Happy ending for little boy, 9, who vanished for a week in Mexican jungle drenched by Hurricane Milton
A nine-year-old boy was miraculously found this weekend after spending six days lost in a Mexican jungle drenched by Hurricane Milton, drinking water from puddles to survive.
The ordeal began on October 5, when little Joel Acosta ran away from his home in the Campeche town of Palizada after his stepfather told him he could no longer have dogs.
Acosta, also known as “El Choco,” left with his dogs and his parents reported him missing when he didn’t return. They initially thought he had gone to play near a stream just 200 yards from their home.
The boy then became lost in the jungle, where crocodiles and snakes live, and was unable to find his way home for the next few days before Hurricane Milton lashed the region with heavy rain.
Joel Acosta was rescued Friday after spending six days lost in the jungle near his home in the southeastern Mexican city of Palizada after running away.
Rescue team workers provide Joel Acosta with water and a jacket after he was found near a cabin on Friday, six days after he ran away
The rescue team saw one of Acosta’s dogs with them when they found the boy Friday
A rescue team composed of the Local Commission for the Search for Persons of the State of Campeche, police and local residents led the search for Acosta and drones were deployed.
However, initial attempts were unsuccessful after the dogs’ footprints were swept away by the storm.
Authorities took a break when Acosta’s dog, Bobi, returned to the neighborhood after the Campeche prosecutor’s office issued an Amber Alert.
Authorities intensified the search and located Acosta next to a cabin Friday morning.
Acosta was rushed to hospital and treated for dehydration and malnutrition
Acosta spent six days lost in a part of the jungle where snakes and crocodiles are often spotted
Acosta is carried by one of the workers assigned to the Local Commission for the Search for Persons of the State of Campeche after he was found in the jungle
Footage released by authorities showed a barefoot Acosta wearing a T-shirt and shorts.
Rafael Miranda, who oversees the road unit together with Campeche’s Civil Protection and Security Department, revealed that Acosta survived by drinking water from puddles and guiding himself and the dogs at night by looking at the stars.
βHe left his house in the middle of a hurricane, which is amazing; now he will be able to face any challenge,β Miranda said, according to local news channel Por Esto.
Javier Quintero, director of the Campeche State Local Search Commission, told Univision that Acosta “had vital signs” and was “obviously a little dehydrated and disoriented.”
The boy was rushed by the army to a hospital in Zapata, a town in nearby Tabasco state, where doctors treated him for malnutrition and dehydration.
Acosta was placed in the care of the child welfare system while investigators investigate whether his mother and stepfather were liable for running away from him.