Missing Autistic Boy Found Alive After 4-Day Search in China

A 4-year-old autistic boy who went missing in southwestern China was found alive in a cornfield after a four-day search involving more than 200 people, but remained in critical condition, Red Star News reported today.

The boy, named Wenhao, disappeared about 10:30am on August 1 near the Shangmashi community in Kaili, Guizhou Province, according to an earlier missing-person notice. He was wearing a brown short-sleeved shirt and light blue shorts at the time, and was described as having moderate autism.

The boy’s father announced in a chat group: “Found him, found him. We have picked him up,” about 7:45pm on August 4.

Wenhao was taken to Qiandongnan Prefecture People’s Hospital. A critical-condition notice later shared by his father said the boy had acute dehydration, acute renal insufficiency, metabolic acidosis and bacterial infection. A hospital staff member told reporters today that Wenhao was still in very serious condition and was being treated in intensive care.

After the boy was found, videos circulated online saying he had been spotted by a volunteer flying a drone over the search area.

The man was identified as Yuan Qingding, a Kaili resident born in the 1990s, a military veteran and a street fruit vendor. Yuan said he saw the missing-person notice on August 3 and closed his business the next morning to help with the search.

Yuan said he flew his drone for more than two hours after 7am on August 4, then returned in the late afternoon after recharging the battery. He said he kept the drone low, about 10 meters above the ground, and searched hard-to-see areas that others may have missed.

At 5pm, Yuan spotted Wenhao in a sunken cornfield about 300 to 400 meters from the boy’s home.

“The place was very difficult to find,” Yuan said. “The surrounding ground was high, and the cornfield was lower. You couldn’t see him from any side,” according to the report.

Yuan said he was glad to have helped, but declined to take personal credit.

“Don’t thank me,” he said. “Thank everyone who joined the rescue. Everyone kept going.”