Police Probe Parents Following Viral Naked 'Wild Child' Video

Authorities in Yunnan Province are investigating the parents of a young boy seen crawling naked on the ground at a Sichuan highway rest area – a video that went viral and shocked Chinese social media, China News Weekly reported today.

The footage, filmed at the Shimian service area on the Ya'an–Xichang Expressway on October 16, shows a thin, unclothed child crouching and eating with his hands, later running on all fours "like an animal." Officials later identified the family as residents of Xinzheng Village in Yunnan.

Local villagers told China News Weekly that the boy's father has never dressed his children, even in winter. "He just washes the boy under a tap when he gets dirty," one villager said, adding that locals had repeatedly called the police.

Authorities said a working group from the county's police and civil affairs departments has located the family outside Yunnan, and that the child is "currently safe and under supervision." The video was filmed while the family was traveling in an RV.

No evidence of trafficking or extreme poverty has been found, but an investigation into possible criminal neglect is ongoing, according to local police.

The boy's father, in his 30s, and mother, around 40, both hold college degrees – the mother reportedly has a postgraduate education and is registered in Beijing. They have two sons: a 3-year-old and a 1-year-old. They claim to be raising their children through a "natural education method," rejecting clothing and other "modern constraints," according to China News Weekly.

Officials said they had previously urged the parents to dress the child, but the couple refused, citing the boy's past skin problems and asserting that their approach was "a personal choice that outsiders had no right to interfere with."

Villagers described the parents as reclusive and uncommunicative. One local shopkeeper told reporters, "The mother barely speaks – if you talk to her, she just stares at you."

The disturbing video – showing the child moving "like a dog," as one witness described – has triggered widespread anger online, with many calling for stricter child protection oversight and clearer legal boundaries for so-called "alternative parenting."