A four-year-old has been found alive after reportedly spending five days alone in the Russian woods.
Dima Peskov got lost on a camping trip near Reftinskoye reservoir in the Ural Mountains, which is ridden with bears and wolves.
He was found curled up under a tree suffering from dehydration and covered in mosquito bites and ticks.
Dima survived by eating grass and drinking water from puddles. He has been taken to hospital and diagnosed with his pneumonia, but his condition is described as “grave but stable”.
A mass search with more than 500 volunteers took place as police suspected Dima’s father, Andrey Peskov, had murdered his son and left him in the forest.
“Our son is now feeling better, he understands me – even though he doesn’t speak,” Dima’s father, Andrey Peskov, told The Serbian Times.
“He talks back by either nodding his head or blinking his eyes. He is very strong, our son, but he spent more than four days in the woods. He is so exhausted.
“I cannot express our gratitude to everyone who helped looking for him. A huge, huge thank you. You didn’t leave us alone in trouble,” Mr Peskov added.
Dima was lost after helping his father collect firewood. Mr Peskov said he thought his son had returned to the campsite to his mother.
The Russian Investigative Committee confirmed it was investigating whether the parents were negligent.
