarily joined the search effort. They showed up early every morning," he said.

On May 30th, the search entered its 13th day. Once again, the team assembled and headed into the mountains. At around 11 a.m., Zhuifeng suddenly became excited and began barking to signal a discovery. Guo quickly followed the dog and found the boy lying in a patch of shrubs in a remote mountain valley known as "Baishanwa". The location was about 8 kilometers from the child's home.

After spotting the boy, Guo called out his name. The boy moved slightly and then smiled at him. "He was still alive! And he smiled at me!" Guo recalled. "After searching for more than 10 days, the anxiety and worry we had been carrying finally disappeared."

Why the child entered the mountains remains unclear. How he survived alone in the wilderness for 13 days has also drawn widespread attention. Search personnel believe he may have become lost and been unable to find his way out because of the dense forest and fear. Fortunately, while the persistent rainfall hampered rescue efforts, it also provided a vital source of water for survival. In addition, some wild fruits found in the forest may have helped sustain him during the ordeal.

还原一场“生命奇迹”：11岁男孩、13天、1000多人次与找到底的坚持

一名11岁孩子，在深山之中走失13天，在离家8公里远的密林山坳中被找到。这场“生命奇迹”发生在广东肇庆。6月1日，记者回访事发地，独家对话参与搜救的肇庆市怀集县公安局诗洞派出所所长莫文杰、肇庆市怀集县公安局警犬队警犬训导员郭志恒，还原这场“生命奇迹”。

5月18日下午，肇庆市怀集县诗洞镇安华村一名11岁的男孩走失了。其家人搜寻无果后报警。警方调查走访发现，孩子应该往深山里走了。“我们这边是山区，越往山里走，植被越茂密，山路越复杂，又下着雨，一开始搜救不是很顺利。”莫文杰告诉记者。

郭志恒带着两岁多的警犬“追风”第一时间赶到了搜救现场。“追风”是一只马犬，擅长追踪搜捕，参加过几十次搜救任务。一开始，“追风”成功追踪到了孩子进山的路线，但山林茂密、岔路多、连续暴雨，导致几次线索中断；天气炎热，也不利于警犬持续高强度搜索。

雨天，山路更加难行，由于路滑，连摩托车都开不了，7000多亩林地，这群人只能走路进去搜。莫文杰告诉记者，那十几天，每天都有100多人进山，搜救力量累计达1000多人次，“村干部、村民都自发行动起来参加搜救，每天一早他们就来了”。

5月30日，搜救进行到第13天，队伍又一次集合进山。上午11时许，“追风”突然兴奋起来，并吠叫示警。郭志恒快步跟上“追风”，在一处名为“百山洼”的深山坳里，发现了躺在灌木丛中的男孩。这里距离孩子的家有8公里。

发现孩子后，他大喊孩子的名字，孩子动了一下，然后对他笑了。“他还活着！还对我笑！”郭志恒说，“找了十几天，一直揪着的心、悬着的心，终于放下了！”

这个孩子为何走进深山里？独自在野外13天，他是如何存活下来的？搜救队员推测，孩子可能是迷路了，山林茂密加上心里又怕，走不出来。幸运的是，连日多雨的天气虽然不利于搜救，却为孩子野外生存提供了不可或缺的水源，山林里也有一些野果。

文丨记者 张璐瑶 杨再睿
翻译丨郑书悦
审校丨曾敏